Balance + Simazine showed the most crop damage, reducing the growth for a short period of time and chickpea establishment was slightly less, however, yield was significantly better than any other treatment.

• There were no differences in yield between the control, BTH and fungicide treated plots.
• Disease levels in 2000 were very low and had no impact on yield.

• Four oestrogenic sub clover varieties (Yarloop, Dinninup, Geraldton and Dwalganup) have been found in South East SA and Kangaroo Island pastures.
• Oestrogenic clovers can be responsible for reduced ewe fertility, difficult births, prolapse of the uterus, urethral blockages in wethers and udder development in maiden ewes and wethers.
• Growers are encouraged to assess their own paddocks for the presence of problem species, potential impact on their flock and the development of appropriate management strategies

Hussar® is a group B herbicide, which is active on a range of grasses (Wild Oats, Phalaris, and Rye Grass) and broadleaf weeds in wheat. Hussar® is currently pending registration.

Affinity is a Group G herbicide (as is Goal) used for broadleaf weed control in cereals. Best used in conjunction with MCPA. The control plot yielded the least presumably due to competition from weeds. Affinity showed good crop tolerance.

Paragon is similar to Tigrex and in this demonstrationshowed good tolerance in wheat.
 

Raptor (imazamox) has activity on barley grass, brome grass, dead nettle, volunteer cereals, wild oats and mustard. 

In the northern wheat belt, poor crop growth has often been reported following long periods of fallow or after a prolonged drought. The symptoms of poor growth have been attributed to a lack of vasicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the roots of wheat plants following a long dry period.

• 2 seasons after the break crop being planted, significant yield benefits from the break crop are still being observed
• Significant interactions between the nitrogen requirements of wheat after the break crop were observed again in 2013 (also noted in 2012)
• Splitting nitrogen treatments after wheat and canola resulted in significant yield increases when compared to a single nitrogen application

• Effect of location: A 30km distance North from the south coast within the HRZ, proposed as the ‘Chillinup  Line,’ appears to be a critical agronomic cut off point for where the risk of downgrade or failure to meet specification is manageable. Noodle Wheat can be grown more successfully North of the ‘Chillinup line’, 30 km inland from the South Coast and East and West of the Stirling Ranges yet still in the HRZ.

• Granulock 10Z would have provided sufficient nutrients for an average season 3.75t/ha.
• The good spring rains allowed the Granulock 10 blends: 10, 22, 24, 25 and 29 to perform to their potential because of their additional nitrogen. Granulock 10Z 29 produced the highest yield and acheived H2 quality class attracting a premium price.
• The Granulock 10Z (S) blends did not perform as well because of lesser nitrogen levels and the soil was not sulphur responsive.

• Farmers can continue to use retained OP seed for at least three years.

Nobody is going to argue that 2006 was a disastrous year for agriculture in southern Australia. After a dream start in most areas, many farmers were saying that “the crop went in the best it had for years,” but the absence of useful follow up rain, and in some cases damage due to frost, was a bitter pill to swallow.

By the end of 2006 mature El Niño conditions were recorded in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Most ocean-atmosphere models suggest that the Pacific should remain warm in the short-term with a gradually return to neutral conditions by mid-year. The DAFWA analogue year selection system has a more optimistic outlook, suggesting that there is a high chance of La Niña conditions developing by the middle of the year. In terms of wheatbelt rainfall, the analogues suggest that average rainfall is likely over summer and average to above average rainfall is likely between May and October. To the northwest of WA there has been a recent trend towards warmer Sea Surface Temperatures (SST). If this trend contributes to an enhanced SST gradient to the northwest of Australia the confidence in enhanced northwest cloud-band activity and above average growing season rainfall would increase. The lesson from 2006 is that trends in SST in this region need to be closely followed.

• A strong trend was evident in this trial indicating that the new plant growth regulator Moddus Evo when used in combination with Amistar Xtra gave positive yield results. These results where beyond what could be attributed to antilodging with Moddus Evo and disease control with Amistar Xtra
• The addition of tank mix partners where not seen to be antagonistic to the results and in fact also trended positively however Syngenta recommends not mixing Flexi N or phenxy herbicides with Moddus Evo. The herbicide mix’s greater yields may have been linked to improved weed control.

