CEEDS – a new approach to planting sugarcane

In the early stages of the SRA/Dupont GM Sugarcane Joint Venture – see page 26 – researchers began to develop ‘synthetic seed’ planting technology, but this technology faced local technical and cost challenges so SRA did not make a subsequent investment in this project. SRA however, is monitoring new technologies in the synthetic seed space and investigating whether these technologies are suitable for Australia. CEEDS – a new approach to planting sugarcane

n By Dr Paul Carver – New Energy Farms (Developer of the CEEDS Technology)

THE cane multiplication and planting techniques which are used to plant 26 million hectares of world sugarcane production have hardly changed over hundreds of years. Commercial sugarcane varieties are sterile, they do not produce seeds, so new crops must be established by techniques using vegetative propagation.

Traditionally, whole stems, harvested from standing crops, would be laid in furrows (a technique still used in many countries today) but modern refinements have progressed to billets and even short stem sections with perhaps only one or two buds per stem section. This is a multiplication and planting methodology which can require between 12 tonnes and 20 tonnes of whole cane stems to be planted per hectare and can use up to 20 per cent of the cane planted area just to produce planting material for the next year’s crop.

Recognising that establishing new cane crops was inefficient, and also a research area of sugarcane production that had been neglected, the plant technology business New Energy Farms (NEF) set out to develop new techniques to vegetatively propagate sugarcane to allow it to be planted like conventional seeded row crops.

Farmers planting many other of the world’s important crops like wheat, maize, rice and barley have easier logistics compared to sugarcane growers. Seed is readily available, and logistically easy to plant. CEEDS technology provides the possibility of planting less than 400 kg of sugarcane plants per hectare, encased in growing medium containing crop protection products, all with a protective waxy coat. That is the reality of CEEDS technology, developed by NEF after nine years of research.

Not GM technology

This is not GM technology and it is not another refinement of tissue culture technology. It is a new technology based upon understanding the physiological processes which take place in plants that are vegetatively propagated and using that knowledge to create radically different planting propagules.

The primed plant material, in its protective coat, with its targeted crop protection products and growth promoters (if desired) is about the size of a potato and can be planted with

This section brought to you in association with

This section brought to you in association with

automated planters. NEF data suggests up to 50x less weight of planting material is required per hectare resulting in improved logistics and speed of planting.

Soil compaction reduced

The dramatic reduction in the amount of material planted per hectare, and the reduced weight of planting equipment requires much less initial soil preparation and will produce far less soil compaction.

Extended planting window

Another advantage is that the planting propagules can be created at different times of the year, creating the possibility of extending planting windows. Soil compaction and erosion/ run off issues must be constantly addressed in sugarcane production and this technology could have an important and positive role to play.

Enhanced plant health

The process for creating CEEDS does not require material to be collected from production fields. It is a horticultural process that passes through several stages of controlled growing, undertaken in protected glasshouse/shaded environments, before the primed plant material is encapsulated and ready for planting. The enhanced plant health of the final planting material, derived from the clean and virus free material used at the start of the process, dramatically reduces the chances of any disease contamination between successive crops of cane. All too often, decisions on ratooning are driven by plant health issues so the excellent initial disease-free levels in the planting material for first year crops, created by the CEEDS technology process, should be a very positive benefit.

The production process also reduces the costs of multiplication and the areas required to actually produce the planting material for future crops. The areas of sugarcane planting that are normally designated for cane/billet production for new crops can now be harvested as commercial sugarcane.

Another interesting feature of the vegetative propagation process in sugarcane is that field plantings are often determined by the suitability of the existing crops to provide the correct material to be planted. This may not always coincide with the best climatic conditions in which to establish new crops. With CEEDS technology, planting can be scheduled at optimum times of the year as the production processes can be geared to produce planting material at any nominated date.

It is also clear that CEEDS technology can have a significant impact on the introduction of new sugarcane varieties. The technology provides higher rates of multiplication than simply using tissue culture technology to bulk up the scale of the multiplication in the years before the first commercial introduction of a new variety. Bringing new varieties into the market more quickly is a recognised aim of all sugarcane production areas and a new variety delivery route that involves CEEDS technology can achieve that aim.

CEEDS technology has been developed and patented by New Energy Farms Ltd, operating from research bases in Canada, USA and the UK. It is currently being introduced into some of the important sugarcane growing areas of the world. In 2014 NEF granted a License to Syngenta for the use of CEEDS technology in the Brazilian sugarcane market.

Some sectors of the industry have suggested that CEEDS technology is producing ‘artificial seeds’ which is an interesting compliment. The technology does have the capability to revolutionise the complete supply chain for vegetatively propagated crops. It can drive down multiplication costs, produce propagules which are easier to plant and also assist in the more rapid introduction of new varieties.

Vegetative propagation is a very important technology which has received far less funding and research effort over many decades when compared to seed technology. However, it is a vital technology and many important commercial crops such as cassava, banana, pineapple, potato, yam and sweet potato, as well as sugarcane, are dependent upon it to enable new crop areas to be established. CEEDS technology has created an exciting new way forward for sugarcane growers in Australia to consider.