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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The transfer of high CCS traits from wild relatives to sugarcane using biochemical markers
(2003) Grof, C; Manners, J
Over the last 40 years of sugarcane breeding in Australia there have been significant improvements in cane yield but little to no improvement in commercial cane sugar (CCS). It has been hypothesised that this lack of gain is due to the narrow genetic base of current breeding programs and has provided the impetus to examine new sources of germplasm that may provide desirable traits. Broadening the genetic base through the introgression of new Saccharum germplasm could allow the incorporation of 'new' genes for CCS into commercial sugarcane and result in increased CCS. However carefully targeted approaches are required to identify favourable genetic components of value from available new germplasm for introgression.
Environmental stimuli for sugarcane suckering in the wet tropics : SRDC final report BSS221
(2003) Berding, N; Hurney, AP; Bonnett, GD; Joseph, F
The northern section of the industry has been in crisis for most of the years in the decade up to 2002 because of declining CCS. This decline has been due to increased extraneous matter levels due largely to increased sucker culm content of the crop. These have developed because of marked wet episodes during the harvest period in the majority of years in this period. This resulted in open canopy situations, because of sprawling and lodging, increased light penetration, and initiation and development of sucker culm populations.A hypothesis was proposed that excessive mature-crop moisture, combined with continued excessive nitrogen use, particularly early in the decade were initiating variables for the problem. Observations suggested that light, via an open canopy situation, also was a driver.The project tackled the problem with a preliminary series of experiments that allowed optimisation of management and data collection techniques for use in a main experiment proposed. The main experiment sought to establish the importance of levels of three environmental variables, light, nitrogen and moisture, on sucker initiation, and their interaction with each other and with two cultivars of known suckering propensity under commercial conditions.The preliminary experiments allowed us to make the following recommendations for the design and methods for the main experiment:1. The late nitrogen application of 70 kg N will be in late April early May if the weather is suitable and as soon as possible thereafter if the weather is too wet to allow the application at the desired time.2. That spectroradiometry measurements will be made in the core plots at a height of 10 cm and 1 m to determine the effect of plant spacing on the spectral composition received. Photosynthetically active radiation measurements will also be made.3. A similar soil sampling and nitrate measurement regime will be made in the main experiment as that in the preliminary experiment with the exception that more frequent smaller diameter cores will be taken to speed up sampling.4. Sucker counting and other trial management will continue as originally proposed.5. Applications of late N will be made in separate experiments on different cultivars and if possible to soils with low basal nitrate levels.
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.
Evaluating the potential for improved sugar yields by assessing the climatic and soil constraints to production in southern cane-growing districts
(1999) Muchow, RC; Hughes, RM; Horan, HL
This project conducted strategic research to better understand the processes of yield accumulation in low temperature NSW environments and to identify limits to yield. The fundamental knowledge gained in this project can be used to assess yield limitations and the scope for yield improvement. In addition, the findings are a pre-requisite to the design of management and genetic improvement strategies to boost production in southern sugarcane growing environments. An additional spin-off of this project is a better functional basis of the processes of yield accumulation encapsulated in the APSIM Sugarcane systems model to allow extrapolation of the findings more broadly across the sugar industry. An analysis framework was used to express sucrose yield in terms of biomass accumulation and the proportion on biomass present as sucrose. Crop biomass was analysed in terms of radiation capture and utilisation. Partitioning was examined in terms of the proportion of crop biomass present as stalk and the stalk sucrose concentration on a dry matter basis. Crops growing under "potential yield" conditions were analysed and compared to those growing under "commercial yield conditions".
Pathways to exploiting enhanced photosynthetic efficiency for higher sucrose and biomass yield
(2011) Inman-Bamber, NG
Australia has one of the highest commercial cane sugar (CCS) levels in the world but unfortunately CCS appears to have plateaud at about 14% of fresh cane weight over the past 20 years. Up to now in breeding programs, increased fibre has been considered to have negative economic impacts because of adverse effects on sugar extraction and milling rate. It is possible that high fibre genotypes can produce higher biomass yields than high sucrose types because high sucrose content in the stalk may feedback negatively on photosynthesis either through end-product suppression or through sugar signalling compounds. This is now an assumption which is gaining acceptance through recent publications. Prior to this project this assumption had not been tested using high fibre and high sucrose clones. Feedback inhibition is also suspected to be the cause of the ‘reduced growth phenomenon’, a term applied to lower than expected biomass accumulation after a certain stage in crop development. This project aimed to establish the role of cane stalk sucrose in feedback inhibition of photosynthesis in order to reveal existing limitations to increasing sucrose content and biomass yield.
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.
Knowledge of sugarcane physiology and climate-crop-soil interactions : SRDC final report
(2003) Inman-Bamber, NG
Compared to other crops, knowledge of growth mechanisms in sugarcane is inadequate. The question arises as to how much longer can we continue to prosper from sugarcane if knowledge of the growth processes on which our industry depends, remains outdated? Sucrose accumulation and efficient use of resources are primary concerns for this industry. To date we have only limited understanding of climate and management links to sucrose content or CCS and this undermines our ability to manage water, nutrients, varieties and the harvest schedule for maximum CCS and optimum cane yield. Cane and sucrose yields are often below potential for reasons about which we can only speculate (Leslie and Byth, 2000). In the past, research funds have been directed at opportunities for raising limitations to yield and efficiency of resource use at the gene and enzyme level as well as at the crop and paddock level. There has been no attempt to integrate research or information across these disciplines or to assess where progress toward sustainable production is most likely to be achieved. SRDC recognized that it was now time for each discipline interested in the same processes to get together to find out how their different approaches could be complementary. SRDC also recognised the need to review past data relating to crop growth in the later stages of crop development to see if something could be done about under performing crops during this stage.
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.
Building strategic research capacity for the sugar industry aimed at overcoming physiological, biochemical and environmental constraints to cane growth, breeding and sucrose yield
(1999) Grof, C; Campbell, J
Using the CSIRO Controlled Environment Facility, the discrete effects on the rate and extent of sucrose accumulation in sugarcane of four significant environmental parameters (daily light integral, radiation levels, temperature and humidity) have been investigated. These experiments have attempted to address some existing industry problems and have provided some basic understanding of sugarcane physiology, a platform from which to launch a more detailed investigation of the metabolic processes that control the rate and final level of sucrose accumUlation.
The role of root growth and activity in determining sugarcane productivity : SRDC final report CLW002 (previously CSS02 & CSS2S)
(1999) Magarey, R; Nable, R; Reghenzani, J; Smith, J; Berthelsen, S; Grace, D; Robertson, M
Research conducted in this project aimed to better understand the relationship between root and shoot growth, in areas such as how the size of the root system affects shoot growth, do particular root parameters have a controlling influence on shoot growth, how do soil characteristics affect root penetration rates, and how the root system develops through the life of a sugarcane crop. This was achieved through the application of a wide range of experimental techniques in both the glasshouse and field situation. The study of root systems in sugarcane is difficult - due to the size of the crop and the length of the cropping period. As a result there have been few previous studies on sugarcane root systems in Australia, and indeed around the world. A number of techniques were either developed, or adapted, in this project research. A soilless aeroponic culture technique was installed and refined at Tully Sugar Experiment Station. This allowed sugarcane roots to be examined on a daily basis and root measurements made, or root pruning to occur. This overcame the difficulty of dealing with the bulky, opaque soil medium. A tall pot system was adapted for sugarcane where sugarcane could be grown for an extended period in controlled conditions. This enabled plant water relations to be studied in association with modification to root growing conditions. Root image analysis techniques were further refined for sugarcane, allowing measurement of both whole glasshouse-grown root systems, or the quantification of root lengths in material from soil cores obtained in the field. A technique for growing sugarcane with a split root system was also adapted enabling the direct and indirect effects of water stress and root pruning in a soil culture to be examined, and the likely presence of root signals as a mechanism for control of shoot growth. Studies using these techniques facilitated an examination of the relationship between roots and shoots under various experimental conditions - ranging from controlled conditions with no soil in the glasshouse, through other soil-based glasshouse trials, to the field situation. This gave depth to project results and a broader understanding of root-shoot relationships using a range of experimental observations.

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