How I am coping with Eldana and ageing my cane. By Ant Goble

Transcription

1 How I am coping with Eldana and ageing my cane By Ant Goble

2 Outline of presentation The journey of: Where I started What I have done What are the results of what I have done? Where to from here

3 Where I started Started on the farm in 2004 Cane yields were dropping Ratoons were old 80% 376 and 14% combined N16 & N12 Very little of the new varieties Cutting 90% of AUC due to Eldana

4 What I have done Celina Farm selected to be a monitor farm Extensive soil samples done & high acid sats (toxicity) picked up I started farming for tons RV/ha and introduced new varieties to achieve this

5 What I have done Buying in of seedcane and establishing seed beds resulted in me having surplus seed for my requirements Started selling seed which paid for fallowing fields The need to fallow fields resulted in me trying various cash crops and green manures I got good increases in yields from fallowing

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7 Liming Started soil sampling every field after every harvest I came to the conclusion that a mixture of lime and gypsum were needed to get on top of the acid sat problem High acid saturations identified as my most limiting factor (except at Cranbrook) Over fertilising for the yield actually achieved clearly resulted in an increase in acid saturation

8 Before After

9 Before After

10 Chicken litter I managed to get 3 different sources of chicken litter and manure Bought a spreader, but it couldn t spread on my steep areas, so I spread by hand Bought an orchard side spreader to apply on the steeps I aim to apply 8 tons/ha Using chicken litter has not increased my eldana levels as was a common industry rumour

11 Fertiliser I use LAN based granular fertiliser as well as the chicken litter In 2014 I added 0.5% Zinc to all my blends as 90% of my fields were deficient of Zinc I split my granular fertiliser application and after taking leaf samples found that I didn t need my second fertiliser application

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13 Green manuring Fields are fallowed for up to 1 year I used to use sun hemp in summer and black oats in winter I now use velvet beans, especially on the steeps (easy to plant, germinate easily & regrow to give cover for full fallow) Lines ripped with the crawler Flat fields generally get a cash crop like madumbies Apply lime, gypsum & chicken litter before & after green manure if soil sample dictates

14 Ageing of Cane It makes management easier as less area is open on the farm at one point in time Significant cash flow reduction at first, but improves dramatically after 3 years Spraying for Eldana is a cheap option considering the extra growth that is obtained

15 Ageing of Cane The following graph is based on a 250ha cane farm, using the Gledhow area costings Graph prepared by Brendon Nothard (Canegrowers)

16 Apr-14 Jun-14 Aug-14 Oct-14 Dec-14 Feb-15 Apr-15 Jun-15 Aug-15 Oct-15 Dec-15 Feb-16 Apr-16 Jun-16 Aug-16 Oct-16 Dec-16 Feb-17 Apr-17 Jun-17 Aug-17 Oct-17 Dec-17 Feb-18 Apr-18 Jun-18 Aug-18 Oct-18 Dec-18 Feb-19 Ageing of Cane R Accumulated Cash Flow R R R 0 12 Month 15 Month -R R R

17 Ageing of Cane I have harvested cane at an average age of 18 months this season I have seen huge advantages of this in this drought

18 Eldana Spray programme

19 Eldana Spray programme Eldana Borer: IRAC Programme PROPOSED SPRAY PROGRAMME MONTH: AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY WEEK: PRODUCT: Ampligo 150 CS Steward 150 EC Coragen 200 SC Steward 150 EC Coragen 200 SC Ampligo 150 CS RATE: 150 ml/ha 350 ml/ha 250 ml/ha scout scout 350 ml/ha 250 ml/ha 150 ml/ha APPLICATION TIMING: Week 1 Week 5 Week 9 Week 25 Week 29 Week 37 COMMENTS: If damage exceeds Change to Steward: Moth flight peak Summer is the period in which to encourage populations of beneficials to flourish. Pyrethroids should be avoided. The pythrethroid 3% IB or SLR in good knockdown, Change to Coragen Steward and Coragen are less damaging to beneficials than pyrethroids. Coragen is the most Lepidoptera-specific component of August, or if E/100 and effectice on all for IRAC product of those available. Ampligo is more is above threshold, stages of pest cycle compliance and for Coragen and Steward are more effective in high temperature conditions effective under or if a below normal rainfall pattern is forecast, begin spray programme with Ampligo. Beneficial populations will be low, therefore low risk to non-target beneficials from the pyrethroid. Pyrethroids are more effective against pests during cooler conditions. Also introduces IRAC compliance reduced effect on beneficials and maximum mating disruption. The change from Coragen to Steward and back is also IRAC compliant. cooler conditions. Shortly before harvest this application of Ampligo contributes towards area-wide population control by preventing moth mating and emigration to neighbouring fields. Any larvae surviving the programme are destroyed by milling.

20 Eldana spray programme I sprayed Fastac for the last 11 years I have just done my first Coragen spray & will repeat in March Fully support the IRAC prog, but will be keeping it simple & just use Coragen & Fastac this year

21 Push-pull strategy Planted papyrus and sedges (dives) Found a lot of dives occuring naturally in watercourses- stopped cutting them back Pulled back from planting right up to the stream Started planting melanis grass on contour roads- drought has slowed down the roll out of this

22 Green harvesting Introduced to retain moisture in the soil to help through the dry spells we have Increase organic matter towards the target of 5% Helps with weed control and decreases costs Increases earthworm activity Its something you progress towards when your house is in order, don t jump to green harvesting when you have other big problems to fix first

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24 Controlled traffic Moved from 50/50 windrow (Bell loaader) & cut & stack operation to 100% cut and stack operation Result is reduced compaction and stool damage Better topping & easier management of individual cutter s topping Increase in labour requirement, but reduced diesel usage Tram lines not feasible on my slopes

25 Additional things I have done Nematode samples Nematicide applications Brix testing for making ripening decisions Abacus applications

26 I currently don t spray for thrips or aphids as my focus is getting the plant strong enough to recover from the attacks

27 There is no silver bullet I tried quick fixes like: fulvic acid Mixing microbes with CMS A holistic approach is needed as cane farming is a holistic system with relationships between many aspects

28 Tools Soil sample is the starting point SUSFARMS Leaf samples Nematode samples Study groups- agronomic and financial A committed extension officer to link farmers with SASRI s expertise (mutually beneficial relationship)

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30 What are the results of what I have done An overall increase in tonnage and RV Pockets of excellence A field cut out at 139 tph in the 2014 drought A field cut out at 115 tph this year Reduction in fertiliser costs About to reduce herbicide costs I m in a better position to survive the drought Eldana is not a major concern

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32 Varieties I feel some varieties have been unfairly treated as they are thrown out due to poor performance, when it is actually due to poor soil health or poor seedcane quality I have seen in a SASRI variety trial on my farm that N12 has outperformed all the other varieties to canopy. I had thrown out N12 because I felt it was too slow to canopy I have all the latest varieties

33 Varieties Current plantings are N12, N48, N50, N51, N52, N55, N58 Reducing N37 &N39

34 Australians are reversing yield decline in cane by: Having legume break crop Minimum tillage (earn the right to min till) Trash retention Controlled traffic Source Dr Allan Garside at JD Grower Day

35 Where to from here Full implementation of Eldana IPM Sub surface drip irrigation to replace supplementary irrigation More green harvesting Achieve my goal of an average of 13 tons Rel RV/ha harvested Make the pockets of excellence the new norm Continuous lime & gypsum applications

36 Conclusion SASRI have done excellent work Ageing of cane is crucial to long term sustainability We can live with Eldana, it just takes a holistic approach and a bit of effort