Queensland sugar industry's yield breakthrough to help power renewable energy transition

ABC Rural

Queensland's sugar industry has had another taste of success as its research into improved crop yields using genomic selection with major innovation rivals Brazil and India pipped at the post. 

The trial confirmed that sugar cane's crop value could be improved by 2 per cent a year without the need for additional farmland, which researchers have said would boost revenue by $24 million in the first year of uptake.

The increased amount of sugar cane would also lead to an increase in the material needed for biofuel production.

Researchers claim the new technology will double the rate of gain for key sugar cane traits and could lead to substantial growth in domestic and international markets.

The technology is the culmination of a five-year collaboration between the University of Queensland and Sugar Research Australia (SRA) and is led by Ben Hayes, director of the Centre for Animal Science at Queensland Alliance at Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI).

He explained that the technology used DNA markers to develop sugar cane varieties, speeding up the breeding cycle of seedlings with desirable traits.

But how will this benefit Australia?

Aside from increasing crop yield without the need for more agricultural land, thereby increasing profits for producers, the country's rising renewable energy sector will also come out on top thanks to the increase in raw materials for biofuel.

How does it work?

Professor Hayes said the new technology could increase sugar cane production by 2 per cent a year without the need for more land.

"It should add in the order of $24 million to the value of each crop, but the beauty of genetics is it's cumulative," he said.

"So, you add $24 million this year, $48 million the following year, and as long as you keep selecting the best varieties, that just keeps building up and up."

Professor Hayes said the new technology would ensure Australian growers remained highly competitive with overseas markets.

Managing director of Green Pool Commodities and sugar analyst Tom McNeill said Queensland's booming crop would help to address global shortages of sugar.

"Many countries now have restrictions on bringing any new land into agricultural production, and this is the case in tropical regions where cane is grown," Mr McNeill said.

"Countries, regions, milling companies, and farmers are all looking for ways to reduce costs or increase yields within increasingly strict environmental guidelines, so it appears this new research can be a very useful additional tool to help achieve this."

Queensland's sugar industry currently powers 27 per cent of the state's renewable energy grid, according to the Australian Sugar Milling Council.

But with the new technology, growers can expect to expand their contribution.

"Sugar is the raw material for making biofuels, so this research makes crops more efficient to ultimately produce those biofuels," Professor Hayes said.

"If you can produce more sugar per plant that's really favourable for biofuel, so that can certainly help those industries."

Mackay cane grower Judy Thatcher said while the industry had been supplying green energy for many years, the more it could add to the grid, the better.

"As a sugarcane farmer, I'd like to think that this genomic selection can increase our productivity, which would be beneficial to any of the value-adding of our industry, including biofuels," she said.

"It's beneficial not just to our industry but to our wider community."

Ms Thatcher was hopeful the increased crop sizes would uncover new markets the Australian industry could break into.

"The fact that three countries — Brazil, India and Australia — were conducting this type of research, and that our very own Queensland industry and university have been the first to prove genomic selection in sugarcane is amazing news, and sets our industry up as a world leader for plant breeding," she said.