The experiment consisting of five subsoiling
practices (no subsoiling, subsoiling at 1.0 m distance,
subsoiling at 1.5 m distance, cross subsoiling at 1.0 m
distance and cross subsoiling at 1.5 m distance) and three
preparatory tillage practices (two harrowing, four harrowing
and one rotavator) was laid out in strip plot design with
three replications. Juice quality viz., brix, sucrose, purity
and available sugar per cent were significantly improved by
subsoiling practice. Crop grown under the most intense
subsoiling i.e. cross subsoiling at 1.0 m distance exhibited
significantly higher corrected brix, available sugar and
commercial cane sugar yield over no subsoiling. Crop
grown with cross subsoiling at 1.0 m distance operation
produced 8.9 and 9.6 t/ha commercial cane sugar yield,
which was 34.8 and 50.0 % higher than no subsoiling
treatment in plant and ratoon crops, respectively. Preparatory
tillage practices failed to bring significant variations
in juice quality. Economics was proved better in cross
subsoiling at 1.0 m distance which gave significantly higher
gross return (Rs 261,770/ha), net return (Rs 185,175/ha) and
benefit: cost ratio (2.42). Net return and benefit: cost ratio
increased by 50.0 and 43.2 % due to cross subsoiling at 1.0 m
distance over no subsoiling.