Sugarcane Farming System Research Articles

Increased sugarcane productivity and environmental improvement in acid sulfate soils: A win–win system

AbstractThis paper describes a sugarcane farming system on acid sulfate soils (ASS) in coastal, eastern Australia which has improved crop production, increased carbon sequestration, enhanced soil health and controlled drainage discharge to estuaries. The farming system has evolved as a collaboration between innovative sugarcane farmers, researchers and government agencies. The collaboration started when discharge from the farmed coastal floodplain ASS acidified an entire estuary in eastern Australia, wiping out all gilled and benthic organisms for 18 months. The event produced major conflicts between fishers, farmers, the community, entrained researchers and local and state governments. It led to a major initiative to develop sugarcane farming systems which enhanced environmental benefits and increased crop production. Such a win–win system has applicability to other locations with variable resource use conflicts. The system of cane land management adopted on the Tweed site is described.

Planting Methods Enhanced the Cane Yield and Input Use Efficiency in Sugarcane- An Overview

Planting method is the one of the important agronomic interventions for enhancing productivity and quality of sugarcane. Right technique could enhance not only the cane yield but also input use efficiency. Increased use of better technologies, such as planting techniques, is essential to maintaining the production and productivity of the sugar industry in an ethical way. Additionally, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of the inputs used in sugarcane farming, particularly the prudent utilization of water and site-specific nutrient management. Planting techniques in sugarcane play a significant role in determining the overall productivity and sustainability of sugarcane cultivation. Proper planting techniques ensure that the sugarcane crop establishes well and produces higher yields. New planting techniques must be made widely known to producers to make sugarcane cultivation a sustainable and lucrative sector that contributes to national food security. Therefore, the development and adoption of enhanced planting methods and its impact on cane productivity and input usage efficiency for sustainable sugarcane farming system are described in this review in order to maintain cane production and its sustainability towards national food security. This review aims to enlist the impact of different planting methods on sugarcane productivity and input use efficiency.

DEVELOPMENT OF BEEF CATTLE AGRIBUSINESS IN THE SUGARCANE FARMING SYSTEM IN THE COMMUNITY LIVESTOCK CENTER AREA


 
 
 
 Abstract (English)
 
 
 
 
 Background: The development of beef cattle in quantity has had a very real impact on increasing people's income in improving their welfare. The development of animal husbandry, especially in beef cattle, has been carried out for generations and shows quite good development, including in the k groups.
 
 Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify a canvas business model consisting of nine elements and map out how strategies are used for the improvement and development of beef cattle agribusiness in the sugarcane farming system.
 
 Methods: The methods used are qualitative and quantitative methods with sequential exploratory design. Data collection was carried out with in-depth interviews and observations to farmers and institutions in 15 livestock groups around RNI's sugarcane plantations. The results obtained where the business model is good when viewed from nine elements according to the concept of business model canvas.
 
 Results: This study found that the strength of the livestock group was in the high category. Very high opportunities in the customer segment and high threats in value propositions.
 
 Conslusion: Therefore, livestock groups are advised to carry out business development in a way; adding to the customer segment, namely restaurants, DKM mosques and large companies, increasing the value proposition by opening meat stalls and opening meat processing businesses, creating websites, conducting consignments with several sales points and collaborating with universities and looking for freelance web developers.
 Keywords: Livestock Group, Canvas Business Model, Beef Cattle Agribusiness.
 
 
 

Effects of different rotational legume crops and residue management regimes on soil microbial properties and functions in a sugarcane farming system

AbstractBackground: Legume crop rotation in sugarcane cropping systems can improve soil health and fertility. However, their impacts on soil microbial community composition and function have not been clearly understood to date.Aims: This study aimed to assess responses of soil biochemical properties and composition of microbial communities driving C and N transformations in soils to different legume crop rotations and crop residue management practices.Methods: We investigated the effects of two rotational legume crops (soybean and peanut) and six different crop residue management practices on soil physicochemical and microbial properties as well as biological activities including C and N mineralisation, nitrification capacity and denitrification potential, in a subtropical sugarcane cropping system.Results: Incorporating high‐N soybean crop residues into soil significantly increased soil mineral N content in the first month compared to no‐till; no significant tillage effects were recorded with low‐N peanut residues. Both crop residues increased soil microbial biomass C, C mineralisation capacity and nitrification capacity. However, bacterial and archaeal composition and abundances of 16S rRNA and nitrification genes were not affected. Spraying a nitrification inhibitor (DMPG) onto the crop residues before tillage significantly suppressed soil nitrification capacity.Conclusions: Compared to peanut rotation, soybean rotation could supply significantly more N for the following sugarcane crop due to its much higher crop residue N inputs and faster N mineralisation. Spraying legume residues with DMPG before tillage may provide an effective strategy to inhibit formation and thus reduce the risk of losses through leaching or denitrification.

