SUGARCANE MATURITY MANAGEMENT TRIALS SEEK REPEATABLE CCS BOOST T
rials in Far North Queensland are examining the optimal time to apply a growth regulator to improve crop maturity.
More than 10 sites in the Mulgrave, Babinda and the Tableland are being sampled fortnightly to measure stalk moisture, ahead of application of a growth regulator in mid-May, and a mid-July harvest. Near Infrared Service Leader Steve Staunton said the timing of application of a growth regulator is critical, with SRA’s experimentation involving application of MODDUS®. “MODDUS® is a crop growth regulator. So, what it does, is it stops the crop growing. This then allows the crop to put its energy into sugar production rather than vegetative growth,” Steve said. “The research that we’ve been doing is seeking to give a repeatable outcome, which would give confidence to growers using MODDUS® or other growth regulators.”
Cane Matters / Autumn 2022
“What we're finding is that there are times when a growth regulator is needed to improve crop maturity. But you do need to know whether the crop is actively growing or not,” Steve said.
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“SRA is spending a lot of time and effort in developing in-field analyses so we can determine what the best crop maturity status is for application. If you apply it too early, there’s a potential for a large loss of yield because you’ve stopped the crop from growing. If you apply it too late, there’s potential you’ll get no benefit - so no return on your investment,” Steve said. Steve said observations to date show significant opportunity to improve crop maturity status.
“Our research over a number of years has shown that at around 70 per cent crop moisture is the point where the stalk growth slows significantly, with about 90 per cent of the potential crop yield already present. With our infield analyser, we get our measurement of the stalk moisture, and if it’s greater than 70 per cent there’s potential for MODDUS® application. If it’s less, we probably need to look elsewhere.” Steve Staunton Near Infrared Service Leader
