Contribution of Rice Mill Ash and Press Mud with Inorganic Fertilizers to Sugarcane Production in Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain Soils of Bangladesh

A field study was conducted to develop an economically suitable combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers for sugarcane cultivation in sandy acidic soil of a commercial sugarcane farm under Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh. Results revealed that the treatment $T_4$ which received $75\%$ of Recommended fertilizers (N 120, P 35, K 100, S 25, Zn 2 kg $ha^{-1}$) + 10 Mg $ha^{-1}$ Rice mill ash + Mg $ha^{-1}$ press mud significantly produced higher sugarcane yield (72.34 Mg $ha^{-1}$) among all the treatments except $T_5$ having $100\%$ of Recommended fertilizers + 10 Mg $ha^{-1}$ Rice mill ash + 10 Mg $ha^{-1}$ press mud, which was identical. $T_4$ also gave the highest net economic benefit at Bangladesh Taka 15,920.47 per hectare from the added nutrient management. Thus, the integrated use with organic and inorganic fertilizer is highly essential for sustainable production of sugarcane in commercial farm of the region in Bangladesh, where it has been grown year after year.