• Forage pea varieties produced similar levels of biomass to other peas and less than vetch at Hart in 2014. They were also more susceptible to blackspot than other pea varieties.
• The value of PBA Hayman as an alternative to vetch will depend largely on being able to sow it early and control blackspot disease infection. This will often be difficult to achieve and sowing dates will need to be as early as possible around safe “black spot manager” predictions.
• Where sowing of field peas was delayed, biomass was maximised by increasing sowing densities above 50 plants/m2 with little negative effect on grain yield.

• Biomass production at Hart in 2013 averaged 4.2 t/ha at the early pod development stage, and 5.0 t/ha at maturity across the trial.
• Kaspa, Morgan and PBA Coogee have generally shown similar biomass levels at flowering in 2013, although Kaspa has shown higher grain yield.
• PBA Hayman produced the highest biomass of all the field pea and vetch varieties at the early pod development stage, particularly when sown early.
• Vetch varieties showed equal or greater biomass to Kaspa, Morgan and PBA Coogee at the early pod development stage, but lower than PBA Hayman.
• Biomass of field pea varieties at flowering was maximised at higher sowing densities (75 and 100 plants/m2 ), however this resulted in yield loss at some sites.

• Ascochyta rabiei can be controlled in chickpeas using chlorothalonil (Bravo).
• The fungicide needs to be applied early (six weeks after sowing) and be applied, at a minimum, every three weeks after the first application.
• Kaniva chickpeas sprayed with Bravo applied at two litres per hectare, every three weeks, produced a clean sample, free of infected grain (premium priced grain).

When spraying for stripe rust in susceptible crops spraying should take place during the early stages of disease development and generally not before the flag leaf stage of the crop. Spraying when the disease has fully developed and/or waiting until the crop is past the flowering stage is unlikely to be beneficial. See also “Fungicide strategies in wheat and barley” articles in this manual.

Delaying the onset of a stripe rust outbreak can be achieved using fungicide seed dressings or fertiliser treatments. In situations where this is beneficial such as in the Wimmera where conditions may be too wet for fungicide application late in the season, this could be a good strategy.

• Stripe Rust (SR) caused yield losses in all but the highly resistant variety Sunstate (8) at most sites.
• Fungicides helped to protect yield potentials in susceptible varieties, except when SR pressure was either very low or very high.
• Timely early and late protection appeared more important than fungicide choice at Z39
• The genetic resistance in Sunstate (8) was clearly the most outstanding form of SR control when disease pressure was very high, exceeding any fungicide strategy used on susceptible varieties.
• Fungicide protection of SR on susceptible varieties is a practical and profitable option in the absence of resistant wheat varieties with desired agronomic traits.

• To date field trials funded by GRDC project DAS00136 have not been able to show that application of fungicides to seed provide significant reductions in yield loss caused by crown rot.
• Fungicides applied to seed or in-furrow at seeding can provide some suppression of pathogen growth through the plant early in the season (as measured using DNA techniques) but this effect is gone by early grain fill.
• In crop spray applications targeted at the base of plants have shown small yield benefits, but these benefits are not consistent between sites and across seasons.

• Gibberellic acid is a safe, cheap and convenient way to increase winter fed growth, but it must be applied early in the season (ideally by late autumn/early winter).
• Only apply Gibberellic acid if there is sufficient soil moisture and adequate levels of surface cover.
• Applying early in the season will boost winter growth.
• Applying too late can potentially cause a decrease in spring feed production.
• Don’t graze the paddock within 3 weeks of application.

• Gibberellic acid is a safe, cheap and convenient way to increase winter fed growth, but it must be applied early in the season (ideally by late autumn/early winter).
• Only apply Gibberellic acid if there is sufficient soil moisture and adequate levels of surface cover.
• Applying early in the season will boost winter growth.
• Applying too late can potentially cause a decrease in spring feed production.
• Don’t graze the paddock within 3 weeks of application.

• Sowing winter habit canola early in the autumn can provide grazing and grain yield.
• Garnet sown early can still produce good results.
• In mild weather aphids are a problem longer into the season and possibly sowing a spring variety earlier gives the potential to develop before succumbing to viruses.
   

• For the newer semi-leafless varieties Kaspa and Moonlight, the recommended plant population is around 35 plants/m2 for early sowings to 50 plants/m2 for late sowing.
• For the other semi-leafless varieties, 40 plants/m2 is recommended for early sowing and 60 plants/m2 for later sowings.

• There has been no evidence of any soil health or production losses with grazing after seven years, irrespective of whether crop or pasture inputs were increased or kept at district practice levels.
• In 2014 higher input systems showed how increased inputs and costs throughout the season can result in increased productivity and subsequent profitability.

• There has been no measured grain production or soil health decline associated with grazing sheep on pastures and crop stubbles over a 4 year pasture-wheat rotation. Grain yields were higher as a result of increased wheat seed and fertiliser rates in 2013.
• Higher applied crop seed and fertiliser rates with an improved medic pasture increased estimated gross margins by $16/ha/annum over a 6 year wheat-wheat-pasture-wheat-pasture-wheat rotation

• Grazing sheep have not damaged soil health over eight years of several crop/pasture rotations.
• In 2015 total annual biomass was greater in higher input and grazed rotations. High input grazed systems carried twice the stocking rate of a low input system.

Early dry matter production (forage value) was boosted by earlier sowing.

