EVALUATION OF COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF Q200A IN NORTH QUEENSLAND

CROP IMPROVEMENT program outputs, via cultivar release, are much anticipated events in the Australian sugar industry, particularly in the grower sector, often with an expectation of providing a panacea for prevailing ills. Cultivar release generally is considered to provide slow, long-term improvement in productivity, usually directly, but often by problem solving, e.g., via incorporating resistance to biotic stresses. Because cultivar release rarely provides step-change improvement, the investment of R&D funds in this activity is being questioned. This paper examines in detail the gross return impact of the adoption of the cultivar Q200A in the north Queensland industry from 2001–2009. Mill production data were used to determine the advantage of growing Q200A instead of other cultivars in the production suite occupying the area planted to Q200A in each of the mill areas, year by year. In 2009, Q200A contributed 35% of the tonnage processed in the northern mills, just 7.3 years after release. Again, the northern industry has moved into a position of genetic vulnerability. From 2003–2009, Q200A had an average weighted commercial cane sugar (CCS) content of 14.27 vs 12.96, the CCS for the remainder of the crop, a 10.2% improvement. This represents a step-change increment in terms of crop improvement and, because of the assessment method, can be ascribed to genetic improvement alone. Average cane yield for Q200A was 84.4 vs 81.8 tonnes cane per hectare for the remainder of the production suite, a 3.2% improvement. Overall, an extra 10 924 241 t cane were produced from 129 458 ha by use of Q200A in place of other cultivars in the production suite. The average weighted gain was 1.84 t sugar/ha. Based on final annual prices, the cultivar has returned an additional AUD 86 465 776. Based on an average cost of cultivar development of AUD 1.2 × 106, this represents a healthy return on investment. In fairness, Q200A delivers increased fibre to the mill and, unless this can be exploited profitably, costs associated with this will reduce the cultivar’s benefit to the industry. The development of Q200A has provided a step-change improvement for the northern industry, even if the profitability it brings is discounted for the cultivar’s increased fibre. This cultivar’s success provides hard evidence that investment in traditional crop improvement is profitable and worthwhile.