5 minute read
Bridging the gap
BY RENEE CLUFF
A new project is assessing the viability of filling the gaps in Australian sugarcane rows.
Empty spaces between sugarcane stalks afflict even the most productive sugarcane growers and can be attributed to anything from poor plant strike to wet weather, harvesting and more.
Veteran Extension Officer and CANEGROWERS Innisfail Manager Debra Telford said gaps decrease yields and create a domino effect to impact ongoing profitability.
“When we talk about the costs, we have to consider the whole farming system,” Debra explained. “When we have gaps, we’re more prone to weeds, so there are more herbicides needed for instance.
“Managing those gaps, however, can be difficult because growers need to work out the point at which it’s worth taking action and to do this, they need to consider potential causes, the ratoon age and the cost benefit of replanting.”
A new project by the University of Southern Queensland’s (UniSQ) Centre for Agricultural Engineering aims to help growers answer those questions and perhaps provide a cost-effective solution to managing gaps.
Farming systems Professor Bernard Schroeder said it involves two researchers under the guidance of Associate Professor Troy Jensen who will work with growers in the Innisfail District.
Somwang Leekar is on a Thai Government-funded scholarship at UniSQ and is using machine learning to investigate the causes of gaps.
At the same time, Mechatronic Research Engineer Bruen Smith is working to determine whether it’s economically viable to fill in gaps using an automated process.
“The two projects involved here include Somwang determining what is a gap and what has caused the gap and then Bruen’s project is how do we remedy the gap and is it viable to do so?” explained Prof Schroeder.
“It’s a good example of how projects can work together and support each other.”
CANEGROWERS Innisfail is collaborating with the researchers by offering first-hand knowledge of the issue along with advice about how a new system might integrate with farm management practices. Blocks have also been set aside for trial work.
Chairman Joseph Marano was among Innisfail growers to recently host the researchers as they sought to ensure their work leads to practical outcomes.
“They wanted to understand the farming systems that are in place in this area and what might be possible,” Joseph said.
“They were very interested in all the machinery and implements and of course, we showed them paddocks where there are gaps.
“There was plenty of discussion and debate around potential thresholds for going ahead and filling in gaps, as well as the need for a simple, costeffective, automated process to do so. Any solution has got to be fool-proof.”
Somwang Leekar said the experience was highly beneficial.
“It helped me to better understand –I have never seen the activity in the sugarcane in Australia before and it is quite different to Thai sugarcane growing,” he said.
“I hope I can guide the sugarcane grower to prevent the gaps happening in the field. That way, they won’t lose the fertiliser, or the irrigation, or other inputs. At the same time, the yields of the sugarcane per area will not decrease.”
At the foundation of both projects is software already developed by Bruen Smith that can use machine vision to distinguish and measure gaps in rows.
“We will look at the yield decline caused by the gaps as well as the other problems gaps contribute to such as weeds and ingress of pests and diseases, and how much of a problem gaps actually are in the scheme of things industry-wide,” Bruen said.
“We did some previous work where we could create a map, and we are now focused on the solution. We’ve come up with some conceptual ideas and looked at what others are doing around the world.
“In India they do quite a bit of gap filling and they do it all by hand, but because that’s so expensive in Australia the industry is not doing it. That’s why we’re looking at automating the process.
“At this point we’re looking at something fairly automated but that will depend on whether it’s economical to do so given the fact that not a lot of people have RTKs (Real-Time Kinematic positioning, or GPS guidance systems). There are a lot of factors that will go into determining the best system and what would be the most useful.
“Is it going to be something that individual farmers purchase or something a contractor would do? At this point, the latter is probably more viable, but it’s something we have to analyse.”
Debra Telford said growers are prepared to think outside the box.
“The plant material doesn’t have to be the traditional billet, you might grow seedlings from one-eyed setts in preparation and plant those,” she said.
“As an end game system if we’ve got access to good images, we can advise growers when gaps start appearing or maybe AI can assist in predicting gaps, so we know at the day of harvest if we need to fill those gaps.”
Bruen’s research is funded through Sugar Research Australia. Both projects are expected to be finished by mid next year.
