Abstract
The huge amounts of crop residue, produced by the harvesting of sugarcane, are discarded by burning in the field. The ash produced by this phenomenon enters the soil and become available for next crop. Thus, it was hypothesized that whether or not this ash affects plant growth and soil properties positively? The pot experiments were conducted in net house using two factor RCBD design with four replications. The type of ash at two levels (P1=Pyrolyzed and P2=NonPyrolyzed) was a main factor arranged in main blocks while sub block factor included three levels of ash doses (0, 5, and 15 g kg-1 of soil). The ash was mixed thoroughly in soil prior to sowing of seeds. The data were recorded for Germination %, shoot length, leaf number, root Length, shoot fresh and dry weight, and whole plant biomass. The soil was analyzed for pH, organic matter, Total organic carbon, Na+ and K+ . The results suggested that ash of sugarcane, produced either by pyrolysis or by non-pyrolysis, has significant positive growth and germination effects on Cicer arietinum L. than control. The effects were highly dose dependent i.e. as the dose increased the growth increased. It can be concluded therefore, that the sugarcane ash can be good alternative to inorganic fertilizers in agriculture fields.
