• Demonstration sites are monitored annually for pasture and surface cover, biomass production and frequency of perennials.
• Soil sampling will occur again in late 2014/15 to determine any change in soil organic stocks as a result of the implementation of a change in management practice.

• On light soils, nitrogen is generally the most important nutrient in achieveing optimum cereal yields and maximising return.
• It is important to maintain a balanced approach to crop nutrition.
• In deficient sandy soils, nitrogen can be confidently applied to malting barley, particularly if applied early and to crops free of disease and weed competition.

In 2014 – a dry season with limited growth and yield at the trial site – Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) were not economically viable or worthwhile.

PGR use in a tough season may pose more risk than benefit to cereal crops; their use should be gauged on seasonal outlooks.

In 2014, reduction in plant height was greatest with a PGR applied either as a single late, or a split application, not an early application.

The combination of a fungicide such as Amistar Xtra with a PGR such as Moddus Evo, appears to increase the effect of the PGR on plant growth.

Conventional broad acre fungicides, biological products and products for home gardening were all tested. Unfortunately the dry season reduced incidence of diseases and gave no clear indication of the value of these products.

Increased crop density reduced annual ryegrass density.

Herbicides offered effective weed control, and performance of Sakura® and Boxer Gold® was similar in this season.

Triflur X® provided excellent control of barley grass over the entire site, although by August, weed density was lower following Triflur X® at 3L/ha rather than 2L/ha.

In 2020, Intervix® provided excellent control in-crop, preventing panicle production. In 2021 the field was too wet to spray in-crop herbicides.

Increased seeding rate increased crop density, and resulted in a non-significant reduction to barley grass panicles.

•  Legume break crops reduced populations of RLN (Pratylenchus neglectus) in the soil while canola increased the population.
• RLN levels increased across the site after one season of Scepter wheat (a susceptible host) to medium risk levels on legume plots and high risk levels where canola had been a break crop.
• A single break crop in the rotation may be insufficient to effectively reduce disease inoculum beyond the season following a break crop year.

The outcome from this project will be more reliable and more productive low rainfall farming systems through the increased use of less risky broad leaved break phases.

This will be achieved through the promotion of the following outputs from the proposal in low rainfall regions of south eastern Australia 1. More reliable management strategies for the production of broad leaved phases.

2. Identification of more reliable break phase options.

3. Guidelines to identify trigger points for when, for how long and which break phases to use for improved farming systems outcomes.

4. Reliable estimation of risks with break phases as well as their total impacts on following cereal crops.

A break of two years can produce a better financial outcome than continuous wheat over a four year period of production where there are substantial pressures on wheat performance (eg. grassy weeds). Wheat yields after a two year break were a significant step up from wheat crops following a one year break, which were in turn, much better than the continuous wheat. Large break crop benefits of 0.5-1.25 t/ha were achieved following a two year non-cereal break phase compared to continuous wheat. The break crop benefit of a one year break may only last one season if grass weeds are a significant factor. The major benefit of breaks in these long term cereal paddocks was to reduce grassy weed pressures for subsequent wheat crops phases. The benefit of a two year break had little to do with the phases chosen for those two breaks, providing that excellent grass weed control could be achieved in both. Many of the most profitable crop sequences over the four year period often started with a two year break phase.

• Continuously cropping cereals has increased grass weeds and root disease to a point that it is no longer the most economical option, due to decreased yield and costs associated with addressing weed and disease issues.      
• Two year breaks starting to pay their way in the third year of the rotation. One year breaks have lifted wheat performance but have not kept grassy weeds or diseases under control.

For take home meeages please see the attached trial report.

The potential advantages of growing pulse crops are well recognised, such as: increasing soil nitrogen,
breaking disease cycles for cereal crops, providing a high nitrogen feed grain and being a cash crop in their
own right. Field peas are well suited to the Central West and other pulses are useful, depending on pH,
drainage and weed control.

Earlier sown beans and lupins proved that pulses can yield in a very dry year. Although yields were comparatively low, an economic analysis has revealed that this enterprise selection was still profitable. Later sowing of peas, chickpeas and lentils showed little benefit due to the lack of follow up rainfall.

• Pulses last season were affected by both drought and frosts.
• Prices were exceptional in 2006/07, with high demand and low supply.
• Herbicide residues may influence crop rotations more than diseases in 2007.
• Seed quality and availability will also be a big issue for pulses in 2007.
• Timeliness of sowing is becoming a greater issue with pulses.
• Pulses cut as forage proved to be a worth while option last season .

Grain quality results showed very little variation between all treatments with test weights between 60.8 and 63.6, protein between 13 and 13.9, moisture between 11 and 11.2 and screenings between 7.6% for Jockey and 9% for Dividend © 130 mI/l 00kg.

Weeds external to a cropping area (ie; along fence lines and roadways) are a known problem. They impact negatively upon a cropping operation in a number of ways; ie,

• Pest insects - Weeds can provide refuge for insect pests and act as a point source of distribution into a cropping area.
• Diseases - Weeds can act as a host for crop disease. When an infected weed is fed upon by a pest insect (e.g. aphid) and the pest insect then feeds upon a plant within a cropping zone the disease is transferred to the crop.
• Seed - Weeds external to a cropping zone provide a source of seed that can enter and infest a cropping area.
• Mice - Weeds external to a cropping area provide food, moisture and refuge for mice.
• Herbicide resistance - Weeds external to a cropping area do not generally receive the same levels of control as weeds within a cropping area, which can assist in the development of herbicide resistance.
• Green bridge - Weeds that perpetuate external to a cropping season provide what is termed as a “green-bridge”. This green bridge is known to enable pest insects and diseases to survive as well as provide a source of weed seed for future in-crop infestations.