Prospects and challenges of conservation agriculture in Bangladesh for sustainable sugarcane cultivation

Sugarcane is an industrial crop globally used for producing biofuels and bioproducts and is the only source of white sugar in Bangladesh. However, labour-dependent cultivation and climate change are responsible for the higher production costs and lower yield of sugarcane, and these factors are barriers to sustainable sugarcane farming in Bangladesh. In this paper, the prospects of existing sugarcane farming practices are described, and some improved cultivation and management practices addressing the principles of conservation agriculture (CA) in overcoming these barriers are evaluated. Excessive tillage, burning of trash after harvesting, and mono-cropping have been identified as crucial factors that increase sugarcane production cost, deteriorating soil health, and decreasing cane yields. Several improved conservation tillage machines used for cereals, pulse, and other crops are becoming more accessible to farmers in Bangladesh, but these machines are not used for sugarcane crops. Minimum tillage can also be a resource-saving tillage option for cultivating sugarcane but is limited in sugarcane production owing to the absence of suitable machinery. However, the irrational removal and burning of the residue in the sugarcane farming systems may have adverse effects on the environment. Intercropping not only increases economic benefits but also minimises the negative impact of mono-cropping. We suggest that minimum tillage, residue mulching, and intercropping should be applied as profitable and sustainable cultivation practices in sugarcane farming. Therefore, both research and extension activities addressing the use of appropriate CA technologies, including conservation tillage machinery improvements, could help to achieve sustainable sugarcane farming in Bangladesh.

Responses of soil nutrients and microbial activity to the mill-mud application in a compaction-affected sugarcane field

Context Compaction removal and organic amendment application are commonly used to mitigate the compaction-induced declines in crop yield, soil carbon (C) and soil health. However, the response of microbial activities and nutrient pools to the combination of mill-mud amendments and decompaction in the soil profile are not fully understood. Aims A field trial was conducted at Burdekin, Australia, to investigate the effects of different decompaction managements on soil nutrient cycling, associated biological activities and sugarcane yield. Methods This experiment included four treatments: control (CK, without mill-mud), mill-mud shallow furrow (MS), deep trenching without mill-mud (DT) and deep trenching mill-mud application (MD). Key results The MD treatment increased concentrations of hot water extractable organic C by 30–70% and hot water extractable total nitrogen (N) by 30–90% at the application depth. Soil microbial biomass C and N were also higher in mill-mud applied layers. Mill-mud applied treatments increased plant cane yield by 7% (MS treatment) and 14% (MD treatment) compared to CK. The DT treatment also increased plant cane yield by 11% compared to CK. Conclusion The MD treatment increased the supply of organic C and nutrients to the microbial community within the entire soil profile, enhanced nutrient cycling processes, improved soil environmental conditions and soil health for sugarcane growth and thus increased sugarcane productivity. Implications Further research should focus on microbial community composition shifts to further explore the mechanisms responsible for soil microorganism regulation of nutrient cycling in sugarcane farming systems.

ORGANIC SUGARCANE CULTIVATION IN TAHITI

Organic sugarcane has a strong economic potential in Tahiti. However, there is nomodel for small-scale organic cultivation, and the rules enforced by the applicablestandards don’t always respect the agroecological principles. To determine whethera small organic sugarcane farming system is profitable or not, especially in termsof productivity, control of bioagressors (weeds, rats and pests) and human resourcecosts, a 1ha field of sugarcane was planted in 2015, with nine different varieties, ina machineable context under European organic standards. After two years, thecultivars used showed yields from 40 up to 100 tons/ha of cane. Regarding thecontrol of bioagressors results were the following: 1) manual removing of weedsrequired 4 to 6 months after planting or after the first ratoon; 2) study of rat attacksduring the maturation period showed that in a dirty field, for early varieties (18°Brix at ten months of cultivation), the cane stalks can be entirely damaged, andthese attacks can even occur on canes with sugar content lower than 10%. Finally,the hand labor hoeing represented around 75% of the production costs. This resultdemonstrates that such organic cultivation is possible even when facing pest andweed problems. In further investigations, to improve hand labor efficiency, we willfirst focus on weed control using small mechanized treatments; secondly, we willaim at reducing rat infestations by the use of some unique early maturated varietiesto attract and treat them locally.

