Sugarcane is an important commercial crop in India and it is
a cash crop and plays a vital role in the economic uplift of the
growers and the country. To meet the needs of over
increasing population, crop production per unit area has to
be increased as the possibility of increasing area under
cultivation in remote. Although the yield potential of
existing cultivars is high, yet it has not been fully explored
mainly due to poor agro management. Micronutrient deficiency
in soil is one of the yield limiting factors (Sundara
1995). Intensive cultivation, mono cropping with out proper
crop rotation, introduction of high yielding varieties, use of
high analysis fertilizers devoid of micronutrients and
unavailability of organic manures resulted in depletion
of organic matter leading to micronutrient deficiencies
(Rakkiyyappan and Thangavelu 2000). Soil constraints like
alkalinity, calcareousness, excess of carbonates and bicarbonates
aggravates micronutrient deficiencies. Besides all
these factors, unawareness of farming community in respect
of crop requirement for micronutrient is also a major cause
for low yields. Micronutrients play a vital role in the growth
and development of sugarcane plant. Though these elements
are required in lesser amounts for plant growth but are as
essential as N, P and K. Further more deficiency of micronutrient
in soil as well as in plants develops symptoms of
crop malignancy (Bowen 1975). Micronutrient requirement
of sugarcane crop varies with soil type and agro climatic
conditions of area (Li 1985). Micronutrient deficiency
symptoms in sugarcane crop are observed in light textured
soils, calcareous soils and intensively cultivated soils of
Southern zone of Andhra Pradesh. In our soils, Iron and
Boron are the limiting micronutrients next only to zinc. Zinc
is essential for production of growth substances, required for
the synthesis of tryptophan from which indole acetic acid is
produced, required for the protein metabolism. Iron is the
fourth abundant element in the soil, yet deficiency is frequently
noticed in sugarcane crop especially in ratoons of
sugarcane