• Annual ryegrass (ARG) establishment and seed head numbers increased significantly under the faba bean herbicide strategies used in 2016
• There were no significant differences between herbicide strategies in 2016, with the legacy of past years’ management strategies not creating any difference in yields this year
• Over the five years of the trial, RT Canola in 2014 was been the best option to maintain ARG seed head numbers
• ARG seed head numbers increased by 35% in 2016 following the high cost weed strategy (strategy C) in combination with HWS prototype mill
• ARG seed head numbers increased by 148% (low cost, strategy A) and 171% (mid cost, strategy B) in 2016
• Effects of pre-harvest desiccations in 2016 will not be evidenced until emergence in 2017 

• Substantially better brome control and seed set reduction is possible by using pre-emergence options other than trifluralin.
• The costly Sakura+Avadex treatment is likely to be the most effective.
• Consistency of performance of all pre-emergence herbicides for brome remains a problem
• On-row seeding on non-wetting sand showed that it can substantially improve early crop emergence.
• One reason for this is the likely wetter surface soil in rows at time of seeding.
• Seasonal conditions such as the long-wet season of 2016 will affect efficacy of both pre-emergence herbicides and the impact of additional crop competition on brome seed set suppression.
• Maintaining low seedbanks and having alternative options for weed seed control when faced with a risk of ‘blowouts’ in brome seed set is important given the chance of particularly poor control in some seasons.

• Substantially better brome control and seed set reduction is possible with pre-emergence options other than trifluralin.
• The costly Sakura+Avadex treatment is likely to be the most effective.
• Consistency of performance of all pre-emergence herbicides for brome remains a problem
• On-row seeding on non-wetting sand can substantially improve early crop emergence in part due to increased surface soil water accumulation in rows at time of seeding.
• Seasonal conditions such as the long wet season of 2016 will affect efficacy of both pre-emergence herbicides and the impact of additional crop competition on brome seed set suppression.
• Maintaining low seedbanks and having alternative options for weed seed control when faced with a risk of ‘blowouts’ in brome seed set is important given the chance of particularly poor control in some seasons.

In this trial we observed no response to the non-nitrogen test products, either on the low or high fertilizer at seeding treatments.  However we cannot say that they will not work under other site, season and management conditions.  Unfortunately the promoters can rightly say that we did not give their product the best opportunity to perform and so it was an invalid test.

Such a reply has implications for the promoters rather than the testers. The promoters have an obligation to state under what conditions they expect their product to work and those conditions  have to be readily recognized by potential local users. It is not good enough to list a range of processes which the product “improves” or even to quote circumstances from elsewhere where the product has worked. Any new product (and agronomic practice for that matter) has to be  extensively tested under local conditions so that the promoters can say what the chances of success are if used by local growers.

We, the testers are able to state that the product did not work under our conditions and in the Popper sense of “falsification” have disproved any statement about how generally useful the product might be. That is, 100% of our observations say it does not work, but that is hardly useful. We could have had a drought year and nothing would have worked. We could have been wiped out by      frost or we may have chosen a site with the wrong levels of fertility. We did not test across a full range of conditions and so have too limited information for invalidating the all claims made for the products. This problem is equally true for validation by the product developers.

Products MUST be tested across a wide range of local conditions before it can be promoted with confidence to the broader agricultural community.

In short, any new product (or agronomic practice) requires a major investment in validation trials which are ranged across the full set of management, site and season conditions experienced in the new environment. Otherwise, general promotion of those products should not be believed until such work has been done.

• The later seeding had very poor crop establishment, resulting in significantly higher brome seed production (115% more panicles) than early seeding, but seeding time did not interact with herbicide treatment effects.
• Only the treatments including Sakura resulted in significantly (P<0.01) better brome control than trifluralin alone (measured by number of panicles/m2).
• Sakura alone resulted in 55% less brome panicles than trifluralin alone, and Sakura + Avadex resulted in 72% less brome panicles than trifluralin alone.
• Sakura’s extended residual soil activity, which can restrict root growth of brome, combined with the dry spring, was probably responsible for the reduced seed set.
• Substantially better brome control and seedset reduction is possible by using pre-emergence options other than trifluralin. The additional herbicide cost needs to be evaluated against the better level of control, including the longer-term seedbank benefits.

(i) In many cases, retained hybrid sowing seed resulted in more blackleg and lower grain yields than when commercial hybrid sowing seed was used. (ii) Oil content was lower in crops grown from retained sowing seed. (iii) Benefits of commercial hybrid sowing seed outweighed the cost of buying that seed.

• None of the products tested repelled snails from senesced barley plants in the laboratory experiment.
• No treatment caused significant mortality of conical snails when assessed after 21 days compared to a water treatment.
• The Esperance field trial demonstrated pyroligneous acid having no repellence effect on the snails.
• This reinforces that products should only be used at registered rates, times and methods of application in crops for which they are registered.

For a presentation of the story so far, please see the attached trial report.

• From the 10% challenge came a feast of ideas, usually with one or two key focus points considered valuable to the farming operation, with farmers agreeing with or discussing other ideas as they were shared within the groups.
• The information arising from these sessions has been presented at farmer meetings for local groups to discuss in relation to their own farming systems. Further development and extension of this work and ‘rules of thumb’ will be investigated with the discussion
• groups and delivered at local farmer meetings.

Forty per cent of all pasture and cropping sites had little or none of these beneficial species present. Of the sites where adequate populations of carabid beetles and earwigs were found, cropping paddocks were dominated by one subspecies of carabid (Rhytisternus) and the beneficial native earwig (Labidura truncate).

Changes in pasture composition, groundcover, stocking rate and stock condition are being monitored at each grazing site. Soil moisture is being measured at one pasture site (to 1.2m) and one cropping site (to 1.6m). Water quality will be monitored at one pasture site opportunistically depending on flow. Photo points were established and soil pH and nutrient testing was undertaken at all sites.

There are substantial benefits from GM herbicide tolerant canola when compared with alternative non-GM weed control systems. These include more effective weed control, reduced pesticide use, reducted use of cultivation, improved yields, reduced risk of herbicide resistance and a reduction in the environmental 'footprint'.

• In 1997-98, Durum wheats attracted a huge premium over bread wheats.
• Whilst the prices were one-off, Durum wheat offers an alternative to growing prime hard wheat.
• Durum growers - especially in the Central West - need to emphasise keeping the quality high and keeping a close eye on marketing opportunities.
• Durum wheat is used especially to make pasta and noodles and various export opportunities exist.
• Durum wheat is best grown on land that would be used for prime hard wheat.

Agricultural activities such as cultivation, livestock farming, stubble burning and decomposition of crop residues cause greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere.

• All two year break options increased yield by 0.5–1.0 t/ha compared to continuous wheat.
• Single year breaks improved wheat yields in 2012 and also appeared to increase them slightly in 2013.
• Grassy weeds had a major impact on wheat yields.
• Only 2 year breaks reduced grassy weed seed banks substantially compared to the continuouswheat control.

• Canola and peas only produced half the yield of wheat, but barley performed very well.
• Ryegrass is becoming a problem in wheat on wheat plots.
• Pastures performed well where seed reserves had been increased in 2011.
• All options had good soil moisture (40mm) at the start of the season.

The grain yield from raised bed plots was 60% higher than from unbedded plots. Given the very wet winter and the waterlogging intolerance of albus lupins, this result is not surprising. In the two previous relatively dry years wheat and poppy crops in the same trial area have shown no benefit from the raised beds (on a per hectare basis).

Topdressing pulses with nitrogen does not pay; inoculation does. Nitrogen topdressing of pulses resulted in little or no net growth or yield benefit. Inoculating pulses is most effective if the soil is moist and if residual soil nitrogen and soil rhizobia populations are low. The current study indicated that a return on investment of up to $60 can be achieved from the inoculation of chickpeas in the absence of soil rhizobia.

There is enormous opportunity for the farming sector in general to benefit through the introduction of new crop types. Potentially crops that may have previously been bred for the food industry might now have an opportunity to be reutilised through the significant segregated storage and handling system that we see across most of the east coast of Australia. The ongoing reliance on fossil fuels is not healthy. With the world oil stocks depleting at an ever increasing rate we need to be proactively looking at all sorts of alternative renewable fuel sources.

• There was a wide range in crop maturities with up to 50 days difference in date of first flower
• Several lines had flowering dates which fell between the commercially available spring and winter types
• Yields of up to 7 t/ha were achieved at Inverleigh and 6.6 t/ha at Hamilton
• Many of the lines not commercially available to growers outperformed the commercial varieties
• Lines with mid-season maturities may be suited to a wide range of locations in the HRZ 

Soil organic matter consists of a labile (non-permanent) and stable (humus) fraction. No-till increases the labile fraction of soil organic matter, but not the stable fraction. Additional nutrients will be required to ‘fix’ the labile fraction to humus.

The results of this study suggests:

• Whilst the streaming of UAN modestly reduced annual ryegrass N percentage in the tissue, no difference in annual ryegrass biomass or seed production was evident.
• Nitrogen placement did not affect Wheat biomass accumulation (NDVI results), however modest differences in Canopy closure percentage existed. UAN rate and timing however had a greater effect on wheat biomass (NDVI results and wheat biomass cut) and percent canopy closure.
• UAN rate, UAN timing (plus interaction of UAN timing and placement) were found to have significantly affected Radiation interception of the crop in the absence of weeds.
• Nitrogen placement affected the yield and protein content of the grain produced.

