Browsing by Author "Stringer, J"

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Improving yield and cane quality through implementation of harvesting best practice - 2019 Herbert demonstration : ASSCT peer-reviewed paper
(ASSCT, 2021) Patane, P; Nothard, B; Norris, CA; Douglas, A; Pfumayaramba, T; Stringer, J; Olayemi, M
In 2019, the Australian sugarcane industry conducted a month-long demonstration with 12 trials to determine the commercial viability of harvesting best practice. Initiated by a small group of innovative growers and contractors from the Herbert region, the concept of a commercial demonstration sought to determine both agronomic and economic impacts of adopting HBP, including the assessment of possible yield gains without having a detrimental impact on extraneous matter, and economic implication for growers and harvesting contractors arising from revenue and harvesting cost changes. Two Herbert harvesting contractors participated in the demonstration comparing their standard harvesting practices to Sugar Research Australia Harvesting Best Practice (HBP or recommended practice). The results identified an average 4.8 t/ha increase in yield with no additional increase in extraneous matter for the recommended setting. A comprehensive economic analysis was conducted on each of the trials. Detailed harvesting costs and operational information, including machinery, labour, and fuel data, were collected from the respective harvesting operations. Harvesting costs and levies were $37/ha ($0.07/t) higher for the recommended setting due to higher yields, reduced harvester ground speeds and lower extractor fan speeds. Despite the higher harvesting costs, recommended settings obtained significantly higher total revenue ($151/ha, +4.7%). This resulted in an overall net benefit of $114/ha in the adoption of recommended settings (based on a 4.4% higher net revenue calculated as total grower revenue minus harvesting costs and levies). The Herbert demonstrations have proven instrumental in the acceptance of harvesting best practice for the region. The results again confirm that adapting and aligning commercial-scale harvesting practices to crop and paddock conditions have positive impacts on both yield and economic outcomes.
Maximising genetic gain from family and within family selection : final report 011/343
(Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2016) Parfitt, R; Wei, X; Stringer, J
The aim of this project is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of selection in progeny assessment trials (PATs). These improvements will result in increased rates of genetic gain and the release of more productive varieties for the Australian sugarcane industry.
Maximising whole-of-industry benefits from the Australian sugarcane improvement program through an optimal genetic evaluation system
(2007) Wei, X; Stringer, J; Jackson, P; Cox, MC
An optimal genetic evaluation system (GES) is the backbone of any breeding program because maximising genetic gains is primarily a matter of efficient selection. A GES provides information to breeders about which individuals should be selected as parents for crossing and which ones should be selected for commercial production.At the commencement of this project, selection of both parents and clones for commercial production was principally based on the index knows as net merit grade (NMG). NMG is based on the performance of a test clone (or a cross) relative to the average of a number of commercial varieties (or corsses) for the traits of commercial cane sugar (CCS), tonnes of cane per hectare (TCH), appearance grade and fibre content. NMG was used to generate a breeding code for selecting parental clones for crossing. Cross ratio, a measure of each cross's performance relative to the whole population at each selection stage, was used to determine priority of crosses. For selecting elite clones to be retained for further testing, NMG was used in all three selection stages to determine which clones would be advanced to next stage.
Optimising productivity and variety recommendations through analysis of mill data : final report 2014/054
(Sugar Research Australia Limited, 2016) Stringer, J
Production peaked in the Herbert River mills in 2005 at 5.5 Mt, and in 2015 was 4.5 Mt. Cane and sugar yields during this period have also been below average, particularly in 2011, and significant areas went from growing cane to other uses. Although some of this regional variation can be explained by extreme weather events or disease incursions, it is important to identify those causes that can be controlled in order to increase production/ profitability for industry. Huge amounts of data are captured annually by Wilmar and HCPSL (Herbert Cane Productivity Services Limited) and this significant investment is under-utilised in decision making. Productivity within a mill region is highly variable and depends on many factors. Development of innovative tools to analyse and summarise mill data by region could be used to identify production units performing below potential and the factors associated with this.