Cane Matters

Targeting balanced nutrition and productivity constraints in the Herbert was a two-year project conducted in the Herbert River catchment, involving 19 cane growers across more than 5000 hectares of cane land. In this episode, we hear from one of those growers who participated in the project. The project was delivered by Sugar Research Australia (SRA) in partnership with Herbert Cane Productivity Services Limited (HCPSL). It was funded under the $4.38 million Sugarcane Practice Change Program, funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.

In this episode we catch up with Sugar Research Australia, District Manager Central, Dylan Wedel to discuss a demonstration project examining root system differences across sugarcane varieties, and what they could mean for crop management. Interest in root systems has been growing among Central growers, particularly around how different varieties establish, and perform under varying conditions. That interest helped spark a proof-of-concept project, that is being run as part of Central’s District Productivity Plan.

In this episode, we unpack a high-priority SRA project that is accelerating the search for alternatives to imidacloprid, for effective canegrub management for Australian cane growers.

Join SRA’s Lead Entomologist Dr Kevin Powell as he answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the project and shares the latest updates on current field trials investigating effective and economic agrichemical alternatives to imidacloprid.

With a regulatory cloud hanging over the future use of imidacloprid, researchers are hard at work alongside SRA district managers, district delivery officers and local growers, to trial a range of alternative chemical options, and identify effective replacements for a product that has protected cane crops for more than 30 years.

In this episode, SRA Translation Research Manager Dr Barry Salter discusses new long-term soil health trials that are examining practice changes to trash management, to increase soil carbon.

The project is assessing farming systems and residue management practices through monitoring of soils over time, assessment of sugarcane productivity and economic analysis of practice changes, to understand potential longer-term outcomes across a wide range of environments.

Soil health remains a significant issue affecting industry productivity and resilience. Is this significant organic matter (trash) being underutilised?

In this episode, SRA Translation Research Manager Dr Barry Salter discusses new long-term soil health trials that are examining practice changes to trash management, to increase soil carbon.

The project is assessing farming systems and residue management practices through monitoring of soils over time, assessment of sugarcane productivity and economic analysis of practice changes, to understand potential longer-term outcomes across a wide range of environments.

Soil health remains a significant issue affecting industry productivity and resilience. Is this significant organic matter (trash) being underutilised?

In this episode we hear about an SRA-funded research project that is progressing technology aiming to allow the quantification of Ratoon Stunting Disease (RSD) in every rake of cane that enters a mill.

If successful, the project could revolutionise industry’s understanding of the true distribution of this bacterial disease, within each milling region. Leading this significant project is Lead Field Pathologist, Dr Seona Casonato, who joins us for this latest episode of Cane Matters.

At Sugar Research Australia (SRA) our District Managers are the key point of contact with SRA, for growers, millers and other industry partners. They are located in Queensland’s Far North and Northern districts, the Burdekin, Central and Southern districts including Northern New South Wales. All SRA District Managers have one thing in common – a passion for problem solving, innovation and adoption-focused projects, developed in response to local needs and industry-related issues. In this episode, Burdekin District Manager Terry Granshaw talks more extensively about the role of our DMs and their daily activities to help improve productivity and profitability for growers.

In this episode we sit down with remote sensing specialist Johan Deutschenbaur, discussing an exciting new research project investigating the use of drones - equipped with hyperspectral technology - to predict sugar content (or CCS) in sugarcane, in real-time, in the field.

As you will discover, the project aims to enhance the efficiency of SRA's Variety Breeding Program by replacing labour-intensive CCS estimation methods. It also aims to one day (in the not-too-distant future) provide growers with access to real-time CCS estimations, to assist with scheduling harvests at peak sucrose levels.

Hear from Sugar Research Australia (SRA) Weed Science Leader Emilie Fillols explaining the game changing new App, helping Australian sugarcane growers to easily identify weeds and other invasive flora on-farm.
 
Pl@ntNet is a free app that uses automated recognition technology to identify plants, by uploading images onto the platform. 
 
Ms Fillols collaborated with the developers of the global App to create a sugarcane-specific micro-project on the platform, titled 'Weeds of Sugarcane in Australia'. Growers can simply take a photo of the weed they want to identify and Pl@ntNet will do the re

In this podcast we speak with Shamsul Bhuiyan, SRA Manager – Biosecurity & Disease Screening. We learn about the world-leading research conducted at SRA's Woodford Pathology Research station, protecting the Australian sugar industry from the threat of disease. For almost 30 years, researchers at Woodford have not only developed preeminent disease screening techniques to help develop disease-resistant varieties of cane, their research has seen them emerge as global experts in disease eradication. Nestled beside the Glass House Mountains of Moreton Bay, in Queensland's south-east, the station lies deliberately off the beaten path. Its strategic isolation forms a vital biosecurity buffer, allowing staff to safely study - and manage - high-risk sugarcane disease without threat to the broader industry.