Whilst the streaming of UAN modestly reduced annual ryegrass (ARG) N percentage in the tissue, no difference in annual ryegrass seed production was evident. Due to the dry conditions in 2019, the application of supplementary UAN did not significantly increase wheat canopy closure or yield. Interestingly, UAN placement did affect the total nitrogen uptake in the ryegrass population, potentially increasing ARG competitiveness. Banding UAN to the crop row was found to increase ARG N uptake. As seeding systems provide herbicide free bands on otherwise herbicide treated soil for safe wheat establishment it was found that the majority of ARG emerged from these crop rows. Concentrating N applications to these regions may have inadvertently increased the N uptake in ARG. This study was conducted in York over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. A multi- environment trial analysis for the combined data to be completed.

• Nitrogen fertilizer timing (early or late) and placement (banded or broadcast) did not have any significant effect in reducing the growth and seed production of wild radish.

• Trials conducted in 2012 have shown that larger droplets and variations in droplet application direction can successfully control summer weeds, compared to the traditionally favoured medium droplets.
• This includes a variation of weed species, different herbicides types and application within conditions that are not generally conducive to summer spraying.
• The work has shown that for contact herbicides like Spray.Seed extremely coarse droplets can give reduced control, regardless of water rate.

Wild oat control in dryland cereals is important for yield maximisation and profit. Even low levels of wild oats (50 plants per m2 ) can reduce yields by 17% (PISA Weed Decide Calculator). In a trial conducted at Birchip, Victoria Hussar® and Atlantis ® (group B herbicides) were shown to give similar wild oat control when compared to the current standards and can be used to rotate modes of action. Hoegrass® and Decision™ were shown to be less effective than current standards for wild oat control, at the rates used. Yields varied greatly within replicates so little can be derived from them.

• 67% of divalent manganese incubated on calcareous sands form Warooka was immobilised within 167 hours by chemical and biological processes.
• In field experiments over seven years manganese up to 16 kg/ha drilled with the barley crop did not prevent manganese deficiency in crops.
• However, manganese applicaiotn increased crop growth, delayed deficiency symptoms and increased grian yield by an average of 61%.
• The optimum applicaiotn at seeding was 6 kg/ha manganese (25 kg/ha nanganese sulphate).
• Three foliar sprays of manganese did not completely correct manganese deficiency.
•  The best results were obtained by applying 6 kg manganese at sowing followed by three foliar sprays.

• Critical concentration of manganese in wheat tissues for optimal growth was determined.
• In the youngest emerged blade the critical concentration was 11 µg per gram.
• The critical concentrations for whole tops were 12 µg per gram.
• The older blades were less sensitive determinants of the growth response and are not recommended for analysis.
• Diagnosis using whole tops was less sensitive than with youngest expanded blade but may give an integrated picture of man manganese deficiency where availability varies with time.
• The critical level of manganese was the same for 2 genotypes differing in their ability to tolerate manganese deficiency.

• Quality of on-farm lime and distance from coastal limesand sources are important factors in determining economic advantage over coastal limesand
• Cultivation of sources resulted in higher net present values after the 20 year iLime simulation, and improved return on investments at 5 and 10 years compared to when uncultivated
• In 2019 cultivation consistently improved yield and the high rates of local dolerite and limesand improved yield by 0.55t/ha and 0.57t/ha respectively.
• Due to the 2020 season and in season challenges there were no significant differences in yield between sources and cultivation

•  Use the tools – they are easy to use and real eye opener on what acidity can be costing you.
• Significant yield improvements have been seen when cropped paddocks are limed.
• Make liming a part of your annual program. 
   

A harvest-time knockdown to kill summer weeds has been shown to conserve significant soil moisture prior to seeding in a series of trials across the eastern wheatbelt this year.

• The herbicide treatment had a significant effect on annual ryegrass (ARG) plant density. Trifluralin only reduced ARG spike density by 20% compared to the untreated control, whereas Boxer Gold caused a 73% reduction in ARG spike density.
• Barley sown on 25 cm row spacing resulted in a 38% less ARG seed production compared to the 37.5 cm row spacing treatment.
• Barley sown using the splitter seed boot treatment had 32% lower ARG seed production than the narrow seed boot treatment.
• It was still profitable to control ARG with effective herbicide treatments. Based on cash grain price of feed barley of $250/t in 2019, Trifluralin would be expected to increase the gross margin by $32/ha as compared $71/ha increase for Boxer Gold.

 

The herbicide treatment had a significant effect on annual ryegrass (ARG) plant density (P<0.001) in this field trial at Minnipa. Favourable rain events in May were highly suitable for the activity of both pre-emergent herbicides investigated in this trial. Averaged across the row spacing and seed boot treatments, Trifluralin and Boxer Gold reduced ARG plant density by 20% and 90%, respectively. The density of ARG spikes was significantly influenced by the row spacing (P<0.001), seed boot treatment (P=0.027), and the herbicide treatment (P<0.001). The 25cm row spacing had 20% lower ARG spike density than the 37.5cm row spacing treatment. The splitter seed boot treatment had 12% lower ARG spike density than the narrow seed boot treatment. Trifluralin only reduced ARG spike density by 20% compared to the untreated control, whereas Boxer Gold caused a 73% reduction in ARG spike density. ARG seed production was also significantly affected by the row spacing (P=0.003), seed boot (P=0.01), and the herbicide treatment (P<0.001). The normal (25 cm) row spacing set 38% less seed than the wide row spacing. The splitter seed boot treatment also had 32% lower ARG seed set compared to the narrow seed boot. ARG produced 4792 seeds/m2 in the untreated control, which was reduced by 11% by Trifluralin and 69% by Boxer Gold. Presence of ARG at 262 plants/m2 in the untreated control, reduced barley grain yield by 8% compared to Trifluralin or 16% compared to Boxer Gold. However, it was still profitable to control ARG with effective herbicide treatments. Based on cash grain price of Feed Barley of $250/t in 2019, Trifluralin would be expected to increase the gross margin by $32/ha as compared $71/ha increase for Boxer Gold.

