Catchment Solutions

Helping to meet high standards of environmental excellence & corporate responsibility

  • About
    • Our board
  • Our Team
    • Position Vacant
  • Projects
    • Projects – Fisheries
    • Projects – Rural Innovation
    • Projects – System Repair
    • Projects – Water Quality
  • Services
    • Water Quality Services
    • Systems Repair
    • Fisheries & Aquatic Ecosystems
    • Rural Production Innovation
    • Project Catalyst
  • Competencies
    • Environmental and landscape planning
    • Environmental operations
    • Environment policy and strategy development
    • Ecological system monitoring and reporting
    • Applied research, development and learning
  • Resources
  • News
  • Media
  • Contact

Variable rate cane grub control for improved pesticide management

October 21, 2015 by Jaime

Variable rate cane grub control for improved pesticide management
By Rob Sluggett
Plane Creek, Mackay Whitsunday
Rocky Dam Creek Sub-catchment

What was the problem?

  • Grub damage impacting on crop yields
  • Control methods can be expensive
  • Damage not uniform across farm

Solution?

  • Identify link between grub damage and soil types/elevation
  • EM Mapping and ground truthing

Result

  • Identified high risk areas had link to soil/location
  • New application method based on prevision planning and available variable rate technology

Economic analysis

  • Low capital costs – $ for mapping
  • Scale – small
  • Pesticide costs reduced by a third
  • Proved to be a good investment decision

 

Expected benefits and outcomes

  • Reduced cane grub damage in high risk areas meaning improved yields and productivity
  • Reduction in total pesticide applied and time/labour in application means improved economic performance

Expected water quality outcomes

Reduced risk of sediment and pesticide losses in storm-water run off from

  • Controlled traffic farming reducing run-off by 18% and sediment loss by 23%
  • Reduction in pesticide application and using weather forecasting to avoid heavy rainfall within 7 days of application may greatly reduce herbicide losses in runoff water

 

 

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Select a product

Water Quality Services Projects and

Logo for Water Quality Services, part of Catchment Solutions.

System Repair

Logo for Systems Repair Catchment Solutions.

Fisheries & Aquatic Ecosystems

Logo for Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems, part of Catchment Solutions.

Rural Production Innovation

Logo for Rural Production Innovation part of Catchment Solutions.

Search

Latest News

Harvesting Innovation in Sugarcane

Collinsdale Erosion Remediation Project

Rehabilitation of 15ha of gully erosion at Ogmore

Invitation to tender – Mt Fairview

Innovative fish habitat reef modules

Connecting estuaries to wetlands podcast

Rocky Dam Catchment Fishway Monitoring 2020

Clews Road Fishway Construction, Murray Creek

Bakers Creek Treatment Train Wetlands Fishway Construction

Landings Road Fishway

Contact

Suite 4, 85 Gordon Street
PO Box 815
Mackay QLD 4740

More

Copyright © 2021 Site By The DMA

  • Legal Notice and Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap