Regional Variety Committee (RVC) meetings for 2026 were held throughout April with the last conducted in the Herbert Region on the 29th.
“Following on from the Northern RVC’s decision to release two new varieties in the North – SRA49 and SRA50 – we can announce that SRA9 has been approved for release in the Herbert,” SRA General Manager Variety Development, Dr Garry Rosewarne, said.
SRA9 was originally a Central region variety which subsequently demonstrated exceptional results in SRA field trials conducted in the Far North. It outperforms Q208 by 14% in terms of sugar yield. The yield advantage provided by SRA9 has been consistent across crop classes.
“Despite having a lower sugar content than some other varieties, SRA9 is a profitable choice due to its vigorous growth and high tonnage at harvest,” Dr Rosewarne said.
“It is also a good choice for growers who have to deal with higher Pachymetra spore counts. However, where smut pressure is high, growers should seek more resistant alternatives.”
For more information about SRA9 read the Northern Coastal and Tableland variety summary factsheet.
“In other news, crossing has been continuing in Meringa, and 100,000 seedlings from last year’s crossing cycle are on the bench in the North, Burdekin and Central region, too,” Dr Rosewarne said.
“The first Final Assessment Trials (FATs) have been planted in the Burdekin and in the South so we’re really starting to get into the swing of the season now.
“Up to 15 drone flights have been done in the past month. All SRA stations now have trained drone operators to monitor cane development and yield potential in trials using these machines.
“Meanwhile, our statisticians are trialing some new software which will incorporate pedigree details into the design to improve the accuracy of our statistical analysis and give an improved understanding of how different environments can affect the yield of different clones.”
The performance of SRA32 alongside standards Q240, Q183, WSRA17 and SRAW46, in plant cane and first ratoon, has been tested in variety strip trials conducted by Burdekin Productivity Services, with the help of local growers including Christian Lago.
You can read the results and Christian’s comments in the Autumn 2026 Cane Matters Magazine or watch the video via the link below:
(Top): SRA General Manager Variety Development, Dr Garry Rosewarne discusses SRA’s variety development program with growers at HCPSL’s Walk & Talk in the Herbert on 14 April.
