Enhancing Ratoon Sugarcane Juice Quality and Sugar Recovery through Integrated Soil and Water Management
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65761/jbs.2026.22Keywords:
Ratoon sugarcane; Irrigation; Soil amendments; Juice quality; Sugar recoveryAbstract
Background: Ratoon sugarcane production reduces establishment costs but may be affected by declining soil fertility and inadequate irrigation, resulting in reduced juice quality and sugar recovery.
Objective: This study evaluated the effects of integrated soil and water management on juice quality and sugar recovery of ratoon sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) clone CP-249.
Methods: The experiment was conducted at the Abdul Wali khan university, Mardan, Pakistan, during 2022–2024 using a randomized complete block design with split-plot arrangement and three replications. Three irrigation regimes (100%, 75%, and 50% of recommended irrigation) were combined with four soil amendment treatments: control, press-mud, polymer-coated SSP, and 50% cane-trash boiler ash + 50% SOP. Brix, Pol, fiber, commercial cane sugar (CCS), and cane sugar recovery (CSR) were determined, and treatment means were compared using Tukey’s HSD test at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: Irrigation and soil amendments significantly affected juice quality and sugar recovery. Full irrigation produced the highest Brix (21.84%), Pol (18.73%), CCS (13.56%), and CSR (12.75%). Press-mud resulted in the highest Brix (22.18%), Pol (19.11%), CCS (13.94%), and CSR (13.10%) and the lowest fiber content (11.09%). The combination of full irrigation and press-mud produced the highest CCS (14.89%) and CSR (14.00%).
Conclusion: Integrated management, particularly full irrigation combined with press-mud, effectively improved ratoon sugarcane juice quality and sugar recovery.
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