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Archive for the ‘Approved Clean Seed’ Category

2024 RSD Testing

Posted by Rod Neilson

Book your seed inspections with HCPSL now.

Grower seed inspections, including RSD sampling, will commence in early March (weather dependent) and continue until 3rd May. After the 3rd May seed inspections and RSD sampling will be limited to field staff availability.

Important Information;

For bookings or further enquires please contact the HCPSL Office on 4776 1808.

Tissue Culture Orders (2024 Delivery)

Posted by Rod Neilson

This is a reminder for Tissue Culture Orders for Spring 2024 delivery.

If you are wanting the new SRA 40 for your farm this will be the only way of receiving it. SRA 40 will not be released from HCPSL plots until 2025.

Plant costs are currently sitting between $2.05 and $2.50 (GST INC) – Any other approved planting varieties can be ordered in Tissue Culture
for pick up next Spring 2024.

Orders need to be placed by 23rd of October 2023

Please contact Rhiannan Harragon HCPSL on 0490 905 367 or the Main Office on 4776 1808 to place your orders or for any question regarding
Tissue Culture.


GETTING MORE APPROVED SEED CANE ON FARM

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

HCPSL Press Release

Yesterday, HCPSL met with Grower Collectives representatives and a number of planting contractors to investigate ways to better manage RSD and the adoption of Approved Seed cane.

HCPSL Company Manager Lawrence Di Bella presented data on the level of infection in growers “supposedly clean seed cane” to be used for commercial planting for the past 3 and current year.

YEARPERCENT INFECTION
20209%
20217%
20229%
20239.1%, year to date.

These figures are very concerning and really indicates that growers must be very valiant with their farm hygiene and obtain Approved Seed on a regular basis to get on top of this disease.

HCPSL, currently has around 5000-6000t of Approved Seed cane available through its plots this year, with orders for only for about 4000t at present. Not all varieties are available, but there are considerable volumes of MQ239, Q200, Q208, Q253, SRA26 and SRA31 still available. Growers who are seeking more of these varieties are asked to contact HCPSL staff to arrange collection of this cane.

HCPSL has wholestalk and billet harvesters in most plots now days making it easier for growers to access Approved Seed cane.

Photo above – Cutting Approved Seed cane at the HCPSL Stone River plot this year.

This year growers have the option for Hinchinbrook Towing Service- 0400 702 113 to collect cane from the Approved Seed plots on a fee for service arrangement. Whole stalk trailers can be collected from farm, dropped off to the appropriate HCPSL Approved Seed plot farm and then returned when filled with cane. Another option available is the collection of billets from the plots and delivered to your billet planter for planting.

Research undertaken by HCPSL and SRA clearly shows that growers who use Approved Seed cane for planting on average have a 13% increase in financial returns when compared to growers who don’t use Approved Seed cane.

Photo above – Cutting Approved Seed cane at the HCPSL Central plot this year.

Getting cane from the neighbour is not “clean” cane! Your neighbours may have RSD present in the cane you are getting from them.

Ask your self- “When was the last time when I purchased Approved Seed cane from the HCPSL plots, used tissue culture cane or long hot water treated cane?”

It is time now to get Approved Seed cane for your farm for next year and don’t forget to sterilise all your planting equipment before you plant it!

Contact your HCPSL officer to obtain Approved Seed cane- 47761808.

REMINDER: Tissue Culture 2024 Orders!

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

Are you considering planting tissue culture in 2024?

To secure your tissue culture for June 2024 delivery, please place an order by Tuesday 20th June.

If your considering planting SRA40, seed cane will not be available until 2025. So if you wish to obtain this variety in 2024, it will only be available via tissue culture seedlings.

To place a tissue culture order, contact HCPSL on (07) 4776 1808 to speak with Rhiannan.

VARIETY UPDATE: Outcomes from the Herbert Variety Committee (RVC) meeting

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

HCPSL & SRA Joint PRESS RELEASE

The Herbert Variety Committee meeting was held on the 5th of April 2023. The outcomes from the meeting are as follows:

Governance of the RVC:

The Herbert RVC have established governance procedures in which the meetings are run and managed. Governance procedures that need to be followed:

SRA31- Distribution through HCPSL Approved Seed plots

During 2022, it was decided to hold off on the distribution of SRA31 based upon some observations of smut. Critical review of the situation indicated the unusual smut infection was likely due to the interaction between very high temperatures and herbicide application. During the 2023 Herbert RVC meeting it was decided to proceed with the distribution of the variety to growers from HCPSL Approved Seed plots.