• For the 3 phases of methane measurement reported, methane emission intensity (L CH4/hr/100g ADWG) was significantly lower for lambs on a better quality forage with high metabolisable energy, digestibility and crude protein.
• Feedlotting is an option that gives producers the flexibility to finish lambs when pasture availability is limited or light soils are at risk of erosion.
• Spray-topping cereal crops is a good management strategy for weed control and feed management for livestock, however, livestock productivity gains can be compromised when spray-topped cereals are grazed without offering lambs better quality fodder supplements.

Key findings

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from 7.6% in the bread wheat variety LRPB SpitfireA up to 29.1% in the barley variety CommanderA. • Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with nine entries being 0.30 t/ha to 1.33 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA.

• Grain protein levels varied from 12.0% in MitchA up to 15.8% in the recently released durum variety DBA LillaroiA. Crown rot infection did not affect any grain protein level in any entry.

• Screening levels varied from 2.2% in the barley variety CompassA up to 9.5% in the bread wheat line LPB12-0494.

• Crown rot infection did not affect screening levels in any entry.

Conclusions

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–33% yield benefit over growing the susceptible
bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Bullarah in
2016. This could have maximised profit in the growing season but will not reduce inoculum
levels for subsequent crops, because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot
infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown
rot but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this
disease.

Key findings
• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from 7.6% in the bread wheat variety LRPB SpitfireA up to 29.1% in the
barley variety CommanderA.
• Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with
nine entries being 0.30 t/ha to 1.33 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety
EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels varied from 12.0% in MitchA up to 15.8% in the recently released durum variety
DBA LillaroiA. Crown rot infection did not affect any grain protein level in any entry.
• Screening levels varied from 2.2% in the barley variety CompassA up to 9.5% in the bread wheat line
LPB12-0494.
• Crown rot infection did not affect screening levels in any entry.

CONCLUSIONS:

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–33% yield benefit over growing the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Bullarah in 2016. This could have maximised profit in the growing season but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops, because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

Key findings
• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from 7.6% in the bread wheat variety LRPB SpitfireA up to 29.1% in the
barley variety CommanderA.
• Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with
nine entries being 0.30 t/ha to 1.33 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety
EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels varied from 12.0% in MitchA up to 15.8% in the recently released durum variety
DBA LillaroiA. Crown rot infection did not affect any grain protein level in any entry.
• Screening levels varied from 2.2% in the barley variety CompassA up to 9.5% in the bread wheat line
LPB12-0494.
• Crown rot infection did not affect screening levels in any entry.

CONCLUSIONS:

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–33% yield benefit over growing the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Bullarah in 2016. This could have maximised profit in the growing season but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops, because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in four of the bread wheat varieties up to 14.9% in the barley variety CompassA. • Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with eight entries being between 0.29 t/ha and 0.76 t/ha higher yielding than EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels varied from 11.9% in BeckomA up to 14.7% in the recently released durum variety DBA LillaroiA. Crown rot did not affect protein levels in any other entry.
• Screening levels varied from 4.4% in the barley variety CompassA and bread wheat variety CoolahA up to 9.3% in the barley variety SpartacusA. Crown rot did not affect screenings in any other entry.

Key findings

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the barley varieties SpartacusA and CommanderA up to around 20% in the barley variety CompassA and bread wheat varieties EGA GregoryA and LRPB FlankerA.

• Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with five entries being between 0.32 t/ha to 0.57 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA.

• Grain protein levels varied from 11.3% in MitchA up to 14.9% in LRPB SpitfireA. Crown rot infection did not affect protein levels in any entry.

• Crown rot infection increased the level of screenings in all four barley varieties and the two bread wheat varieties SunmateA and LRPB ReliantA.

Conclusions

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–13% yield benefit over growing the susceptible
bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Garah in 2016.
This could have maximised profit in this growing season, but will not reduce inoculum levels
for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection.
Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather
just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

Key findings
• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the barley varieties SpartacusA and CommanderA
up to around 20% in the barley variety CompassA and bread wheat varieties EGA GregoryA and
LRPB FlankerA.
• Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with five
entries being between 0.32 t/ha to 0.57 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety
EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels varied from 11.3% in MitchA up to 14.9% in LRPB SpitfireA. Crown rot infection did not
affect protein levels in any entry.
• Crown rot infection increased the level of screenings in all four barley varieties and the two bread wheat
varieties SunmateA and LRPB ReliantA.

Conclusions:

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–13% yield benefit over growing the susceptible
bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Garah in 2016.
This could have maximised profit in this growing season, but will not reduce inoculum levels
for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection.
Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather
just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

 

 

Key findings
• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the barley varieties SpartacusA and CommanderA
up to around 20% in the barley variety CompassA and bread wheat varieties EGA GregoryA and
LRPB FlankerA.
• Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with five
entries being between 0.32 t/ha to 0.57 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety
EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels varied from 11.3% in MitchA up to 14.9% in LRPB SpitfireA. Crown rot infection did not
affect protein levels in any entry.
• Crown rot infection increased the level of screenings in all four barley varieties and the two bread wheat
varieties SunmateA and LRPB ReliantA.

