Barley agronomic strategies for the Geraldton Port Zone

2020 - 2022

Research organisaton
Funding source

Trial details

Researcher(s) Peter Carlton
Barrett Sinclair
Contact email bsinclair@kalyx.com.au
Year(s) 2020 - 2022
Contributor Kalyx Australia Pty Ltd
Trial location(s) Binnu, WA
Canna, WA
Eradu, WA
Northampton, WA
Tenindewa, WA
West Casuarinas, WA
Barley agronomic strategies for the Geraldton Port Zone locations
Aims

This project sought to maximise the profitability of barley in the northern Geraldton Port Zone by providing information to growers to allow them to make informed decisions around barley variety choice, sowing time, in season management and management of their rotations in order to maximise barley productivity and improve the overall profitability of their farming business.

The project sort to answer specific questions of -

Do barley’s have specific adaptation which can be exploited.

Can varieties attain malt quality in the Geraldton Port zone.

Do variety maturity and planting times influence yield and grain quality, particularly with early sowing opportunities.

Does barley out yield wheat, sown early, or sown late.

Was barley profitable compared to wheat.

Can early sowing of short season varieties provide a maturity window and low risk option to avoid late season hot/dry finishes and produce a profitable yield.

To gather data on barley performance when late sowing on ameliorated soils. Can barley provide a more profitable option than wheat for late sowing on ameliorated soils?

Gain a better understanding of nitrogen management with different rotations or soil types (including soil amelioration) for barley yield with feed quality and for malt production.

Did barleys differ in their response to nitrogen.

Can early sowing and fertilising for high yield feed deliveries be more profitable than wheat.

Did project sample an adequate range of seasons.

Key messages

 

The project “Barley Agronomic Strategies for the Geraldton Port Zone KAL2003-002SAX \ 9178054” demonstrated that barley can be successfully grown in the Geraldton port zone and it can compete successfully with wheat. Varieties that performed well over years were identified at each location and these varieties matched the yield of wheat and in many instances recorded a significant yield advantage. This is most likely when barley is sown early.

Malt grade barley can be grown successfully in the Geraldton port zone, yet it cannot currently be delivered to CBH facilities.

Barley cannot compete with wheat financially as the first choice cereal in a crop rotation. The yield benefit was not large enough to overcome the price premium for wheat in the duration of this project.

Under the growing conditions and treatments experienced in this project it is clear that varieties respond in a similar manner to the way nitrogen is applied, therefore crop nitrogen strategies need to just consider crop growth stage, paddock history and expected growing season, not the variety.

In general, applying all nitrogen up front, prior to seeding, was a robust nitrogen strategy for the yellow sands at Binnu and the loam soils of Northampton, Tenindewa and Canna. An active nitrogen management was more likely to be beneficial at Eradu, Canna and West Casuarinas.

This project sampled three growing seasons. Whilst two seasons experienced many hot days above 30oC during grain fill no season experienced a very hot / dry finish that can occur in the Geraldton Port Zone.

Binnu WA 2020 Barley

The experimental design for each site consisted of a split-plot design for each time of sowing (TOS), with Variety nested within Nitrogen along each column. Two-directional blocking was used to account for spatial variability. An example of this is shown for the Mullewa (Tenindewa) site in Figure two. Each site followed a similar layout with different randomisation.

Lead research organisation Kalyx Australia Pty Ltd
Host research organisation N/A
Trial funding source GRDC KAL2003-002SAX \ 9178054
Related program N/A
Acknowledgments N/A
Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop types Cereal (Grain): Barley Cereal (Grain): Wheat
Treatment type(s)
  • Crop: Variety
  • Fertiliser: Rate
  • Fertiliser: Timing
  • Sowing: Timing
Trial type
Trial design

Binnu 2020 Barley

Sow date TOS 1: mid to late April; TOS 2: end of May
Harvest date Not specified
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Binnu 2021 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Binnu 2021 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Binnu 2022 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Binnu 2022 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Canna 2020 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Canna 2021 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Canna 2021 Wheat

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Canna 2022 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Canna 2022 Wheat

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Eradu 2020 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Eradu 2021 Barley

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Eradu 2021 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Eradu 2022 Barley

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Eradu 2022 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Northampton 2020 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Northampton 2021 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Northampton 2021 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Northampton 2022 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Northampton 2022 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Tenindewa 2020 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Tenindewa 2021 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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Tenindewa 2021 Wheat

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Tenindewa 2022 Barley

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Tenindewa 2022 Wheat

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West Casuarinas 2020 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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West Casuarinas 2021 Barley

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West Casuarinas 2021 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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West Casuarinas 2022 Barley

Sow date Not specified
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West Casuarinas 2022 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
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Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information
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
Binnu, WA Deep yellow sand
Canna, WA Not specified
Eradu, WA Not specified
Northampton, WA Not specified
Tenindewa, WA Not specified
West Casuarinas, WA Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Binnu, WA Rudosol
Canna, WA Kandosol
Eradu, WA Tenosol
Northampton, WA Tenosol
Tenindewa, WA Tenosol
West Casuarinas, WA Tenosol
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.

Binnu WA

Canna WA

Eradu WA

Northampton WA

Tenindewa WA

West Casuarinas WA

Binnu WA

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Canna WA

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Eradu WA

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Northampton WA

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Tenindewa WA

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West Casuarinas WA

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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: 25-05-2023 15:01pm AEST