Effects of Fertiliser Treatments on Agronomic and Technological Parameters of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in the Integrated Agricultural Unit of SUCRIVOIRE-Zuénoula, Côte d'Ivoire
Bi Teddy Charles Gole *
Laboratoire d’Agronomie, de Foresterie et de Défense des Cultures (LAFDC), Unite Mixte de Recherche et Innovation en Sciences Agronomiques et Procédés de Transformation (UMRI SAPT), Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), B.P. Box 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Bi Trazié Jérémie Gala
Soil Sciences, Water and Geomaterials Laboratory of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources Training Unit (STRM) University Félix Houphouët-Boigny Abidjan-Cocody, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d'Ivoire.
Tophangui Guy-Pacome Touré
Laboratoire d’Agronomie, de Foresterie et de Défense des Cultures (LAFDC), Unite Mixte de Recherche et Innovation en Sciences Agronomiques et Procédés de Transformation (UMRI SAPT), Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), B.P. Box 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Kouakou Yao
Agronomic Studies Department Integrated Agricultural Unit of SUCRIVOIRE BP 291 Zuénoula, Côte d'Ivoire.
Christian Jonathan Anoma Kouassi
Laboratoire d’Agronomie, de Foresterie et de Défense des Cultures (LAFDC), Unite Mixte de Recherche et Innovation en Sciences Agronomiques et Procédés de Transformation (UMRI SAPT), Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), B.P. Box 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire and School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Bi Gala Jean-Marc Zaouri
Laboratoire d’Agronomie, de Foresterie et de Défense des Cultures (LAFDC), Unite Mixte de Recherche et Innovation en Sciences Agronomiques et Procédés de Transformation (UMRI SAPT), Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), B.P. Box 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Lucien N’Guessan Diby
Laboratoire d’Agronomie, de Foresterie et de Défense des Cultures (LAFDC), Unite Mixte de Recherche et Innovation en Sciences Agronomiques et Procédés de Transformation (UMRI SAPT), Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INP-HB), B.P. Box 1093 Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Mineral fertilisation is one of the main ways to improve sugarcane productivity and quality, but simultaneously optimising these two objectives remains a major challenge in tropical production systems. This study, conducted at the Integrated Agricultural Unit (UAI) in Zuénoula (Côte d’Ivoire), evaluated the impact of five types of fertilisers, including a new formulation rich in Ca, S, and Mg, on the agronomic and technological parameters of sugarcane. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA (with Tukey's HSD post-hoc test) and simple linear regression after verifying normality (Shapiro-Wilk test) and homoscedasticity (Bartlett's test). The results showed that treatment (T1) NPK 18-9-24 produced the highest cane yield at 82.88 ± 4.17 tc.ha⁻¹ and promoted vegetative growth. In contrast, treatment (T2) SPT + KCl improved processing quality, with a purity of 93.53 ± 0.32% and a sucrose content of 11.12 ± 0.21%. Treatment (T3) NPK + SPT + KCl provided the best compromise, with a cane yield of 81.15 ± 2.48 tc.ha⁻¹ and a purity of 91.98 ± 0.26%. A significant productivity-quality trade-off was observed between stem height and juice purity (R² = 0.159; p < 0.05). The new formulation (T4) 13-10-30 + 3Ca + 1S + 1.3Mg did not improve technological quality. These results indicate that an appropriate fertilisation strategy can reduce the trade-off between productivity and quality, while K and S enrichment is an agronomic option for improving the technological quality of sugarcane. By explicitly quantifying this trade-off using an integrated approach, this study provides a preliminary decision-making framework for optimising fertilisation in the sugarcane industry.
Keywords: Agronomic performance, cane yield, fertilisation, juice purity, mineral nutrition, Saccharum officinarum L., sucrose content, technological quality, yield–quality trade-off