Tillage tests: II, the beneficial effect of subsoil fertilization on sugarcane yields

Abstract

Data are presented here on sugar yields obtained from a heavy claypan soil under different tillage treatments. The mean sugar yield of all plots, including checks, which were fertilized only on the topsoil, was 92.4 hundredweights to the acre, whether sufficient lime was added to satisfy the lime requirement of the subsoil or not. The mean sugar yield of all plots which received half of the fertilizer in the subsoil and half in the surface soil was 106.8 hundredweights to the acre, whether lime was present or absent in the subsoil. The mean differences were significant. It seems that when the conditions that influence root extension are favorable both from the standpoint of tilth and nutrient availability, better crop yields are likely to be obtained, and fertilization of the subsoil fosters such condition.