In summary, the TOS1 showed a greater variance overall between grazing treatments and the frost events of 2016 seemed to have a greater impact on this section of the trial. Results from TOS2 did not vary greatly between treatments and the effects of frost damage were not as prevalent. This indicates that grazing early sown cereals can have a great effect on yields and provide an excellent source of feed to livestock and the grazing of later sown crops in a season like 2016 does not impact yields or quality

• Revenue was significantly higher yielding than Einstein which in turn out-yielded Endeavour. Revenue appears to have set a new plateau in wheat yield potential in Tasmania across a range of sowing dates both in grain-only and in dual purpose trials.
• For further take home messages please see the attached trial report.

• A replicated trial was conducted to compare grain yield from four winter wheat varieties: Mackellar, Tennant, Alberic and the soon to be released 95102.1
• Yield ranged from 7.3 to 10.6t/ha. Mackellar and tennant were lowest yielding varieties and also the most prone to lodging, in particular Mackellar. Mackellar being the earliest to flower also suffered the most frost damage.
• Alberic and 95102.1 yielded the hisghest and show the greatest potential for early sowing without grazing. 

• Late sowings could have a negative effect on barley yield due to heat and water stress during grain fill. In 2015 this was the key detrmining factor for grain yield.
• While mid season varieties yielded well in the first sowing time, mid and late sowings favoured early-flowering.
• Early sowing, early flowering crops are at risk of flowering during frost events, and sowing decsisins should be based on the phenology of teh particular variey and understanding the region's climate.

• The mean site yield for hte GrainSearch Inverleigh barley trial was 4.51 t/ha, whilst Dunkel site man was 5.00 t/ha.
• Westminster was teh standout commercial barley variety at the Inverleigh site yielding 123% of the site mean, displaying exceptional scald and lodging resistance compared with current commercial lines.
• Shorter saturated varieties with good head retention were the standout performers in the Dunkeld trial. Baudin and Westminster were the top commercial performers yielding 6.51 and 5.91 t/ha respectively.
• Several early season experimental lines yielded exceptionally well topping the trials for yield. These lines displayed good grain quality data.
• Early sowing at both sites was essential to achieve high yields in longer season varieties.

• The average yield for the GrainSearch Inverleigh wheat trial was 5.28t/ha, whilst Dunkeld averaged 5.20t/ha.
• Beaufort and Revenue were the standout performers at the Dunkeld site yielding 7.08 and 6.86t/ha respectively.
• Revenue and Beaufort were the standout performers at the Inverleigh site yielding 6.21 and 6.18t/ha respectively.
• Early sowing at both sites was essential to achive high yields in long season varieties.
• Grain quality was adversely affected at both sites by late season rain, all varieties were of feed due to sprouted grain and low test weights.

Following two years of grass free medic pasture soil mineral nitrogen levels averaged 158 kg N/ha and all disease inoculum levels were low.

Cutting the medic pasture for hay lowered dry matter production and medic pod set in the following season.

An early light tickle resulted in higher weed germination and lower powdery mildew damage in spring.

Full cut tillage following two years of grass free medic resulted in the highest wheat yields while a discing prior to seeding resulted in the lowest yield.

Working medic residues in the year prior reduced the following wheat yield but grain protein was higher.

Cutting a medic pasture for hay in 2013 reduced medic productivity in 2014 and lowered wheat grain protein in 2015.

• A two year pasture break has been more beneficial in the first cereal year than a one year break, resulting in lower grass weed numbers, higher soil reserves of N and low disease levels.
• The impact of pasture management and pre-seeding tillage on grain yield and quality was greater following a medic pasture in 2015 than in 2016.

• Hay cutting in 2013 resulted in lower medic dry matter in 2017.
• Grass weed numbers were very low in 2017 due to low opening rains and poor germination.
• Two years of wheat increased Rhizoctonia, Yellow leaf spot and Pratylenchus.
• A two year pasture break was beneficial to the following cereal because of lower grass weed numbers, higher soil reserves of N and lower disease levels.

• In a drier season, early-mid maturing Mace wheat provided better feed and grain value than mid-late maturing Trojan.
• Make variety choice based on the stored soil moisture, the potential time of sowing and the seasonal outlook.
• Variety differences exist between Mace and Trojan and their response to grazing.

Subsoil moisture and an early sowing opportunity meant that grazing did not affect yield or the gross income return of canola at Sea Lake in 2012. Dry conditions increased canola tissue nitrate levels to toxic levels as plants matured. Canola has a shorter grazing window than cereals, and requires careful grazing management to avoid high tissue nitrate situations, and roughage to balance fibre.

• Barley produces more feed than wheat at the time of grazing and is nutritionally superior.
• Early maturing varieties had the greatest yield penalties when grazed.

This wheat crop provided significant grazing value, however the paddock was in late in the sowing program which reduced the ability to graze the crop early in the season. This may also have affected how well the crop recovered from grazing due to the delay in maturity of the crop.There was an 11% reduction in yield in this demonstration. Sheep grazed the trial past the Z31 stage which would have meant grain heads would have been vulnerable to the damage from grazing. Smaller yield reductions would have been possible if sheep were removed from the paddock a few days earlier.When the grazing value of the sheep was taken into account there was a $29.74 reduction in profitability from grazing the paddock.Grazing cereal crops allows farmers to alter their stocking rate quickly and easily as they progress through the season. This practise will mean in better seasons a much smaller proportion of paddocks will need to be left for stock and more paddocks can be taken through to harvest which will result in a significant increase in farm profitability. In poor seasons there will be less paddocks taken though to harvest will result in a reduction in grain income, higher sheep grazing losses and lower farm profitability. The overall profitability of grazing cereal crops will depend on the frequency of dry years and good years,Don Nairn finds that grazing cereal crops takes the stress out of running sheep as there is always an option for the farmer when feed runs short (ie he can simply graze another crop). Hopefully this trial gives farmers a better appreciation of where the dollars fall when crops are grazed.

