Nitrogen Die back of older leaves. Leaf blades turn light green to yellow. Short and slender stalks. Tips and margins of older leaves become necrotic. Management: Soil application of N fertilizer or foliar spray of urea 1-2% twice at weekly interval. Phosphorus Red and purple discolouration of tips and margins, Slender leaves. Short sand slender stalks. Poor or no tillering Management: Foliar spray of DAP 2% twice at fortnight interval. Potassium Yellow-orange chlorosis of leaf borders & tips. Stalks slender. Older leaves brown or “fi red”. Spindles distorted producing “bunched top” or “fan’ appearance. Management: Foliar spray of KCL 1% twice at fortnight interval. Calcium Mottling and chlorosis of older leaves. Spindles often become necrotic at the leaf tip and long margins. Rusty appearance and premature death of older leaves Management: Soil application of 25 Kg/acre of gypsum Magnesium Mottled or chlorotic appearance at the tip and margins. Red necrotic lesions resulting in “rusty” appearance. Internal browning of rind Management: Soil application of MgSO4 10 Kg/acre or foliar spray of MgSO4 2% twice at fortnight interval. Sulphur Chlorotic young leaves. Narrower and shorter leaves with faint purplish tinge. Slender stalks Management: It is advisable to use sulphur containing fertilizers: Ammonium Sulphate - 24% S. Single Super Phosphate - 12% S. Potassium Sulphate - 18% S. Gypsum - 13-18% S . Any one of the above fertilizers at the rate of 4-8 Kg/acre. Copper Green splotches with leaves eventually showing bleaching. Stalk and meristems lack turgidity. Reduced inter-nodal length and tillering. Iron Varying degrees of chlorosis. Interveinal chlorosis from tip to base of leaves. Management: Soil application of 10 Kg/acre of FeSO4 or foliar spray of FeSO4 0.5% on 90, 105 and 120 days after planting. Manganese Occurrence of interveinal chlorosis from leaf tip towards the middle of leaf. Bleaching of leaves under severe deficiency. Boron Distorted leaves. Formation of translucent lesions or water sacks along leaf margins. Brittle and bunched with many tillers. Death of apical meristem. Molybdenum Short longitudinal chlorotic streaks on the top one-third of the leaf. Short and slender stalks. Slow vegetative growth Management: Application of Ammonium Molybedate (54% Mo) and Sodium Molybdate (39% Mo) are common sources of Mo to rectify its deficiency in soils and crops. Zinc Midrib and leaf margin remain green and yellowing of leaf blade. Red lesions on leaves. Reduced tillering and shorter internodes. Thin stalks with loss of turgidity. Management: Soil application of 15 Kg Zinc sulphate/acre before the last ploughing. IPM for Sugarcane To know the IPM practices for Sugarcane, click here. Source: NIPHM and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage