Yield decline research in the Australian sugar industry

The paper reviews the subjects of yield decline and the productivity plateau in the Australian sugar industry. Yield decline is an important production constraint estimated at costing between $200 and $400 million per year. A Joint Venture involving four research providers was established in 1993 to research yield decline. The Joint Venture is taking a farming systems approach aimed at understanding the factors responsible for the phenomenon. The initial results of studies into soil chemical, physical and biological properties on old and new land and following the breaking of the sugarcane monoculture with rotation species are discussed. In addition some innovative approaches to the management of fallow legumes are proposed.