In July 2010, barley and wheat crops provided nutritious fodder for livestock in July.

• Moderate grazing up to Z30 and clip grazing after Z30 did not appear to have significant impacts on yield in 2012 when compared to early sown crops.
• However, assessing the value of grazing to the farm systems is complicated as grazing can affect time of flowering and frost impacts. It can also increase water use efficiency, allow pasture paddocks to be deferred, reduce the need for supplementation and allow for increased stock numbers and/or crop area.

• Forage barley variety Moby has vigorous early growth and matures quickly, and should be grazed sufficiently early to enable recovery for a second grazing.
• Spring wheat variety Bolac maintained yield when sown early and grazed in 2014.  
• Winter wheat variety Wedgetail can be sown very early (March-early April) in low rainfall areas to utilise early rainfall, and widen both the sowing and flowering window of crops.

• Forage barley variety Moby has vigorous early growth and matures quickly, and should be grazed sufficiently early to enable recovery for a second grazing.
• Spring wheat variety Bolac maintained yield when sown early and grazed in 2014.  
• Winter wheat variety Wedgetail can be sown very early (March-early April) in low rainfall areas to utilise early rainfall, and widen both the sowing and flowering window of crops.

• Forage barley variety Moby has vigorous early growth and matures quickly, and should be grazed sufficiently early to enable recovery for a second grazing.
• Spring wheat variety Bolac maintained yield when sown early and grazed in 2014.  
• Winter wheat variety Wedgetail can be sown very early (March-early April) in low rainfall areas to utilise early rainfall, and widen both the sowing and flowering window of crops.

• Grazing did not change grain yield in 2015 or 2016. Variety selection was the most important factor for final yield, particularly with the soft finish in 2016.
• Grazing slows crop maturity by one to two weeks, which meant Revenue (long season variety) was still booting during the October heat wave in 2015. In 2016, grazing lengthened the growing season for Bolac (mid-season variety) with a resulting 0.54 t/ha (NS) yield increase.
• To graze without yield loss, it’s important to start planning from the beginning of the season, e.g. early sowing of long season varieties. 

Winter wheat has to potential to produce high grain and forage returns. Early grazing should be no later than GS30 in order to maximise final grain yield. Early grazing of winter wheat can reduce final stubble volumes and increase harvest index. Ideally for best forage production, winter wheat should be planted in March if possible.

• Sowing early, grazing the crops and taking through to harvest gives only a small yield penalty.
• Manning has been a strong performer across all three sowing dates.
• With early sowings, more feeding is essential to improve yields at the end of the season.
   

Dry matter production is essential - therefore sowing early is essential.

Early autumn rainfall provides an opportunity to establish crops much earlier than currently practised in the southern high rainfall zone (HRZ) of WA.

• Winter wheat can be sown from late March to mid-April, depending on soil moisture conditions.

• Stirlings to Coast Farmer's research has shown that winter wheat (E.g., Illabo and DS Bennett) sown early, can grow equivalent yields to spring wheat like Trojan and Sceptre, planted at their usual time.

• Winter wheat has much less risk from frost damage when sown earlier compared to spring wheat due to their vernalisation requirements.

• Early sown winter wheat can provide valuable grazing opportunities for mixed farmers in the southern HRZ of WA, with minimal yield penalties

Many farmers who target high protein wheat find malting barley a difficult crop to grow. The quality characteristics for malting are tight (less than 11.8% protein and less than 28% screenings). Trial work has shown that to have an increased chance of growing malting barley it is important to:
• sow early (mid May to early June)
• use a sowing rate less than 90 kg/ha
• only use pre-drilled urea if the soil has less than 100 kg/ha of available N at sowing
• do not top-dress urea

• Potential to significantly increase yields with deep incorporation of organic matter.
• Local trial set up on KI but too early to gauge the real benefits or how long they will last for.

• Potential to significantly increase yields with deep incorporation of organic matter.
• Local trial set up on KI but too early to gauge the real benefits or how long they will last for.

• Both barley varieties out yielded wheat by approximately 1000kg/ha in all treatments
• Barley yields responded to the highest rate of early post emergent nitrogen (75kgN/ha) with wheat yields plateauing at the 50kgN/ha rate
• Ryegrass biomass was two to three times higher in wheat than barley, and this may have significantly reduced wheat yield

Winter wheat (Rosella) sown in mid-March yielded 2.1t/ha, comparable to spring wheat sown in May (2.5t/ha). All varieties provided large quantities of excellent feed, and simulated grazing did not reduce grain yield. Sowing winter wheat in response to late summer and early autumn rain is a successful strategy for overcoming a drier April-May, but varieties adapted to the Wimmera and Mallee are needed

Growth regulators were not beneficial in barley and canola in the 2001 season in the Wimmera. A yield penalty in barley resulted from double applications of a growth regulator (applied early and late).