Conclusions:

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 7–13% yield benefit over growing the susceptible
bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Garah in 2016.
This could have maximised profit in this growing season, but will not reduce inoculum levels
for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection.
Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather
just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

 

 

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the variety DBA LillaroiA and seven of the 13 bread wheat varieties, up to 32.9% in the durum variety JandaroiA.
• Only the bread wheat variety MitchA was higher yielding (0.41 t/ha) than the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection.
• Grain protein levels were low across the site and varied from 7.7% in MitchA up to 10.1% in the durum line 190873. Crown rot infection did not affect protein levels in any entry.
• Crown rot infection caused a small (1–2%), but significant, increase in the level of screenings in the barley variety La TrobeA, and 10 of the 13 bread wheat entries.
   

•  Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the barley variety CompassA, durum entries 190873 and JandaroiA and six of the bread wheat varieties, up to 19.7% in the barley variety CommanderA.
• Only the bread wheat variety BeckomA was higher yielding (by 0.58 t/ha) in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection than the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels were very low across the site (average 8.2%) and varied from 7.5% in LRPB ReliantA up to 8.9% in LRPB SpitfireA. Crown rot did not affect protein levels in any entry.
• Screening levels were very low across entries, but crown rot infection caused a small (0.5–1.3%), yet significant, increase in the level of screenings in the barley varieties CompassA and CommanderA, as well as in the bread wheat varieties CoolahA and LRPB SpitfireA.

CONCLUSIONS:

Cereal crop and variety choice affected yield in the absence and presence of added crown rot inoculum, which differed by 1.41 t/ha and 1.30 t/ha, respectively between the best and worst entries. Only the bread wheat variety BeckomA provided a yield benefit (15%) over growing the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Merriwa in 2016. This could have maximised profit in this growing season, but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

•  Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the bread wheat varieties MitchA and BeckomA up to 18.6% in the bread wheat variety LRPB FlankerA.
• The two barley varieties Spartacus A and La TrobeA along with nine of the bread wheat entries were higher yielding (0.28 t/ha to 0.86 t/ha) in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection than EGA GregoryA.
• Grain protein levels were relatively low at across the site which varied from 9.2% in CoolahA up to 11.5% in the barley variety SpartacusA . Protein levels in all other entries were not affected by crown rot infection.
• Crown rot infection caused a small (0.6 to 1.4%) but significant increase in the level of screenings in the four barley varieties and four of the thirteen bread wheat entries but remained below 5% for all entries.

Conclusions

Cereal crop and variety choice provided a 6–20% yield benefit over growing the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Parkes in 2016. This could have maximised profit in this growing season but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

Key findings

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in five of the bread wheat varieties, the barley variety CommanderA and the durum variety JandaroiA up to 12.9% in the bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA.

• The recently released durum variety DBA LillaroiA produced a protein level of 15% which was over 1% higher than the two other durum entries JandaroiA and 190873.

• Crown rot infection did not significantly impact on the level of screenings in any of the entries due to limited expression under the wet seasonal conditions at this site in 2016. However, genetic differences were evident with screening levels which ranged from 3.2% in the durum line 190873 up to 17.6% in the bread wheat variety BeckomA.

Conclusions

Cereal crop and variety choice affected yield in the absence and presence of crown rot infection, which differed by 2.26 t/ha and 2.24 t/ha, respectively between the best and worst entries. The three durum entries were higher yielding relative to bread wheat and barley entries in both the added CR and no added CR treatments at this site in 2016. This was likely due to seasonal conditions (near full soil water profile at sowing plus 472 mm of in-crop rainfall), which limited crown rot expression.

Cereal crop and variety choice still provided a 9% to 35% yield benefit over growing the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA under high levels of crown rot infection at Tamarang on the Liverpool Plains in 2016. This can maximise profit in the current season but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops, because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

Key findings

• Yield loss from crown rot ranged from not significant in the bread wheat variety LRPB ReliantA up to 16.9% in the barley variety CompassA

 • Bread wheat variety choice affected yield in the presence of high levels of crown rot infection with three entries being between 0.45 t/ha and 0.85 t/ha higher yielding than the susceptible bread wheat variety EGA GregoryA.

• Grain protein levels were low across the site (mean of 9.8%) and varied from 8.7% in MitchA up to 10.6% in LRPB SpitfireA Crown rot infection did not affect protein levels in any entry.

• Crown rot infection caused a small (1–4%), but significant increase in screenings in the barley variety La TrobeA and all of the 13 bread wheat entries.

• Seasonal conditions reduced stress during grain fill at this site in 2016, which limited the effects from infection on yield.
• Although the effect of crown rot infection on yield was not significant, there was still a 52% (1.76 t/ha) difference between the overall yield of the best and worst entries.
• Grain protein levels were relatively low across the site, varying from 7.8% in MitchA up to 9.8% in the durum line 190873. Crown rot did not affect protein levels in any other variety.
• Crown rot infection caused a moderate (2–6%) increase in the level of screenings in 10 of the 13 bread wheat entries.

