Burdekin Cane Extension Proj

Burdekin Cane Extension

Project

Improving Irrigation Practices in the Burdekin (2016-2019)

Delivered through the NQ Dry Tropics Sustainable Agriculture Program, the Burdekin Cane Extension Project aims to deliever extension support to 294 growers to help them improve their irrigation or nutrient management practices. Of this 294 growers, Farmacist staff will work with two groups of 98 growers. Farmacist has two irrigation projects avaliable to growers:

Irrigation Scheduling (GDots)
Irrigation Runoff Management (End of Row Sensors)

Irrigation Scheduling

Knowing when to irrigate is important in a Burdekin sugarcane cropping system - irrigating too early can lead to significant water and fertiliser losses! Additionally, irrigating too early or too late can lead to moisture stress, causing yield losses. To help growers with know when to irrigate according to crop requirement and soil types on their farm, Farmacist is providing growers with a free GDot (pictured). One of our extension officers will calibrate the GDot to your cane growth by measuring the cane daily for two irrigation cycles. You'll also recieve heaps of data for the soils on your farm and One-on-One support to help you understand and use the GDot!

Irrigation Runoff Management

For this project, Farmacist is collaborating with Laurence Pavone of Sugarfix Consulting, to build a base station network around the Burdekin. This network will be free for growers to use! We will also be developing some end of row sensors that can be placed at the bottom of an irrigation set. When the water has reach the bottom of the paddock and gets the sensor wet, the sensor will send a message to the nearest base station, which will then send a message to the growers phone, telling him the irrigation set is finished. The grower can then either turn the pump off or change sets! Growers involved in this project will recieve a free end of row sensor to trial on their farm.

This project has been completed. If you'd like more information about these projects, please call the Burdekin office (07 4782 2300) or one of our agronomists.