Legume crop rotation suppressed nitrifying microbial community in a sugarcane cropping soil

Nitrifying microorganisms play an important role in nitrogen (N) cycling in agricultural soils as nitrification leads to accumulation of nitrate (NO3−) that is readily lost through leaching and denitrification, particularly in high rainfall regions. Legume crop rotation in sugarcane farming systems can suppress soil pathogens and improve soil health, but its effects on soil nitrifying microorganisms are not well understood. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we investigated the impact of two legume break crops, peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and soybean (Glycine max), on the nitrifying communities in a sugarcane cropping soil. Cropping with either legume substantially increased abundances of soil bacteria and archaea and altered the microbial community composition, but did not significantly alter species richness and evenness relative to a bare fallow treatment. The ammonia oxidisers were mostly archaeal rather than bacterial, and were 24–44% less abundant in the legume cropping soils compared to the bare fallow. Furthermore, abundances of the archaeal amoA gene encoding ammonia monooxygenase in the soybean and peanut cropping soils were only 30–35% of that in the bare fallow. These results warrant further investigation into the mechanisms driving responses of ammonia oxidising communities and their nitrification capacity in soil during legume cropping.

Productivity Benefits from Plastic Mulch in Vegetable Production Likely to Limit Adoption of Alternate Practices that Deliver Water Quality Benefits: An On-Farm Case Study

Intensive tillage, high fertiliser inputs, and plastic mulch on the soil surface are widely used by vegetable growers. A field investigation was carried out to quantify the impact of alternate land management and fertiliser practices designed to improve offsite water quality on the productivity of vegetable rotations within a sugarcane farming system in a coastal region of subtropical northeast Australia. Successive crops of capsicum and zucchini were grown in summer 2010–2011 and winter 2011, respectively, using four different management practices. These were ‘Conventional’—the current conventional practice using plastic mulch, bare inter-rows, conventional tillage, and commercial fertiliser inputs; ‘Improved’—a modified conventional system using plastic mulch in the cropped area, an inter-row vegetative mulch, zonal tillage, and reduced fertiliser rates; ‘Trash mulch’—using cane trash or forage sorghum residues instead of plastic mulch, with reduced fertiliser rates and minimum or zero tillage; and ‘Vegetative mulch’—using Rhodes grass or forage sorghum residues instead of plastic mulch, with minimum or zero tillage and reduced fertiliser rates. During the second vegetable crop (zucchini), each management practice was split to receive either soil test-based nutrient inputs or a common, luxury rate of nutrient addition. The ’Trash mulch’ and ‘Vegetative mulch’ systems produced up to 43% lower capsicum and zucchini yields than either of the plastic mulch systems. The relative yield difference between trash systems and plastic mulch management systems remained the same for both the soil test-based and high nutrient application strategies, suggesting that factors other than nutrition (e.g., soil temperature) were driving these differences.

Keberadaan Industri Gula di Jawa dan Dukungan Sistem Usahatani Tebu Sebagai Bahan Baku Industri Sesudah Perubahan KebijakanPergulaan Tahun 1998 =The Existence Of Sugar Industry In Java And The Support Of Sugarcane Supply

Policies change in 1998 influenced Java sugar industry's existence because there was no more obligation to plant sugarcane. This study aims to identify (1) existing sugarcane procurement by the industry, (2) the profitability, in private as well as social prices, of sugarcane farming system as the industry's supplier, and (3) sensitivity analysis on relevant sugar dynamics.The study was conducted on five industry samples spread over Java. The primary data for profitability analysis covered 300 units originated from 185 farmers and 115 industry's plantation units in a proportional spreading.The finding exhibits three alternatives of procurement: (1) partnership with farmers based on minimum return on land, (2) partnership with farmers as the industry provides assistance, and (3) purchasing sugar from free farmers. Using data in 2002, only two samples were financially profitable,-those were east part and west part of Java, while the only region gained social profit was the east part. In spite of that, if social price of sugar using relevant foreign production costs instead of CIE Java has its comparativeadvantage. Sensitivity analysis resulted in Java will achieve financial profit if sugar price rises by 10 percent, or productivity rises by 15 percent, or tariff of 50 percent imposes.

