Completed projects and reports

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://elibrary2.sugarresearch.com.au/handle/11079/13840

Sugar Research Australia, Sugar Research Development Corporation and BSES reports from completed research projects and papers.

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 14

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.
Increased profitability and water use efficiency through best use of limited water under supplementary irrigation : SRDC Final report CSE001
(SRDC, 2005) Inman-Bamber, NG
The objectives of this project towards increased profitability and water use efficiency was to:
Irrigation risk management strategies to reduce water use and maximize profitability; a paradigm shift in performance to $ per unit of water : Final report CTA038
(SRDC, 2003) Inman-Bamber, NG
The Australian sugar industry is predisposed to maximize the benefits of irrigation because of its geographic and climatic location. However mistakes of older irrigation schemes elsewhere in Australia, need to be avoided. Performance criteria such as $ produced per unit of water used 'which have the long term aim of very closely matching plant water use with water applied, will be the single most important factor ensuring longevity of irrigation areas' (Meyer, 1997). Matching plant water use and irrigation, requires knowledge of climatic demand for water, soil water supply, and crop response to water deficits.
Implementation of irrigation practices for profitable resource efficient sugarcane production in the Ord : Final report CSE007
(SRDC, 2006) Inman-Bamber, NG
Sugarcane is currently the major crop in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) in terms of area, occupying approximately 4000 hectares or a third of the irrigable area. It is also possible that further expansion could occur soon within the Ord Stage 2 area. The new industry is continuing to develop guidelines for and to initiate implementation of best management practice, to ensure the development of a profitable and sustainable industry. This project contributed to the provision of an extension service which is critical in assisting the industry in this development. Irrigation water application in excess of 30 ML ha-1 yr-1 was common commercial practice when sugarcane production commenced in 1995. High irrigation application not only impacted on profitability but also contributed to rising water tables and land degradation. Consequently this project aimed to build capacity in the community to save water and labour and to reduce rising water tables.
SRDC Research Project final report Increased CCS, cane yield and water use efficiency by exploiting interactions between genetics and management
(2009) Inman-Bamber, NG
In October 2003 delegates at an international workshop on sugarcane physiology funded by SRDC concluded that priority should be directed at a better understanding of traits responsible for high yield and high sucrose content, in order to better design future genotypes. While pathways of sucrose accumulation were and are being investigated at the molecular and cellular levels, there was no concurrent work at the crop level. Consequently it is difficult to answer the questions- To what extent will genetic improvements be modified by management and the environment? and conversely, To what extent does management and environment influence the selection of varieties? These and other questions about the genotype x environment (GxE) interaction on sucrose accumulation and lodging were the major concerns of this project with sucrose accumulation as the predominant issue. This project forms part of a large effort now underway worldwide to find alternative methods to develop cultivars with improved sugar content. The main objective was to better understand the interactions between sugarcane genetics and the environment (including management) with respect to sugar accumulation. After four years of intensive work the project has delivered extensive new knowledge on the physiology of interactions between sugarcane genetics and the environment with respect to sugar accumulation and lodging and as such has met the main objective of the research.
Water table monitoring in the Ord River Valley : SRDC Final report WAA001
(SRDC, 2020) Nulsen, RA; Sherrard, JH
Monitoring of groundwater levels has been undertaken in the Ord River Irrigation Area using a network of bores established on farms throughout the Stage I area. These bores, many of which were installed as part of this project, complement a network previously established off farm. They have been monitored on a regular basis and changes in levels have been examined in relation to a range of factors including irrigation and crop management practices, rainfall and irrigation infrastructure management, to allow causal relationships to be established and hence potential management strategies to be developed. Monitoring has been assisted through the equipping of many bores with water depth probes and loggers to automatically record changes in levels over extended periods of time.
Efficient use of water resources in sugar production: a physiological basis for crop response to water supply
(1999) Inman-Bamber, NG; Robertson, MJ; Muchow, RC; Wood, AW
