NITROGEN NUTRITION OF SUGAR CANE

Abstract

A preliminary study of the effect of 3 distinct levels of nitrogenous fertilization (133, 266 and 645 pounds of N per acre) on the yield and quality of sugar cane variety H 109 grown under field conditions in Honolulu. The amts. of phos- phate and potash fertilizers and of irrigation water were abundant and the same in all series. Increasing application of N increased the leaf and the tiller production, the rate of stem elongation and the fresh weight ot harvest. The greater the amount of N applied, the greater were the water content of the tissue, the content of reducing sugars, of total and of alcohol soluble N, and the electrical conductivity of expressed juice; the reverse was, however, the case with sucrose. Seasonal influences on the physico-chemical properties of the tissue and the sap were even more pronounced than the effects of the 3 treatments.