Effect of sugarcane filter cake-based organomineral fertilizers on sweet maize growth

One of the primary wastes of the sugar industry that has the potential to be converted into fertilizer is filter cake. Organomineral fertilizer  is proposed as a promising approach. Therefore, this research evaluated the efficiency of various filter cake-based organomineral formulations for sweet maize growth under different fertilization rates. The treatments comprised of seven formulations of filter cake-based fertilizers (filter cake (F), biochar (B), organomineral filter cake, organomineral biochar (OB), organomineral filter cake + humic acid, organomineral biochar + humic acid, and conventional mineral fertilizer (M)) and four rates (40, 80, 120, and 160 kg N ha−1) based on the nitrogen (N) contents of each fertilizer. Furthermore, fertilizers applied to maize, and growth performance, nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and soil quality were assessed. Maize fertilization using F, B, and OB at different rates resulted in the highest vegetative growth performance, NUE, and residual soil status. F fertilizer produced the optimal plant height, leaf area, and stem diameter for maize. The application of OB fertilizer was most efficient in N uptake, potassium uptake, and potassium recovery, demonstrating values of 42.56%, 91.8%, and 115.4%, respectively. B fertilizer provided a better residual of P (93.4%) than M and a higher organic matter content (224.7%) than the negative control. As per our findings, OB is the best treatment for increasing growth performance, NUE, and soil quality with an optimal dose of 0.96 t ha−1. Fertilization using OB has significantly improved sweet maize agronomic traits and soil quality