Although sugar is produced in the some of the most humid regions of Australia, water remains a major limitation to production. Experience in other rainfed and irrigated production systems in Australia has shown that use of both surface and ground water resources can easily have long term impacts on future productivity of the system. There is no reason why the sugar industry should be exempt from the consequences of ignorance or mismanagement in regard to the hydrological cycle. At the outset of this project, it was clear that efficient use of water (both rainfall and irrigation) was central to profitable and sustainable sugarcane production. Maximum profitability in fully-irrigated systems required the application of water to match crop water requirements for cane and sucrose production, as moderated by climate and management inputs. Under supplementary-irrigation, the timing of water application in relation to growth stage and climatic conditions was thought to be critical for maximising the economic benefit from a limited water resource. In rainfed systems, profitability could be maximised, by matching management inputs to the production potential and production risk as determined by rainfall variability in different climates. During the life of this project, there has been increased public awareness of water as a production factor and more importantly as a national resource and major component of a fragile environment. The National Agenda for Water Reform has moved in the direction of full recovery of water supply cost, separate water and property rights, specific water allocation to the environment and increased water use efficiency in agriculture. A new initiative on water use efficiency has been launched by DNR who have asked the sugar industry to make 60,000 MI available for irrigation from existing water resources. The products ofCTA016 are therefore highly pertinent for the current focus on water use in the Australian sugar industry. Radiation and temperature as key sugarcane production factors were the subject of SDRC Projects CTA004 and CTA012. These projects have led to a better understanding of the processes of yield and CCS accumulation under conditions of high water and nutrient inputs. Limits to yield in terms of these climatic factors have been identified. Crop growth mechanisms driven by radiation and temperature have been established and captured in mathematical expressions which were necessary for the development of the Sugarcane module now in use within the APSIM modelling environment. In CTA016, the strategic research approach of the earlier projects was extended to water as production factor. Water has of course been extensively researched in the sugar industry largely from the perspective of irrigation requirements. CTA016 was designed to build on past research by going into more detail in order to improve our knowledge of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum of water. Knowledge of the mechanisms identified as important have been formalised mathematically and incorporated into the APSIM-Sugarcane modelling environment. This project has thus augmented the output from the earlier projects by adding the water balance and crop response to water stress to modelling capability. This capability was then used extensively in developing practical guidelines for saving water during drying off and during early stages of development. This modelling capability was also tested and used in a later more applied project (CTAOI8) to facilitate more efficient use of limited water supplies under supplementary irrigation.
Evaluating alternative irrigation for a greener future
(2011) Hesp, C
The potential agronomic and environmental benefits of green cane harvesting and trash blanketing, the ongoing issues of nutrients and pesticides threatening the Great Barrier Reef, the rising ground water levels in the area, and water use efficiency issues, prompted the progressive MAFIA grower group to conceptualise a project to trial alternative irrigation systems and compare them with the conventional furrow irrigation system. A lateral move irrigation system was established on the Hesp property, in the Mulgrave farming area in the Burdekin, to irrigate sugarcane throughout a full 4 year crop cycle. This system was compared to conventional furrow and, on a nearby property, a drip irrigation system. The sites were extensively instrumented to measure parameters that would enable the water and nutrient balance to be monitored on the furrow and lateral move irrigated fields. Importantly, an intensive economic analysis was conducted to provide a guide to the economic evaluation of the three systems. Overall the results of the trial indicated that it was indeed possible to grow large sugarcane crops under the lateral move and drip irrigation systems, and that these crops could be subsequently harvested green. It was shown that the lateral move and drip systems also provided opportunity for improved water use efficiency over the furrow irrigation system and that the subsequent flow on benefits from this was reduced loss of nutrients via deep drainage and irrigation runoff. The economic evaluation, using actual inputs costs from the trial sites, show that the furrow and lateral move had similar operating costs which were significantly less than the drip system. However, it should be pointed out that this economic study looked at the adoption of a new irrigation system versus an existing furrow irrigation system. If the analysis was to examine a greenfield investment comparison, then the economic results could significantly change because of the extra capital investment required to establish a furrow irrigation system. In this analysis, environmental benefits resulting from improved water, nutrient and pesticide use are not accounted for in dollar terms, but if included would recognise the value of more efficient farming systems. While every effort was made to provide reliable information from this study, constraints associated with conducting the trial, within an existing “whole of farm” operation, meant that it should be considered more as a pilot study rather than a rigorous scientific trial. For this reason care should be taken in extrapolating the data from this study to other properties or areas where different circumstances and constraints could alter the perspective significantly.
