Best management practices for maintaining water quality in sugarcane cultivation

Description

Best Management Practices (BMPs) in agricultural crops are farming methods that assure optimum plant growth, profitable yields and minimized adverse environmental effects. This chapter focusses on the achievement of BMPs in maintaining water quality for sugarcane cultivation, drawing on evidence from two well-established long-term BMP programs providing a measure of water quality management: the BMP program (SmartCane) adopted by the Australian Sugar Industry, and the BMP program adapted by growers in the Everglades Agricultural Area in South Florida, USA. The chapter addresses the importance of understanding nitrogen cycling to maintaining water quality and thereby sustainability of sugarcane production.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Industry-driven BMPs 3 SmartCane principles of BMP adopted by the Australian sugar industry 4 Phosphorus reduction BMPs in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) of Florida, USA 5 Sugarcane and nitrogen (N) cycling 6 Future trends and conclusion 7 Where to look for further information 8 Acknowledgements 9 References