Cane growers and scientists will gather in Cairns in November to discuss new ideas for reducing nitrogen runoff into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n
The \u2018Innovative Nitrogen Use in Sugarcane\u2019<\/em> Forum will provide a space for growers, scientists and industry to discuss the role nitrogen plays in both the sugar cane enterprise and the health of the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n High nitrogen levels are linked to many major reef health impacts including algae blooms, starfish outbreaks, coral reproduction problems and potentially increased susceptibility to bleaching.<\/p>\n Nitrogen-based fertilizer is also a primary operational cost for cane farmers, making the reduction of fertilizer waste an important objective for the industry.<\/p>\n Leading cane growers will bring their viewpoints and expertise to the forum, alongside other major industry players, the industry peak body CANEGROWERS, and Sugar Research Australia.<\/p>\n Multiple Tropical Water Quality Hub projects dealing with nitrogen use will be presented, including Project 25<\/a><\/strong> (promoting behavioural change through fine-scale water quality monitoring), Project 3.1.2<\/a><\/strong> (using Internet of Things technology to improve irrigation management) and Project 2.1.8<\/strong><\/a> (trialing enhanced efficiency fertilizers for reducing total nitrogen use). The Six Easy Steps toolbox will also be discussed.<\/p>\n The forum will be held at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns on November 7-8.<\/p>\n The Reef and Rainforest Research Centre is the primary organising body for the forum.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cane growers and scientists will gather in Cairns in November to discuss new ideas for reducing nitrogen runoff into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The \u2018Innovative Nitrogen Use … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5484,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5493","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBack to the October 2018 e-Newsletter contents<\/strong><\/a><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"