The herbicide treatment had a significant effect on annual ryegrass (ARG) plant density (P<0.001) in this field trial at Minnipa. Favourable soil moisture in early May was suitable for the activity of both pre-emergent herbicide treatments investigated in this trial. Averaged across the row spacing and seed boot treatments, Boxer Gold + Trifluralin and Sakura + Avadex reduced ARG plant density by 71% and 72%, respectively. The density of ARG spikes was significantly influenced by the row spacing (P<0.001), seed boot treatment (P=0.002), and the herbicide treatment (P<0.001). The 25cm row spacing had 43% lower ARG spike density than the 37.5cm row spacing treatment. The splitter seed boot treatment had 35% lower ARG spike density than the narrow seed boot treatment. Boxer Gold + Trifluralin reduced ARG spike density by 68% compared to the untreated control, whereas Sakura + Avadex caused a 70% reduction in ARG spike density. ARG seed production was also significantly affected by the row spacing (P<0.001), seed boot (P=0.003), and the herbicide treatment (P<0.001). The normal (25 cm) row spacing set 53% less seed than the wide row spacing. The splitter seed boot treatment also had 39% lower ARG seed set compared to the narrow seed boot. There was a 73% reduction in ARG seed production in the normal row spacing and splitter boot treatment compared to wide row spacing with single seed boot treatment. ARG produced 15483 seeds/m2 in the untreated control, which was reduced by 62% by Boxer Gold + Trifluralin and 67% by Sakura + Avadex. This level of ARG seed production would be more than adequate to allow problematic weed establishment in crops grown next year. Therefore, growers need to consider integration of harvest weed seed control or other management tactics for ARG management. Presence of ARG at 76 plants/m2 in the untreated control, reduced wheat grain yield by 29% compared to Boxer Gold + Trifluralin or 30% compared to Sakura + Avadex.

• Wider row spacings (300mm vs 200mm) significantly reduced yield when averaged across three wheat varieties and two nitrogen timings. Wider rows reduced crop income in excess of $100/ha.
• The cultivar (variety) grown was just as important as row spacing in determining yield. When averaged across the different row spacings and nitrogen timing treatments, Kellalac yielded 4.61t/ha, Bolac 5.12t/ha and Beaufort 5.72t/ha.
• Tiller counts were significantly less when moving to the wider row spacing widths. At the 200 mm row width, Beaufort had significantly fewer tillers/m2 than Kellalac, which in turn had significantly fewer tillers than Bolac. When the row spacing increased to 300mm, both Kellalac and Bolac had a significant reduction in tillers, while counts for Beaufort did not drop significantly. Kellalac had the fewest number of tillers at the wider row spacing.
• Row widths of 200mm with nitrogen applied at GS00 & GS31, tended to give higher yields (5.30t/ha & 5.33t/ha respectively) when compared to a row spacing of 300mm with nitrogen applied at GS00 (5.09t/ha) & GS31 (4.88t/ha).

No fertiliser had any effect at any rate on the establishment of canola when watered up.

• A replicated trial was conducted to compare grain yield of early sown Revenue wheat (cut and uncut for fodder) with that sown at a more traditional time, May.
• Both cutting and later sowing significantly reduced grain yield compared with the early sown uncut treatment.
• The most significant effect was the ability of the early sown plots to better tolerate the very wet conditions. With a root system actively depleting moisture from the soil profile in late autumn the early sown treatments entered winter with a depleted soil moisture bank whereas May sown plots struggled over winter due to additional water logging.
• March sown plots that were cut did not recover as well as in drier seasons. It is likely that the prolonged water-loggin created an addional stress on top of cutting to the detriment of crop recovery and grain yield.

• Despite visual differences there is no major impact on soil structure, water holding capacity or water infiltration from grazing in summer or winter when soils are water logged.
• Grazing in the previous winter or summer does not affect the following crop establishment or grain yield.
• Any yield losses after winter grazing are the result of moisture stress in the period immediately after grazing through to flowering.
• Annual ryegrass and wild raddish populations did not increase because of grazing, although the sites only had low levels of infestation to being with. However, farmer observations do not support this and further work is needed.

