Condong

Variety & Crop Report

2012 Season

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The wet conditions which started in 2010 continued until the start of the 2012 crush. The drought which then followed provided good harvesting conditions and an excellent season CCS of 12.42. The drought also made for a difficult and extended planting season with germination failures occurring on some heavy soils. Needless to say, the drought was broken by a major flood on the Australia Day weekend.

The graph on the left shows how weather and particularly flooding has affected our crops. We have experienced a flood each year since 2008 (except 2011) and their effect has been cumulative as damaged plant and young ratoons have advanced to older ratoons.

Let’s hope the 2013 flood is the last in the series. Last year the percent of one year old cane harvested was 60% which is closer to our long term average than recent years. Top performers

On peaty soils KQ228, Q234 and Q200 were top performers. Q211 was also up there despite many blocks being affected by the 2012 Australia Day flood. On clay soils KQ228, Q200 and Q155 were the top performers. For two year old, Q200 was the most productive variety in young ratoons with Q193 and BN81-1394 the top performers in older ratoons. Newer varieties

In plant cane Q208’s performance was only average but in ratoons it ranked well for productivity. Despite a large tonnage of Q208 being used as plants last year 10,442 tonnes were crushed representing 3.5% of total tonnage. Data quality

Choosing the best variety to plant and the optimal time to harvest it are two of the most important decisions that farmers make. Please ensure that the variety information on your maps is accurate and encourage your harvest crew to take care when consigning your bins. This report is only as reliable as the data used to compile it. I hope this report assists you with your planting and harvesting decisions in the coming season.

Peter McGuire

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Condong Variety Distribution 2012 season

Minor varieties – 20.7%

Q155 3.2% Q235 0.3%

Q213 2.9% Experimental 0.3%

Q151 2.2% Q190 0.3%

Q170 2.1% CP44-101 0.2%

Q203 1.2% Concord 0.2%

DELTA 1.2% Pindar 0.2%

Q210 1.0% Encore 0.2%

Q202 1.0% Q136 0.1%

Q124 0.9% Q135 0.1%

Q224 0.9% Empire 0.1%

Q205 0.6% Louisiana 0.1%

Rogan 0.5% Florida 0.05%

Q177 0.4% Q223 0.02%

Q141 0.4% H56-752 0.02%

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Performance by Crop Class and Age (All consignment data used as supplied)

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One and Two Year Old by Percent

Average productivity for all 1 YO cane = 7.51 tonnes sugar per ha

Based on a forecast final price of $35/ T cane: Avg return after harvesting = $1,574 per ha harvested.

Average productivity for all 2 YO cane = 11.42 tonnes sugar per ha

Based on a forecast final price of $35/ T cane: Avg return after harvesting = $2,387 per ha harvested

= $1,193/ha per year

Note: 255 tonnes of 3 year old cane have been excluded. $9 assumed for harvesting + levies.

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One Year Old Plant Cane Fallow plant + replant

Variety Q213 BN81 Q211 Q235 Q208 Q234 Q200 KQ228 Rogan

Ha 4.86 2.76 171.68 9.17 36.44 14.75 32.4 57.95 4.61

Productivity is reported as tonnes of sugar per ha.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety Q177 Q151 Q155 BN81 Q234 Q208 Rogan KQ Q211 Q190 Q200 Q124

ha 5.1 2.3 6.4 5.6 19 41 6.4 50 74 4.7 23 3.2

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One Year Old 1st & 2nd Ratoons

Variety KQ228 Q211 Q170 Q200 Q208 Q151 Q188 Q234 BN81 Q193 Q213 Co740 Q205 Q203

Ha 37 151 5.4 93 8.5 3.5 32 58 18 2.6 2.4 6.8 5.2 8.2

Productivity is reported as tonnes of sugar per ha.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety Rogan Q208 KQ228 Q193 Q200 Q213 Q151 Q188 BN81 Q234 Q211 Delta Q155 Co740

Ha 2.9 15.5 32.1 11.1 48.1 18.3 2.8 12.4 18.5 38.5 41.5 7.4 13.4 2.7

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One Year 3rd and older Ratoons

Variety Q208 Q210 Q170 Q188 Q211 BN81 Q234 Q151 Q205 Delta Q193 Q155

Ha 2.6 5.4 8.9 53.5 105 40.9 2.5 12.1 10.9 2.0 3.8 2.5

Productivity is reported as tonnes of sugar per ha.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety Delta Q155 Q188 Q210 BN81 Q193 Q211 Q151 Q213 Q124

Ha 8.2 16.9 31.3 2.3 30.5 30.0 8.2 4.4 15.4 1.3

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Two Year Old Plant Cane

Variety Q234 Q170 Q200 Q211 Q151 BN81 Q155 KQ228

Ha 6.9 12.0 6.0 27.0 1.8 2.3 2.0 7.6

Productivity is reported as tonnes of sugar per ha.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety KQ228 Q155 BN81 Q200

