Completed projects and reports
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Sugar Research Australia, Sugar Research Development Corporation and BSES reports from completed research projects and papers.
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Item Boosting productivity in Maryborough by assisting cane growers to understand their soils : final report MSF007(2014) Dougall, A; Estbergs, A; Sugars, MThis project was based around producing a soil map of the Bauple area which is south of Maryborough. The soil map will be a valuable tool for improving productivity in the area because it can facilitate better farm management, for example variety selection by soil type and more specific management of different soils. We used this mapping project as an extension tool to teach growers about their soils and how to better manage them, this resulted in four main extension activities:Item A literature review of harvesting operations and their implication on soil compaction and yield in sugar cane : Final report PR02012(BSES, 2002) Blatch, TA significant effort has been applied to the investigation of soil compaction in the sugar cane industry. Most recently research performed by Dr Mike Braunack at Tully in the wet tropics of Queensland, Australia, has attempted to quantify the relationships that exist between harvesting of sugar cane, soil compaction and yield. Harvesting has the greatest impact on soil physical properties as the cane harvester and haul-out machines, the heaviest machinery used in the production of sugar cane, traffic the interspace at least two times for each implement and are required to harvest at soil moisture contents that range from field capacity to wilting point to ensure continuity of supply to their respective sugar cane mill.Item Sugar farming systems development and demonstration on the wet tropical coast : Final report DPI014(SRDC, 2002) Sing, NC; Sparkes, DR; Charleston, CThe QDPI Sugar Solutions Project was an extension project focussing on group activities and on-farm demonstrations. Objectives of the project included the development and testing of alternative farming practices to improve the viability of cane production on the Wet Tropical coast from Ingham to Mossman. The alternative farming practices included the use of legume fallows and minimum tillage.Item Evaluating alternative irrigation for a greener future(2011) Hesp, CThe 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.Item SRDC Grower Group innovation project final report Developing a sediment trapping system in the Silkwood drainage board area (SDBA)(2008) Brooks, IThe Silkwood Drainage Board Area (SDBA) encompasses a catchment area of approximately 1200 hectares using a system of drains which are both man made and redesigned natural streams. There are roughly 16 kilometres of drainage system. In the North Queensland Wet Tropics it is essential to have an efficient and effective drainage system to allow sugar cane or any other crop to be free of water logging and excessive flooding. The SDBA is an ideal demonstration area because most of the farm runoff is contained within the drainage scheme. This allows for the collecting of data to evaluate the effectiveness of different drainage models. By incorporating a system of sediment trapping into the farm layout, off farm sediment losses can be reduced. Soil erosion by water has been identified as a research priority especially for the farms within the Great Barrier Reef Catchment Area. Environmental factors such as slope, rainfall intensity, soil structure and soil cover are interacting factors producing sediment runoff. Farmers can manage soil structure and soil cover in ratoon cane through green cane thrash blanket and minimum tillage systems but currently the plant cane farming systems still entails the intense cultivation of ground. There are combinations of factors restricting change on the ground to a total minimum tillage planting system. Factors such as; the high cost to change equipment, the necessity to carry out earth works on particular paddocks such as levelling and drainage works and the changing over of row widths and wheel centre spacings to the new dual row system. These all require complete cultivation of the paddock. Other environmental factors such as slope and rainfall also have an effect on sediment runoff. Therefore farm management needs to consider how it can offset the effects from these factors. Sediment trapping systems should be considered as an effective solution in a farm management program to mitigate the effects of paddock cultivation, high rainfall and slope erosion.Item Identifying management zones within cane paddocks: an essential foundation for precision sugarcane agriculture : SRDC Final report BPS001(2011) Coventry, RJ; Hughes, JRVariability in plant growth across spatial zones within sugarcane crops arises from the complex interactions of soil nutritional status, soil physical properties (especially soil texture), surface and subsurface drainage, seasonal conditions, soil health, pests and diseases, cane variety adaptability to soil type, and paddock management practices. BPS001 research has shown that no single GIS spatial layer is sufficient to identify and manage the variability inherent in sugarcane production systems. However, by comparing patterns within three key GIS layers, we have found a way to simplify the complexity among the factors controlling crop yields, and have found answers to the two basic questions driving the research: • How do satellite imagery and EM map patterns relate to variations in space and time in soils, soil properties, and sugarcane yield? • Are there general relationships between image analysis, EM signals, yield, and soil properties that are widely applicable within and between regions?Item Canegrowing and sustainability - a survey of Australian cane growers with particular reference to the Code of Practice for Sustainable Cane Growing in Queensland : final report BSS238(2000) O'Grady, C; Christiansen, IThe sustainable management of soil and water resources is crucial both for the productivity of sugarcane growing and for the protection of the environment. Canegrowers recognise the importance of maintaining the condition of the natural resource base for farm viability. Community concern over recent years has focused attention on the potential impacts of agricultural practices on the off-farm environment, particularly aquatic and marine ecosystems and regional biodiversity.The Australian sugar industry has responded to these concerns by taking a proactive approach to environmental management. The Code of Practice for Sustainable Cane Growing in Queensland (CANEGROWERS, 1998) and the New South Wales (NSW) sugar industry?s Best Practice Guidelines for Acid Sulfate Soils are examples of the industry?s initiatives towards environmental management and self-regulation.A survey of all cane farmers in Queensland and NSW was carried out in April 2000. The survey had several aims. Firstly, to benchmark awareness and opinions of the Queensland Code of Practice and the NSW Best Practice Guidelines. It also benchmarked current farming practices in relation to industry-accepted best practice, an indication of the level of adoption of the Code. Growers? perceptions of environmental issues in cane farming areas were also sought. Additionally, the survey served as a prompter to cane farmers about the Code and Guidelines.