Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T16:07:19.818Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Influence of Flooding and Soil Moisture Content on Elongation of Sugar cane in Trinidad

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

F. A. Gumbs
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, UWI, St Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies
L. A. Simpson
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, UWI, St Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies

Summary

The total growth increment of sugar cane stalks from 13 to 22 weeks after planting was 55% greater in elevated than depressed areas in fields flooded intermittently during the period of measurement. The weekly growth increments were 137–9% greater in elevated than depressed areas, especially when soil moisture was high. The cane was on top of high ridges but water stood up to 10 cm deep over the top of the ridges in depressed areas for up to 5 or 6 days after rain and at varying depths below the top for several more days. Provided the soil was not submerged, tillers elongated most when the soil profile was saturated or nearly so; mere waterlogging without submergence seems not to damage cane. Tiller elongation and soil moisture were well correlated regardless of depth of sampling between 0 and 45 cm, but different relations were obtained for elevated drained areas and depressed areas subject to submergence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bergman, H. F. (1959). Oxygen deficiency as a cause of disease in plants. Botanical Review 25:418485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dass, U. K. (1931). Cane breeding in Coimbatore. Hawaiian Planters Record 35:97120.Google Scholar
Eavis, B. W. & Cumberbatch, E. R. (1977). Sugar cane growth in response to mulch and fertilizer on saline-alkali subsoils. Agronomy Journal 69:839842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Escolar, R. P. & Allison, W. F. (1976). Effect of water table depth on the yield of seven sugar cane varieties in Puerto Rico. Journal of the Agricultural University of Puerto Rico 10:228237.Google Scholar
Escolar, R. P., Allison, W. F. & Juarez, J. Jr. (1971). The effect of water table depth on the yield of sugar cane. Proc. International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 13:722726.Google Scholar
Fasihi, S. D. & Ahmad, H. (1967). Performance of some sugar cane varieties under waterlogged and kallar affected areas. Agriculture Pakistan 18:457465.Google Scholar
Hammond, L. C., Allaway, W. H. & Loomis, W. E. (1955). Effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels upon absorption of potassium by plants. Plant Physiology 30:155161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Humbert, R. P. (1968). The Growing of Sugar Cane. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Juang, I. C. & Uehara, G. (1971). The effects of ground water table and soil compaction on nutrient element uptake and growth of sugar cane. Proc. International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 13: 679687.Google Scholar
Letey, J., Lunt, O. R., Stolzey, L. H. & Szuszkiewicz, T. E. (1961). Plant growth, water use and nutritional response to rhizosphere differentials of oxygen concentration. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 25:183186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patrick, W. H. Jr, Delaune, R. D. & Engler, R. M. (1973). Soil oxygen content and root development of cotton in Mississippi river alluvial soils. Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 673, 112.Google Scholar
Rege, R. D. & Mascarenhas, J. P. (1956). Studies on the influence of floods on cane growth and quality in the Pamba River Valley. Proc. International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 9:375389.Google Scholar
Stolzy, L. H., van Grundy, S. D., Labanaskas, C. K. & Szuszkiewicz, T. E. (1963). Response of Tylenculus semipenetrans infected citrus seedlings to soil aeration and temperature. Soil Science 96:292298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, P. W. D. & Eavis, B. W. (1971). The effect of flooding on sugar cane growth 1. Proc. International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists 13:708714.Google Scholar