Section 2 - Sugar Research and Development Corporation

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REGIONAL FUTURES
Regional futures
Key
Performance
Indicator
Enhanced resource utilisation
in the farming and harvesting
sectors
Measure Implementation of improved
farming and harvesting systems
that increase revenue and reduce
input costs, and concurrently
are environmentally and socially
sustainable.
Accelerating the adoption of best practice
nutrient management in the Australian Sugar
Industry
The SIX EASY STEPS nutrient management package
facilitates the adoption of appropriate on-farm
nutrient management practices by encouraging
growers to make informed decisions about their
nutrient inputs.
This project enabled further development
and validation of the SIX EASY STEPS package
resulting in a number of important outputs and
outcomes consistent with the philosophy of
sustainable sugarcane production. It also provided
an opportunity to promote and accelerate the
adoption of best-practice nutrient management
across the Australian sugarcane industry.
The strategic importance of the SIX EASY
STEPS package increased substantially with the
introduction of the Queensland Government’s
reef regulations and the requirements of the
Reef Rescue Program. Importantly, further
enhancements to SIX EASY STEPS will continue
through initiatives led by BSES Limited in
association with others (BSS268).
Sugarcane smut extension
Sugarcane smut occurs in every commercial
sugarcane-producing country around the world
except Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Its most
signifi cant facet is its systemic mode of infection
and the effect on crop growth, commercial yields
and profi tability.
This project used the opportunity afforded by
the large number of infested crops in Australia
to quantify the effect of the disease on commercial
crop yields and optimize industry transition to
resistant commercial varieties.
SRDC Annual Report 2010–2011
The results of the project showed growers
how to choose varieties to minimise crop losses
and terminate appropriate crops to maximize
profi tability. It assisted the breeding and selection
program by providing knowledge of the level of
resistance needed to minimise productivity loss
and maximise the use of high yielding germplasm,
and improved the accuracy of predicting the impact
of smut across the industry.
Over 90 seminars were presented by project
staff on the fi ndings of this epidemiology research
during the 3.5-year project period and the project
results were widely published (BSS302).
Sugarcane Biosecurity Integrated Plan
This project developed updated old Incursion
Management Plans for key exotic pests and diseases
to enhance sugarcane biosecurity measurements
for the Australian sugarcane industry.
The Biosecurity Plan was revised and updated to
align with PLANTPLAN in light of the lessons learnt
from the smut emergency response experience,
while a Brief Action Plan and a Borer Response Plan
were compiled to serve as a quick source
of information in case of a pest incursion.
Several workshops and local grower meetings
were held to emphasise the biosecurity message
and deliver the fi ndings. Biosecurity is now a
regular feature in the BSES Bulletin. All Incursion
Management Plans are now available at www.bses.
org.au (BSS303).
Establishing the second crop cycle into
permanent beds
The project assisted growers to develop practical
solutions to establish break crops and the second
cane-cropping cycle onto permanent beds with
appropriate bed maintenance and retention of
undisturbed crop residues, therefore maintaining
soil structure and biology.
Four pieces of farming equipment were developed:
a bed renovator, zonal ripper, wave disc cultivator
and zonal rotary hoe. Grower groups were formed
and 36 extension activities were held along with
published material and Reef Rescue promotion
to encourage grower participation.