PATTERNS OF ADOPTION OF COMMERCIAL SUGARCANE VARIETIES TO INCREASE ECONOMIC RETURNS TO THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY

RAPID adoption of new commercial varieties with high potential in Australia may be limited by the variety release schemes operating in different regions. These schemes can result in a shortage of planting material. To understand the impact of varietal adoption, a database containing varietal and mill productivity from 1980–2003 was constructed. Analysis of these data showed four distinct groups of varieties. The first contained the highly successful variety Q124, with a long increase in its production area in several regions to peak adoption 14 years after release. Also in this group were the successful regional varieties Q96 and Q117 that took 10–11 years for full adoption. The second group contained H56-752 that reached maximum adoption in 5–6 years. The third group contained Q108 and Q110 which were adopted very rapidly to replace varieties susceptible to Fiji leaf gall, and Q122 which was a niche variety in the Babinda area. The fourth group included a large number of varieties in all regions that were characterised by a small area of adoption and a short period of commercial cultivation. SmartSett® Technology, a method of mass production of sugarcane plants developed jointly by BSES Limited and CSIRO, offers an opportunity to considerably reduce the time required for full adoption. We suggest that the integration of SmartSett® Technology into the variety release program will significantly accelerate variety adoption and increase economic returns to the Australian sugar industry.