• Harvest weed seed collection showed barley grass is harder to capture using harvest weed seed collection techniques due to its habit of shedding seed early.
• Burning windrows decreased the number of weed seeds present in the soil seedbank at Minnipa in 2017.
• Harvest weed seed collection allows for the capture of ryegrass weed seed and cereal screenings, potentially increasing feed utilisation for stock when placed in chaff dumps or rows.

The yield advantages of earlier sowing may not be achieved if volunteer plants cannot be controlled. Compass showed good adaptability at each sowing time both at Horsham and Watchupga East. Earlier sown barley plots at both sites were limited by nitrogen in 2013.

• Herbicides which may be influenced by high stubble loads include trifluralin, triallate, pyroxasulfone, prosulfocarb and metalochor products. If grass weeds are an issue in paddocks with high stubble loads (greater than 50% stubble cover), removal of some stubble may maximize the herbicide activity and grass weed control.
• In-crop germination patterns are later for barley grass than for other grass weeds in MAC paddocks, which is limiting early control with pre-emergence herbicides.
• If you expect most of your grass weeds to emerge straight after sowing maybe 2 L/ha trifluralin (plus an added herbicide depending on cost and risk factors such as seasonal conditions, soil type, rotation etc.) is the best value for your system.
• If you have a later germinating population, and aim to reduce the seed bank, you may be better investing in some of the more expensive herbicide mixes even though they may cost more in the first season.

• Total seasonal biomass production from all of the annual pasture legumes was relatively poor as a result of the poor start. It begs the question, should Serradella, given its useful tolerance to the Imidazolinone group of herbicides, be sown with a fast growing Imidazolinone tolerant cereal such as Scope CL barley to improve early season feed production? If the season is good, the cereal could be grazed early and then sprayed out with a grass selective herbicide to stop it out-competing the Serradella later on. If the season is poor, the cereal could be left to provide valuable winter and spring feed.
• Residues of Imidazolinone group herbicides can affect the performance of the following year’s crops and pastures, so be aware and plan ahead. 

The herbicide tolerance of two new desi chickpea varieties (Howzat and ICCV96836) were compared to Tyson. All three varieties showed similar tolerance to a range of herbicides. Simazine, Balance + Simazine and Spinnaker applied Post Sowing PreEmergent had little effect on yield, whereas Broadstrike applied Early Post Emergent on stressed plants it suppressed yield. For the main weeds in the trial (prickly lettuce, milk thistle) the best weed control option was Balance + Simazine. In paddocks where musk is a problem the best control option will be Spinnaker.

In this trial Simazine, Diuron and Brodal were quite safe when used post sowing preemergent. However, Brodal has been known to cause crop damage when used at this stage. There are no safe early post emergent herbicides available in vetch for the control of broadleaf weeds. It appears that Morava is less tolerant of pre-emergent and in-crop herbicides compared to Blanchefleur or Languedoc.

• The early season climatic events of waterlogging (Wanilla) and hail damage (Tooligie) were not
  conducive for small scale field trial studies, but reflected wide scale industry issues from these
  regions.
• Although this meant that some measurements could not be taken, reasonable results were
  still gained from these trials.

• Infrequent rainfall events, poor weed germination early and dry conditions at seeding resulted in challenging conditions for early weed control and crop establishment in 2018.
• In a high Barley grass weed situation herbicide mixes containing Sakura provided good weed control.
• Trifluralin (1.5 L/ha) IBS followed by Lexone (metribuzin) (180 g) post emergent caused significant crop damage due to rainfall events following the metribuzin application.
• Use as many options as possible to lower grass weed seed banks including two-year breaks.
• Regularly test grass populations for herbicide resistance.
• Aim to prevent 100% of seed from setting in all phases of the rotation.

There was a strong early visual response to applied phosphorus (P), with the nil P plots lacking vigour early. This was confirmed with significantly better P levels in the plant tissue up to 35 kg of P applied see There was no significant response to applied copper, zinc or sulphur. There was a significant yield response to applied P, however at the highest rate of applied P the yield began to fall. This is possibly due to the increased dry matter produced using more moisture and as a consequence of the dry finish in November losing some yield potential. In this situation the most appropriate rate of applied P for this year would have been between 15 - 20 kg P/ha.

• National GRDC funded project ‘Optimising the yield and economic potential of high input cropping systems in the high rainfall zone’.
• Two nutrient omission trials sown in 2016 at Bool Lagoon to test canola and wheat yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Relative to the treatment supplied with non-limiting nutrients, both canola and wheat grain yields were significantly lower if either P or S were not applied at sowing (38 and 30 % depression respectively for canola, 24% and 17% for wheat).
• Relative to the treatment supplied with non-limiting nutrients, canola biomass at flowering was 36 % lower without in-crop N and 8% lower without P at sowing, while wheat biomass at flowering was 40% lower without in-crop N and 12% lower without P at sowing.

• Regional survey on the nutrient status of nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S) and the micro-nutrients Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) of soils in the HRZ of south-eastern Australia undertaken and status report prepared.
• Two omission trials sown in 2015 to test crop yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Seasonal conditions resulted in the only responses being received from nitrogen applications; the omission trials to be repeated in 2016 under different seasonal conditions.

• Regional survey on the nutrient status of nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S) and the micro-nutrients Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) of soils in the HRZ of south-eastern Australia undertaken and status report prepared.
• Two omission trials sown in 2015 to test crop yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Seasonal conditions resulted in the only responses being received from nitrogen applications; the omission trials to be repeated in 2016 under different seasonal conditions.