Growers who are wishing to purchase SRA31 from the HCPSL Approved Seed plots are requested to contact the HCPSL office- 47761808, immediately to order planting material.

Rogue clone found in SRA28

HCPSL and SRA staff identified a rogue clone in some HCPSL Approved Seed plots during their routine inspections of the plots for diseases and variety correctness. QN05-1380 has been found to be mixed with SRA28 with some cane supplied to growers in the past 2 years.

QN05-1380 was discarded by the SRA plant breeding program because its poor yield performance.

Variety tracing activities have been undertaken by both HCPSL and SRA staff to identify how the mix up occurred, however there are no clear leads on how QN05-1380 became mixed with SRA28 in the first place.

The HCPSL Approved Seed plots of concern are as follows:

The impacted growers have been recently contacted. These growers have been asked to obtain new stocks of SRA28 from HCPSL, if they wish to continue growing the variety to ensure variety correctness.

Growers can be reassured that cane purchased from HCPSL Approved Seed plots is RSD free.

HCPSL is requesting all growers to be on the lookout for the rogue clone and report it to HCPSL immediately. Photographs on the next 2 pages will highlight the visual differences between SRA28 and QN05-1380. QN05-1380 has a similar stalk colour appearance to MQ239.

HCPSL and SRA apologise for any inconvenience caused. HCPSL will ensure that growers who wish to obtain new SRA28 planting material in 2023, will be able to do so.

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE FULL PRESS RELEASE BELOW:

HCPSL Walk & Talk 2023!

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

HCPSL invites you to the 2023 Annual Walk & Talk!

Date: Wednesday 15th March 2023

Commencing: 8am to 2pm

Location: HCPSL & SRA Office, 181 Fairford Road Ingham

Displays and Presentations will include:

RSVP Friday 10th March:

For catering purposes, please RVSP to HCPSL on (07) 4776 1808

It’s time to test seed cane for planting again

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

Press release: Monday 30 January 2023

HCPSL will start seed cane inspections for growers tomorrow (Tuesday 31 January) for all Herbert growers. This year things will be done a little differently. HCPSL will be using three different methods of testing this season.

SRA’s Molecular Plant Pathologist Dr Chuong Ngo and Translational Research Pathologist Dr Rob Magarey visited HCPSL on 24 January to train HCPSL staff on the new Ratoon Stunting Disease (RSD) testing method called leaf sheaf biopsies (LSB).

A core (otherwise called a leaf punch) is taken from the leaf sheath of the cane plant, mixed with distilled water, and then sent off to the laboratory for analysis. The RSD bacteria weeps from the leaf punch into the distilled water over a few hours and is then analysed.

Photo above – Dr Chuong Ngo, Molecular Plant Pathologist, presents  at the HCPSL training day.

This sampling method is just as accurate as the expressed xylem sap method and both use the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test that was made available to growers two years ago by HCPSL. However, the LSB method is more efficient in the field for collection of samples. It can also be done earlier in the year that phase contrast microscopy (PCM) method. The PCM (microscope) method will still be made available to growers, but this method can be less accurate when detecting RSD than LSB and qPCR.

HCPSL staff will only be testing cane that will be used for planting in 2023. Growers will only be permitted to sample one block/variety for every 20 ha farmed. This ruling has been put in place to allow HCPSL staff to get across all farms. There will be no charge for Herbert growers using the seed inspection service.

Growers who wish to undertake a whole of farm RSD survey will be invoiced accordingly. This is not a core HCPSL service. Full farm RSD surveys will only be undertaken mid-year after all seed inspections are completed for cane to be planted this season. 

The other change this year is that growers will need to come into the HCPSL office with their most recent farm maps, downloaded from the Wilmar website, to book a seed cane inspection with HCPSL staff. Due to changes at Wilmar concerning data management and security, HCPSL currently does not have copies of grower farm maps and data.

HCPSL is working with Wilmar to gain access to farm data, but new computer systems will need to be upgraded before growers can go online through the Wilmar website to grant permission to HCPSL to gain data access. Both HCPSL and Wilmar apologise for the inconvenience caused and are working together to resolve this matter.

