Trials performed in 2022 have demonstrated that the best time to apply specific growth regulators to sugar cane is when the crop moisture content is 71-75%. Now Sugar Research Australia is using Viavi MicroNIR near-infrared spectrometers in a research project to identify this critical time.
The initial calibration process involved taking multiple scans of over a hundred different stalks of sugar cane with the goal of finding a method which can determine moisture content of a given stalk with only two or three measurements. Using MicroNIR provided an advantage in speed – sampling takes only a short time, compared to the typical process of cutting and milling the cane to measure the moisture with a refractometer.
A number of cane growers enrolled in the project have already seen results anywhere from half to one and a half units, depending on the variety of cane.
If you’d like to know more about Viavi MicroNIR spectrometers, contact Raymax on (02) 9979 7646 or fill out the form below.