Sugarcane production under smallholder farming systems: Farmers preferred traits, constraints and genetic resources

AbstractSmallholder sugarcane production sector is under researched and underdeveloped with limited industrial link and support. The objectives of this study were to assess the current state of sugarcane production, farmers’ perceived production constraints and preferred traits, and to collect germplasm grown by smallholder farmers in southern Ethiopia for strategic breeding and conservation. The study was conducted across 16 administrative zones, 28 districts and 56 peasant associations involving 560 smallholder sugarcane growers in southern Ethiopia using a participatory rural appraisal approach. Sugarcane genetic resources were collected through structured sampling. Findings from this study indicated that monocropping was identified as the predominant sugarcane farming system. Respondent farmers prioritized drought tolerance (21%), increased cane yield (20%), early maturity (18%), marketability (17%), and high biomass (14%) as the top preferred traits of sugarcane. Ninety diverse sugarcane landraces we...

MOSAICA: A multi-scale bioeconomic model for the design and ex ante assessment of cropping system mosaics

To understand the effects of policy changes on organisations and compositions of cropping systems at regional scale and their contribution to the sustainable development of regions, we built a regional, spatially explicit, multi-scale, bioeconomic model called MOSAICA. This model explicitly incorporates information at field, farm, sub-regional and regional scales to provide cropping system mosaics by way of regional optimisation of the sum of individual farmer's utilities under field, farm and territory biophysical and socio-economic constraints. Its generic structure means it can be used in different regions with geographic information on the location of the field and farm, data on cropping system performance, on location factors and on policy schemes. We used the model in Guadeloupe to test the impact of three scenarios of change on the agricultural subsidy regimes. The model produced three cropping system mosaics which reduced the area under banana and sugarcane, turned specialised banana and sugarcane farming systems into breeding systems while improving the overall contribution of agriculture to sustainable development. The spatially explicit results of changes in ecosystem services, and in farming systems with MOSAICA make it an appropriate decision-aid tool for regional planning.

Sugarcane Biomass Production in South Florida: A Comparative Emergy Assessment of Organic Soil and Mineral Soil Production Systems

An Emergy Assessment (EMA) of sugarcane cultivation as feedstock for bioethanol production in South Florida was performed to develop a sustainability profile of the farming systems. In this study, a sugarcane farming system on muck soil (organic soil) was compared with a similar cropping system on a sandy soil (mineral soil). The study provides a comparison of these alternative systems from the perspective of their resource use, environmental impact and sustainability. The representative farm for both systems was based on a 5000 acre farm assumed to be already established in South Florida. Emergy analysis was applied to evaluate environmental support required for the sugarcane production in both systems. In line with the methodology a quantitative inventory of free natural resources and purchased input flows into the systems was created. The results showed that aside ground water irrigation which dominates (44%) in both systems, the largest emergy flows for biofuel production on organic soil were associated with soil erosion or subsidence (19%), labor (12%), evapotranspiration (11%), and fuel (8%). However, for sandy soil production, the main contributors were lime (13%), labor (12%), and fuel (8%). The emergy analysis suggests that due to the non-renewability of soil loss in the organic soil farming system, a reduction in the purchased inputs for sandy (mineral) soils based on alternative farming measures potentially makes mineral soil sugarcane ethanol production a rather more sustainable and attractive alternative for a better environmental performance.

