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

Table 4.

Effect of Boron and zinc on quality parameters of sugarcane and Ratoon cane.

Treatments	Brix (%)		Sucrose (%) in juice		CCS yield (t ha^− 1)
Treatments	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon	Cane	Ratoon
Boron
B @ 0 kg ha⁻¹	22.19 ^c	21.79 ^b	19.12 ^b	18.95^a	10.86 ^c	8.88 ^b
B @ 1 kg ha⁻¹	22.51 ^bc	22.09 ^ab	19.34 ^b	19.30^a	11.33 ^bc	9.40 ^ab
B @ 2 kg ha⁻¹	22.79 ^ab	22.38 ^a	19.56 ^ab	19.30^a	11.80 ^ab	9.46 ^ab
B @ 3 kg ha⁻¹	23.05 ^a	22.43 ^a	19.97 ^a	19.63^a	12.45 ^a	9.95 ^a
S.Em. ±	0.159	0.16	0.203	0.20	0.24	0.226
Zinc
Zn @0 kg ha⁻¹	22.13 ^c	21.99 ^a	19.17^a	19.07^a	10.63 ^c	8.73 ^c
Zn @5 kg ha⁻¹	22.44 ^bc	22.08 ^a	19.30^a	19.15^a	11.19 ^c	9.32 ^bc
Zn @7.5 kg ha⁻¹	22.75 ^ab	22.19 ^a	19.62^a	19.32^a	11.91 ^b	9.57 ^ab
Zn @10 kg ha⁻¹	23.22 ^a	22.43 ^a	19.89^a	19.64^a	12.70 ^a	10.09 ^a
S.Em. ±	0.160	0.16	0.203	0.20	0.23	0.226
Interaction	0.450 (NS)	0.713 (NS)	0.822 (NS)	0.909 (NS)	0.995 (NS)	0.823 (NS)
CV%	4.30	4.30	6.32	6.33	12.40	14.77
Adj. R²	0.368	0.143	0.155	0.137	0.589	0.194

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).