• The fungicides Amistar Xtra and Cogito in this trial significantly reduced foliar disease levels providing significant yield increases in barley.
• The addition of Moddus Evo plant growth regulator provided a small incremental improvement on yield to the fungicides alone.
• The experimental in-furrow fungicide SYNSIF1 was not able to deliver disease control and hence yield improvements in this trial because foliar disease appeared after the useful residual of the product had been exhausted.

• The profitability of any crop is highly sensitive to changes in both yield and price. In past Crop Challenges, cost of production ($/t) and crop yield (t/ha) have been strong indicators of financial return. On average, these indicators have been able to predict 75-90% of the variation in gross margin.
• In 2014 due to low yields and vastly different cost structures across the teams, yield was a substantially better indicator of final gross margin (see Figure 4 in attached trial report).
   

PBA Bolt is a good first choice for Esperance lentil growers, with PBA Ace an option for early sowing or longer seasons. The new XT line CIPAL1422 performed well and may be a valuable alternative to PBA Hurricane XT for those growers wishing to use imazethapyr (e.g. Spinnaker®) or facing SU carryover issues.

PBA Samira was the highest yielding released faba bean variety at Wittenoom Hills.

• There was no significant difference on a dry matter basis between all fertilizer products. Nor was there an effect of the cumulative amount over the four harvest times.
• There was a hint in the data that plots receiving treatment D (single super) were the least productive at both the Parndana and the Stokes Bay trials.

• There was no significant difference on a dry matter basis between all fertilizer products. Nor was there an effect of the cumulative amount over the four harvest times.
• There was high variability across the site owing to the effect of the January bushfire.
• There was a hint in the data that plots receiving treatment D (single super) were the least productive at both the Parndana and the Stokes Bay trials.

• The following observations were made on the same farm using similar management, but it was not possible to conclude exactly what factors were responsible for the differences observed (since this has not been statistically compared).
• Grain maize following a terminated faba bean crop planted into the previous maize residues generated higher dry matter offtakes and grain yields than leaving the land fallow over winter and spring.
• Grain maize yielded 21.13 t/ha (14% moisture) following the terminated faba beans and 19.29t/ha following winter fallow (recorded from hand harvested quadrats which are typically higher yielding than machine harvested plots).

• Low potash treatments were easily observed in the lupin rotation (2018). They had less vigour and plant biomass and yielded significantly less than the other treatments.
• The low potash treatments were also low yielding in the 2017 wheat phase.

Peake and Correll are two new varieties that may be considered for the Mallee environment.

• No bird damage was evident in the trial possibly due to the netting used which may have been a deterrent itself.
• There was a significant effect on plant counts established in the absense of bird damage but htis didn't relate to final yield.
• The two highest yielding treatments, although not significant (P = 0.05), were post emergent products applied to the 2nd true leaf.

• Farming systems with greater reliance on livestock performed better than more cropping intensive systems over the last five years.
• The lower income and lower cost perennial pasture system was found to be the most profitable under the assumptions made.
• Dry conditions over the last five years have generally played havoc with the performance of cropping intensive systems, particularly the continuous cropping system.
• Because of this, we suggest that the results provide more guidance about the robustness of farming systems during extended dry conditions rather than average conditions so keenly sought.

• There were no significant differences between K sources or rates at this trial, despite soil test model predictions of high K response.
• Canola did not respond to high P application at this site in the absence of Nitrogen.
• The site was highly N responsive, although the N use efficiency suggests leaching was moderate. This may have been compounded by low pH and the presence of Aluminium in the subsoil.
• More K response may be seen in wheat in the 2010 season.

The simulation study suggests that the rate of root extension into the subsoil was dramatically slower in the presence of subsoil constraints. However, in the 2001 season, wheat yield was not limited by this factor, which reduced the use of soil moisture early in the season and thus delayed the onset of water stress during the dry grainfilling period.

• A literature search was conducted of research into trace elements in crop production systems of south eastern Australia.
• References found in the "grey" literature (primarily printed material not available on-line) was summarised into key points and entered into the On Farm Trials database.
• All of these entries, plus those found from searching the international peer reviewed journal literature were entered into an Endnote database.
• The Endnote database is made available here, along with a text version for use by researchers.
• This activity was funded by the GRDC More Profit from Crop Nutrition program.
• Keywords: zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iron, copper, boron, trace elements, micronutrients.