• Despite visual differences there is no major impact on soil structure, water holding capacity or water infiltration from grazing in summer or winter when soils are waterlogged.
• Grazing in the previous winter or summer does not affect the following crop establishment or grain yield.
• Any yield losses after winter grazing are the result of moisture stress in the period immediately after grazing through to flowering.
• Annual ryegrass and wild raddish populations did not increase because of grazing, although the sites only had low levels of infestation to begin with. However farmer observations do not support this and further work is required.

Grazing crops early and/or lightly will generally not affect grain yields.

Plant recovery is supported by having more green material remaining after grazing; the more the merrier!

Early sown winter wheat can produce more biomass earlier in the season than spring wheat varieties.

• In 2015, two spring irrigations produced the highest wheat grain yield (7.61 t/ha), but one irrigation provided the highest water use efficiency (1.7 t/ML).
• Ponding irrigation water for 48 hours to induce waterlogging did not reduce grain yield in this experiment, but increased water use and reduced water use efficiency by 25%.
• If the number of spring irrigations is limited, it is important to find a balance between irrigating before significant moisture stress occurs and ensuring adequate moisture is available during flowering.
   

• Commercial viability has been difficult to demonstrate.
• Field trials demonstrated that the H Senor was able to accurately classify annual ryegrass in several broadleaf crops, including canola, faba bean, lentil and field pea.
• Other grass weeds such as brome grass and wild oats were also correctly identified as grasses in these crops.
• Broad leaf weeds were accurately classified in cereal crops, however this was more difficult due to the overlapping nature of the cereal crops at the time when the broadleaf weeds had emerged.
• Classification accuracy was lower for detection of grass weeds in cereal crops and broadleaf weeds in broadleaf crops, and these scenarios were not pursued for that reason.  

• Suntop was the highest yielding variety (4.48 t/ha).
• Lancer achieved high protein, high test weight and low screenings at all nitrogen application rates.
• Grain yield increased as nitrogen application rates increased, but there was no significant increase in yield above 20 kg N/ha applied nitrogen.
• Applying 160 kg N/ha resulted in a yield decrease.

For results and discussion please see the attached trial report.

Lodging was reduced in scout wheat with the application of Moddus Evo at GS31, but yield was not affected.

 

The PGR trinexapac ethyl reduced plant height and improved lodging resistance but no PGR influenced yield.

Only the Chlormequat + Tebuconazole treatment reduced crop height (100 mm). No lodging, yield or grain quality differences where significant.

No PGR had any effect on plant hieght, lodging or yield.

Trinexapac-ethyl resulted in shorter crop height and higher screenings from th late application. There were no effects on yield or crop lodging.

• Weed control in Broad beans in the SE of South Australia requires increased research to adapt new strategies to minimise resistance to herbicide technologies.
• Conmurra Trial Site was extremely clean in 2013 with lesser loosestrife being the only major weed observed.
• All treatments except Triflur X, Terbyne PSPE, F8142/6 and Magister significantly increased yield when compared to the untreated control.
• Triflur X, Terbyne PSPE, F8142/6 and Magister were not significantly different in yield when compared to the untreated control.
• Ensure to read and follow herbicide label before the application.
• Trial Photos Can Be found on the Mackillop Website.

Rhizobium inoculation improved faba bean yields by 9-30% above uninoculated plants. Higher rates of rhizobium inoculum show a trend to further increase yield though this was not significant. Rhizobium inoculation should be considered as cheap insurance against conditions not favourable to nitrogen supply, particularly during winter.

• Higher seed manganese content increase growth and yield of barley on manganese deficient soil.

• The disc machine had much less variation in seed placement than the tyne.
• The depth of incorporation with the single disc seeder increased slightly with speed, although speed of sowing did not significantly improve weed control.
• Crop growth was not affected by the speed of sowing with discs as hypothesized but there was a significant difference between the tyne and disc seeded treatments. The limited vigour of the wheat seedling sown by the disc seeder is probably the reason for generally lower yields than tyne sown plots. It is not clear whether reduced vigour was due to weed competition or herbicide toxicity as these factors weren’t tested separately in this trial. 
• For further detials, see attached trial report.

The high rate of gypsum (3.0 t/ha) was the best ameliorant, with all other ameliorants and rates performing better than the control (no ameliorant).

• Sowing date and varietal phenology both affected the exposure of canola to rain days and potential disease infection.
• Early sowing increased the level of pod blackleg infection.
• Early sowing increased sclerotinia infetion in the early flowering variety Hyola 575CL but not in the slower variety Pioneer 45Y88 (CL). 
• Grain yield was higher from the later sowing date (22 April) than the early sowing date (7 April).
• Grain yild was closely correlated to total biomass accumulation, which was greater from the 22 April sowing time than 7 April sowing time.

