EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER RATES ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND YIELD OF NEW SELECTED SUGARCANE CULTIVARS IN KIBOS, KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The sugar industry plays an important role in economic development of Kenya. Nitrogen is
the primary nutrient limiting sugarcane production throughout the world. A study was conducted in Kibos from 2015 to-2018 on the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates on the yield of
newly released cane cultivars. The aim was to determine the optimal nitrogen rates for the
new sugarcane cultivars and to analysis the cost benefits of N fertilizer rates on new sugarcane yields. The treatments consisted of 11 cane cultivars KEN 98-367, KEN 98-530, KEN
98-533, KEN 98-551, KEN 00-13, KEN 00-3548, KEN 00-3811, EAK 73-335, KEN 82-
121, KEN 82-601, KEN 82-493 and 3 levels of N fertilizer rates; 0kg Nha-1
, 80kg Nha-1
and
160 kg Nha-1
as top-dress at five months after planting. The experiment was laid out as 11
x 3 factorial in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) having three replications with
a gross plot size of 5 rows 6m long and spaced at 1.2 m apart. Clean seedcane aged 10
months was used. The trial was harvested at 17 months for plant crop (PC) and 16 months
for ratoon1 (R1). Data was analyzed by ANOVA using GENESTAT vs 19.0. The results
showed that significant differences (p<0.05) were noticed in girth, stalk heights, R1sugarcane yields and nitrogen rates of R1. Stalk population, pol% juice and nitrogen rates of PC
did no differ. KEN00-3811 out yielded all the other cultivars and EAK 73-335 was the
worst performer. Therefore there is a need for further evaluation on Kibos soil before appropriate nitrogen fertilizer rate is recommended that should be site specific.