Crop establishment and nutrient supply had a greater effect on crop growth than soil water repellence at this site. Interestingly, grain yield showed a weak, slightly positive relationship with our measurements of water repellence e.g. grain yield was highest at points that had higher levels of water repellence (data not shown here). The positive relationship between soil water repellence reflects the role of soil water repellent organic matter and soil nitrogen supply. Our results suggest nitrogen supply was a major limitation to growth therefore it is reasonable that higher grain yields occurred where soil organic carbon (soil nitrogen supply) was high. Water repellence may have had a minor effect because it was not severe at this site; the MED values ranged from 0.1 (Low water repellence, King 1981) to 2.1 (Moderate water repellence) and the average was 1.0 (Moderate water repellence). However, the samples for MED measurement were taken in winter when the expression of soil water repellence is lowest.

Gamma thorium provided a reasonable prediction of shoot K concentration and gravel content and provides a feasible method for delineating K management zones on sandy gravels in the Badgingarra area. Figure 2 shows that high shoot K concentration is associated with gravel content and vice versa. The critical shoot K concentration for wheat at anthesis is 1.5%; based on the data shown in Figure 2 the areas where gamma Thorium is less than 40 ppm would be responsive to potassium fertilizer application.

The gravel measurements separated into 2 clusters; non-gravelly soil where the fraction of gravel was less than 15% by weight and gravel soil where the fraction was greater than 15%. The mean Colwell K 0 to 10 cm was 17 mg kg which is well below the critical range of 51 to 57 for high yield potential on deep grey sands. Based on current prices and a wheat yield potential of 2t/ha, the DAFWA K calculator shows profit would be maximized with 40 kg K/ha applied. However, the efficacy of topdressed K on this sand may be low. The mean Colwell K for the gravel soil was 24 mg / kg which is also well below critical levels but shoot K concentration was adequate. This suggests that the crop is accessing K from the subsoil and that tissue testing may be an important component of assessing nutrient supply from different parts of the sandy gravel landscape.

Speak to a good agronomist

Commence preparations at least one year out from planting. Preparations should include:

• soil test to identify pH and fertility issues; and
• effective weed management, with at least a double knock.

• The DGT method is an improved soil test for predicting P response from a given soil.
• Greater confidence in accurately predicting P fertiliser requirements can be obtained from using DGT measurements.
• Lack of response to liquid and granular P at two trial sites in the Birchip region were explained with greater accuracy using DGT measurements.

• Sites in the Riverina, Cootamundra, Cowra and Grenfell developed high levels of Sclerotinia-infested petals during the flowering period in 2015.
• No correlation was found between individual districts and petal infestation levels.
• The amount of rainfall during flowering was positively correlated to the level of inoculum.
• Rainfall during flowering is not the only factor that determines the level of petal infestation. Other factors such as initial inoculum level (from sclerotia), crop height, crop-canopy density and paddock history play a significant role.

• Copper deficiency of wheat on the Western Downs is found on grey or grey-brown (brigalow-belah) clays.
• EDTA-NH4HCO3 extractant provides the most suitable soil test for assessing copper levels in soils.
• Using this method soils with <0.3 ppm copper would be responsive to copper fertiliser.
• Yield and profit on responsive soils is maximised by 2 foliar sprays of a 1% copper sulphate solution at 1 kg/ha.
• No soil samples from of 53 sites sampled in the region between 1983 and 1986 indicated copper deficiency.

• The sheep business is now completely different to what most people are used to.
• Sheep prices doubled in 2000 and have now doubled again (approximately).
• Wool prices are approaching what they were in 1988 – in US$ terms.
• Sheep sales now earn more than wool, but wool is still a major income earner in most flocks.

The results of the 6 tonne crop trial have raised more questions that we were able to answer. 

• Boron phosphate compounds were synthesized by mixing boric acid and phosphoric acid (1:1 molar ratio) and heating at temperatures of 25 to 1000 °C for 1 or 24 h.
• X-ray diffraction patterns and chemical analysis results showed formation of boron phosphate compounds at low temperature • These compounds gradually crystallized with increasing temperature and heating time.
• The compounds synthesized at 300°C or less were hygroscopic, while those synthesized at 500 to 1000°C were non-hygroscopic and free-flowing.
• The solubility of all compounds decreased with increasing synthesis temperature • The solubility of compounds synthesized at 500 and 800°C increased with increasing pH.
• The compound synthesized at 1000°C was nearly insoluble and the solubility was not pH dependent.
• The release of B from the boron phosphate synthesized at 800°C for 1 hour was approximately 70% after 150 days, which confirmed its slow release.
• The characteristics of the compounds synthesized at temperatures 500 and 800°C showed that it can be used as raw materials for co-granulation with macronutrient fertilisers such as mono-ammonium phosphate.
• Such co-granulated products are currently being tested.

