Lodging - a major constraint to high yield and CCS in the wet and dry tropics

Quantifying the effects of lodging is important to determine how much effort should be devoted (e.g. by plant breeders) to reducing lodging and how that effort should be targeted. This paper reports the results from three experiments (1997-1999) where the growth patterns of lodged and non-lodged cane in both wet and dry tropical environments of Australia were measured. There were three different treatments: control (natural lodging), scaffolding (non-lodging) and late crop (ratooned in December). Prevention of lodging increased sugar yields by 15-35% at the final harvest in August/September. Compared with the scaffolding treatment and depending on the timing/nature/extent and number of lodging events, different amounts of stalk death were observed in the lodged control along with reductions in the dry weight accumulation and the sugar content of the remaining live stalks. A considerable amount ofrat damage was also experienced in the wet tropics (1998-1999) as a consequence of lodging. In combination, all these factors translate to large losses in revenue and profit (18% to 43%) for growers in particular. Approaches to address lodging via an improved variety selection program and/or crop management practices are discussed.