Sugarcane Productivity As A Function Of Soil Mechanical Manipulations

Abstract

Sugarcane production was a function of plant, growing media (soil), climate, and human activity. Climate was a factor that could not be changed, whereas plant and soil could be changed or manipulated by human activity. Dry land sugarcane cultivation was done mechanically that beginning from soil tillage, planting, plant maintenance, and up to harvesting activities. Soil tillage was a soil mechanical manipulation in order to reach a proper environment for plant growing. On dry land sugarcane cultivation, it was conventionally consisting of subsoiling, plowing, harrowing, and furrowing. Treatments can be done by applying the intensities of plowing and harrowing to acquire variation of soil physical conditions. Optimum soil tillage method was determined by best soil physical condition, which it produced maximum sugarcane growth and productivity. The objective of the research was to analyse the effect of soil mechanical manipulations toward sugarcane growth and productivity. The research was conducted on dry land sugarcane plantation area at Gula Putih Mataram Company on September 2002 until August 2003. Six-soil tillage methods were applied and sugarcane seedlings (variety of TC-9) were planted, and then soil physical conditions, tractors’ performance, and sugarcane growth and productivity were measured and calculated. Results of the research showed that sugarcane growth and productivity were varied by the actions of soil mechanical manipulation. The soil mechanical manipulation with minimum intensities produced optimum soil physical condition that resulted in maximum sugarcane growth and productivity. Soil tillage method of subsoiling – moldboard plowing – disk harrowing – furrowing was an optimum soil mechanical manipulation activity that produced maximum sugarcane productivity of 63.1 ton/ha.