Harvesting
Cane production is affected by both harvesting and field issues which can impact on raw sugar quality and quantity. Both harvesting efficiency and crop presentation affect cane yield, cane quality and ratoonability (ratooning).
Harvest Mate
Harvest Mate is a free web-based portal and app designed to help cane growers and harvesting contractors capture additional cane and sugar yield from the paddock. Using industry data and economic analysis, Harvest Mate is a practical framework to optimise harvest settings to increase yield and revenue. Harvest Mate provides growers and contractors with an opportunity to increase cane and sugar yield. Industry trial results showed an average of five per cent increase in yield with the potential to deliver an additional $116/ha, after paying both harvesting costs and levies. To get started and learn more about Harvest Mate, view the SRA Harvest Mate web page.
Harvesting Best Practice (HBP) guidelines
Research conducted into harvester performance has developed Harvesting Best Practice (HBP) guidelines to reduce cane loss, improve cane quality, and reduce stool damage.
The HBP guidelines also focus on the impact that crop presentation has on harvesting efficiency. Information available covers topics such as farming for efficient harvesting; the effect of extractor fanspeed on cane loss, crop yield, extraneous matter and CCS; harvester setup to reduce basecutter/chopper losses; and improving billet quality for planting.
With harvesting impacting on raw sugar quality and crop yields, a HBP approach will ensure the ongoing profitability and sustainability of the entire sugarcane industry.
Precision agriculture
Precision agriculture (PA) is a farm management technique that addresses the variability of the land and resulting variability in yield to improve farm productivity and profitability. PA can also help address variability in weed, pest and disease occurrence and moisture supply. In its current form, PA is often associated with technologies such as GPS, GIS and variable-rate applicators. The use of technology does not always automatically lead to PA but, in sugarcane production, technology is used for most PA practices.
Pathways to water quality improvement in the Myrtle Creek sub-catchment is monitoring paddock-scale run-off water quality on four farms in the sub-catchment (Proserpine mill area). Funded by the Department of Environment and Science, each site compares a different management practice related to nutrient or herbicide management.
The results support previous research and demonstration results linking practices such as:
- Timing application to avoid run-off for at least the first 20 days after application
- Incorporation of herbicides and nutrients with irrigation can assist in improving water quality.
- Less on, less off
The project aims to allow growers to look at water quality at the farm scale, with the opportunity to compare different practices they are interested in.
Please note these are demonstration sites, not statistically analysed research trials.