• Raised beds had a greater impact on the yields of later sown crops.
• July sown canola yielded higher than May sown canola in both years on the beds.
• There appears to be an important interaction between time of sowing and raised beds. Hence recommendations developed from time of sowing experiments conducted on the flat may not be transferable to crops sown on raised beds.
• Yields did not appear to be greatly influenced by sowing rate.
• The impacts of row spacing on final yields are inconsistent. 

• Faba bean sown in 2019 significantly reduced Pratylenchus neglectus (root lesion nematode) numbers. Lentil and canola also reduced P. neglectus but to a lesser extent. This carried through to 2020 sown wheat where populations remained low.
• In 2019, faba bean was the lowest risk non-cereal option in the break crop phase to manage a late start or dry finish, although wheat outperformed all crop types in terms of yield and gross margin in 2019.
• Wheat sown in 2020 yielded more when sown after pulses (faba bean, lentil, chickpea) compared to when sown after canola or wheat,
• In a poor season or low rainfall situation the low nitrogen strategy (30N basal) offered the best returns, there was no yield response to higher rates of nitrogen applied in-season.
• Wheat after pulses had the greatest yield response to applied nitrogen.
• Protein response to nitrogen rate was higher in wheat-wheat compared to when sown after break crops.

• Wyalkatchem wheat reinforces its position in the cropping rotation.
• Magenta may be a possible alternative to Wyalkatchem.
• Advisable not to grow durum on the lateritic ironstone soils on the plateau.
• More research required into suitability of soft wheat varieties .
• Linseed tolerates and yields in wet soils, but its marketing requires further investigation.
• Avoid growing chickpeas unless you can eliminate wildlife.
• Lentils require good inoculation and well-drained soil. Target early or medium maturity varieties.

• There is wide phenological diversity in Australian canola varieties. From a 28 March sowing date the fastest variety, Nuseed® Diamond, started flowering on 22 June and the slowest variety, Hyola® 970CL (winter type), started flowering on 28 September, a difference of 98 days from sowing to start of flowering.

• The highest yield of 4.7 t/ha came from sowing fast (e.g. Nuseed® Diamond) and mid (e.g. Pioneer® 45Y25 (RR)) spring phenology types in mid-April to early May. Sowing the fast variety early (Nuseed® Diamond) resulted in significant frost damage, reducing yield and quality, as it started flowering in June.

• The winter varieties and the slow spring varieties had stable yield across sowing dates, but generally yielded closer to 4 t/ha.

• Open-pollinated (OP), triazine tolerant (TT) varieties yielded within 5% of hybrid non-TT varieties (with similar phenology).
 

• Treat infested pastoral areas with 3.0 litres MCPA amine per hectare in the autumn. Apply the MCPA with 100 litres of water per hectare. Horehound can be a difficult plant to wet. A wetting adjuvant may be of assistance.
• Maintain grasses to prevent the establishment of seedlings. Burn the infested area the following year, in early
• autumn, to destroy as much of the seed bank as possible. Respray the area later in the autumn to control any subsequent horehound germinations with MCPA amine.

Chara sown 13th June gave a small but significant responses to applied nitrogen, despite a soil N reserve of 176 kg/ha N (0‐90cm) pre planting. With this later sown trial there was no significant difference in nitrogen timing, though there was a trend for seedbed/GS31 (50/50 split of N) treated crops to be slightly higher yielding than GS31/37 (50/50 split of N) treated crops.

• The trial was sown into dry soil on the 11th May. This trial was indicative of many lupin crops within the West Midlands region in 2010, with establishment and weed control issues. Establishment was inconsistent across the trial site with seasonal conditions, non-wetting soil and rhizoctonia root rot contributing to uneven plant numbers and poor growth within some plots. Herbicide management of weeds, particularly ryegrass, was less effective than expected, resulting in high weed burdens, especially in plots with poor lupin establishment.
• Anthracnose was introduced into plots 4 weeks after sowing but warm dry weather following introduction of infection and long dry spells during the growing season reduced disease development.
• Disease assessments at crop maturity indicated that despite high levels of inoculum being introduced only low levels of disease were present within the trial and differences between varieties were not statistically significant. Approximately 10% of the moderately susceptible Jenabillup plants suffered stem infection, the resistant variety Tanjil and resistant breeding lines had between 2-4% of plants with stem infection. Pod infection levels were low across the trial due to dry weather during podding.
• Due to uneven establishment, variable soil moisture, root disease and weed burden, individual plot yields varied from 0.5 t/ha to 2 t/ha across the site (average 1.4 t/ha), however neither variety nor anthracnose infection significantly affected yield.
• In seasons with good rainfall, anthracnose can be a yield constraint for lupin production in the high-medium rainfall regions of the northern agricultural region (particularly in areas with abundant blue lupins); the anthracnose resistance in current advanced breeding lines will reduce disease development and yield loss.

A late sown winter wheat Marombi and experimental wheat 10.10.3 were grazed at three different times and compared to the ungrazed crop. Drymatter production available for grazing up to GS 30/31 was 1.48 t/ha for Marombi and 1.89 t/ha for 10.10.3. Early grazing had minimal or no impact on grain yield. Grazing in the early to mid vegetative stage increased grain yield of 10.10.3 by 0.36 t/ha or 5 %. However there was a yield reduction (0.48 t/ha or 8%) by grazing the Marombi. Given the limited number of samples taken, the variation in yield may not be different from the no grazing treatment. The change in stubble mass was less than anticipated, with a decline of up to 13%.

