Sugarcane Plant-Ratoon System with Traditional and Advanced Nutrient Approach

Sugarcane is cultivated across a wide range of agro-climatic regions, and the use of fertilizers is recommended to ensure proper development. The intrinsic fertility of soil and efficient utilization of various nutrients via fertilizers have an extensive impact on sugarcane productivity. This chapter explores global conventional and advanced nutrient management strategies in sugarcane. Ensuring equilibrium between organic and inorganic amendments is paramount to preserving the desirable soil physicochemical characteristics and supplying sustenance for its microbial community. Restoring the nutrients depleted by crops via intercropping, green manuring, appropriate recycling of crop residues and factory wastes, biofertilizers, and bio-compost constitutes sustainable sugar productivity. Soil fertility and crop nutrition must be understood to guide fertilizer application using the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system, soil test crop response, and composition nutrient diagnosis. Additionally, precise nutrient management using crop canopy sensors and unmanned 174 aerial vehicles can enhance nutrient use efficiency in the sugarcane plant– ratoon system. Machine learning and deep learning algorithms can be employed for real-time crop nutrition management in sugarcane, reducing the need for conventional measurements of chlorophyll content. Hence, the adoption of integrated and advanced nutrient management techniques holds the potential for improving soil health, enhancing cane productivity and farmers’ income.