Photo above (Left) – HCPSL field staff expressing sap for a xylem sample.
Photo above (Right) – A leaf punch collected for a LSB sample.

The turnaround time from collection to receiving your results using the LSB and qPCR methods is about two weeks, so growers will need to plan which varieties/blocks they want tested. RSD samples will be processed by both the SRA and Metagen labs located in Brisbane and Gatton respectively.

HCPSL and SRA data have shown that growers who utilise Approved and disease-free planting material will grow on average 11 tonnes cane per hectare (tch) more  than growers who don’t.

Don’t take it for granted that the cane you are planting this year is disease free, get it tested!

Growers are urged to contact the HCPSL office ASAP to organise a seed cane inspection by HCPSL field staff.

To download a copy of the Press Release, view the document below.

HCPSL hosts the 2022 Combined Productivity Services Group Conference

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

Last week, HCPSL and Burdekin Productivity Services (BPS) hosted productivity services groups from across the industry at the 2022 Combined Productivity Services Group Conference. Productivity groups from Mossman to Isis were in attendance. Over 60 industry agronomists and advisors visited the Herbert to explore news ideas, discuss issues, and share findings.

Conference attendees visiting the Macknade site.

Over 2 days the groups focused on a range of topics, including – diseases, varieties, pests, technology, weeds, and nutrition. Throughout the conference, the groups discussed industry and district specific issues they faced.

Alike to the Herbert, delivering clean seed was a key triumph and core focus for many productivity groups. While RSD, pigs and rats were highlighted as common issues across various districts.

Initial presentations became the catalyst for extensive group discussion around methods for managing RSD and the effective delivery of clean seed. Conference participants then visited the Macknade site, where varieties were spotlighted. Presenters from across the industry explored the use of genomic selection, molecular markers and tissue culture.

During Day 2 the management of 2,4-D drift, weeds and feral pigs was discussed by the groups. Finally, the benefits of nutrient management, soil sampling and soil health were explored in detail by presenters. Presentations highlighted the need for soil health in sustaining productivity. To conclude the conference, interested participants were invited to visit the HCPSL hot water tanks at Victoria Mill.

Presentations and discussions from across the 2 days proved widely beneficial for all in attendance. HCPSL thanks all productivity groups and industry professionals who attended the conference and shared knowledge, contributed ideas and engaged in robust discussions.

HCPSL would like to acknowledge the following Sponsors of the 2022 Combined Productivity Services Group Conference – Wilmar, Nufarm, SRA and Burdekin Productivity Services.

JCU Student, Ethan Waters Receives awards for his innovative work into RSD detection.

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

Congratulations to Ethan Waters the winner of 2022 C.N. Barton Medal for best JCU engineering thesis seminar. He received the award on Thursday evening of the 27th of October at JCU. Additionally, Ethan was the runner-up for the Engineers Australia | Institute of Engineering Technology Student Seminar Competition QLD Finals for Software, Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He received the award on Wednesday night, the 19th of October, at the Engineers Australia office in Brisbane.

Ethan was the James Cook University representative, presenting his thesis on “Sugarcane Health Monitoring and Ratoon Stunting Disease (RSD) Detection with Freely Available Multispectral Satellites”.

Ethan thanked Engineers Australia and the Institute of Engineering Technology for hosting the events. He also thanked his JCU supervisors, Mostafa Rahimi Azghadi and Carla Ewels, for their guidance and the team from HCPSL who assisted him with his studies.

Ethan will continue to work (as a JCU student) with HCPSL staff to progress the research he has undertaken into RSD detection.

Once again congratulations Ethan, your dedication and hard work has paid off.

Download a copy of the Press Release below:

Press Release: Closure of HCPSL Approved Clean Seed plots-2022.

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

HCPSL still has some cane varieties available from the HCPSL Approved Clean Seed Stone River and Macknade farms. If you wish to obtain cane from these plots, please contact:

The Ingham Line, Central and Abergowrie plots are already closed or will close by Friday the 30th of September because all cane has been collected or allocated.

All HCPSL Approved Clean Seed cane plots will be closed on the 7th of October.

The HCPSL hot water treatment tanks will remain open until the end of October, if growers are wishing to treat cane.

Growers are urged to contact HCPSL as soon as possible to obtain Approved Clean Seed cane in 2022.

To download a copy of the Press Release, view the file below.

HCPSL