Soil health and nutrient management

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

A reference booklet for canegrowers on the nutrition and fertilizing of sugarcane for different soil types
(2003) Wood, AW; Schroeder, BL; Stewart, RL; Roth, CH
A wide range of different soils are used for sugarcane production in the Herbert River district. An understanding of these differences both at district and farm levels will ensure that nutrient management reflects this diversity and enables profitable and sustainable sugarcane production. The Australian sugar industry has used a generalised, industry-wide set of fertiliser recommendations with no specific guidelines for different regions, climatic conditions or soil types. This booklet is a first attempt to produce specific management guidelines for all of the different soil types used for sugarcane production in a cane area. Twenty four different soil types have been identified in the sugarcane production area of the Herbert and have been mapped at a scale of 1:5000, which is appropriate for soil-specific management recommendations to be delivered at block level. Growers can currently access soil maps of their farms through Herbert Cane productivity Services Ltd. and plans are in place to provide all growers with the capability of printing their own soil maps. In the booklet each soil type is described in terms of its appearance, where it occurs in the landscape, and its chemical and physical properties. Guidelines for the management of nutrients, tillage, drainage and irrigation and the minimisation of environmental risks are provided for each soil type. These guidelines have been developed using research results from a companion SRDC funded project, BSS232 “Improved nutrient management in the Australian Sugar Industry”. The soil booklet produced in this project is likely to be the first of a number of regional soil management publications that are likely to be produced for the Australian Sugar Industry. The booklet is intended for use by cane growers and their advisers, and where possible the information is presented in as non-technical way as possible. This approach is particularly appropriate for the current situation of the sugar industry with continuing low sugar prices, the need to reduce production costs together with mounting environmental pressures which demand demonstration of responsible soil and nutrient management. The guidelines in this booklet are aimed at providing best practice soil and nutrient management for Herbert growers that will not only maintain or improve crop yields and soil fertility but will also provide opportunities for cost reduction whilst enhancing sustainability and delivering better environmental outcomes.
Quantifying and managing sources of sediments and nutrients in low-lying canelands : Project no CLW007 - final report
(2003) Roth, CH; Visser, F; Wasson, R; Reghenzani, J; Prosser, I
Queensland’s north-east coast are used for sugar production. Various studies investigating sediment discharge from catchments where sugar is an important land use have demonstrated that sediment export from cane lands often continues to be higher than from adjacent forested areas or other land uses. The main concern with the export of sediments is the loss of associated nutrients, in particular forms of phosphorus and nitrogen bound to the fine sediment fractions (suspended sediments), and the potential harm these materials might cause in rivers, wetlands and near shore marine ecosystems. Many growers are aware of these issues and have proactively engaged in a variety of activities and practices to reduce the likelihood of such environmental impacts, and the widespread adoption of trash blanket harvesting is testimony to this. However, there is still a lack of understanding on the exact amounts and sources of sediments and nutrients leaving cane lands. More importantly, growers lack information on practical solutions to reducing sediment export and where to target the most appropriate sediment control measures. In response, SRDC funded Project CLW007 with the aim to develop a robust understanding of sediment sources, transport pathways and sinks as the means to better target cane land management towards reducing sediment export. The approach chosen was to develop a sediment budget for representative areas of low-lying cane lands in the Herbert district. This approach has particular advantages for resource management purposes as it ensures that all components in a catchment sediment transport system are examined, so that important sediment sources and transport processes can be identified and management appropriately targeted. The bulk of the study was conducted in a 536 ha large subcatchment of Ripple Creek in the Lower Herbert, comprising 320 ha of low-lying floodplain soils under sugar and 216 ha of forested uplands. A range of monitoring methods were developed and implemented in order to capture the breadth of processes and to employ the most appropriate methods in each individual situation and best suited to each scale of measurement

Soil health and nutrient management

Browse

Filters

Advanced Search

Filter by

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results