The identification of economically sensitive traits is a critical step in the breeding process as it defines the direction of the breeding program. Quantifying how each trait affects the profitability of the production system further increases the efficiency of a breeding program. Production...

Sugar cane farms are the single biggest user of irrigation water in Queensland. Recent drought and unreliable rainfall patterns in areas traditionally reliant on rainfall for crop production has resulted in increasing interest in, and adoption of supplementary irrigation to help underpin...

The Burdekin delta in north Queensland is the most important area for irrigated sugarcane production in Australia. Conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water is a common practice in this area, and requires that the groundwater systems be carefully managed to ensure the long-term economic...

In this paper we present a model of the optimal crushing season length for sugar cane. The approach taken is to view the optimal season length problem as an optimal stopping problem for both the Mill and a representative grower. We formulate the optimal stopping problems for both Mill and grower...

The major purpose of any testing program is to establish repeatable differences between cultivars in a given environment but cultivars rarely perform consistently across the range of environments in which they are tested. Plant breeders recognise that the nature of genetic material and the...

Sugar mills produce a range of by-products during the process of sugar extraction. Mill mud is one of the by-products produced in significant volume. The practice of spreading mill mud over nearby cane fields has been the primary means of disposing of mill mud for many years. The continued...

Sugarcane in a perennial crop harvested annually over a six-month season from June to December. Each crop cycle consists of a plant crop followed by several ratoon crops. Time of harvest influences both commercial cane sugar (CCS) content in the current season and yield in the following season....

Despite having successfully introduced technical and economic benchmarking procedures to improve producers’ performance, sustainability of the pig and poultry industries in Santa Catarina, Brazil might not be assured, because of significant problems such as poor waste management under current...