• A technique was developed to visualise the advancing zinc front from controlled release fertiliser pellets in agar medium. Dithizone was used as the indicator which changes from yellow to pink when it complexes with zinc.
• The dithizone and the zinc – dithizone complex were immobile.
• The rate of zinc movement was sensitive to temperature, being slower at lower temperatures.
• As the pH was to decreased to 7 the dithizone and the zinc dithizone complex colours faded and the dithizone precipitated.
• Comparison of the release rates from controlled-release pellets using the agar technique, sequential washing experiments and plant uptake demonstrated that the agar method ranked pellet types in the same order as these are the more complicated procedures.
• Additionally the technique allows the effects of temperature on release from controlled releasing sources to be quickly assessed.
• The agar medium, with other indicators, may be useful for a range of active agents as controlled-release materials become more widely used.

• Effective management of clethodim-resistant ryegrass can be achieved by using combinations of control tactics, effective herbicide strategies, and more competitive crops.
• Oaten hay remains one of the most effective phases for ryegrass management but effective control of ryegrass regrowth and seed set are of critical importance.

• Abiotic stress can be reduced by choosing the most appropriate pulse species and adjusting agronomy (sowing time, plant density, soil management) to ensure sensitive crop stages occur at the most favourable time in the season. For example choosing the optimum sowing time, species and cultivars with appropriate phenology can reduce the effect of frost and drought in pulse crops in dryland environments with terminal stress.
• For further management options please see the attached trial report.

Dessication and windrowing accelerated the rate of ripening of a lodged barley crop by 2 weeks, without affecting yield and grain quality.

• Biodynamics dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century when traditional European farmers found Biodynamics methods reduced the deterioration in the health and quality of crops and livestock.
• Adoption of these methods may reduce the reliance on farm chemicals supporting more sustainable farming practices.

• Subsoil manuring continues to attract farmer attention.
• Two new sites will be set up during 2011.
• On a grey Sodosol at Wickliffe, the manure treatments produced significantly higher yields (11-12 t/ha compared to control).
• The above average rainfall in the 2010 season resulted in the lack of response to treatments in many cases.

• Acidity was found to be more widespread in the USE than expected, with 15 of the 18 paddocks examined containing zones of soil with pH below 5.5
• Sandy loam and clay soils used for cropping were acidic
• Clay spread shallow sandy soils used for cropping were acidic
• Clay spread deep sandy soils used for grazing were acidic
• The target soil pHCa range is between 5.5 and 6.5; lime needs to be applied now to combat current and future acidification.

The advantages of lucerne are:

• Responds to summer rainfall,
• Deep taproot system to use water and reduce dryland salinity, and 
• Less nitrogen fertilisers due to nodulation with rhizobia.

New acid tolerant strains of rhizobia show potential to increase faba bean yield on acid soils (pHCaCl2 < 5.2), however, such rhizobia options are still several years from commercialisation. In the short term, using a double rate of Group F inoculant provides a practical way to increase faba bean yields when they are grown on acid soils, which is likely linked to increasing the number of rhizobia surviving at the time of nodulation. In this trial doubling, but not quadrupling, the number of bacteria applied to the seed improved grain yield due to the probable increase in rhizobia bacteria surviving within acid soil conditions.

• Under moist mid-April sowing conditions, there was a significant yield advantage (0.45t/ha) with one shallow-pass cultivation before establishing canola, compared with crops sown directly into standing wheat stubble.
• The yield advantage of canola following cultivation correlated to crops with higher vigour, early dry matter (DM) and greater nitrogen uptake.
• There was no significant benefit to mulching the first wheat stubble before direct drilling canola.
• The additon of 40kg N/ha at sowing gave a significant yield increase to crops established directly into the first wheat stubble, but there was no significant advantage to the additional nitrogen where stubbles were cultivated or mulched.