• Irrigating faba bean on a border check layout significantly increased grain yield for all sowing dates (24 April, 15 May and 5 June).
• Sowing date affected grain yield under both irrigated and non-irrigated treatments. Delayed sowing after 24 April resulted in reduced grain yields for both dryland and irrigated treatments.
• An irrigation efficiency of 1.51 t/ML was achieved with faba bean when sown on 24 April. Any delay in sowing after 24 April resulted in reduced irrigation efficiency.
• Sowing on 24 April resulted in a header yield of 6.86 t/ha averaged across all varieties when irrigated.
• In the irrigated treatment, PBA NasmaA achieved the highest grain yield of 5.73 t/ha when averaged across sowing dates.

• Early sown (9 April) Pioneer 45Y88 (CL) yielded similarly to later sown (20 April) Pioneer 45Y88 (CL) and Hyola 575CL.
• The irrigation treatment that stored 20mm plant available water did not increase grain yield or oil concentration.
• The maturity biomass was higher from the later sowing date, but the harvest index was slightly higher from the early sowing date.

 

The effect of planting date on grain protein is less clear when viewed over the full planting date range. Past mid June however, the figures would suggest that delaying sowing date in fact increases grain protein.

For a full list of take home messages please see the attached trial report.

• Variety phenology and sowing date need to match to avoid plants flowering and podding during periods of severe frost. The highest yield in 2017 came from the 6 April sowing of the long season varieties Archer and ATR WahooA that flowered in early August.

• ATR Stingray and Nuseed® Diamond flowered earlier than the optimum start of flowering (OSF) date (28 July) from both the 6 April and 20 April sowing dates with significant frost damage incurred at both sowing dates.

• Canola varieties have the ability to recover from severe frost damage where soil water is not limited.

• Plant population is poorly correlated with sowing rate. Farmers should focus more on plant populations rather than just sowing rate.
• High plant populations increased yield without affecting grain quality in these two trials.
• Dryland wheat farmers in the Parkes and Forbes areas should target a plant population of 100-120 plants / m2.
• Sowing rates should vary depending on seed size, germination and sowing conditions to achieve the target plant density.

• Harvest results (grain yield and quality) are more closely related to plant density than sowing rates.
• Plant density can vary by over 50% for any given sowing rate. Correct sowing rate calculations that take into account seed size, germination % and expected emergence losses are needed to achieve target densities.
• A target density of 120 plants/m2 is suggested as a good compromise for achieving good yield and quality in the local area.

• The effects of sowing time and variety on yield and oil concentration of canola (Brassica napus) were investigated at Condobolin in 2002 and 2003.
• Eight canola varieties and two Indian mustard varieties differing in maturity were established at four sowing times from early April to mid June.
• Early sowing increased yield and oil concentration.
• Yield and oil concentration declined with each delay in sowing time in both years.
• Variety maturity type is not as important as early sowing.

• Sowing canola early (6 April) on 200 mm applied water reduced the time to the start of flowering by up to two weeks, compared with a later sowing (7 May).
• Significant yield increases were recorded across all varieties (for both sowing dates) where 200 mm water was applied pre-sowing, compared with 70 mm and 0 mm.
• The highest yield resulted from sowing a mid season hybrid (Pioneer® 45Y91 (CL)) early on 200 mm applied water.
• Sowing canola early on 200 mm applied water yielded around 900 kg/ha more than sowing later with the same amount of applied water, averaged across all varieties.

• Commercial viability has been difficult to demonstrate.
• Field trials demonstrated that the H Senor was able to accurately classify annual ryegrass in several broadleaf crops, including canola, faba bean, lentil and field pea.
• Other grass weeds such as brome grass and wild oats were also correctly identified as grasses in these crops.
• Broad leaf weeds were accurately classified in cereal crops, however this was more difficult due to the overlapping nature of the cereal crops at the time when the broadleaf weeds had emerged.
• Classification accuracy was lower for detection of grass weeds in cereal crops and broadleaf weeds in broadleaf crops, and these scenarios were not pursued for that reason.  

• Cereal stubble should be thought of as a source of C for microbes, not as a source of N for crops. In the Mallee under no-till systems, only 1-2% of the N requirement of wheat crops is derived from the previous wheat stubble.
• N tie-up in cropping soils is only a temporary constraint as the immobilised N will be released through microbial turnover, generally later in the crop season in spring.
• N tie-up by cereal residue is not just a problem following incorporation – it also occurs in surface-retained and standing-stubble systems.
• Management of tie-up is reasonably straightforward – supply more N (5 kg N for each t/ha of cereal residue) and supply it early to avoid impacts of N tie-up on crop yield and protein.
• Deep-banding N can improve the N uptake, yield and protein of crops, especially in stubble-retained systems.

• Each stubble incorporation prior to sowing lead to better weed control in the crop as we were able to create an early germination of ryegrass. 
• There was considerable difference in soil moisture and its distribution through the profile at establishement.
• Straw length at harvest was the biggest drawback in incorporating and establishment.
• Previous trial cropping areas, on other parts of the padock, still showed up the biggest difference in the crop's establishment.

• In 2017, the crown rot index (incidence x severity) of wheat was influenced by nutrition strategy, with disease index being the greatest at the highest N rate. There was a strong negative correlation between crown rot index and yield under different nutrition strategies.
• In 2017, the crown rot index of barley was only influenced by variety: nutrition had no significant effect.

• Varietal selection again proved to be the major factor in achieving higher wheat yields in the second year of experiments in irrigated wheat production at Leeton.
• CobraA was the highest yielding variety in this experiment but CorackA, SuntopA and the durum breeding line 280913 also performed very well.
• Correct nitrogen timing significantly increased grain yield, grain protein and significantly reduced lodging.
• Managing plant population also significantly reduced lodging

• Varietal selection again proved to be the strongest determinant of irrigated canola grain yield in the second year of experiments at Leeton.
• The three highest yielding varieties were Nuseed® Diamond, Hyola® 50 and Nuseed® GT-50.
• Sowing time and variety interaction affected lodging, grain yield and harvest index (HI).
• Plant population alone only affected lodging but the variety interaction affected lodging and the harvest index.

For results and discussion please see the attached trial report.

The practical implications of harvest weed seed control are a more resilient farming system with some insurance against further resistance evolution. The combination of effective herbicide use, plus harvest weed seed control techniques has been shown to reduce and maintain weed populations at very low densities. In cropping systems, low weed densities, regardless of their herbicide resistance status, allows flexibility in crop choice, seeding time and herbicide use. This flexibility provides growers with the capacity to readily adjust farming practices in tune with seasonal and market considerations.

• Soil inversion with a mouldboard plough, rotary spader and one way plough created equally patchy soil.
• The one-way plough created the most vertical redistribution of the surface 10 cm of soil.
• At least ten soil samples are required to gain a reliable mean for soil pH after inversion.

• Total number, severity and length of frosts increased as surface residues increased.
• Increasing the amount of surface residue delayed plant growth, lengthened growth phase duration, and overall time to maturity for both chickpea and lentil.
• For both chickpea and lentil, high surface residues, above 9 t/ha, significantly reduced biomass accumulation and grain yield.

• Grain and soil samples were collected from 13 field experiments where zinc deficiency had been identified as a problem.
• Zinc was applied in the field experiments at rates of 0-20 kg zinc/ha.
• Application of zinc (2.5 - 5 kg/ha) reduced grain cadmium concentraitons by up to half.

Brodal carry over from the 2000 season had an affect on some commercially grown canola crops in 2001. The BCG trials showed that the Pacific Seed varieties Surpass600 and Surpass402CL and the Pioneer variety 44C73 were sensitive to simulated carry over of Brodal (diflufenican). If you are planning to sow any of these varieties this year, or a variety which was not in our trial, it is important to check whether you used Brodal in 2001 and discuss this with your supplier.

• Lupin yield loss caused by delaying sowing by 3 or 4 days is similar to the yield loss caused by one radish plant per square metre growing within the crop.
• As more populations of wild radish develop resistance to common herbicides it becomes critical to obtain effective weed control before and at seeding.

• Tissue test plants before applying trace elements to know what is and isn’t needed by the plant.
• Boron is an unknown entity.
• When the pH is low, molybdenum remains at inadequate levels even after ‘in crop’ applications
• Lime when pHCaCl2 <4.8.
• It would be good to repeat the trial on a limed paddock.

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• Most of the endogenous zinc in the soil was associated with silicates while zinc added as fertiliser was associated with iron, aluminium and manganese oxides.
• Zinc recently added to soil in the EDTA extractable fraction decreased over time.
• Zinc recently added to soils was found to be mor reactive than zinc already in the soil.
• The transformaiton of reactive zinc to less reactive zinc was primrily attributed to diffucion of zinc cations into microporous solids.
• Dryindg and rewetting at high temperature may reduce the availability of zinc in soils.

• A series of field experiments was conducted on the Eyre Peninsula to examine the effects of herbicides on the nutrition of treated crops.
• Experiments investigating the effect of metsulfuron-methyl and chlorsulfuron on crop performance are reported here.
• The parameters measured were shoot growth, tissue nutrient concentration and grain yield.
• Application of metsulfuron-methyl to manganese-deficient barley and chlorsulfuron to zinc-deficient wheat crops caused yield penalties by intensifying the respective deficiencies.
• Yields were not affected when the herbicides were applied to plots which were trace element adequate.
• The consequences are that if adequate fertiliser regimes are not employed in the field, yield benefits due to weed control may be eroded by losses due to aggravated micronutrient deficiencies.

1. Most farming systems extract more nutrients than are supplied by common fertilisation strategies.
2. Increasing the frequency of legumes doesn’t necessarily reduce nitrogen inputs required across the crop sequence and increases export of potassium.
3. Higher fertiliser application has maintained higher soil mineral nitrogen levels but rarely increased grain yield or total system nitrogen use.

1. All fungicide active ingredients used provided equivalent powdery mildew control.
2. Row spacing did not impact fungicide efficacy.

