IPNS–STCR-Based Nutrient Management Modules for Enhancing Soil Health, Fertilizer-Use Efficiency, Productivity and Profitability of Tropical Indian Sugarcane Plant–Ratoon Agro-Ecosystem

A field experiment with 15 treatments comprising IPNS–STCR-based nutrient management modules for enhancing soil health, fertilizer-use efficiency, productivity and profitability of tropical Indian sugarcane plant–ratoon agro-ecosystem was conducted in randomized block design during 2015–2016, 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 at ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The soil of the experimental site was clay loam in texture, taxonomically classified as typic haplustalf, low in organic carbon, medium in available N, P and fairly high in available K, slightly alkaline in reaction with normal electrical conductivity. The results revealed that, with highest profitability (304,110.5 and 129,066.0 Rs ha−1 net returns in plant crop and ratoon crops) and moderate partial factor productivity and agronomic efficiency of fertilizer NPK, STCR 150 + 10 t FYM + biofertilizer nutrient management module in plant crop and 20 t FYM + STCR 150 module in ratoon crop hold great promise in meeting the growing nutrient demands of intensive sugarcane agriculture. It also recorded higher sugarcane productivity (186.46 t ha−1 and 111.15 t ha−1 cane yield in plant and ratoon crops), better juice quality and improvement in soil health. Based on the results of 3-year field experiments, it is concluded that the application of 10 t ha−1 FYM + STCR 150-based fertilizers (390 kg N ha−1 and 94 kg P ha−1) + biofertilizers in plant crop and application of 20 t ha−1 FYM + STCR 150 (390 kg N ha−1, 94 kg P ha−1 and 117 kg K ha−1) in ratoon crop can be recommended for sustaining soil health, sugarcane productivity and profitability under tropical Indian conditions.