Ha 6.4 10.1 7.0 7.8

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Two Year Old 1st & 2nd Ratoons

Variety Q170 Q200 Q234 Q188 Co740 BN81 Q213 Q211 Q203 Q151 KQ228 Q193

Ha 11.7 11.9 7.8 19.9 4.4 55.1 4.4 16.0 16.8 20.1 5.6 2.9

Productivity is reported as tonnes of sugar per ha.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety Q200 Q211 Q155 Co740 Q234 BN81 Q193 Q224 Q124 Q213 Delta

Ha 8.5 37.2 11.6 32.5 10.3 30.2 7.3 17.6 7.8 21.4 4.2

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Two Year Old 3rd & Older Ratoons

Variety Q205 Q170 BN81 Q210 Q213 Q151 Delta Q188 Q193 Q203 Co740 Q211

Ha 2.5 6.1 63.0 3.2 5.8 4.8 3.8 6.0 12.6 9.9 24.8 3.6

Productivity is reported as tonnes of relative pol per ha which is the basis for cane payment in NSW.

Excludes varieties with less than 2 ha harvested. Blocks with very high & very low yields have also been excluded.

Variety Q193 Q155 BN81 Q210 Delta Co740 Q124 Q213

Ha 25.9 10.6 50.4 7.7 7.5 28.5 15.2 12.3

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

Q211 has been an outstanding variety on peaty soils BUT is has the poorest flood tolerance of all varieties approved at Condong. It is grows well on clay soils and stands over well.

Q211 Pedigree

Smut • Susceptible RSD • Highly susceptible

Pachymetra • Resistant

Blue line is mill CCS

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

BN81-1394 has declined from over 25% of the crop three years ago to 12.5% in 2012. The variety performs poorly in flooded or water logged conditions. Better varieties are available. Disease ratings:

BN81-1394 Pedigree

Smut • Resistant Chlorotic streak • Resistant

Pachymetra • Highly susceptible RSD • Highly susceptible

Blue line is mill CCS

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

KQ228 was second major variety in Queensland in 2011, making up 19% of the crop. It has good early CCS but was only about mill average last year at Condong. Disease ratings:

KQ228 Pedigree

Smut • Resistant RSD • Highly susceptible

Pachymetra • Intermediate

Blue line is mill CCS

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

Q200 was the third most popular variety harvested both here in 2012 and in Qld for 2011. Thanks to its high CCS over the past few years it has consistently performed well on both peat and clay soils as both one and two year old. It has poor flood tolerance.

Q200 Pedigree

Smut • Resistant Chlorotic streak • Resistant

Pachymetra • Intermediate RSD • Resistant

Blue line is mill CCS

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

The wet conditions over the past two years has seen Q188 perform poorly. Two year performance is usually poor. A return of dry conditions would see a resurgance of Q188.

Q188 Pedigree

Smut • Susceptible RSD • Resistant

Pachymetra • Resistant

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

Q234 does best as plant cane on both peat and clay soils. It’s ratoon performance tends to fall away. On the peaty soils stool tipping is an issue. Flood tolerance is poor.

Q234 Pedigree

Smut • Intermediate RSD • Susceptible

Pachymetra • Intermediate

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

Q155 has continued to perform well on clay soils both in one and two year crops. It has good CCS all season. As Q155 is highly susceptible to RSD anyone intending to plant this variety should buy approved seed each year. Not recommended for peat soils due to its high susceptibility to Pachymetra.

Q155 Pedigree

Smut • Intermediate Chlorotic streak • Intermediate

Pachymetra • Highly susceptible RSD • Highly susceptible

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

MINOR VARIETIES 1 Year Old

In 2011 Q208 was the major variety grown in Queensland accounting for 30% of the crop. Even before the flood it was likely to be the major variety planted at Condong in 2013. Its excellent flood tolerance makes this a certainty. Q208 also has good drought tolereance once established. The intermediate rating for Pachymetra will limit the amount of Q208 that can be grown sucessfully on peaty soils. Pachymetra causes root rotting, stool tipping and poor ratooning. Peat soils should be tested for Pachymetra before planting with Q208 and other intermediate varieties.

Q208 Pedigree

Smut • Intermediate Chlorotic streak • Resistant

Pachymetra • Intermediate RSD • Resistant

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

MINOR VARIETIES 1 Year Old

Q235 Pedigree

Smut • Resistant Chlorotic streak • Intermediate

Pachymetra • Resistant RSD • Highly susceptible

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CCS COMPARED TO MILL AVERAGE

MINOR VARIETIES 2 Year Old

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Percent of Varieties Crushed Last 5 Years

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Pedigree of Some Recently Released Varieties

Q232

Q240

Q242

Q243

Q244