. Agricultural news. Agriculture -- West Indies; Plant diseases -- West Indies. Vol. XIII. No. 318. THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 211. SUGAR INDUSTRY. THE MANURING OF THE SUGAR-CANE. The question as to what feirilizers give the most profit- aMe returns with the sugar-cane is discussed at some length by Dr. F. W. Zerban in Sugar, for May 1914. In this article the main point emphasized is that the most important nutrient for sugarcane is potash. This fact, it is stated, ; been brought to light l)y experimental work in Louisiana, Hawaii, Java and several other sugar-producing It would
. Agricultural news. Agriculture -- West Indies; Plant diseases -- West Indies. Vol. XIII. No. 318. THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 211. SUGAR INDUSTRY. THE MANURING OF THE SUGAR-CANE. The question as to what feirilizers give the most profit- aMe returns with the sugar-cane is discussed at some length by Dr. F. W. Zerban in Sugar, for May 1914. In this article the main point emphasized is that the most important nutrient for sugarcane is potash. This fact, it is stated, ; been brought to light l)y experimental work in Louisiana, Hawaii, Java and several other sugar-producing It would seem that Dr. Zerban this conclusion largely upon the results obtained in regard to the question as to what quantities of the different food elements the cane takes up from the soil. Experimental work in the countries mentioned above has shown that the sugar-cane removes much more potash from the soil than it does phosphoric acid: but of course, the composition of the soil is not necessarily a criter- ion as regards its requirements in this respect. Although the soundness of Dr. Zerban's conclusions that ihesugarcane plant makes large demands upon the potash in the soil will be ad- mitted, it does not necessarily follow that potash manures will appreciably increase the yield of sugar per acre. On the contrary, in the West Indies it has been found that the addition of potash produces little or no remunerative gain. Professor Harrison in his account of sugar cane experiments in British Guiana, which was published in the West Indian Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 2, says: The addition of potash when applied either as sulphate of potash or as nitrates has exerted little if any effect. The normal weathering of the constituents of the soil sets free for each crop potash in excess of the quantity necessary for the requirements of plants. This holds good under oidinary conditions of culti- vation where the greater portion of potash taken up l)y the plants is directly returned to the s
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