Completed projects and reports

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

More crop per drop: development of water-efficient and drought tolerant sugarcane cultivars for irrigated and dryland farming
(2014) Basnayake, J; Lakshmanan. P
Water limitation is a major production constraint for sugarcane in Australia. Despite its economic importance, there has been little effort in breeding for water stress (drought) tolerance and water use efficiency (WUE) in sugarcane. This was mainly due to the lack of easy-to-use selection trait for WUE and drought tolerance in sugarcane. This project, building on the findings of its predecessor BSS305, aims i) to understand the genetic association between water use efficiency traits and cane yield, ii) to establish trait modelling capacity for developing varieties with improved yield, WUE and drought tolerance, iii) to identify clones that perform well under different water availability conditions for further trait-yield relationship studies and iv) to develop a selection system for breeding more productive and broadly-adapted varieties.
Efficient use of water resources in sugar production; optimising the use of limited water under supplementary irrigation
(2000) Inman-Bamber, NG; Robertson, MJ; Muchow, RC; Wood, AW; Wegener, MK; Spillman, MF
About 60% of sugar produced in Australia depends on irrigation. In some regions, production would be impossible without irrigation; in others, irrigation is used to supplement rainfall. It can improve production and reduce risks in the more variable rainfall environments. The whole subject of supplementary irrigation has taken on a new focus in recent years as termsof- trade for cane growers continue to deteriorate, and as pressure mounts for more efficient management of a scarce national resource. Best practice with limited water, however, depends on complex biophysical and economic factors as well as sensitive off-site impacts. From a biophysical point of view, questions arise as to the probability of achieving the desired irrigation responses in the various regions and seasons, and the extent to which this is affected by crop water requirements at various stages and by variety and soil type. From a management point of view, the questions concern source of the water, the amounts available, and the best crop type and block on which to apply it. Finally, from an economic point of view, the questions concern the interactions between the above factors and the size of the investment required, the likely price of cane, and the probability of achieving sustained profitability from the investment during its lifetime. The aim of this project, therefore, was to address this complexity by developing and applying a generic methodology for assessing the payoffs of supplementary irrigation, taking account of the above factors.
Climate change and the Australian Sugarcane Industry : impacts, adaptation and R&D opportunities
(2008) Park, S; Creighton, C; Howden, M
Australia is facing continuing climate change (IPCC 2007). The Agriculture and Food Policy Reference Group (2006) considers that without adequate preparation, climate change could have serious implications for sustainable agriculture and rural communities in Australia. This SRDC funded scoping study has been undertaken to provide a preliminary analysis of the impacts of climate change on the east coast sugar producing regions of Australia, and to identify the knowledge needs and the adaptation options available to the sugarcane industry to address climate change. The study was conducted in a consultative manner with sugarcane industry stakeholders representing all sectors of the industry attending workshops held in Maryborough and Brisbane during the period January to March 2007.
A national climate change research strategy for primary industries
(Land and Water Australia, 2008)
Australia’s primary industries are projected to be significantly affected by climate change. The changes in climate over the next few decades will be substantial, but the effects will vary across the country. Some regions will experience average warming of up to 1.8ºC by 2030; in other areas average rainfall will decrease as much as 40 per cent by 2070 (compared to 1990). These impacts must be understood to minimise risk and maximise opportunities.
More crop per drop : SRDC final report BSS305
(2011) Basnayake, J; Jackson, P; Inman-Bamber, G; Lakshmanan, P
Water stress is the major constraint to productivity in the Australian sugar industry, with an estimated cost of $260 million/annum (CSE014 Milestone Report 3.5). In 2003 and 2004, the losses exceeded $140 million in Mackay alone. This impact may increase with climate change. About 40% of the Australian sugarcane production is rain-fed with or without supplementary irrigation. With the erratic rainfall and the increasing cost and restrictions on water use, efficient use of available water is an increasingly important priority in irrigated production systems as well.Varieties that adapt well to drought and use water efficiently are becoming increasingly important for sustainable sugarcane production. Australian sugarcane breeding programs, however, do not explicitly address selection for response to dry conditions. To effectively address this issue there is a need to understand the main physiological mechanisms underlying genetic variation in response to different types of water stress environments in sugarcane. Hence, this project was initiated to determine the potential of Australian sugarcane germplasm for developing water use-efficient and drought tolerant commercial cultivars.In this project the phenotypic and genetic variations of traits that confer or linked to drought tolerance and water use efficiency (WUE) and their contribution towards productivity were studied in a genetically diverse sugarcane population. Field experiments were conducted for 3 years under rainfed, fully irrigated and managed drought conditions at three locations in the Northern Queensland. The experiment sites were in Home Hill in the Burdekin shire, Crystal Creek in the Herbert Shire and Dalbeg in the upper Burdekin. All trials were conducted in commercial sugarcane farms and followed the best crop management practices. A genetically diverse population (131 genotypes) comprising S. officinarum crosses with wild relatives, commercial cultivars including foreign clones, advanced lines in the selection program and some parental clones in the BSES breeding program was used as test clones. Clone performance was evaluated under rainfed, irrigated and managed drought conditions adopting most appropriate statistical field designs for the respective sites. The agronomic and cane yield characteristics, fibre, sugar and sugar quality characteristics and physiological traits related to drought tolerance were collected during the crop growth period and at harvest. Appropriate statistical methodologies were used to analyse and interpret the results at the end of the project.

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