• There was a 0.17 t/ha yield advantage in the 2014 season due to removing or cultivating the previous season’s stubble, possibly due to extra nitrogen being available to the crop during the growing season.
• There was a 0.08 t/ha yield advantage at MAC this season by inter row cropping rather than placing the seed on row.
• There were no differences in either barley or ryegrass numbers at the start of the cropping season or in crop.

• There were no differences in wheat yield at Minnipa in response to stubble architecture, seeding position and nitrogen treatments in 2015.
• In 2015 plant establishment was reduced with cultivation and the addition of nitrogen at seeding compared to standing stubble cut low at harvest. The extra nitrogen applied at seeding also reduced the early dry matter.
• Removing and cutting stubble low decreased the Yellow Leaf Spot disease incidence and snail numbers compared to high cut stubble.
• Stubble management and seeding position had little effect on grass weed numbers.
• Overall at Minnipa, stubble management and seeding position have not impacted highly on crop production, weeds, disease and pests over two years with relatively high stubble loads in low rainfall farming systems.

• Barley sown into standing stubble yielded higher (between 0.15-0.33 t/ha) than cultivated or removed stubble in 2016.
• Standing stubble cut low (15-17 cm) resulted in the highest level of stubble being maintained into the following season.
• Maintaining standing stubbles may be the best option for yield and stubble carry over, but adequate nitrogen must be maintained.
• In 2014 and 2015 stubble management and seeding position did not impact strongly on weeds, disease or pests with relatively high stubble loads in a low rainfall farming system at Minnipa.

Standing stubble cut low (15-17 cm) resulted in the highest level of stubble being maintained into the following season.

Stubble management and seeding position had little effect on grass weeds.

Snail numbers were higher in standing stubble cut high (30 cm) and stubble removed had the lowest numbers.

Stubbles can be estimated using 1.3-2.8 times the grain yield, but it may underestimate the stubble in an average season following a good year, or after a very poor season.

In many low rainfall farming systems livestock are still a very important part of the farming system and the level of stubble carryover is reduced after grazing.

Stubble management and seeding position have not impacted greatly on crop production, weeds, disease and pests over three years with relatively high stubble loads for low rainfall farming systems.

• Grain yields and lowest pod height of chickpeas were generally higher in no-till wider row systems sown inter-row (30 and 60cm) compared with conventional system (20cm).
• Herbicide damage in both lentils and chickpeas were significantly more severe in conventional systems where herbicides were applied post sowing pre-emergent.
• In lentils, despite showing significant early growth and good biomass production, yields were generally less than 0.2t/ha.

Early termination of vetch resulted in higher soil N and soil water at sowing the following year compared with later termination timings of vetch. Wheat yield in the year following vetch was highest for the earlier termination timings of the vetch. Brown manure vetch had higher soil N and soil water compared to vetch taken through to harvest.

• Our results from the first year of the study show that the method used to manage soil water repellence had little impact on soil nutrient supply with the exception of phosphorus. The lack of grain yield response to applied P in the mouldboard and spading treatments suggest that soil phosphorus is more available in these soils, though is not clear whether this is due to the removal of the non-wetting constraint or mineralisation following tillage.
• The lower grain yield and harvest index in the spading treatment suggests that there was less soil water available late in the growing season. Further research is required to determine how these management practices, in particular inversion and rotary spading, changes fertiliser advice. The results of this work will be used to develop guidelines on if or how nutrition should be managed for crops sown on soils treated for water repellence.

• Winter cereal crop and variety choice can have a large impact on Pratylenchus thornei (Pt) population build-up within paddocks.
• Averaged across winter cereal entries, final Pt densities were 83% higher when sown in early May compared with early June.
• Final Pt populations were between 1.6 and 4.7 times higher in 14 of the 24 barley entries, the durum line 190873, and 12 of the 19 bread wheat entries when sown in early May compared with early June.
• The additional population build-up with early May sowing generally increased the risk level for yield loss in the following wheat crop from either low to medium, or medium to high compared to sowing in early June.
• Although earlier sowing can reduce yield loss associated with both crown rot (CR) and Pt, it does, however, appear to favour higher Pt population development in some winter cereal varieties, which could exacerbate negative consequences on following crops and/or varieties in the rotation.

• Fathom barley was more competitive than Hindmarsh barley, bread wheat and durum.
• Increasing seeding rate and seed bed utilisation improved crop weed competition (by up to 60%) without a yield penalty or quality downgrading.
• Tjilkuri and Mace sown at 300 seeds/m2 with a spreader boot achieved similar ARG suppression as Fathom barley sown at 150 seeds/m2 .
• Pre-emergent herbicide application offered the best control of ARG in this trial across all varieties and agronomic management factors. 
• Non chemical strategies can significantly enhance crop’s competitive ability with weeds and should be integrated with herbicide use.

• Early sown, long season material did very well in 2018 considering the season (Growing Season Rainfall was one of the lowest on record).
• More options are available to growers who have the opportunity to sow wheat to coincide with earlier rain and the need to start earlier due to a large cropping program.
• The trial is planned to run again in 2019 with the aim to test earlier sowing dates than 2018. 