Conclusions:

Cereal crop and variety choice affected yield at this site in 2016, which differed by 1.76 t/ha (52%) between the best (SpartacusA) and worst (DBA LillaroiA) entries when averaged across CR treatments. CR treatment did not significantly affect yield in any of the entries due to seasonal conditions (~120 mm of plant available water at sowing plus 555 mm in-crop rainfall), which limited stress during grain filling. The added CR treatment also did not affect grain protein levels, but resulted in a modest 2–6% increase in the level of screenings in 10 of the 13 bread wheat entries.

It should be remembered that cereal crop and variety choice in paddocks with a medium crown rot risk can maximise profit in the current season, but will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops because all winter cereal varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot, but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease. 

Residual effects from soil nitrogen can be observed in the following cereal crop whcih makes a good case for utilising pulse innoculants

  Key findings:

Yield in the presence of crown rot was generally barley > bread wheat > durum across both sowing times, but significant differences were evident between varieties.

• Barley, bread wheat and durum varieties differ in their extent of yield loss from crown rot and their actual yield and grain quality (screenings) in the presence of this disease.
• However, all varieties are susceptible to crown rot infection and will not significantly reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops. Variety choice is not a sole solution to crown rot.

Conclusions

• Sowing date and variety maturity choice is a balance between frost risk and terminal heat stress in the northern grain region. Both can have a significant impact on grain yield. No frost damage was evident at this site in 2014 with either sowing time but terminal heat stress did occur which was more severe during grain filling with the second sowing time. A three week delay in sowing time resulted in an average 24% reduction in yield across the winter cereal entries.  Later sowing pushed grain-fill too far into hotter conditions. This can reduce yield by itself but if there is also an underlying issue with crown rot then delayed sowing significantly exacerbates the expression of this disease with negative impacts on both yield and grain quality.

  Varieties do differ in their extent of yield loss from crown rot and in their relative yield in the presence of high levels of infection, which is often referred to as tolerance. This is a function of a varieties level of partial resistance to infection but appears to also interact with its environmental adaptation and maturity relative to the timing of stress (moisture and heat) which exacerbates the expression of crown rot. Generally quicker maturing barley, durum and bread wheat entries were higher yielding in the presence of crown rot infection in this trial. This does not necessarily mean that these varieties have improved levels of resistance to crown rot infection but rather their quicker maturity allowed them to minimize stress during grain filling relative to longer season entries, reducing the expression of crown rot.

  If forced into planting a cereal crop in a high crown rot risk situation then some barley varieties may provide a yield advantage over bread wheat in that season, as long as early stress does not occur. Some of the newer bread wheat varieties do appear to be closing this gap to some extent. Barley tends to yield better in the presence of crown rot infection due to its earlier maturity relative to bread wheat, providing an escape mechanism which reduces its exposure to moisture stress during the critical grain filling stage. However, a key message is that this decision is only potentially maximising profit in the current season. Growing barley over bread wheat will not assist with the reduction of crown rot inoculum levels as barley is very susceptible to infection. Significant yield loss is still occurring in the best of the barley and bread wheat varieties in the presence of high crown rot infection. Variety selection can improve yield in the presence of crown rot, though all varieties still suffer yield loss, which can maximise profit in the current season but this will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops. Winter cereal crop and variety choice is therefore not the sole solution to crown rot but rather just one element of an integrated management strategy to limit losses from this disease.

• Winter cereal varieties differ in their levels of yield loss and responsiveness to crown rot and growers can use these rankings to improve production in the presence of this disease.
• Grain yield and responsiveness to crown rot appear strongly correlated in these experiments.
• Grain yield losses vary between seasons with up to a 25% reduction measured in southern NSW.

• A lack of grain yield response to lime rates and products trialled at Bute is most likely due to the slightly acidic (pH CaCl2 4.8 – 6.1 in the 0-30 cm) nature of the site. However, it is important to monitor soil pH profiles similar to this for pH declines in the future.
• Grain yield response to incorporation method has been variable across the seasons. Lentils showed the greatest benefit in both 2020 and 2023 seasons, while the cereal yields have been unresponsive.
• Treatments which incorporated lime by spading, increased molybdenum tissue concentration (0.35 – 0.37 mg/kg) compared to the no-till control (0.24 mg/kg) in barley in year four.
• Predicta rNod samples taken four years after the trial commenced showed, the application of lime (regardless if surface applied or incorporated) has increased the level of group E/F rhizobia persisting in the soil.
• Both trials contained treatments which have increased soil pH since lime was applied. However, the depth where this pH change has occurred was different in the lime product compared to the lime incorporation trial.

• A significant variation in the rhizoctonia inoculum build-up exists between cereal crops wheat, barley, triticale and cereal rye and their varieties. Inoculum build-up was generally higher in the barley varieties compared to that in other crops. Results are in general agreement with observations in other experiments in the Mallee and on calcareous soils in Eyre Peninsula.
• Differences in inoculum levels carried through summer and seen at sowing in 2016 suggest that farmers may select between cereal crops and their varieties to limit inoculum building during the cereal phase. However, non-cereal break crops are the best option to reduce the pathogen inoculum in a cropping system.
• Soil physical (compaction), chemical (organic C and nutrients) and biological (activity and composition) characteristics and seasonal (temperature and rainfall) factors can influence the growth of R. solani AG8 fungi and the severity of rhizoctonia disease.

