SILICON AMENDMENT IN THE PRODUCTIVITY OF FOUR SUGARCANE VARIETIES IN BRAZIL

SILICON is a beneficial element for some crops. The low rates of available silicon in tropical soils, together with the large amount of silicon extracted by sugarcane, emphasises the importance of this work which reports on the responses of four sugarcane varieties to excoriates of metallurgy applied as a silicon source. The soil in the experiment was an Oxisol, medium texture, previously cultivated with pasture and it has a low level of soluble silicon (less than 3 ug/cm 3 ). A split plot trial comprised four sugarcane varieties as the main plots: RB867515—high productivity; SP81-3250—rich and high productivity; RB72454 and SP83-2847—wide adaptability varieties. The sub plots were two treatments comprising a control (no silicon) and a plot receiving 940 kg/ha of Agrosilicio containing 23% SiO2. The fertilisers were applied at the bottom of the furrows at planting. The measured parameters were fibre, purity, Pol, reducing sugars (AR) and total recoverable sugars (ATR), and cane yield (t/ha). The economic analysis was conducted on plant cane. We observed different productivity for varieties due to silicon application in the first harvest. The varieties RB72454 and SP83-2847 were more responsive, and there were economic gains from silicon application. The economical gains in the second period of harvest were lower, with no statistical differences between treatments.