COGGO Snails 2020 demonstration

2020
CC BY 4.0

Research organisaton
Funding sources
<abbr title='Council of Grain Grower Organisations Ltd'>COGGO</abbr> Stirlings to Coast Farmers inc.

Trial details

Researcher(s) Nathan Dovey
Philip Honey
Phillip Mackie
Year(s) 2020
Contributor Stirlings to Coast Farmers
Trial location(s) Mount Barker, WA
COGGO Snails 2020 demonstration locations
Aims

The aim of this trial is to determine and demonstrate if stubble management treatments can lead to a reduction in conical snail numbers.

The trial is based on techniques used in SA where snails on the stubble are knocked to the ground on to days (35 deg +) where they dehydrate and die. 

The trial tested and analysed the effectiveness of three techniques- speed-tilling, cableing and stubble crunching on snail mortality.  

This trial aims to provide growers with a clear percentage of the effect of three stubble management techniques (cabling, stubble crunching and speed tillage) on small conical snail mortality.  

Introduce more ‘tools’ into growers’ repertoire to control snails & reduce reliance on snail baiting. 

Demonstrate the effectiveness of ‘GrainCam’ to identify snail hot spots in paddocks and map their distribution for targeted future management.

Key messages

There was no statistical difference between cabling, stubble crunching and nil control early in the season. However, there was an increased number of snails in the cabling, and stubble crunching plots after the treatments were applied. 

The snail counts suggest that speed tilling was the most effective method of stubble treatment for snail mortality. 

Cabling, crunching and speed tilling treatments had no significant effects on the number of snails that contaminated the grain harvest. 

TheGrainCam and artifical intelligence programs showed high potential for measuring snail contamination but require further development of the training algorithms to increase accuracy and reduce the number of false positives. 

 

Mount Barker WA 2020

Methodology: 

The treatments investigated in this trial were: speed tiller, stubble cruncher, cabling, and UTC. 

The cabling was conducted by a one-inch cable being pulled between two utes at 20k/hr. The stubble cruncher cut the stubble into 25cm lengths, in 12m swathes. The speed-tiller mixed the stubble and soil to a depth of 10 cm, which caused significant soil and stubble disturbance. 

Snail density counts were conducted before and after the treatments applied, by counting 10 on-row and off-row quadrants, per treatment plot. 

The GrainCam was set up on the harvester so that images were taken as the grain came out of the bubble auger. The images were run through an AI inferencing program to detect snail numbers. Samples were taken for manual counting to test the accuracy of the system. 

Lead research organisation N/A
Host research organisation Stirlings to Coast Farmers
Trial funding source COGGO
Trial funding source Stirlings to Coast Farmers inc.
Related program N/A
Acknowledgments N/A
Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop type Cereal (Grain): Wheat
Treatment type(s)
  • Stubble: Management
Trial type Demonstration
Trial design Randomised,Replicated,Blocked

Mount Barker 2020

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication 4
Plot blocking Plots were laid out to ensure similar growing conditions.
Plot randomisation The plots were randomised
Tillage speed tiller, stubble cruncher, cabling, and UTC
Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information

Download results

Trial results Snail Numbers counted in the paddock before and after stubble treatments.

@T1: Pre-treatment (31-03-2020) @T2: Post-treatment (24-04-2020)
# Treatment 1
Growing season Trial site Snail (number/square metre) Snail (number/square metre)
1 Control 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 854 469
1 Speed Tiller 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 502 198
2 Cabling 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 442 898
2 Stubble Crunching 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 485.333 911.556
3 2020 Mount Barker (WA)
3 2020 Mount Barker (WA)
4 2020 Mount Barker (WA)
4 2020 Mount Barker (WA)

Snail number/square metre


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Trial results Number of snails per half litre of grain following treatments.

# Treatment 1
Growing season Trial site Snails density/L of grain (Snails/L)
1 Cabling 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 5.86
2 Stubble Crunching 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 7.76
3 Speed Tiller 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 9
4 UTC 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 7.1

Snails density/L of grain Snails/L


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Trial results Table 3

# Treatment 1
Growing season Trial site Snails density/L of grain (Snails/L)
1 Cabling Manual Count 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 5.86
2 Crunching Manual Count 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 7.76
3 Speed-till Manual Count 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 9
4 UTC Manual Count 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 7.1
5 Cabling GrainCam 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 14.2
6 Crunching GrainCam 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 18.3
7 Speed-till GrainCam 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 13.86
8 UTC GrainCam 2020 Mount Barker (WA) 15.25

Snails density/L of grain Snails/L


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Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Not specified
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Mount Barker, WA Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Mount Barker, WA Sodosol
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.

Mount Barker WA

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

2020 trial report



Trial last modified: 18-05-2023 12:44pm AEST