• The paddock utilised for the trial had a significant number of effective naturalised medic rhizobia. There was no rhizobial inoculation response.
• Total annual biomass was higher in the regenerating medic plots versus sown treatments due to earlier germination and growth of naturalised medic.
• Grazing increased overall medic production.

• Nitrogen offtake in grain was higher with mid-row banding urea than urea broadcast and incorporated by sowing for both BeckomA nd LongReach SpitfireA at the 80, 120 and 160 rates of N application.
• Apparent fertiliser recovery in grain was also higher from mid-row banding urea than from urea broadcast and incorporated by sowing in five of the possible eight treatment comparisons.
• Soils cored at stem elongation from the mid-row banding treatment showed higher ammonium levels in the top 20 cm and lower nitrate concentration at 60–100 cm than urea broadcast and incorporated by sowing.
• Roots proliferated around and below the original mid-row banding. These results indicate potential for mid-row banding to improve N use efficiency.

• Varieties in this trial did not show a response to extra applied nitrogen at this site which was in pasture for the previous 3 years. Possible reasons are low rainfall and plants being water limited and/or sufficient background levels of nitrogen available for the crop in this soil type. 
• In this season results showed a benefit in seeding early, providing greater growing season and therefore yield benefit, averaging 210 kg/ha higher. 

• At Streaky Bay and Cungena in 2019, establishment was similar with dry sowing or sowing at the break, and at Minnipa establishment was better with dry sowing.
• There was a yield penalty if no fertiliser had been applied at Minnipa.
• Dry sowing increased grain yield at Minnipa by 0.2 t/ha compared to waiting for the break in the season.
• Dry sowing at Streaky Bay and Cungena reduced grain yield, by 0.7 and 0.3 t/ha respectively, compared to waiting for the break and sowing into a moist soil bed.
• All three sites showed a decrease in early dry matter with dry sowing.
• The herbicides and fungicides evaluated in the trial did not impact on plant establishment when dry sowing.

• Clethodim applied at 500ml/ha to ryegrass at the 2 to 3 leaf stage averaged 84% control.
• Two early applications, ryegrass at 2 to 3 leaf and then again 3 weeks later, gave the best control of resultant ryegrass head numbers.
• All combinations of clethodim and butroxydim applied after ryegrass reached the 2 to 3 leaf stage significantly reduced grain yield.

• Surface application of organic matter significantly increased early growth of wheat and canola, but not lentils at Birchip.
• At anthesis, no difference existed between treatments for wheat and at maturity, conventionally sown crops out yielded all other treatments.

Surface application of organic matter significantly increased early growth of wheat and canola, but not lentils at Birchip. At anthesis, no difference existed between treatments for wheat and at maturity, conventionally sown crops out yielded all other treatments.

• With the current climate trending to decreased seasonal rainfall, each 1% increase in productivity is important.
• Increases in productivity can come from increased yield, more efficient application of inputs, or more timely grain marketing.
• Knowledge on the soil water holding properties, the time when the crop is taking up the most water from the soil and the current yield estimation models allows growers to market grain with more confidence pre harvest.
• Tools such as Yield Prophet, iPaddock Yield, soil moisture Probes and water use efficiency models are all very useful in assisting to predict grain yields with a relatively high level of confidence when accurately set up.
• In this project “iPaddock Yield” provided the greatest level of accuracy in predicting final grain yield on July 31st 2015. The simple French & Shultz “Broken Stick” model was very close to the accuracy of the ipaddock Yield at 77% & 74% accuracy.
• When there is confidence in the early to mid-season yield prediction combined with accurate soil Nitrogen testing and modeling, there is a greater chance of maximizing profits from applied nitrogen.

• At three out of the 4 sites gladius wheat sown onto a pea crop background from 2011 produced the best grain yields.
• At Condowie wheat on barley (2.54t/ha average) was always better than wheat on wheat (2.10t/ha average), regardless of extra nitrogen.

• The pasture-crop rotation system has so far been successfully established in these sites, with the pasture plant productivity improved year by year.
• For further discussion and conclusions from this work please see the attached trial report.

There was a small discernable response in early season biomass to N applied at seeding at the sampling on 29 August August.

EverCrop research reported in this and previous Crop Updates (2010-2014) has built up a sound knowledge base on the viability, performance and economics of pasture cropping and companion annual legume based systems for fragile soils in the Northern Agricultural Region that are marginal for continuous cropping. Collectively, trials at Mingenew and Dandaragan over the past two seasons (2013 & 2014) have demonstrated that subtropical perennial grass pastures lift the overall productivity of deep sandy soils, extend the period of available green feed, convert summer rainfall into feed, reduce the winter and summer weed burden, and increase ground cover.

• Gibberellic acid is a safe, cheap and convenient way to increase winter fed growth, but it must be applied early in the season (ideally by late autumn/early winter).
• Applying early in the season will boost winter growth.
• Applying too late can potentially cause a decrease in spring feed production.
• Don’t graze the paddock within 3 weeks of application.

The risk of stem frost damage can be minimised by using winter wheats if sowing prior to 20 April. Spring wheats should be kept within 5-7 days of their optimal sow date. If appropriate, risk of BYDV should be managed by backing up imidacloprid seed dressing with foliar insecticides at the start of tillering if aphids are present. New winter wheat cultivars are in the pipeline and are likely to have significant yield advantages over current ageing material.

