Direct and Residual Value of Sulphitation Cane Filter Cake as a Nitrogen Source for Crops

Field experiments were carried out to determine the fertilizer-N equivalence of sulphitation cane filter cake (SCFC) for maize and rice and to study the residual effect in terms of N contribution to succeeding sugarbeet and on soil fertility status. The advantages of SCFC were greater for rice than for maize. The urea-N equivalence of SCFC was 37 kg N ha⁻¹ for maize and 52 kgN ha⁻¹ for rice. These crops, respectively, utilized 21.7 and 26.3 per cent of SCFC-N. The residual effects were equivalent to 28 kg of urea N ha⁻¹ for sugarbeet grown after corn and 22 kg N ha⁻¹ for sugarbeet after rice, with an apparent recovery of 14. 3 and 11.2 per cent, respectively. The soil treated with SCFC had higher contents of organic carbon, available N and Olsen's P.