Environmental impacts of irrigated sugarcane production: Herbicide run-off dynamics from farms and associated drainage systems

Irrigation is vital to most of the sugarcane produced in Australia's ecologically sensitive Great Barrier Reef catchment area, although little is known regarding pesticide losses under irrigated sugarcane production. This study determined the dynamics of off-site paddock-scale pesticide movement and subsequent concentrations in local receiving environments in fully irrigated sugarcane farming systems of the lower Burdekin floodplain region, the largest sugar producing area in Australia. Chemical movement (both mass and concentration) in paddock surface run-off followed a similar pattern across sites in the region for several of the commonly applied herbicides such as diuron, atrazine and ametryn. Highest losses (loads and event concentrations) occurred in the first irrigation run-off events following application, with subsequent irrigation losses tailing off rapidly. Significant losses could also occur during wet season rainfall run-off events from paddocks with recent pesticide applications. There was a strong seasonal signal evident in catchment monitoring results. Pesticide concentrations in nearby receiving creek systems were invariably an order of magnitude or more lower than values collected at paddock-scale, highlighting the considerable dilution that takes place over relatively short distances. While the concentrations found in receiving creek systems were considerably lower than direct paddock run-off, they regularly exceeded some ecological guidelines and results of pesticide risk modeling suggested concentrations, particularly under dry season conditions, posed considerable ecological risk to aquatic ecosystems.

The impact of an improved sugarcane farming system on chemical, biochemical and biological properties associated with soil health

This study compared the properties of conventionally managed sugarcane soils (sugarcane monoculture, extensive tillage during the replanting operation, random traffic from harvest machinery and crop residues sometimes burnt) with soils under a new sugarcane farming system based on crop rotation, minimum tillage, controlled traffic and residue retention. Soils under perennial pasture were included as a standard reference. Adjacent fields under the three land management practices (new sugarcane, conventional sugarcane and pasture) were sampled at 11 sites in tropical and sub-tropical Australia and a range of soil properties were measured (texture, soil chemical parameters, enzyme activity, composition of the nematode community, catabolism of C sources using Biolog Ecoplates ®). For most parameters, differences between soils under the new and conventional sugarcane farming system were not significant. Pasture soils were markedly different. They had nearly twice as much total C, total N, permanganate-oxidisable C and water-soluble C as cropped soils and this impacted on their biochemical and biological status. Thus cellulase activity and microbial activity (measured as the rate of degradation of fluorescein diacetate) were respectively five and two times higher in pasture soils than in soils cropped to sugarcane. Analysis of nematode assemblages indicated that total numbers of free-living nematodes and the ratio of free-living to plant-parasitic nematodes were higher in pasture than sugarcane soils and that fungal-feeding nematodes were more predominant under pasture than sugarcane. These results indicate that the biological status of sugarcane soils is poor relative to soils under permanent grass pasture. However, sugarcane soils managed under the new farming system for 5–7 years had a lower C/N ratio, more free-living nematodes and a greater proportion of fungivorous to bacterivorous nematodes than conventionally managed soils, indicating a shift towards the biological properties of pasture soils. Since such improvements in the health of non-tilled sugarcane soils are likely to continue for many years, the data obtained in this study will be a useful benchmark for future studies.

Nitrogen benefits of legume green manuring in sugarcane farming systems in Mauritius

Field trials were laid down at four locations in Mauritus from 2003 to 2006 to determine the contribution of LGM to the N nutrition of sugarcane and whether LGM could partly substitute for mineral fertilizer N. Data showed that N returns to soil from LGM crops ranged between 100 and 267 kg N ha−1 of which between 50 and 70 % was obtained from biological fixation. The availability of N in legume biomass to the subsequent plant cane crop, as determined by the 15N dilution technique, ranged between 21 and 44 kg N ha−1. Incorporation of LGM prior to planting significantly increased yield of plant cane fertilized with half the recommended rate of mineral N. Based on the results of this study, current rate of fertilizer N for plant and first ratoon cane following a LGM crop may be reduced by half without a loss in the yield.

The impact of farming systems on soil biology and soilborne diseases: examples from the Australian sugar and vegetable industries – the case for better integration of sugarcane and vegetable production and implications for future research

