Identifying the Optimal Sugarcane Residue Percentage for Soil Enhancement: A Statistical and GIS Approach

Crop residue burning is a global issue due to its high greenhouse gas emissions, specifically CH₄ and N₂O, which contribute to climate change. Moreover, waste management and soil fertility pose significant challenges on a global scale. Therefore, this study aimed to apply sugarcane crop residue in varying percentages without any external amendments, with the goal of determining the most useful volume of crop residue. This approach is expected to contribute to waste management, enhance soil fertility, and mitigate climate change. The applied amount of crop residue at plot 1 was 312.5 kg, which makes 25% of total waste; plot 2 received 625 kg of crop residue (50%); plot 3 with 937.5 kg contributed 75% of waste; and plot 4 with 1250 kg received 100% of waste. With the exception of electrical conductivity, where no significant change was detected, the ANOVA test verified statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) for all tested parameters, indicating an enhancement in organic carbon was linked to enhancement in potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and nitrogen (N). A similar result was supported by correlation analysis. A Geographic Information System technique (inverse distance weighting) represented an increasing trend from 25% to 75% and a decrease in 100% of residues. Organic carbon increased from 1% to 3.4%, consequently increasing N, P, and K. The findings also revealed that applying 75% crop residues at 15 cm after 18 months was the most effective percentage when evaluating decomposition rate versus time and soil changes. These findings indicate that the application of sugarcane crop residues to the field can enhance soil productivity to ensure food security, mitigate climate change by avoiding burning them, and manage agricultural waste. This method provides the aforementioned triangle benefits to the circular economy concept for managing agricultural waste globally.