Stripe rust indicator plots were sown at three BCG trial sites - Sea Lake, Birchip and Marnoo. Seven varieties with different disease resistance levels, ranging from Very Susceptible (VS) to Resistant (R), were sown. These plots served as an excellent tool to observe when stripe rust establishes in an area, what impact a single application of fungicide had on the disease level and also, very importantly, whether the established rust resistance ratings were holding true for each of the varieties. T

• Plant growth regulator (PGR) application at the recommended time of early stem elongation (Z31) did not alter root or shoot growth in the barley cultivar (cv) CompassA.
•  When PGRs were applied during early growth stages (Z12–13) root growth was inhibited or unchanged depending on the active ingredient applied and the application method.
•  When PGRs were applied early and when applied as a soil drench they inhibited root growth, but when applied at the recommended time for controlling stem height, PGRs had no effect on root
growth.

• Crop yields declined by an average of 31kg/ha/day when sowing was delayed from 20 May to 2 June.
• There was not any significant interactions between varieties in their response to delayed sowing time from 20 May to 15 June.
• The varieties Bunnu, EGA Bonnie Rock, Espada, Fang, Lincoln and Yandanooka produced screenings greater than 5% when sown in mid June. 

• Crop yields declined by an average of 31 kg/ha/day when sowing was delayed from the 20th May to the 2nd June.
• Delaying seeding from 2nd June to the 15th June resulted in an average yields decline of 45 kg/ha/day.
• There were not any significant interactions between varieties in their response to delayed sowing time from 20th May to the 15th June. -
• The top performing AH/APW varieties were Carnamah, EGA Bonnie Rock, Espada, Katana, King Rock, Mace, Scout, Wyalkatchem and Zippy. Screenings of these varieties was less than 5% at each sowing time.
• The varieties Binnu, EGA Bonnie Rock, Espada, Fang, Lincoln and Yandanooka produced screenings greater than 5% when sown in mid June.

Take Home Messages

Whilst the trial didn’t go according to plan there were still some key messages that arose:

• Maximising seed-soil contact is the aim at sowing especially for the larger seeds that require more moisture to imbibe and germinate compared to small seeds.

• Unseasonably low June rainfall hindered establishment of partially sown beans due to a drying topsoil. These may have been

OK under normal June rainfall conditions.

• Hair pinning can be a serious issue when using a disc seeder especially when sowing into wet/ moist lodged stubble.

• Solutions to avoid hair pinning – sow when stubble is dry (good in theory), keep stubble standing, use sharp discs and ensure bar

has sufficient down force to cut through tough stubble.

• Analysis of wheat crops sown after rice harvest in the Murray Irrigation Ltd districts (MIL) found that increasing yields required different management depending on soil type and irrigation layout.
• Four management factors that limit winter crop yields were identified: waterlogging, late season water stress, under-fertilisation and low soil pH.
• In the MIL districts alone, increasing wheat yields after rice from the current median to the 80th percentile would result in an additional 20,000–30,000 tonnes per annum ($4–6 million at $200/t).
• If all rice areas were sown to wheat after harvest every year and 80th percentile yields achieved, an additional 128,000–138,000 tonnes of wheat would be produced ($26–$28 million at $200/t).

• High-pressure injection shows promise as an alternative method for applying fertiliser into the soil.
• Deep banding fluid fertilisers with extra long knife points is another option which also showed promise.
• This research is still in its early days.

• An integrated weed management (IWM) approach was used incorporating integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD), herbicide, hand picking, crop rotation and early grazing opportunities
• After seven years wild radish numbers were controlled on paddocks that previously had high densities 
• Between 2018 and 2020 the radish population was reduced by 71%

Herbicide strategy 1 (HS1), which was based on atrazine pre-sowing followed by clethodim (Select) post-emergence reduced ryegrass plant density relative to the untreated control by 57%. However, use of propyzamide pre-sowing, followed by atrazine and Select + Factor (HS 2) increased ryegrass control to 77%. Canola variety had a significant effect on ryegrass spike density (P=0.002). When averaged across the sowing dates and herbicide strategies, ryegrass growing in HyTTec Trophy produced 52 spikes/m2 as compared to 78 spikes/m2 in Bonito (33% reduction). HyTTec Trophy is a new hybrid triazine tolerant variety from Nuseed, which is known for high early vigour. Herbicide strategies also had a significant effect on ryegrass spike density (P<0.001). Ryegrass grown without any selective herbicide treatment (control – HS3) produced 128 spikes/m2 as compared to 40 spikes/m2 in HS1 and 29 spikes/m2 in HS2. This works out to 69% reduction in HS1 relative to the control and 78% reduction in HS2. Herbicide strategies had the largest effect on canola yield (P<0.001). HS1 and 2 produced canola yield of around 0.8 t/ha, which was almost 50% greater than the yield obtained in the control.

• Positive yield responses from the control of yellow leaf spot (YLS) were recorded despite disease levels not exceeding 10% on the top three leaves in this wheat-on-wheat rotation position.
• For the second year in succession there was a significant yield increase (0.12t/ha mean of two fungicide products) from two fungicide applications made at the late tillering stage and the second node stage (GS25 and GS32).
• The yield response from two fungicides corresponded to significantly better disease control than the untreated control and increased the crop canopy greeness.
• Although single fungicide timings produced little or no evidence of YLS control, significant yield increases were measure (0.13-0.14t/ha).
• Nitrogen timing (application of 40kg N/ha at either tillering (GS22) or first node stage (GS31)) had no significant effects on disease levels, yield or quality.