• There were significant increases in dry matter (DM) accumulation, nitrogen (N) uptake and crop canopy greenness where barley was established following cultivation with one pass of the multidisc, which was most evident where additional nitrogen was added at sowing.
• Although there was a trend for cultivated stubble with additional sowing nitrogen to yield more than burning, there were no significant yield differences in the trial.
• Growing a faba bean crop instead of a second wheat crop increased the yield of the following wheat by 0.34–0.47t/ha in 2016 compared with a 2t/ha advantage in the following wheat crop in 2015.
• Adequate nitrogen availability in the third wheat crop, combined with higher yield potential, and poor nodulation in the faba beans, appears to be partly the reason for the smaller yield benefit in 2016.
• Across three years of field trials, none of the different stubble management treatments have been superior to the no-till stubble retention (NTSR) control, despite differences in DM production.

• There were significant increases in dry matter (DM) accumulation, nitrogen (N) uptake and crop canopy greenness where second wheat was established following cultivation with additional nitrogen, however there was no yield benefit.
• Over four years of research (2014–17) at the Coreen focus farm there has been no benefit to either cultivating, burning or additional nitrogen at sowing with cultivation over the no-till stubble retention (NTSR) control.
• Growing a faba bean crop instead of a second wheat crop increased the yield of the following wheat by 0.34–0.47t/ha in 2016 and an average of 2t/ha in 2015, however there was no evidence that the legume benefit of the faba beans influenced canola sown two years later (in 2017).
• Burning first wheat stubbles before establishing second wheat has offered no yield benefit, despite indications of better tillering, higher DM and superior yellow leaf spot (YLS) control.

• Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) increases yield of grains, but whether future yields increase depends on rainfall and temperature changes.
• Wheat grain protein decreases with elevated CO2.
• Breeding new cultivars will allow adaptation to increasing CO2.

• Well managed continuous wheat produced a yield of 3.6 t/ha in 2011, a decile 5 year.
• Oats produced up to 9 t dry matter (DM)/ha as a hay crop.

• Variation for boron and salt tolerance in field pea germplasm was not associated with grain yield differences at Minnipa as a likely consequence of very low rainfall in 2008 and very high rainfall and Blackspot disease in 2009.
• Under favourable growing conditions the late flowering advanced PBA field pea line, 94-425*2b produced very high dry matter yields at the flat pod stage compared to other lines evaluated.
• Advanced field pea lines with a combination of higher dry matter and grain yield production were identified and potentially offer a dual purpose (grain and hay/silage/green manuring) option for growers in low rainfall environments and a way of managing some of the risk of production.
• Findings require further validation across years and environments.

(i) Rotations are complex and depend on preference, the problem and opportunities- there is no ‘right way’. (ii) The break species can be selected for multiple benefits including grazing value, fodder conservation, nitrogen fixation and improving soil conditions. (iii) If weeds are the problem, focus on targeting the weeds that come late in the season, these are the ones  getting through in a continuous crop rotation. (iv) Weeds can be reduced by up to 90% in two years by stopping weed seed set through fodder removal, while providing ample fodder.

(i) Rotations are complex and depend on preference, the problem and opportunities- there is no ‘right way’. (ii) The break species can be selected for multiple benefits including grazing value, fodder conservation, nitrogen fixation and improving soil conditions. (iii) If weeds are the problem, focus on targeting the weeds that come late in the season, these are the ones  getting through in a continuous crop rotation. (iv) Weeds can be reduced by up to 90% in two years by stopping weed seed set through fodder removal, while providing ample fodder.

• Modifying soil using a spader only can give large increases in dry matter without necessarily giving the same increase in yield.

• Using the spader to incorporate a delved site can be effective in increasing the benefit of the delving operation, particularly where organic matter is also incorporated.

Adjuvants to Atrazine are essential for the early post emergent control of radish in TT canola.

