Sugarcane Bagasse: A Potential and Economical Source for Raising Sugarcane Nursery in Sub-tropical India

Sugarcane bagasse is produced by sugar mills as a by-product during cane processing. It is a rich source of several chemical components like lignin, cellulose, hemicelluloses, ash, etc. Bagasse being fibrous in nature retains moisture content for a longer period and can enrich the organic carbon and nutrients available in soil to the plant. In the present study, the utility of sugarcane bagasse as a natural cost-effective medium for raising sugarcane nurseries and transplanting the raised settlings in the main fields in sub-tropical India was attempted. Single bud setts of promising sugarcane varieties CoS 13235, CoSe 13452, and CoLk 14201 were used. The single bud settlings were raised in the poly tray and the mediums used for raising settlings from single bud sett comprised of seven different treatments as T1 = sugarcane bagasse alone, T2 = sugarcane bagasse + compost (3:1), T3 = sugarcane bagasse + press mud (3:1), T4 = sugarcane bagasse + soil (3:1), T5 = soil alone, T6 = soil, sand, and compost (1:1:1), and T7 = coco peat alone. The results revealed that the germination percent was achieved maximum (97 percent) in T1 followed by (T2) treatment (95 percent). However, the settlings produced in treatment T2 were lush green and healthier than treatment T1. Bagasse medium produced remarkable promising results in terms of germination and survival of the settlings after transplanting in the field as compared to the other treatments. Our study suggests that sugarcane bagasse can be used as an efficient and effective medium for growing sugarcane nurseries of promising cultivars.