• Canola and medic will reduce Rhizoctonia inoculum but only one year of cereal will result in high levels of Rhizoctonia inoculum again.
• Disease suppression has not developed in this environment despite it happening within the same time frame in other environments.

The drought and subsequently paddocks with failed crops present an interesting dilemma for many growers. Should the rotation continue as planned or can the same crop type be resown on those paddocks that failed? In the case of cereal crops root disease will present the greatest threat.

• Medics appear susceptible and very intolerant to P. neglectus.
• Of the medics tested, Harbinger is the most tolerant.
• Although moderately intolerant to P. neglectus, Herald is a high yielding medic.
• Rotations including medic and wheat result in higher nematode numbers.

 

• The resistance rating of cereal cultivars to RLN species affects RLN multiplication. Yenda wheat is more resistant than Calingiri wheat and these cultivars affected P. quasitereoides population size for two seasons following.
• In 2019, applying urea increased P. quasitereoides numbers more than applying none, with higher rates upfront at seeding associated with the highest RLN numbers at harvest. Applying urea also significantly increased yield.
• P. quasitereoides population size reduced over the 2019/20 summer by about half and reduced further over the 2020 growing season when Scepter wheat was grown.

• In a dry season, there was a small grain yield benefit (90kg/ha) for wheat that followed terminated vetch and field peas (1.5-2.4t/ha of biomass), compared with fallow and terminated medic.
• Soil water benefits from fallow and legume termination don’t occur with dry spring finishes.
• Using soil tests to measure nitrogen mineralisation helps you to properly evaluate the benefit of a legume crop or pasture in a rotation.

• There was no detectable direct effect of sowing direction this season at Minnipa with a mild spring.
• Using a narrow row spacing of 18 cm instead of 30 cm resulted in wheat yield increasing from 3 t/ha to 3.6 t/ha (19% increase).
• Light interception was very sensitive to sowing direction, and not having ‘weeds’ resulted in higher light within the canopy in the north-south direction compared to east-west.
• Knife point and ribbon seeding systems achieved similar crop establishment and crop performance.

• An east-west (E-W) sowing direction increased yield over northsouth (N-S) sowing direction in an average season.
• The results showed a decline in yield due to weed competition, but no effect on weed competition due to row direction. So sowing in an E-W direction may give a yield benefit with no difference in weed seed set.
• The wider row spacing of 30 cm resulted in a yield reduction and greater weed biomass at harvest.
• There were no differences in yield with ribbon seeding with either 18 or 30 cm row spacings, but ribbon seeding reduced ‘weed’ biomass.

• Contrary to expectations Russian Wheat Aphid pressure in Southern Australian cereal production seems low over the last years (2017, 2018). Dry and hot summer conditions seem to reduce green bridge survival of Russian Wheat Aphids.
• Barley grass and Brome grasses are major hosts (van Helden 2018) supporting RWA survival over summer. Their development will strongly depend on summer rainfall.
• Development of regional economic thresholds are in progress at trial sites throughout South Australia,Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales. Use of international thresholds are still advised until Australian thresholds are developed.
• Observations suggest that crop infestations occur in autumn on early growth stages, then persist over winter and can build up in spring, especially when plants are drought stressed.

• In the 2019 Minnipa field trials, natural infestation of RWA was extremely low. As such, prophylactic seed treatments were not warranted against this aphid for the 2019 season.
• After artificial inoculation, RWA numbers increased to levels above the United States (US) intervention threshold. In this trial up to 15% of tillers with aphids and >30% of tillers with symptoms were measured, but no significant effect on yield was observed. 
• RWA should be managed using currently recommended intervention thresholds. The US threshold of 20% of plants with RWA before tillering, and 10% of tillers with aphids after GS35-40 seems sufficiently conservative to avoid any yield loss. Find further details in the GRDC RWA Tips and Tactics Guide, which can be downloaded online.

Picking out the ryegrass from the cereal crops in spring did not prove to be effective.The ryegrass tiller count data was converted into a contoured map and divided into three zones for each paddock. Once again we compared the manually drawn zones and found a relatively good correlation but not good enough to mplement patch ryegrass management with confidence. A dual boom A more detailed analysis of previous yield maps when farmers determine their ryegrass patches would certainly improve the accuracy of their zone drawings. Any farmer wanting to implement patch ryegrass management should also consider btaining imagery at a time of the year when ryegrass is more visible such as prior to sowing or around crop establishment as these maps would more accurately define the weed patches with less crop effect.

• SAGIT funded trials over the last 3 years have shown the potential of vetch on Eyre Peninsula, leading to the selection of an early flowering (90-95 days) line with increased winter vigour (SA 34876) as a new variety for low rainfall mixed farming systems.
• The last three seasons have been particularly good at Minnipa for both grain and hay production of vetch.
• Piednippie trials have not been as successful as Minnipa, but have still shown with the right management vetch could produce good hay, fodder or grazing on the grey calcareous soils.
• On Eyre Peninsula early sowing (mid- April) can achieve good yield and hay production but is heavily reliant on either good subsoil moisture or late follow-up rain.
• Herbicide choices for vetch are very dependent on local conditions so talk to your local agronomist about the best options available.

