The influence of sowing date and species phenology on yield dynamics in frost conditions – Wallacetown 2017

2017

Research organisaton
Funding sources

Trial details

Researcher(s) Warren Bartlett
Rohan Brill
Felicity Harris
Danielle Malcolm
Hayden Petty
Year(s) 2017
Contributor Department of Primary Industries NSW
Trial location(s) Wallacetown, NSW
Further information View external link
The influence of sowing date and species phenology on yield dynamics in frost conditions – Wallacetown 2017 locations
Aims

To assess the influence of sowing date and species phenology on yield dynamics of barley, oats and wheat in frost conditions

Key messages

• Although time of heading and flowering are considered the most sensitive stages for frost damage in cereals, sensitivity to early frost damage occurs from the start of stem elongation and is referred to as ‘stem frost’.

• Stem frost can be minimised by matching sowing date and cultivar phenology so that stem elongation starts after the period of greatest frost risk.

• Varieties that started stem elongation early (fast developing varieties sown early) were exposed to an increased number of frosts during the susceptible development stages, whilst winter types sown early had an extended vegetative period and were not exposed to the same frost risk, which reduced damage from stem frost.

• Crops can recover from stem frost where there is moisture available to support new tiller growth. However, the resulting effect on phasic development stage synchrony leads to delayed maturity and harvest issues.

• There was no observed difference in frost tolerance of specific cereal species observed in 2017.

Wallacetown NSW 2017 Barley

The 2017 season involved high frost incidence and severity, demonstrating the extent to which frost events can limit yield potential. Despite these seasonal conditions, the outcomes of the experiment emphasised that frost effects can be mitigated through matching phenology and sowing time, allowing the crop to reach sensitive stem elongation, heading and flowering stages post frost-risk period. Winter varieties performed well in this experiment having the most stable yields due to their longer vegetative phase. Faster developing wheats such as ScepterA and CutlassA showed flexibility in the sowing dates in 2017 as the late rainfall allowed regrowth to mature after stem frost in the earlier sowings. This was the first year of an ongoing experiment, hence, further research in 2018 will improve our understanding of how frost interacts with different cereal species.
 

Lead research organisation Department of Primary Industries NSW
Host research organisation N/A
Trial funding source GRDC DAN00215
Trial funding source DPI NSW
Related program Advancing Profitable Farming Systems
Acknowledgments

This experiment was part of the project ‘Advancing profitable farming systems – frost risk management’, DAN00215, 2017–19, with joint investment by NSW DPI, DAFWA and GRDC. A sincere thankyou to the Gollasch Family at Wallacetown for their cooperation and support with the experiment. Thank you to Hugh Kanaley, Jess Simpson, John Bromfield, Greg McMahon, Cameron Copeland and Tom Quinn for technical assistance. Also, many thanks to Ben Biddulph (DPIRD) and Karyn Reeves (Curtin University, Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry, West) for project and statistical advice.


Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop types Cereal (Grain): Barley Forage: Oats Cereal (Grain): Wheat
Treatment type(s)
  • Crop: Variety
  • Sowing: Timing
Trial type Experimental
Trial design Replicated

Wallacetown 2017 Barley

Sow rate or Target density 150 plants/m2
Sowing machinery

Direct drilled with DBS tynes, 250 mm row spacings Target plant density: 150 plants/m2
 

Sow date Multiple - please see report
Harvest date Unknown
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser

98 kg/ha mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) (11% nitrogen (N),

22.7% phosphorus (P), 2% sulfur (S)) at sowing

90 L/ha urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) (42.5 % nitrogen) (2 July)
 

Herbicide

Pre-emergent: Dual Gold® at 350 mL/ha, Diuron® at 350 g/ha

Post-emergent: Lontrel™ at 60 g/ha, Precept® at 1.5 L/ha

Pesticide

In-crop: Prosaro® at 300 mL/ha (19 June)

Mascot® Duo at 240 mL/ha (2 November)
 

Seed treatment Hombre® Ultra at 2 mL/kg and Gaucho® at 1.2 mL/kg
Other trial notes

This research paper is an extract from the publication Southern NSW Research Results 2018, available at
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre-crops/guides/publications/southern-nsw-research-results