National Program for Sustainable Irrigation
(2010)
The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation was a unique collaboration as it involved governments, irrigators, water providers and researchers from across Australia. It covered every aspect of irrigation from dam management and water delivery, through on-farm management, to sustainable landscape environmental measures. The program has contributed to; • major increases in the efficiency and productivity of irrigation water, • significant reductions in salinity to the Murray Darling Rivers, • greater knowledge and technical capacity of irrigators and irrigation professionals. NPSI partners invested $5.2 million between 2006 - 2012, which led to an additional $6.5 million of co-investments in projects. Benefit cost ratios from investments in irrigation research consistently have been high, between 7 and 14 to one. Equally important have been environmental benefits and human capacity building. In total, 42% of funds were invested in projects that have increased knowledge, 37% that increased efficiency and 21% of invested funds have delivered a demonstrable industry economic impact. Tangible benefits to irrigators have resulted due to improved knowledge of water use efficiency benchmarks and tools, the ability to quantify water losses and better management strategies being put into practice. NPSI has been active in building improved skills, knowledge and decision making of end users via workshops, training events and publications. NPSI played a collaborative role in feeding information from research through to extension networks and sales/technical representatives, then on to the farm. The flagship publication “Irrigation Essentials” provides a snapshot of the latest NPSI research and development that is improving technology, enabling the sharing of knowledge and practice change across all agricultural commodities and horticultural industries. It provides case studies that demonstrate how research and good ideas may be adopted and provides sources of additional information on key topics. Sixty individual case studies have been published. The economic pay off from NPSI II was estimated to deliver at least $13.7m (present value terms) to the Australian economy. Against a total NPSI II investment of $9.1m (present value terms) this represents a positive pay off on funds invested. The net present value was estimated at $4.6m which represents a return of $1.50 on every dollar invested in NPSI II. If benefits are only compared against the cost of projects that have delivered an economic benefit (21% of total costs) the return would be $7.20 for every dollar invested across those projects. The program commissioned an external evaluation of its operations in 2011
An assessment of surge-irrigation in the Burdekin : Final report CSR35
(1992) Matthieson, L
Furrow irrigation is the natural choice for sugarcane. It is relatively cheap to operate and generally not capital intensive, However in operation furrow irrigation has distinct limitations. It is generally inefficient in its use of water with 50% utilisation being a typical figure (Stewart 1988). With pumping costs being greater than $2 per tonne cane and QWRC water charges be i ng $32 per mega 1 i tre for farms on channe 1 supp 1 y, there is a need to increase efficiency in order to save moneY,conserve water resources and guard against rising water-tables and salinity. With furrow irrigation the furrow is both the source and the sink of irrigation water. The advance of the water down a dry furrow is typically much slower than the recession of water in a wet furrow except for short or flat furrows which are blocked. Inevitably the upper reaches of the furrow receive more water than lower down . To ensure adequate watering of the lower reaches irrigation water is often allowed to run off to waste for some considerable time. Surge irrigation is the application of irrigation water in pulses rater than continuously . If the off-phase is sufficiently long for the surface soil to dewater, it has been found (see Walker and Skogerboe, 1987) that when irrigation water is reapplied it rapidly advances over the previously wetted section such that less water is required to complete the advance phase of the irrigation. A more rapid advance gives a more uniform distribution of water. Because the irrigation on-time is only a portion of clock time (typically half) it allows better control of run off because irrigators have more time to interact with it.

Completed projects and reports

Browse

Filters

Advanced Search

Filter by

Settings

Sort By

Results per page

Search Results