INFLUENCE OF PLANT GEOMETRY AND INTERCROPPING ON SOIL FERTILITY AND NUTRIENT BUDGETING UNDER SUSTAINABLE SUGARCANE INITIATIVE PLANTING OF SUGARCANE (SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM L.) IN INDIA

Field experiments were conducted at Sugarcane Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu during 2016-17 and 2017-18. The experiments were laid out the strip plot design with three replications. Among the different crop geometries, sugarcane double planting at 150 cm registered significantly higher available N, P and K in the post harvest soil which was closely followed by those at 150 cm in single row. With respect to different intercropping systems, higher available NPK was recorded under sugarcane + sunn hemp intercropping. The treatment combination of 150 cm double row planting with sunn hemp as intercrop recorded higher soil available P. The result of nutrient balance studies revealed sugarcane planting in double row at 150 cm crop geometry along sunn hemp as a planting system more favorable for the restoration of soil fertility where in higher net available N and P was observed. The results of the experiments revealed that double row planting of sugarcane at 150 cm spacing with in-situ incorporation of sunn hemp on 45th DAS increased the nutrient availability and maintained soil fertility of plant- ratoon sugarcane agroecosystem under tropical Indian conditions.