Precision agriculture and sugarcane production – a case study from the Burdekin region of Australia

Abstract

<p>Chapter 9 builds on the themes of previous chapters, which focus on the deployment of technology in sugarcane cultivation, by addressing the issue of precision agriculture in sugarcane production through a detailed case study from the Burdekin region of Australia. Precision agriculture involves the use of spatial information about crop performance and the biophysical characteristics of the production system at the field and sub-field scales, in order to optimize agronomic management decisions. The chapter uses a 26.7 ha field in the Burdekin sugarcane growing region of Australia to illustrate how precision agriculture technologies might be used to enhance sugarcane production. In this case, precision agriculture achieved a saving of A$330/ha in gypsum application costs through the use of variable rate application.</p>