Crop-topping or desiccation effects on weed control and seed quality

2008
CC BY 4.0

Research organisatons
Southern Pulse Agronomy Department of Primary Industries VIC

Trial details

Researcher(s) N/A
Year(s) 2008
Contributor Southern Pulse Agronomy
Trial location(s) Horsham, VIC
Crop-topping or desiccation effects on weed control and seed quality locations
Aims

To determine the correct maturity timing required in field peas, chickpeas, lentils and faba beans for successful crop topping practice.

Key messages
  • Dry and hot spring conditions reduced grain yields and led to early senescence of pulse
    varieties in 2008 particularly in late flowering and/or maturing types. Many of the grain
    yield reductions expected at the mid and late crop topping timings were ‘masked’ due to
    premature senescence in many varieties brought on by these dry spring conditions.
  • The early crop topping treatment reduced grain yields of field peas, lentils and chickpeas
    compared with the nil treatment, however there were field pea and lentil lines identified
    which did not incur a yield loss at this timing, indicating suitability to this agronomic
    practice.
  • Some lines in all crops were found to incur yield loss and grain weight reductions at the
    appropriate timing for crop topping indicating poor suitability to this agronomic practice.
    jb66 Page 75 30/04/2009
  • Not all early flowering and maturing lines were able to be safely crop topped in the 2008
    experiments nor did all late lines always incur a yield loss. Further evaluation is required to
    confirm findings in a year where varieties are not prematurely senesced by drought
    conditions.
  • Detailed grain quality measurements (seed size distribution, colour, hydration percentage)
    are currently occurring on some treatments and varieties to assess the effects of crop topping and desiccation on seed quality.
Lead research organisation Department of Primary Industries VIC
Host research organisation N/A
Related program Southern Pulse Agronomy
Acknowledgments

Key contributors:
The authors wish to thank the contributions of the following people to this project:

  • Russel Argall, Jason Ellifson and Justine Ellis, DPI – Horsham
  • Jenny Davidson, SARDI
  • Peter Matthews and Eric Armstrong, II NSW


Acknowledgements:
The authors wish to acknowledge the support and assistance of the following people:

  • Michael Materne, Kristy Hobson and Tony Leonforte, PBA, DPI – Horsham.
  • Jeff Paull, PBA, Uni of Adelaide.
  • Ian Menz, II NSW

The assistance and help of John Nairn, Peter Maynard, Mark Bennie and Rowan Steele, SARDI
Clare, with trial management is gratefully acknowledged.


Other trial partners SARDI, The University of Adelaide, DPI NSW

Method

Crop types Grain Legume: Chickpeas Grain Legume: Field peas Grain Legume: Lentils
Trial type
Trial design

Horsham 2008 Chickpeas

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified

Horsham 2008 Field peas

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified

Horsham 2008 Lentils

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Trial source data and summary not available
Check the trial report PDF for trial results.
Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Not specified
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Horsham, VIC Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Horsham, VIC Vertosol
Soil Moisture Source: BOM/ANU
Average amount of water stored in the soil profile during the year, estimated by the OzWALD model-data fusion system.
Year Horsham VIC
2008 850.5mm
2007 851.7mm
2006 840.3mm
2005 852.1mm
2004 833.5mm
2003 795.2mm
2002 733.4mm
2001 712.5mm
2000 665.7mm
National soil grid Source: CSIRO/TERN
NOTE: National Soil Grid data is aggregated information for background information on the wider area
Actual soil values can vary significantly in a small area and the trial soil tests are the most relevant data where available

Soil properties

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Climate

Derived climate information

No observed climate data available for this trial.
Derived climate data is determined from trial site location and national weather sources.

Horsham VIC

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Some data on this site is sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology

SILO weather estimates sourced from https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/silo/
Jeffrey, S.J., Carter, J.O., Moodie, K.B. and Beswick, A.R. (2001). Using spatial interpolation to construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data , Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol 16/4, pp 309-330. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1.

Trial report and links


No trial reports or attachments found


Trial last modified: 28-08-2019 14:33pm AEST