. 2026 Jan 5;16:491. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-29338-y

Table 3.

Effect of B and Zn on growth and yield attributes of sugarcane.

Treatments	Total plant height (cm)		Millable cane height (cm)		Millable cane weight (kg cane^− 1)		Cane yield (t ha^− 1)		Green top yield (t ha^− 1)
Treatments	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon
Boron
B @ 0 kg ha⁻¹	355^a	311a	196^b	185a	1.23^c	1.09 b	83.19^c	68.40^a	16.93^c	11.75^a
B @ 1 kg ha⁻¹	359^a	316a	200^b	187a	1.27^bc	1.13 ab	86.02^bc	70.90^a	17.38^bc	11.98^a
B @ 2 kg ha⁻¹	364^a	320a	203^ab	191a	1.34^ab	1.20 a	89.01^ab	71.84^a	18.19^ab	12.21^a
B @ 3 kg ha⁻¹	360^a	319a	211^a	192a	1.39^a	1.18 a	91.53^a	73.54^a	18.84^a	12.18^a
S.Em. ±	4.75	4.13	3.25	2.72	0.03	0.02	1.179	1.351	0.316	0.178
Zinc
Zn @0 kg ha⁻¹	351 b	306 b	193 c	182 b	1.19 c	1.07 c	81.14 d	66.91 b	16.67 c	11.49 c
Zn @5 kg ha⁻¹	356 b	314 b	198 bc	188 ab	1.28 b	1.14 bc	85.17 c	71.01 a	17.49 bc	11.87 bc
Zn @7.5 kg ha⁻¹	360 ab	317 ab	207 ab	190 a	1.32 b	1.17 ab	89.25 b	72.31 a	18.26 ab	12.08 b
Zn @10 kg ha⁻¹	371 a	329 a	212 a	195 a	1.43 a	1.23 a	94.17 a	74.44 a	18.92 a	12.67 a
S.Em. ±	4.85	4.15	3.34	2.71	0.03	0.025	1.162	1.354	0.306	0.177
Interaction	0.81 (NS)	0.416 (NS)	0.567 (NS)	0.972 (NS)	0.204 (NS)	0.607 (NS)	0.949 (NS)	0.849 (NS)	0.685 (NS)	0.645 (NS)
CV%	8.03	8.04	9.91	8.84	13.80	13.01	8.14	11.69	10.46	9.01
Adj. R²	0.576	0.778	0.721	0.690	0.678	0.625	0.823	0.266	0.567	0.682

Pooled data over three years (2017–2020 for plant cane and 2018–2021 for ratoon cane) are presented. Means followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05 according to Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT).