Completed projects and reports

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Strategies to limit the impact of nematode pressure on sugarcane productivity in the Isis : final report 2013/071
(BSES, 2015) Jakins, A; Quinn, B; Halpin, N; Ginns, S
Two trials were done in this project. One was a continuation of work started under a previous GRDC/SRDC-funded activity, 'Strategies to improve the integration of legumes into cane based farming systems'. This trial aimed to assess the impact of trash and tillage management options and nematicide application on nematodes and crop performance. Methods and results are contained in the following publication: Halpin NV, Stirling GR, Rehbein WE, Quinn B, Jakins A, Ginns SP. The impact of trash and tillage management options and nematicide application on crop performance and plant-parasitic nematode populations in a sugarcane/peanut farming system. Proc. Aust. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol. 37, 192-203. Nematicide application in the plant crop significantly reduced total numbers of plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) but there was no impact on yield. Application of nematicide to the ratoon crop significantly reduced sugar yield. The study confirmed other work demonstrating that implementation of strategies like reduced tillage reduced populations of total PPN, suggesting that the soil was more suppressive to PPN in those treatments. The second trial, a variety trial, demonstrated the limited value of nematicide application in sugarcane farming systems. This study has highlighted that growers shouldn’t view nematicides as a ‘cure all’ for paddocks that have historically had high PPN numbers. Nematicides have high mammalian toxicity, have the potential to contaminate ground water (Kookana et al. 1995) and are costly. The cost of nematicide used in R1 was approx. $320 - $350/ha, adding $3.50/t of cane in a 100 t/ha crop. Also, our study demonstrated that a single nematicide treatment at the application rate registered for sugarcane is not very effective in reducing populations of nematode pests. There appears to be some levels of resistance to nematodes within the current suite of varieties available to the southern canelands. For example the soil in plots that were growing Q183 had 560% more root knot nematodes / 200mL soil compared to plots that grew Q245. The authors see great value in investment into a nematode screening program that could rate varieties into groups of susceptibility to both major sugarcane nematode pests. Such a rating could then be built into a decision support ‘tree’ or tool to better enable producers to select varieties on a paddock by paddock basis.
AGR2008150 : Provision of research and development services for the Ord Sugarcane project
(2009) Croft, BJ; Webb, B; Piperidis, G
BSES has provided the research and extension services to the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) sugar industry under a cooperative agreement with the WA Dept of Agriculture and Food since 2003. This contract was terminated in April 2008 after the Ord sugar mill ceased operations in 2007. A new contract was signed to provide continued Plant breeding and plant pathology services to WA Dept of Agriculture and Food to continue plant-breeding trials, inspect sugarcane plots for diseases and pests and to advise WA Dept of Agriculture and Food on maintenance of sugarcane varieties so they could be available for potential new sugar industries in the ORIA.
AGR2008150 : Provision of research and development services for the Ord Sugarcane project
(2010) Croft, BJ; Webb, B; Piperidis, G
The requirements for year 2 of the contract for the delivery of research and development services to the Ord sugar project have been fully achieved. The harvest results from two second ratoon, two first ratoon and two plant crop yield trials were analysed using BSES statistical procedures and the analysed results were provided to the WA Dept of Agriculture and Food. These data were used to identify promising new varieties for further propagation. Barry Croft, BSES Program leader biosecurity (Plant pathologist), and George Piperidis, BSES Program Leader Variety Adoption (Plant Breeder), visited the Ord from the 24-27 May 2010. They inspected selected varieties in yield trials and propagation plots for sugarcane smut, top rot and other diseases and made notes on growth of the varieties. Recommendations were made on the maintenance and further propagation of varieties that have performed well in yield trials and have acceptable reaction to sugarcane smut and top rot. A heavy infestation of scale insects was noted on a few varieties in the 2008 propagation plot in block 6B. These insects have been seen before but this was a particularly severe infestation and the variety Q208 which has performed well in the Ord and is the major variety in Queensland was one of the varieties affected. A borer that was attacking rice was collected. BSES is currently involved in an Australian Centre for Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded project investigating biological control of borer species attacking sugarcane in Indonesia. Part of this study is to collaborate with other research groups that are DNA barcoding endemic and exotic moth borers and these samples will be submitted for DNA barcoding.

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