DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT TOOL AND INFORMATION RESOURCE FOR SUGARCANE VARIETIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY

QCANESelectâ„¢ is a web-based, decision support tool and information resource that delivers up-to-date variety recommendations and information in an easy-touse and intuitive way. It provides specific block recommendations based on grower-defined characteristics of a block and will develop a whole-farm plan for varieties. The whole-farm plan aims to maximise productivity while managing risks associated with over-reliance on one or two varieties, and by allowing for more than one disease to be considered in planting decisions across all blocks on the farm. Growers and advisors can also obtain graphical reports on variety adoption, productivity and disease resistance for the region. QCANESelectâ„¢ was developed after extensive consultation with grower focus groups and extension, Productivity Service and mill staff. The data used to provide the information and make recommendations are held in the BSES Variety Improvement database SPIDNet. QCANESelectâ„¢ provides growers with access to this database in a grower-friendly format. The productivity of varieties for each soil type in each region was assessed by a group of experts who assigned a yield score for that soil type. Yield scores are adjusted for disease resistance, seasonal sugar content and plant and management characteristics depending on what issues a grower nominates for the block he is interested in. The yield scores will be updated annually as more information becomes available about varieties. QCANESelectâ„¢ will be an important tool to help growers during the changeover from smut-susceptible to smut-resistant varieties.