Chemical ripeners: an opportunity for the Australian sugar industry

In many cane sugar producing countries, chemical ripeners are applied to sugarcane to increase sucrose levels at harvest. This paper reviews Australian and overseas research on ripeners and discusses the potential for ripeners to be used in the Australian sugar industry to improve sucrose levels at harvest. South Mrican research has defined the range of conditions necessary for economic responses to the ripeners used in their sugar industry. Australian research, in contrast, has not led to widespread adoption of ripener technology, although good responses were recorded in Australian experimentation. Reasons for the lack of adoption are discussed. We propose that there are situations within the Australian industry where ripeners can increase sucrose content. In Australia, further research on ripeners is required to: a) define the appropriate conditions necessary for economic responses to different ripeners; and b) to increase the range of registered ripeners available to growers.