Response of sugarcane genotypes to planting season and levels of fertilization in north Bihar

A field experiment was conducted during the autumn and spring seasons of 1998–2001 on sandy-loam soil of Pusa, to study the performance of 3 sugarcane genotypes (‘CoP 9501’, ‘CoP 9502’ and ‘BO 132’) at 3 fertility levels (75,100 and 125% recommended dose of fertilizer), besides during the autumn, mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czernj. & Cosson] was taken as an intercrop. The autumn-planted cane intercropped with mustard produced 58.1 tonnes/ha cane and 10.0 q/ha of mustard and fetched net profit of Rs 35,149/ha, whereas spring-planted cane recorded cane yield of 56.5 tonnes/ha with net profit of Rs 28, 343/ha. Among genotypes, ‘BO 132’ (61.8 tonnes/ha) recorded significantly higher cane yield than ‘CoP 9502’ (57.1 tonnes/ha) and ‘CoP 9501’ (54.1 tonnes/ha), the later 2 were similar among themselves. Applicatiorf of 125% RDF gave higher cane yield, than its lower levels. The germination and sucrose (%) in juice were significantly higher in spring and autumn-planted cane respectively.