• In 2018 there was a reduction in crown rot severity when Product X was applied, however this did not improve yield
• 2019 pre-season PreDictaB results showed a reduction in crown rot risk for Evergol, Product X and Vibrance
• The second year had no carry over benefit of seed dressings or previous year’s variety. These seed dressings are only effective in the year applied and effectiveness can be influenced by initial inoculum level and how conducive the season is for the disease

This trial showed considerable infection of striperust at flag leaf stage through to grain filling stage.There were visual differences in stripe rust levels between the control and stripe rust treatments at flag leaf stage. A foliar fungicide application would have undoubtedly protected the plant in the later growth stages, thereby providing higher yields. The soil root disease test showed no
problem with the root diseases listed above. One disease, which cannot be commercially tested for at this stage, is pythium. Dividend does not claim to have any effect on stripe rust so the increase in yield in the Dividend treatment could be attributed to pythium. The other treatments have clearly had a yield benefit from stripe rust suppression, as this was the only visible foliar disease in the trial. The trial will be extended in 2005 to include foliar fungicide applications and other combinations of products used in this trial.

• Fungal diseases and aphids can affect yield dramatically in some years in some areas.
• Bayer CropScience is developing two new seed treatments which can help with fungal disease and aphid control and reduce the spread of barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) helping to increase yields.
• In this trial no aphids and very low levels of disease were recorded.
• The use of Hombre and Zorro in this situation did not increase yield.

2018

• Interestingly, the lower down force pressure across all press wheel type treatments yielded higher than the high down force pressure treatments, although this was not statistically significantly.
• When making decisions on which press wheel shape and down force pressure you need to account not only for yield, but also grain quality. The results from 2018 show that although yield was higher in some treatments these did not necessarily have highest gross margins due to grain quality.
• Being able to run a multi-year gross return analysis will provide more solid findings due to seasonal variability. 

2019

• Unlike 2018 where there was a clear trend of lower down force pressure across all press wheel types yielding higher than the high down force pressure treatments, this trend wasn’t evident for the 2019 season. This may have been due to the much drier season experienced in 2019 (average yield 0.71t/ha) compared to the 2018 season (average yield 3.59t/ha).

• Due to the poor finish to the 2019 growing season, the results from the trial site did not indicate a preference toward a seeding system. However, results from the 2018 season suggest that press wheel pressure has a greater influence on yield and profit than press wheel shape.

• Due to the poor finish to the 2019 growing season, the results from the trial site did not indicate a preference toward a seeding system treatment. However, it would seem in a higher rainfall year, as was experienced in 2018, press wheel pressure can impact on yield more than type of press wheel.

• A critical level of zinc is required in the soil before roots will either grow into it or function effectively.
•  It is likely that this requirement is frequently not met in deep sandy in fertile soils.
• This paper presents arguments for breeding cereal varieties with root system is better able to mobilise zink from soil sources of low availability.
• Significant genetic variation for this character is described for wheat, barley and oats.
• Linkage to other efficiency traits for example manganese, is poor suggesting independent mechanisms and genetic control not linked to gross root system geometry.
• Zinc efficiency traits for sandy and clay soils are appear be genetically different.
•  Zinc inefficient genotypes absorb more zinc from deficient soils.

• Genetic mutations in the Septoria tritici blotch (STB) pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici can differentially influence the performance of triazole fungicides in the laboratory.
• There should continue to be a focus on the principles of an integrated disease management (IDM) approach to control diseases such as STB, using rotation, cultivar resistance, later sowing, and other aspects of cultural control to compliment fungicide control.
• New research on foliar fungicide indicates that the principal fungicides still give good in-field control of STB up to 30 days after application when applied at full label rates.
• There are significant differences in disease control amongst the different fungicide products and rates of application when monitored leaves are assessed more than 30 days after application.
• Single spray timings of foliar fungicide for control of STB made during the late tillering phase gave less effective disease control than applications made at first node (GS31). Spray application delayed until flag leaf gave the poorest control of STB but gave superior leaf rust control later in the season.

 • Reduced sensitivity of the Septoria tritici blotch (STB) pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici to triazole fungicides is likely to be an increasing problem, following the discovery of more resistant biotypes (R8 strain or Isoform 11) on the mainland in 2016.
• The presence of this strain and its proportion in the population will influence disease management strategies differentially.
• In Tasmania, early season disease control in the field with flutriafol (2017 trials) and tebuconazole (2016 trials) has been reduced by the more resistant biotypes of the pathogen, whilst on the mainland trial sites the activity of flutriafol appears to have been maintained in 2017 for the control of STB.
• The performance of a new SDHI based seed treatment and to a lesser extent fluquinconazole (Jockey) has been better than flutriafol in Tasmanian trials.
• Triazole/strobilurin mixtures based on epoxiconazole and azoxystrobin (e.g. Radial, Tazer Xpert), along with new as yet unregistered combinations of triazole & SDHI have given excellent control of STB.
• In 2016 the advantage of these products was evident in disease control and yield response in wheat but in 2017 the yield response to these products was similar to that observed with Opus and Prosaro (registered in wheat but not registered for STB control).
• Single spray timings of foliar fungicide for control of STB made during the tillering phase gave less effective disease control than applications made between GS31 – GS39.
• The most effective control of STB on a canopy leaf layer is achieved by applying fungicide to that leaf shortly after it has fully emerged but before infection becomes established.
• Where more than one fungicide is used in wheat avoid using the same triazole active ingredient twice in a season, irrespective of diseases to be controlled. If it is not possible ensure it is mixed with another mode of action (strobilurin) at one of the timings.
• Since strobilurins are at higher risk of resistance avoid using products containing these active ingredients more than once in a season.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction; sheep’s mouths cause damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface; natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubbles and crops appears to make more N available to crops, which can increase yield; the mechanisms by which this is achieved remain uncertain.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this. 
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this. 
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

