Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
world standards, highly regulated and expensive, with the basic agricultural wage
above US$ 18 (2012) per hour. It is this need to reduce labour costs that has driven
innovation and the creation of a modern plantation production system in Central
Queensland. This is a fundamental difference from the traditional plantation crops
that have had a history of labour exploitation and are still largely based in develop-
ing countries with little or no labour regulation. While low cost labour has been
traditionally a driver of plantation production in developing countries, it is high
cost labour and the difficulties associated with managing a large labour force that is
driving the move toward plantation style production in Australia.
As a consequence of the high labour costs, considerable emphasis has been
placed on developing a production system that can not only be mechanized us-
ing current technology, but also a system that is able to take advantage of future
advances in automation. For mechanisation to be efficient, it also needs to be on a
large scale so that the high capital inputs are spread over large areas.
Speed over the ground is the key to making macadamias efficient and profitable
with long straight rows and smooth inter-rows allowing the rapid passage of equip-
ment through the plantation. With an average of 18-20 operational passes per inter-
row per year, small changes in ground speed can, cumulatively, have a significant
impact on orchard economics. Orchard floor preparation prior to planting, to al-
low high operational orchard speeds, in combination with a good orchard design to
channel and manage heavy rainfall, has therefore become a priority in modern mac-
adamia plantations. Since 2004, over 70 % of the new plantations in the Bundaberg
area have been established using tractors fitted with satellite guidance systems. The
accuracy of these systems (± 2 cm) allows large machinery to move at high speed
through an orchard with minimal risk to the trees. In addition, the satellite systems
have allowed micro-mapping of orchard topography on a scale that was not possible
when orchards were surveyed using traditional methods. Micro-mapping not only
allows the orchard designer to establish a plantation where water movement from
heavy rainfall downpours can be carefully controlled, it also allows for the design
of more accurate and efficient irrigation and fertigation systems.
Once the orchard has been designed and the tree row mounds and irrigation in-
stalled, the trees are planted using a mechanical planter coupled to a satellite guided
tractor (Figs.
8.24
and
8.25
). This allows a team of 8-10 people to plant between 6
to 10 hectares per day with an accuracy of ± 2 cm within the row. A drip irrigation
system is usually installed at the same time with the trees receiving water within
four hours of being planted.
Irrigation systems are critical for managing trees in this environment with trees
receiving irrigation, scheduled using a range of tools, on a needs basis. Fertiga-
tion is almost universally employed with trees receiving nearly constant nutrition
throughout the year. The drivers for this investment are not only the cost of nutri-
tional inputs, but the marginal nature of the soils used for macadamia production in
this area. Australian soils are, by nature, old and highly weathered. Consequently,
they are often poorly structured and have low nutrient and water holding capacities,
characteristics which allow the good manager some control over their crop but, in
turn, present their own set of problems.
