Abstract
Yield decline has been a major issue limiting productivity improvement in the Australian sugar industry since the early 1970s and is suspected to be largely due to growing sugarcane in a long-term monoculture. In order to address this issue, rotation experiments were established in several sugarcane-growing regions in Queensland, Australia, to ascertain whether breaking the sugarcane monoculture could, at least in part, assist in overcoming yield decline. The rotation experiments involved other crop species, pasture and bare fallow for different periods of time. When cane was replanted, the growth and yield following breaks was compared with that in a sugarcane monoculture system where the soil was unamended or fumigated before replanting. Yield increases were recorded in the plant and first ratoon (R1) crops in all experiments: in response to soil fumigation (average of 42 and 18%, respectively), and breaks (average of 27 and 30%, respectively). The data indicated that the response to breaks, while smaller in the plant crop, may have greater longevity than the response to fumigation. Further, there were indications that the response to breaks could continue into later ratoons (R2 and R3). Break type had little overall effect with the average response in the plant and R1 crops being 35% for breaks in excess of 30 months. Breaks of longer duration produced larger yield responses: 17% (<12 months), 24% (18–30 months) and 28% (>30 months) in the plant crop. However, the average yield increase over a plant and three ratoon crops when one cane crop was missed (6–12 months’ break) and a grain legume or maize break included was ~20%. Yield increases with breaks and fumigation were due to either increased stalk number, increased individual stalk weight or a combination of both. The component accounting for the majority of the variance changed between experiments, with a general trend for individual stalk weight to have more impact under better late season growing conditions and/or conditions that hampered early stalk development, while stalk number was more important under conditions of late season water stress and/or low radiation input. The results demonstrate that the long-term sugarcane monoculture is having an adverse effect on productivity. Further, breaking the sugarcane monoculture and sacrificing one sugarcane crop is likely to have minimal impact on the supply of cane to the mill. The increase in yield during other stages of the cane cycle is likely to compensate for the loss of 1 year of sugarcane, especially as the crop that is sacrificed is the last and almost always lowest-yielding ratoon.
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Claims 17
Claim · model-written summary
Fumigation increased plant crop yield by 42% on average.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- plante0
- Treatment
- soil fumigatione0
- Outcome
- Yielde0
- Direction
- increasese0
- Value
- 42e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Yield increases were recorded in the plant and first ratoon (R1) crops in all experiments: in response to soil fumigation (average of 42 and 18%, respectively)”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Fumigation increased first ratoon yield by 18% on average.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- first ratoon (R1)e0
- Treatment
- soil fumigatione0
- Outcome
- Yielde0
- Direction
- increasese0
- Value
- 18%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Yield increases were recorded in the plant and first ratoon (R1) crops in all experiments: in response to soil fumigation (average of 42 and 18%, respectively)”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Breaks increased plant crop yield by 27% on average.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Yield increases were recorded in the plant and first ratoon (R1) crops in all experiments: in response to soil fumigation (average of 42 and 18%, respectively), and breaks (average of 27 and 30%, respectively)”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Breaks increased first ratoon yield by 30% on average.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- first ratoon (R1)e0
- Treatment
- breakse0
- Outcome
- Yielde0
- Direction
- increasese0
- Value
- 30%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Yield increases were recorded in the plant and first ratoon (R1) crops in all experiments: in response to soil fumigation (average of 42 and 18%, respectively), and breaks (average of 27 and 30%, respectively)”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
The response to breaks was smaller in the plant crop but appeared longer lasting than fumigation.
Verbatim
e0“The data indicated that the response to breaks, while smaller in the plant crop, may have greater longevity than the response to fumigation”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Break responses might persist into the second and third ratoons.
Verbatim
e0“there were indications that the response to breaks could continue into later ratoons (R2 and R3)”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Break type had little overall effect.
Verbatim
e0“Break type had little overall effect with the average response in the plant and R1 crops being 35% for breaks in excess of 30 months”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Breaks longer than 30 months had an average 35% response in plant and R1 crops.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- plant and R1 cropse0
- Treatment
- breaks in excess of 30 monthse0
- Outcome
- average responsee0
- Direction
- increaseinferrede0
- Value
- 35%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Break type had little overall effect with the average response in the plant and R1 crops being 35% for breaks in excess of 30 months”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant crop yield responded by 17% to breaks shorter than 12 months.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- plant crope0
- Treatment
- <12 monthse0
- Outcome
- yield responsese0
- Direction
- largere0
- Value
- 17%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Breaks of longer duration produced larger yield responses: 17% (<12 months), 24% (18–30 months) and 28% (>30 months) in the plant crop”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant crop yield responded by 24% to breaks of 18–30 months.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- plant crope0
- Treatment
- 18–30 monthse0
- Outcome
- yield responsese0
- Direction
- largere0
- Value
- 24%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Breaks of longer duration produced larger yield responses: 17% (<12 months), 24% (18–30 months) and 28% (>30 months) in the plant crop”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant crop yield responded by 28% to breaks longer than 30 months.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Organ / stage
- plant crope0
- Treatment
- >30 monthse0
- Outcome
- yield responsese0
- Direction
- largere0
- Value
- 28%e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Breaks of longer duration produced larger yield responses: 17% (<12 months), 24% (18–30 months) and 28% (>30 months) in the plant crop”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
A 6–12 month grain legume or maize break increased average yield across plant and three ratoon crops by about 20%.
- Taxon
- sugarcanet0
- Treatment
- a grain legume or maize breake0
- Outcome
- average yielde0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- ~20%e0
- Qualifier
- 6–12 months’ breake0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“the average yield increase over a plant and three ratoon crops when one cane crop was missed (6–12 months’ break) and a grain legume or maize break included was ~20%”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Yield gains from breaks and fumigation arose from stalk number, stalk weight, or both.
Verbatim
e0“Yield increases with breaks and fumigation were due to either increased stalk number, increased individual stalk weight or a combination of both”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
The main yield component varied between experiments, with stalk weight more influential under favorable late growth or hindered early development.
Verbatim
e0“The component accounting for the majority of the variance changed between experiments, with a general trend for individual stalk weight to have more impact under better late season growing conditions and/or conditions that hampered early stalk development”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Stalk number was more important under late water stress or low radiation.
Verbatim
e0“stalk number was more important under conditions of late season water stress and/or low radiation input”
t0“sugarcane”
Claim · model-written summary
Long-term sugarcane monoculture adversely affected productivity.
Verbatim
e0“The results demonstrate that the long-term sugarcane monoculture is having an adverse effect on productivity”
Claim · model-written summary
Breaking monoculture and missing one cane crop was projected to minimally affect mill supply.
Verbatim
e0“breaking the sugarcane monoculture and sacrificing one sugarcane crop is likely to have minimal impact on the supply of cane to the mill”
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