• Sheep grazing on stubbles and crops do not reduce crop yields provided summer weeds are controlled and at least 70% stubble cover (2-3 t/ha cereal stubble) is maintained.
• Reduced water infiltration and yield from grazing are due to removal of cover rather than compaction – it is sheep’s mouths that do damage, not their hooves.
• Sheep do compact soil, but only at the surface and natural shrinking and swelling of soils and sowing with knife points alleviates this.
• Grazing of stubble and crops appears to make more N available to crops which can increase yield, although the mechanisms remain unclear.

Flight, Velocity, Jaguar and the Agritone plus Affinity mix were the herbicides that provided the most effective wild radish control in wheat. A two-spray strategy is required to control later germinations of wild radish. Short-term pain for long-term gain: including new herbicides (with different modes of action) into the cereal phase will delay the onset of resistance.

•  Grower practice N rates at both sites were the most economical
•  Applying higher rates of N to maintain or increase protein was not profitable if yield did not also increase
•  Grain markets should be watched in case higher quality grades fetch significantly higher prices
•  Increased nitrogen can lead to increased incidence of powdery mildew if not controlled early in the season.

After six years of running the Systems Site comparing farming systems it has become clear that the critical issues are as follows.

Conserving soil water into dry seasons, which can be achieved using either mechanical in a conventional system or chemical means in a reduced till or no till system (assuming there is enough stubble to protect the soil surface from evaporation).

Since the introduction of Frame and Yitpi (CCN resistant wheats) CCN has not been a problem.

Take-all and Pratylenchus neglectus appear to more closely correlate to specific areas in a paddock rather than levels changing because of crop choice or the rotation (field peas did lower Pratylenchus levels). Certainly there did not appear to be any influence of farming system on these two soil borne diseases.

Weed levels have not changed markedly over the duration of the trial and there were no differences between systems after six years. Brome grass is now present at the site at very low levels whereas it was not recorded in 1999 and 2000.

Wind erosion susceptibility and risk is lowest in the No Till plots because of good stubble cover and aggregation of soil particles. The three other systems all had plots which were moderately susceptible to wind erosion, primarily as a result of low stubble cover.

Using current technology and sampling intensity it is not possible to pick up changes in soil available nitrogen levels between different farming systems.

Soil changes in soil biological characteristics are currently being assessed and will be reported by the BCG update in February 2006.

• Stubble retention and reduced stocking pressures increase soil microbial activity.
• Activity of soil microbes give soils natural suppression of root diseases.
• Disease suppression has been shown to be substantially increased through retention of stubbles over a 5-10 year period.
• Microbial activity has a strong influence on the availability of soil nutrients to crops, Nitrogen is the nutrient most influenced by microbial activity.
• There are many microbes that can break down chemicals and this break down is often enhanced with increased stubble retention.

• The trial provides strong support for the use of soil-specific N management to improve profitability and risk management on Mallee dune-swale paddocks.
• Sandy soil types have consistently shown yield responses to increased inputs of N, while the heavy swale soils have not shown a yield benefit of increased N inputs.
• Nil fertiliser (N and P) has been the most profitable fertiliser treatment on the heaviest swale soil and the least profitable elsewhere.
• Upfront N at a higher rate still appears to generate the most consistent yield increase and profit outcome on the sandy soil types.

• The trial provides strong support for the use of soil-specific N management to improve profitability and risk management on Mallee dune-swale paddocks.
• Sandy soil types have consistently showing yield responses to increased inputs of N, while the heavy swale soils have not shown a yield benefit of increased N inputs.
• Nil fertiliser (N and P) has been the most profitable fertiliser treatment on the heaviest swale soil and the least profitable elsewhere.
• There was still a measurable response in 2013 to a pasture break in 2009.

• 55% of paddocks tested in 2014 and 80% of paddocks in 2015 had crown rot.
• 90% of paddocks tested in 2014 and 2015 had take all.
• The previous crop grown in the paddock can greatly influence the pre-sowing levels of crown rot and take all in the following year, particularly in a cereal on cereal rotation.
• Most paddocks with pre-sowing levels of crown rot and take all had increased inoculum levels throughout the growing season.
• Crop rotation and duration, and stubble management can reduce crown rot and take all infection risk.

Early sowing is essential in order to maximise yield of wheat crops grown on long (18 month) fallow. Long fallowing and early sowing are complementary practices, as the fallow reduces weeds and diseases which can be difficult to control in early sown crops, and early sowing with slow developing cultivars allows the crop to better use soil water that is stored during the fallow. Stored soil water also helps to establish early sown crops when there is minimal autumn rainfall. This fact sheet outlines how farmers can maximise wheat yield on long fallow by sowing early with slow developing cultivars, and is based on two years of GRDC funded research conducted by AgGrow Agronomy, CWFS and CSIRO in western NSW.

