Developing and adopting nutrient management guidelines for sugarcane grown on alluvial soils derived from volcanic parent material in Nicaragua

Developing and adopting nutrient management guidelines for sugarcane grown on alluvial soils derived from volcanic parent material in Nicaragua

Sugarcane is produced along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, adjacent to a chain of volcanoes that runs from north to south. This has resulted in distinct soils, typically derived from recent volcanic parent material and influenced by the sedimentary coastline. San Antonio is the biggest sugar mill company in Nicaragua, with approximately 33,000 ha. Nutrient inputs have traditionally been based on guidelines developed elsewhere. Modified nutrient management guidelines were investigated to ensure sustainable sugarcane production. Interim N, P, K, and S guidelines for San Antonio were developed by considering existing nutrient management systems that could be used as examples for sugarcane production in San Antonio. This was intended to be a tentative nutrient management strategy until R&D-based guidelines were available from this project. A series of replicated small plot nitrogen (N) x potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) experiments were established in 2015 to investigate the N, P, and K requirements. The treatments applied to a series of field trials included 0, 75, 150, 225 kg N/ha as urea and 0, 60, 120 and 180 kg K/ha as muriate of potash, and 0, 20, 40, 60 kg/ha as diammonium phosphate (DAP). Responses to applied N occurred at most of the trial sites and for P and K in some ratoons. These differed from each other and were influenced by climate variability. N and P rates were lower than interim nutrient guidelines, and K was marginal or similar. These locally derived N and P rates are lower than the N and P rates previously used, except for K. Interim nutrient guidelines developed in this study improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by decreasing kg N applied/tc from 2.08 to 1.54 kg N applied/tc. This represented 1,753,770 kg of N less since the improvements were adopted and US $1,517,330 in savings due to N reduction, with higher average productivity in terms of cane and sugar yield. This approach provides an example for other developing countries to establish their own nutrient management guidelines rather than adopting those developed elsewhere.

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