BSES Media Release
24 July 2013

Sugarcane growers throughout Queensland and NSW will find BSES Limited’s (BSES) 2013—14 variety guide in their letterbox this week.

Gae Plunkett, Development Officer Varieties, BSES said that the regional guides are designed to help growers select varieties that will have the best chance of success based upon their individual farm conditions.

“Managing varieties on-farm is vital. By making informed choices this season, growers can make a positive difference to their farm’s productivity and profitability for the whole crop cycle,” said Ms Plunkett.

“The guides contain the best available and most up-to-date information for growers to consider when choosing varieties to plant and trial on their farms.”

Guides have been developed for three regional groups – Herbert and Northern, Burdekin and Central, and Southern and NSW.

Each guide provides a useful overview of the newly available varieties in each region and compares the yield and CCS – a measure of recoverable sugar in the cane – to the performance of commercial varieties in recent BSES trials.

Disease ratings also detail how well certain varieties will perform against a range of endemic diseases.

“Growers need to think about which varieties will grow best in the type of soils, and conditions they may have on their farm. They will also need to identify when sugar levels are at their highest so they can plan their harvesting schedule,” said Ms Plunkett.

“The tables in our guide will help growers to make these choices.

“Growers can also choose to review, compare and select varietal information online by using QCANESelectTM our web-based decision making tool. The data in QCANESelectTM are updated regularly and are based on the most recent BSES variety trials and in-field observations.”

Further information:
Visit the BSES website www.bses.com.au to access QCANESelectTM and download copies of the 2013—14 variety guides.