EAI Reports and Documents

On 25 November a field day was held to report the results of the plant cane crop and update growers of the progress of the first ratoon crop for the EAI project. About 60 growers and industry reps attended the day along with another 19 school students from Clare State School.

The day consisted of a field walk of the OHLP irrigator block while the sprinklers were operating and looked at the differences between the GCTB and burnt cane under the OHLP system.

This was followed by a presentation by Chris Hesp and Adam Connell on the results from the plant cane crops. Mark Poggio from DPI&F gave the preliminary economic analysis for the plant crop, with a detailed analysis to be completed early next year.

There was a lot of interest from growers, with some interesting discussions held throughout the day on the benefits and shortfalls of the system.

 The Federal Government’s Reef Rescue Funding has meant that growers will be able to apply for funding for similar systems, so there has been a lot of interest in the success of this project as a viable irrigation method.

ABC radio and a member from WWF were present on the day and a segment was broadcast the following morning covering the project. Diana Maldonado from SRDC also attended the field day.

The first ratoon crops are progressing well since harvest. Preliminary results from the OHLP sites are indicating that the GCTB block is using less water than the burnt cane block, with both OHLP sites using significantly less water than the furrow block.

Chris Hesp is still having problems with the OHLP irrigator stopping in certain areas for unknown reasons, resulting in overwatering of parts of the paddock.

BBIFMAC has organised a field day for Tuesday 25th November for the project. This will include a field walk of the research sites and presentations on the economics, productivity, water use, water quality, soil health, environmental benefits, and issues associated with the OHLP irrigator compared to the furrow system.

We will also be hosting students from the Clare State School with a tour of the farm, in particular the OHLP system and link it in with the WQ Pixel Project. Jude will be doing a water quality demonstration and tour of the laboratory with the students before the field walk.

The final report on the EAI project has been submitted to BDTNRM with a detailed analysis of the results from the plant crop.

Unfortunately, because of wet weather the trial was harvested over a three month period.  This makes it difficult to make direct comparisons between the yields of the different treatments.  It is probably fair to say there were no significant yield differences between each of the irrigation methods.

Mark Poggio from DPI is conducting an economic evaluation of the two systems based on the results from the first crop.  This will be included in the final report for BDTNRM which I am in the process of compiling.

Soil samples down to 1.5m were taken after harvest at each of the instrument sites in the three blocks.  The samples will be analysed by CSIRO Brisbane. By comparing the results with samples taken last year before planting, CSIRO can calculate nutrient balances for each of the blocks

Rob Milla from DPI has also taken soil samples from each of the blocks to determine if there are any differences in soil health.

The OHLP west block was harvested green and this block has been green cane trash blanketed (GCTB).  This will allow future comparisons between burnt and GCTB systems with overhead irrigation.

Up to the 25/04/08 the overhead low pressure (OHLP) irrigated block has had 38 irrigations with a total of 10.4 ML/ha applied. In contrast, the furrow irrigated block has only had 20 irrigations but a total of 19.5ML/ha applied. The nett irrigation for the two blocks is similar as there has been much less deep drainage and runoff recorded for the OHLP block.

Both the furrow and OHLP irrigated blocks are looking good and will be harvested in July 2008. After harvest, the cane and sugar yields will be calculated to determine if there are any differences.

The annual field day was held on 01/04/08. 20 people attended the day and included growers, industry support staff, agribusiness and media. Chris Hesp presented the results to date and demonstrated the overhead irrigator in the field. The event attracted widespread interest and was featured on three sessions of the ABC Radio North Queensland rural report in April.

The report for Milestone 6 was submitted to SRDC and BDTNRM on 01/05/08 and has been accepted for payment. A copy of the report is attached. The final report for BDTNRM was also scheduled for 01/05/08, but after discussion with Diana O’Donnell and Chris Hesp, we decided to delay submission until 01/09/08. As the first crop will not be harvested until July 2008, the final water balance and crop yield data was not available for the 1^st May 2008 deadline. The report will be more complete if it contains this additional information.

The wet weather in January and February has meant that very little has been happening on site this year. The latest data has been collected and was used in Chris Hesp’s presentation on the project at the Grower Innovation Virtual Expo held in Mackay in February. The presentation was well received and there was a lot of grower interest in the project. To date, 37% more irrigation water has been applied to the furrow irrigated block than the overhead irrigated block.

BDT NRM is currently conducting a “capacity building” review of the project involving a facilitated meeting of growers, research, extension and industry representatives and telephone surveys. This project is one of three being evaluated.  The facilitated meeting was held in Clare on 13/03/08 with 15 attendees.

The next milestone is due on 01/05/08 and centres on the continuing collection of data and the presentation of results at meetings and a field day.