• Grain yield across all crops were exceptional in 2016 despite a relatively late break and sowing date. Yields were aided by exceptional spring conditions where there was abundant moisture and cool finishing conditions.
• Field peas were the most productive crop grown across all soil types in 2016 and averaged an exceptional 2.9 t/ha. Vetch (2.2 t/ha), narrow leaf lupin (2.1 t/ha) and lentils (2.1 t/ha) also averaged over 2 t/ha across the four trial sites. Faba beans yielded just under 2 t/ha while both chickpea treatments yielded above 1.5 t/ha (Kabuli 1.5; Desi 1.8 (t/ha). Both canola and albus lupins averaged less than 1.5 t/ha.
• High value crops such as desi and kabuli chickpeas produced extremely high gross margins on approximately $2000/ha. Lentils also had an average gross margin of over $1000/ha across the four trial sites.
• Break crop productivity and profitability was very different between common Mallee soil types with the poorest break crop productivity and profitability on the deep sand at Loxton in 2016.

• The maximum response to fungicide was 17% (0.65 t/ha) with Bolac, 40% (1.24 t/ha) and Yipti and Chara 73% (2.11 t/ha).
• Impact (flutriafol) was particularly effective at delaying the built up of stripe rust in the Chara which has a susceptible rating to the disease.
• The effect of flutriafol was less evident in more resistant cultivars or where stem rust ws the principal disease (Yipti).
• Foliar fungicides at GS32-33 (2nd - 3rd node) gave their greatest benefits where Impact had not been applied, however, its use was still positive with Impact treated crops.
• A flag leaf spray was the most influential component of the fungicide strategies evaluated irrespecitve of cultivar.
• The flag leaf spray reduced late stem rust pressure and controlled the earlier infection of stripe rust on the flat leaf itself.

• Where Flutriafol in furrow was used at establishment no stripe rust was observed in the MS-S cultivar Chara until approximately 130 days after establishment at third –fourth node GS33-34.
• In Chara Flutriafol alone was still giving 80% control of stripe rust at the end of flowering, the same level of control achieved with a GS32 application of Folicur (145ml/ha). Where the crop had received a flag leaf spray at booting GS45 (late flag leaf spray) there was 99-100% control of stripe rust on the flag leaf throughout grain fill.
• All fungicide programmes applied to the cultivar Chara produced a significant yield increase (0.74 – 1.64 t/ha or 12-27%). The greatest yield increase of 1.64t/ha was the result of Flutriafol in furrow with two foliar fungicides
follow ups at GS32 and GS45.
• Chara gave an 18% yield increase from the use of fungicide, averaged across all fungicide treatments, Yitpi gave a 2.5% yield increase and Beaufort gave no response despite a late low level stem rust infection.
• Three of the eight fungicide programmes produced significantly higher yields than the fully untreated crop and the flutriafol alone when meaned across the three cultivars, they were the two programmes receiving two foliar fungicides and the flutriafol followed by a foliar fungicide applied at booting (GS45).
 

• Controlling low to moderate levels of stripe rust (15-20% infection severity) on top leaves of crop canopy did not result in a significant increase in yield.
• The best control of stripe rust was given by disease management programmes that included a mid-stem elongation spray applied at GS 33 (third node). A spray for stripe rust applied at booting (GS 45) was too late to give good control.
• Conversely, the booting spray gave significantly better control of stem rust than the third node spray. The two spray approach gave the best control of all three rusts: stripe, leaf and stem.
• There was no evidence that the disease control correlated to yield, since the response to fungicide was no different whether the variety was generally resistant (Bolac) or susceptible (Chara).

• The yields were generally good.
• Based on growing season rainfall at Birchip, the yield potential for barley was 2.7t/ha.

Please see the attached trial report for results of this trial.

The advanced lupin variety comparison located at the northern satellite site at Sea Lake was one of three similar comparisons located throughtout the Mallee in 1998.

• Moonah was the best performing named variety averaging 116% of Merrit across Mallee sites.
• Kalya yielded well at the Sea Lake site but is susceptible to drought stress and shattering.
• The most promising of the potential new varieties was Walan2141, averaging 133% of Merrit over the four Mallee sites.
• Walan2128 and 284AA38 also performed well at Sea Lake.
• The new release Jindalee yielded poorly due to late maturity and is not recommended for the Mallee.

• Average grain yields are maximised by sowing midNovember to early December in southern NSW.
• In northern Victoria, sowing should begin earlier from 1 November until late November.

The new variety Morava was in the top five for grain yield at both the Walpeup and Birchip sites.

• Of the three sites located throughout the Mallee, Walpeup and Ultima produced the highest yields.
• Walpeup was the most rewarding site recording an average of 1.33 t/ha with Ultima's yields being 1.24 t/ha.
• The Birchip site yielded poorly compared to the other trials averaging 0.87 t/ha. Early maturing varieties produced the highest yields.
• The mid maturing varieties performed the best at Birchip.

