Agrica

In the present study, correlation analyses of data collected on agronomic characters were used to determine the relationship of these characters with cane yield; and ascertain their contribution in obtaining high cane yield. Field experiment was conducted in 2016 and 2017 at National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi in the Southern Guinea Savanna ecology of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of factorial combination of two sugarcane genotypes (Bida local and NCS 001), four sugarcane trash mulching levels (0, 3, 6, 9 t/ha) and four weed management practices (weedy check, 5 monthly hoe weeding (5MHW), pre-emergence (PE) application of diuron at 2 kg a.i/ha + Post-Emergence (POE) of 3-Maize force at 179.2 g/ha + Two hoe weeding (2HW)] and PE Diuron + POE 3-Maize force arranged in a split plot design and replicated three times. Weed management practices and mulching constitute the main plot while sugarcane genotypes constitute the subplot. The cane yield, considered as the most important character of sugarcane, was positively and significantly correlated with sprouting percentage (r=0.531**), number of tillers (r=0.574**), number of millable canes (r=0.716**), sugarcane stalk girth (r=0.595**) and height (r=0.677**), sugarcane brix (r=0.595**), organic carbon (r=0.568**), nitrogen (r=0.532**) and soil moisture content (r=0.531**) while Phosphorus (r=0.445), Potassium (r=0.397), showed positive but non-significant correlation with cane yield. Cane yield was negatively correlated with evapotranspiration (r= -0.500) and weed dry matter (r= -0.556) at all the stages. Results from the analysis indicated that selection programme for high yielding sugarcane genotypes should be based on sprouting percentage, number of tillers, number of millable canes, sugarcane stalk girth and height, sugarcane brix, organic carbon, nitrogen and soil moisture content.