Wallacetown 2017 Oats

Sow rate or Target density Not specified
Sowing machinery Not specified
Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser Not specified
Herbicide Not specified
Pesticide Not specified
Seed treatment Not specified
Other trial notes

This research paper is an extract from the publication Southern NSW Research Results 2018, available at
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre-crops/guides/publications/southern-nsw-research-results

Wallacetown 2017 Wheat

Sow rate or Target density Not specified
Sowing machinery Not specified
Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser Not specified
Herbicide Not specified
Pesticide Not specified
Seed treatment Not specified
Other trial notes

This research paper is an extract from the publication Southern NSW Research Results 2018, available at
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/broadacre-crops/guides/publications/southern-nsw-research-results

Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information

Download results

Trial results Grain yield of 12 varieties from SD1: 11th April at Wallacetown

# Treatment 1
Treatment 2
Grain yield (t/ha)
1 Wheat Emu Rock 2.84
2 Wheat Scepter 4.01
3 Wheat Cutlass 4.12
4 Wheat LongReach Trojan 3.74
5 Wheat EGA Eaglehawk 3.76
6 Wheat LongReach Kittyhawk 4.26
7 Barley La Trobe 2.09
8 Barley Commander 3.33
9 Barley Urambie 4.24
10 Oats Bannister 3.22
11 Oats Durack 2.8
12 Oats Mitika 2.35

Grain yield t/ha


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Trial results Grain yield of 12 varieties from SD2: 20th April at Wallacetown

# Treatment 1
Treatment 2
Grain yield (t/ha)
1 Wheat Emu Rock 2.83
2 Wheat Scepter 4.31
3 Wheat Cutlass 3.76
4 Wheat LongReach Trojan 3.83
5 Wheat EGA Eaglehawk 3.63
6 Wheat LongReach Kittyhawk 3.96
7 Barley La Trobe 2.49
8 Barley Commander 3.66
9 Barley Urambie 4.9
10 Oats Bannister 2.71
11 Oats Durack 1.92
12 Oats Mitika 2.15

Grain yield t/ha


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Trial results Grain yield of 12 varieties from SD3: 4th May at Wallacetown

# Treatment 1
Treatment 2
Grain yield (t/ha)
1 Wheat Emu Rock 3.43
2 Wheat Scepter 4.36
3 Wheat Cutlass 4.67
4 Wheat LongReach Trojan 4.6
5 Wheat EGA Eaglehawk 3.77
6 Wheat LongReach Kittyhawk 4.38
7 Barley La Trobe 3.88
8 Barley Commander 4.55
9 Barley Urambie 5.16
10 Oats Bannister 3.5
11 Oats Durack 2.86
12 Oats Mitika 2.79

Grain yield t/ha


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Trial results Grain yield of 12 varieties from SD4: 25th May at Wallacetown

# Treatment 1
Treatment 2
Grain yield (t/ha)
1 Wheat Emu Rock 3.99
2 Wheat Scepter 5.36
3 Wheat Cutlass 4.9
4 Wheat LongReach Trojan 4.43
5 Wheat EGA Eaglehawk 3.56
6 Wheat LongReach Kittyhawk 4.07
7 Barley La Trobe 5
8 Barley Commander 5.04
9 Barley Urambie 5.12
10 Oats Bannister 3.27
11 Oats Durack 2.53
12 Oats Mitika 2.92

Grain yield t/ha


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Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Not specified
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Wallacetown, NSW Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Wallacetown, NSW Kandosol
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 Wallacetown NSW
2017 277.1mm
2016 323.2mm
2015 263.6mm
2014 227.5mm
2013 286.0mm
2012 365.9mm
2011 396.3mm
2010 385.2mm
2009 264.8mm
2008 249.0mm
2007 226.7mm
2006 247.1mm
2005 284.1mm
2004 242.3mm
2003 232.8mm
2002 233.6mm
2001 299.4mm
2000 361.7mm
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

Wallacetown NSW 2017


Observed climate information

Rainfall avg gsr (mm) 321mm
Rainfall trial gsr (mm) 199mm

Derived climate information

Wallacetown NSW

NOTE: Exact trial site locality unknown - Climate data may not be accurate
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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

2017 trial report



Trial last modified: 08-06-2023 11:50am AEST