Impact of soil sickness and post harvest residues on sugarcane metabolism and yield in prolonged cultivation

The aim of this research was (i) to explore the influence of soil sickness, autotoxicity and allelopathic potential of post harvest residues on various physiological processes in ratoon cane and sugarcane yield and (ii) to identify the allelochemicals found in sugarcane post harvest residue of popular ratooning cultivars grown in Maharashtra state. Sugarcane post harvest residue of the investigated ratoon varieties were very rich in triterpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, pungent bitter essential oils and phenols, which may synergistically cause the negative impact on yield attributing parameters like millable cane height, number of internodes, number of canes per stool and cane weight. Primary and secondary metabolites present in post harvest residue also caused an adverse impact on metabolic processes of ratoon cane, leading to autotoxicity, causing reduction in number of tillers, resulting in a drastic decline in cane sprouting.