(Above) At this trial site established at Macknade, plant cane can be seen emerging following minimum tillage of the block.
The site is one of several long-term sites established in the Central, Herbert and Tully regions in differing environments and soil types by Manager, Translational Research, Dr Barry Salter.
Dr Salter is exploring a number of research questions relating to farming system opportunities and impacts over several seasons. This includes assessing the options and opportunities for managing trash, following a recent finding that long term trash retention is not increasing soil C as expected.
“Cane trash is a significant resource of organic matter which will be underutilised if new strategies for trash management to improve soils are not assessed. We also have to ensure we don’t lose the benefits of the current trash blanket system which retains soil moisture and protects the soil surface from erosion,” Dr Salter said.
In the Central District, post-harvest soil testing has been conducted on the long-term site set up in1992. In Ingham and Tully sites were soil sampled following planting to establish the baseline.
To understand longer-term outcomes across a wide range of environments, farming systems and residue management practices will be assessed through:
- Monitoring soils over time
- Assessing sugarcane productivity
- Undertaking economic analyses of practice changes, and
- Modelling using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM)
