Project leader with the Co-operative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology (CRC SIIB), Dr Susanne Schmidt, says smarter sugarcane crops will rely more on nature and less on intervention, in which new sugarcane varieties will use resources more efficiently to drive productivity.

"Recent CRC SIIB research has shown that there is a genetic basis for improving the use of nitrogen by sugarcane," Dr Schmidt said.

"We think that more nitrogen efficient sugarcane varieties can be bred.

"Our theory is that through understanding how sugarcane acquires and uses nitrogen, we can use biotechnology to develop and breed varieties that need less nitrogen fertiliser to make the same amount of sugar and biomass."

One million tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser are manufactured around the world each year - nearly the same amount as is produced naturally by nitrogen fixing bacteria.

According to the CRC, doubling of reactive nitrogen to the planet is of great concern as it interferes with the global carbon cycle with yet unknown consequences.

One anticipated outcome is even more rapid increases in atmospheric CO2 levels.

Dr Schmidt said that many people ask why and how nitrogen is so easily lost from a cropping system.

"It is a little like a good versus bad bacteria scenario," she said.

"When a lot of nitrogen fertiliser is applied to soil, we upset the balance of soil bacterial population which plays a vital role in the earth’s nitrogen cycle.

"These bacteria convert the fertiliser into nitrogen compounds that are easily lost from soil.

"When the compounds come into contact with either rain or irrigation the nitrogen is washed into our waterways resulting in lower water quality.

"Bad bacteria also turn fertiliser nitrogen into greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.

"Our research has shown that different types of sugarcane differ in their ability to 'mine' the soil for nitrogen and efficiently store and use it for growth.

"I have no doubt that efficient sugarcane varieties in combination with improved farm management will result in a more sustainable sugarcane production."