Impact of blended NPSB fertilizer rates on sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) varieties: Seed cane yield and quality insights from North western Ethiopia

Sugarcane primarily cultivated for sugar production and other multiple uses. A field experiment was conducted at Tana Beles sugar project, North western Ethiopia during 2021 and 2022 cropping season to determine the optimum rate of NPSB fertilizer on three sugarcane varieties. The treatments were laid out in factorial randomized complete block design arranged with three replications. The experiment was arranged with five of NPSB blended fertilizer (0, 200, 260, 320 and 380 kg ha-1) combined with three sugarcane varieties (NCO-334, N-14 and C86/56). Among the parameters of seed cane crop; germination percent stalk weight, stalk diameter, node length, inter node number, plant height, stalk population, and sett yield for growth and yield parameters and sett moisture content, sett nitrogen content, reducing sugar content and total sugar content for seed cane quality parameters were significantly affected by applied NPSB fertilizer, varieties and their interaction (p<0.05). Brix% and pol% were not significantly affected by different rates of NPSB fertilizer rates and varieties (p<0.05). The highest leaf area index, plant population, sett yield, average cane weight, seed cane moisture content and total nitrogen content was attained with 380 kg ha-1NPSB fertilizer applied on variety NCO-334 and N-14. Maximum population stand, average plant height, and sett yield of verity C86/56 were recorded at 320 kg ha-1 NPSB fertilizer rate. Sett yield, were positively correlated with germination percent, population stand count, inter node number, seed cane weight, seed cane diameter reducing sugar content, total sugar yield and sett moisture content. Therefore, it is advisable to recommend 380 kg NPSB ha1 for variety NCO-334 and N-14, and 320 kg NPSB ha1 for variety C86/56 with application of 160 kg ha-1 urea at the age of two month and half for effective seed cane production. It was aimed to fill the seed cane fertilizer rate problems of different sugarcane varieties.