The Mallee average was determined from a total of 10 sites located across the Mallee.

Seasonal conditions in 1999 were viriable, which was reflected in the differences in site yield means across the Mallee.

Excellent yields, well above the average expected in the Birchip area were recorded from the BCDS experiment in 1996.

Please see the attached trial report for results of this trial.

• In this trial the Agpipe was not effective in the bottom of a gully.
• Key limitation is likely to be the flow of water through the soil to the agpipe.
• Agpipe spacing is critical for it to be effective, future trial work should help determine required spacings.

We now have excellent background data, collected over two seasons, to enable comparison of the effectiveness of the agpipes.

• Sowing too early exposes a crop to a high frost risk at flowering.
• Sowing too late exposes a crop to heat shock during grain fill.
• Use Yield Prophet to determine the least-risk sowing window for the varieties you are planning to sow in 2011.

• Sowing time for the wheat varieties was found to be the key determinant of yield potential. Delays in sowing date (SD) resulted in yield losses of 34% or 1.20 t/ha for EGA GregoryA averaged across years.
• Variety selection was also found to be a significant factor influencing yield potential, with the longer season variety SunvaleA being 16% or 0.6 t/ha lower yielding than LRPB CrusaderA from an early SD. The shorter season variety LRPB CrusaderA performed well across SD options in this environment.
• Increasing targeted plant populations was shown to increase yield potential by ~8% (0.2 t/ha) when SD was delayed, supporting the accepted principle of increasing the target plant population for delayed sowings.
• However, altering variety and/or maturity type, and increasing target plant populations in response to delayed SDs could not fully compensate for yield losses associated with delayed sowings.
• Yield responses to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertiliser application rates were variable and influenced by starting soil levels and seasonal conditions. Significant yield responses of around 19% were achieved in response to P application, highlighting the importance of knowing starting soil nutrition values when trying to optimise yield potential.

• Sowing wheat varieties in the early part of their optimum sowing window was found to be a key determinant of yield. Delays in sowing date (SD) averaged across sites resulted in yield losses of 13% for EGA GregoryA and ranged from 8% to 28%.
• Commercially available mid–late maturing spring wheat varieties (e.g. EGA GregoryA) were observed to be broadly adapted and plastic in their yield responses, performing consistently across sowing windows.
• Altering variety and/or maturity type, and increasing target plant populations in response to delays in SD could not fully compensate for the yield losses associated with delayed sowings.
• Yield responses to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertiliser application rates, were variable and influenced by the starting soil nutrition and seasonal conditions.
• Crown rot (CR) was shown to be a significant factor influencing yield potential in inoculated vs. uninoculated experiments – the delayed SD decreased yields by 12%. Results highlight the compounding negative impact of delayed sowing and CR infection on yield potential and underline the need for awareness of risk levels from soil-borne pathogens before sowing in order to guide management decisions.

Applied nitrogen has a positive effect on both yield and protein. The results indicate that if nitrogen is required, it should be applied at sowing. If nitrogen is topdressed then the increase in protein can be too high to ensure biscuit wheat quality.

• Agronomic practices have proven to reduce frost damage.
• Clay delving reduced frost damage by up to 80 percent.

• Although plant available water (PAW) at sowing was ~47 mm (0–120 cm), timely in-crop rainfall of 257 mm improved yield potential.
• If yield and subsequently fertiliser decisions were made on PAW at sowing and a low input approach to nitrogen (N) application was taken, as per the nil treatment in this experiment (42 kg/ha of Granulock Z), 0.9 t/ha or 20% of yield potential would have been lost, compared with the optimum N response rate (120 kg N/ha).
• Significantly, even at modest levels of N application (e.g. 40–80 kg N/ha), grain yield was increased by 0.56 t/ha or 13% over the nil N treatment.
• Although maximum yield was achieved at 11.1% grain protein content (GPC), the rate of grain yield increase per unit of additional N declined at GPC >10%. Importantly, results from this experiment did show that yield was compromised by N deficiency when GPC was <9%.
• Results from this experiment highlight the need to consider yield potential in terms of targeted yields and hence N requirements. Importantly, if N inputs are limited then yield potential can be negatively affected.