• If sown by mid May, hybrid varieties produced dry matter for grazing in the order of 1.5 to 2.0 t/ha.
• Grain yield was reduced fro most varieties by grazing, compared to no grazing, but was thought to be a result of waterlogging and severe defoliation.
• Waterlogging also affected the yield of ungrazed varieties, especially if sown in June.
• Canola appears to be more sensitive than cereals to grazing under adverse weather and grazing conditions.

• Sowing time is essential for dry matter production and yield preservation 
• Poor growing conditions, the winter doldrums, during recovery from grazing seem to reduce final grain yield. 
• Canola appears to be more sensitive to grazing than cereals, especially, but not solely, under adverse weather and grazing conditions.
• With a traditional a sowing time, mid May, dry matter production levels didn’t reach a level that warrant taking the risk of impacting on grain yield when compared to grazing cereals.
• Even following established grazing protocols, that work north of the divide, grazing reduced grain yield for most varieties. 
• This trend has been the case over the 3 years we have conducted grazing canola trials in SW Victoria. 
• This trial suggests that yield loses associated with grazing are less with the newly released winter habit hybrids Hyola 930 and Hyola 971 when compared with most spring and winter types of canola.
• Initial work is suggesting that spring sown winter habit canola varieties may reverse the decline in yield associated with grazing and generate a large amount of feed out of season.

The results suggest using nitrogen and/or increasing sowing rates will increase drymatter available for grazing at late tillering but if grazed these treatments will have a positive impact on grain yield.

• Increasing siphon pipe diameter used for flood irrigation, from 42 mm to 63 mm halved irrigation time, reduced the amount of water applied per irrigation, and increased cotton lint yield and lint quality.
• The longer irrigation time increased soil water content for up to a week post irrigation, and likely led to waterlogging effects on cotton plant growth.
• The maximum daily nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions occurred in response to the first irrigation event after pre-plant nitrogen (N) application and continued for more than a week after irrigation.
• The highest N2O emissions in each plot came from the non-irrigated side of the plant bed where surface soil nitrate concentrations were also highest – despite pre-plant N fertiliser being applied evenly to both sides of the plant bed.
• Postharvest, excess soil nitrate was found to depth in the non-irrigated side of the plant bed, indicating that nitrate moved both sideways and downwards during the season.
   

• Grain yields increase with higher crop inputs and, after grazing, further improve following a sown legume pasture and a more intensive grazing system.
• There is no measured change in soil organic carbon as a result of either varying crop and pasture inputs or grazing compared with not grazing stubbles or pastures.

• Grain yields increased with higher crop inputs and following grazing, they were further improved following a sown legume pasture and a more intensive grazing system.
• There has been no measured change in soil organic carbon over the 4 year project as a result of varying crop and pasture inputs or grazing compared to not grazing crop stubbles or pastures.

• The high input pasture treatment provided the opportunity to carry 8 DSE/ha with an estimated gross margin of $240/ha, however it was unable to utilise plant available water above 50% of potential water use efficiency (WUE).

• The 2009 production has provided the opportunity for grazing over the 2009/10 summer to commence comparative grazing treatments.
• Over the next few seasons appropriate analysis will be carried out to measure any changes to soil or crop performance in the farming systems, followed by financial assessment to evaluate the merits of each system.

• It appears that once disease suppression is achieved in low rainfall farming systems of upper EP and inoculum levels are low, it is quite robust and will be maintained despite systems with substantially different amounts of mineral N.
• Fallow, Medic/Fallow and Peas all lowered rhizoctonia inoculum levels in 2010, and Fallow and Peas lowered levels in 2009.
• Continuous cereals produced the highest inoculum levels but all levels were low at this site.
• Even high mineral N (118 kg N/ha) in the top 60 cm (measured in April after spraytopped medic) did not increase Rhizoctonia patches in 2010.
• Trichoderma fungus and the beneficial PEM microbes are present in the MAC N12 system.

• Soil mineral nitrogen (N) values were low across all sites, which was indicative of the wet seasonal conditions and high nitrogen losses.
• There were no significant differences in mineral nitrogen values between the stubble treatments due to high variability (likely due to transient waterlogging across the sites).
• The project has been extended to enable the research to be repeated during 2017.

• While significant differences in mineral nitrogen (N) values were measured between stubble treatments, these differences were small and unlikely to elicit a plant growth response.
• No consistent trends were observed between trial sites.
• Delayed plant growth and development under no-till stubble retained (NTSR) systems in the Riverine Plains region is unlikely to be due to decreased mineral nitrogen availability as a result of immobilisation.

The data from this trial supports the theory that an early sowing date will increase DM and total N fixation in Percy and Morava.

Grazing of the cereals up to growth stage 31 had no significant impact on grain yield but it did reduce the amount of stubble remaining post harvest.

• Summer weeds use significatn amounts of stored soil water.
• The long-term impact of summer weeds amounts to a loss in production of 1t/ha in cereal yield in the southern Mallee.
• In a changed climate scenario, where our region is likely to receive more summer rain at the expense of spring rain, the impact of summer weeds on potential crop yield is likely to increase.