The trials clearly showed that high levels of control of resistant radish populations could be achieved with a 2 spray program that used both old and new chemistries. The trials clearly showed that growers don’t need to use 2 applications of pyrasulfatole in one crop to achieve satisfactory control if small weeds are targeted with robust herbicide rates and good spray coverage.

Growers should be using a 2 spray regime on bad wild radish paddocks as a matter of course. Growers should be targeting radish as early as possible i.e. from the 2 leaf stage of the cereal crop and be coming back 3 - 4 weeks later with a second application using alternative modes of action to those used in the first spray. An example of this would be to use Velocity at 2 leaf stage of the crop and follow up with 24,D amine plus Ecopar as a second spray application.

• Oats can be included as a minor component (up to 25% on a denstiy basis) in peas with aroudn a 10% increase in yield compared to growing the crops separately.
• Higher proportions of oats are too competitive with the peas and the pea yield is greatly reduced.
• Spring sown fodder crops yield substantially less than autumn sown crops but they may be a viable option where waterlogging affects autumn sowings. 

• The highest yielding variety for the 2008 Inverleigh wheat trial programme was Espada with 4.18 t/ha. The mean yield for hte fungicide treated trial was 3.44 t/ha, with the treated mean yield in 2007 being 4.18 t/ha.
• For the full list of take home messages please see the attached trial report.

• The average yield for the spring wheat trial at Inverleigh was 5.12 t/ha. The highest yields were achieved by the shorter seaons varieties Beaufort (6.95 t/ha) and Derrimut (6.10 t/ha). Both varieties yielded well in the 2008 wheat variety trial at Inverleigh.
• For further take home messages please see the attached trial report.

• The risk of rust outbreaks in 2007 will be high if there is a build up of inoculum on volunteer cereals over summer.
• Rust diseases will need to be managed to protect returns.
• Resistant varieties are the best form of management where possible.

• In wet years, barley sown into cereal stubble can suffer badly from yellow leaf spot.
• In dry years, this is not a problem.
• However, the barley still performed better where the wheat stubble has been burnt.

• Cereal stubble should be burnt when sowing wheat, barley or canola.
• The smaller the cereal and canola seedlings do not thrive when grown in stubble.
• Larger seeded crops such as chickpeas and lupins performed best in stubble retained situations.

• On black soil the average wheat yield increase due to zinc was of the order of 240 kg/ha between 1939 and 1949.

Despite the prevalence of cereal leaf disease in the Wimmera in 2003, these sites were relatively clean. Low levels of spot form of net blotch (SFNB) were present at most sites.

Results from a demonstration in December of 2012 suggest weed control had an impact on stored soil moisture and consequent yield in 2013 across a range of soil types at seven locations across the Eastern Wheatbelt. Another factor that could have been quantified in this work, was the effect of weed control on nitrogen status (and consequent effect of N on yield). Opening values were collected at the beginning of the trial but no closing N values were measured. Removing summer weeds has an impact on the nitrogen levels in the soil, and this will be further quantified with more field work in 2014.

• Changes in farming practices in the past 15 years have increased crop disease pressure in southern NSW.
• Annual crop surveys are important for monitoring disease incidence and severity between districts and years. They also identify emerging disease issues and provide forewarning of potential problems.
• Sclerotinia diseases were widespread in broadleaf crops across the region in 2020, especially in narrow-leaf lupin and canola crops. This will have implications in 2021 and beyond.
• Blackleg was observed in every canola crop assessed as part of the integrated disease management (IDM) crop survey.
• Canola sown into a double break scenario will potentially require pre-emptive management to minimise disease risk.
• The decision to use fungicides is not always clear and should be assessed every year, depending on your crop’s disease risk profile.

UWA trials on an MLA funded project showed that using more disease-resistant or disease-tolerant cultivars across Australia in 2015 and 2016 significantly increased plant productivity by up to 4 to 5-fold. This opportunity to identify cultivar resistances and cultivar field tolerances to the soil borne pathogen complex offers the best and most cost-effective, long term, and economically feasible means of managing damping-off and root diseases in subterranean clover across southern Australia. However, despite this tremendous opportunity to benefit producers, this opportunity is unlikely to be realised unless there is ongoing commitment by Industry funding to support such an approach and to realise this potential.

• Yield Prophet- the crop simulation model- is a great tool for assessing crop risk and predicting potential yields.
• For renovating overgrazed perennial pasture paddocks, the sowing of cereals is a low risk strategy.
• Pasture establishment is extremely difficult in the Mallee in years with limited spring rainfall.
• Cereal biomass production may be greater by an order of 10 times than either perennial or leguminous pastures in the first year of establishment.
• Best pasture options for a June sowing in terms of biomass in the first year of establishment are either forage brassica or Italian Ryegrass

• Ancient barley germplasm from Ethiopia harbours resistance to scald and other diseases.
• Twenty-eight out of 355 Ethiopian lines were moderately resistant to scald.
• Careful selection for disease-resistant lines is important to retain other desirable traits.

• 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.

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.

• 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.  

• 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.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

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.