A sugarcane farming system based on residue retention, minimum tillage, a leguminous rotation crop and controlled traffic using global positioning system guidance is currently being adopted by the Australian sugar industry because it improves sugar yields, reduces costs and provides additional income from crops such as soybean and peanut. This paper discusses the soil health improvements that are being obtained with this new farming system, particularly its beneficial effects on soil carbon levels and soil biological properties. It also summarises research showing that breaking the sugarcane monoculture with a soybean or peanut crop reduces populations of lesion nematode (Pratylenchus zeae) and root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica), the two most important nematode pests of sugarcane. The role of minimum tillage and inputs of organic matter in enhancing the natural biological control mechanisms that suppress these nematodes is also discussed. The paper then considers the farming system currently used for vegetable crops such as tomato, capsicum and rockmelon, where inadequate crop rotation, excessive tillage, low organic inputs and the fallowing and solarisation effect of covering beds with plastic leads to a situation where soil fumigation is seen as the only option for reducing losses from soilborne pests and pathogens. Since the sugar industry coexists with the vegetable industry in some areas of Australia, the paper argues the case for developing minimum tillage practices for vegetable production and integrating them into the sugarcane farming system. It concludes that a farming system of this nature would improve profitability in both industries, produce better environmental outcomes at a landscape level and provide more sustainable solutions to nematode and soilborne disease problems.

Shoot and stalk dynamics and the yield of sugarcane crops in tropical and subtropical Queensland, Australia

Yield constraints have become an important feature of sugarcane farming systems in Australia, with significant yield increases obtainable by manipulating farming system components (e.g. crop rotation). However, to identify key crop targets for new farming systems, an improved understanding of the physiological mechanisms mediating these yield responses is required. Data from experiments investigating impacts of crop rotation, plant population, tillage and trash management have been analysed to determine the impact of treatments on shoot and stalk dynamics and crop yield. Crop rotation or soil fumigation resulted in significantly improved crop establishment, with production of greater numbers of both primary and higher order shoots. Manipulation of soil N status in these experiments had limited effect on the initiation of secondary tillers, regardless of whether the N was the result of a rotation treatment or of fertiliser N applications within a common rotation history. In all cases, effects of N were minimal compared to those of other components of soil health affected by fumigation (primarily detrimental soil biota) and rotation (differing elements of physical and chemical fertility and soil biota). Survival of tillers until final harvest was strongly influenced by the population density of established primary shoots and the growing conditions during the latter part of the growing season. Reduced water stress and application of N fertiliser near the time of maximum tiller numbers increased tiller survival. The relative importance of final stalk population density and individual stalk dry mass to variation in yield in each experiment, varied widely. The cultivar Q117, which was used in experiments in northern regions of Mackay, Burdekin and Tully, achieved relatively low final stalk densities (4–8 stalks m −2) and yield variation in these experiments was primarily due to treatment effects on this attribute. Experiments in the south at Bundaberg used a number of cultivars (Q124, Q141, Q188) which all achieved higher stalk population densities (9–12 stalks m −2) with yield variation primarily affected by individual stalk mass. Experiments designed to broaden the range of plant densities tested revealed a negative relationship between individual stalk mass and stalk population density. These data show that treatments that increase stalk population densities at harvest without also increasing rates of dry matter accumulation during stalk filling are unlikely to increase yields. Improvements in soil health afforded by crop rotation and soil fumigation deliver yield benefits by achieving both higher population densities and heavier stalks.

The historical and future contribution of crop physiology and modelling research to sugarcane production systems

International sugarcane farming practice has been significantly influenced by crop physiology research, both directly, and indirectly via process-based, simulation growth models. These models not only operationalise our basic physiology understanding but also serve to identify knowledge gaps and priority research areas. This paper explores the integration between basic field research, model development and application and on-ground impact. It explores the historical mutual dependency between basic sugarcane physiology research and model development through a brief summary of the key sugarcane models and the seminal published field and controlled-environment studies on which they are based. Examples are given of applications of this understanding and modelling capability that have led to, or have the potential to lead to, significant impacts on sugarcane farming system design, practice and policy. These include the benchmarking of potential yields to guide industry expansion, marketing and to optimize management practice; the scheduling of irrigation practice; analysis of the likely risks and benefits of investment in on-farm water storages and the subsequent identification of best-bet designs; and the forecasting of crop yields via integration with climate forecasting tools. Examples are also given of the combined use of field experimentation and modelling to dispel and/or clarify historical rules of thumb/folklore. Finally, the paper identifies current gaps in our understanding of sugarcane physiology and the potential applications and impacts to be gained from an improved understanding in these areas. These include; an enhanced understanding of the ageing process, sucrose accumulation, water stress physiology and the physiology of water retention in stalks.