Browsing by Author "Moody, P"

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A review of nitrogen use efficiency in sugarcane
(2015) Bell, MJ; Biggs, J; McKellar, LB; Connellan, J; Di Bella, L; Dwyer, R; Empson, M; Garside, AJ; Harvey, T; Kraak, J; Lakshmanan, P; Lamb, DW; Meier, E; Moody, P; Muster, T; Palmer, J; Robinson, N; Robson, A; Salter, B; Schroeder, B; Silburn, M; Schmidt, S; Skocaj, DM; Stacey, S; Stanley, J; Thorburn, P; Verburg, K; Walker, C; Wang, W; Wood, A
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem, providing both substantial economic benefit to Australia and significant international ecological value. The health of the GBR is under pressure from sediments, pesticides and nutrients (especially nitrogen) discharged from nearby catchments. Discharge of nitrogen is of particular concern as it stimulates outbreaks of the Crown of Thorns Starfish, a major predator of GBR corals. Recent research has shown that the amount of nitrogen fertiliser applied in excess of crop uptake is an important determinant of nitrogen discharge from catchments, so increasing the efficiency of nitrogen use in cropping systems is an important step in protecting the economic and ecological benefits provided by the GBR. Importantly, an increase in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) also offers opportunities to improve productivity and profitability of agricultural industries, with such benefits a major incentive for industry adoption and practice change. The Australian sugarcane industry is a significant contributor to the anthropogenic loads of nitrogen entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, with recent estimates in the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (2013) suggesting it contributes 18% and 56% of particulate and inorganic nitrogen loads, respectively. A focus on improving NUE in the Australian sugar industry to reduce these loads wherever possible is a logical outcome from these statistics. While the relative impact of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and particulate nitrogen (PN) is still uncertain, recent NUE forums in the sugar industry in 2014 identified clear target reductions in DIN that would be needed in order to significantly improve water quality in line with Reef Plan (2013-18) targets. The forum also identified a clear need for a joint industry-government funded research program to improve NUE in sugarcane cropping systems. The review conducted for this report was commissioned and funded by the Australian Government Reef Programme to provide a foundation for this joint NUE research program. The review was tasked with providing an improved understanding of past and current research effort and available field trial information (both published and unpublished) relating to nitrogen management in the sugar industry. From this perspective the review was then tasked with identifying research gaps and opportunities for future research projects and field trials that would collectively contribute to improving NUE from both agronomic and production perspectives as well as delivering significant reductions in nitrogen lost to waterways and the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. It is widely recognized that in any crop, the demand for N is determined by the size of the crop and the fundamental efficiency with which that crop produces a unit of biomass or harvested product from a kg of acquired N (N use efficiency - NUE). Therefore a good understanding of yield potential at the spatial scale of the productivity unit (i.e., farm, several blocks of similar productivity, individual blocks or within-block) about which N fertilizer management decisions (rate, form, placement, timing) are made is required, along with an understanding of how that yield potential varies with seasonal conditions. Collectively, this could be called seasonal 'block' (or productivity zone) yield potential, and it will produce a crop N demand that may vary from year to year. The sugar industry is currently operating at the district level (generally comprising several thousand cropped hectares across variable soil types and landscapes), and basing N demand for all growers in the district on the best farm yield ever achieved over a 20 year time frame. It is apparent that overall NUE could be improved by basing N fertiliser inputs on the seasonal yield potential of the productivity unit.
Final report - SRDC project BSS268 - Accelerating the adoption of best-practice nutrient management in the Australian sugar industry
(2010) Schroeder, BL; Moody, P; Wood, A
This project BSS268 developed further the SIX EASY STEPS program, including additional compentents to its integrated package. It aimed to accelerate the adoption of sustainable nutrient management by: 1: Improving knowledge of the constraints to the adoption of best-practice nutrient management using grower surveys. -- 2: Developing a Soil constraints and management package (SCAMP) for improving on-farm management decision making. -- 3: Facilitating the use of nutrient management plans at block and farm scales and the implementation of soil/site specific fertiliser applications using a participative approach -- 4: Assessing the risk of on- and off-site impacts of land management paractices using vulnerability maps at catchment scales -- 5: Demonstrating the benefits of best nutrient management practices with on-farm strip trials. -- 6: Reviewing the N-use efficiency factors associated with relevant trials. 6: Reviewing the N-use efficiency factors associated with relevant trials. -- 7: Developing a computer based decision support system for the SIX EASY STEPS nutrient management package.
Soil-specific nutrient management guidelines for sugarcane production in the Bundaberg District
(BSES, 2007) Schroeder, B; Panitz, J; Wood, A; Moody, P; Salter, B
In 2003 and 2006 soil reference booklets for the Herbert and Proserpine districts respectively, entitled Soil Specific Management Guidelines for Sugarcane Production were produced for cane growers. Those booklets described the basic principles of soil management and presented nutrient guidelines for a range of soils. We are now in the position to present a similar booklet aimed at soil-specific nutrient management in the Bundaberg district. This is based on a methodology developed within an SRDC-funded project (Improved nutrient management in the Australian sugar industry) and research conducted in the area as part of an Envirofund project (Improved adoption of best-practice nutrient management: Bundaberg Sugar Industry).