| Researcher(s) |
Dan Fay Sheridan Kowald Lizzie von Perger |
|---|---|
| Contact email | dan.fay@scfarmers.org.au |
| Year(s) | 2023 |
| Contributor | Stirlings to Coast Farmers |
| Trial location(s) |
Kendenup, WA
|
| Further information | View external link |
To provide wheat growers in the Great Southern Region of WA with a winter-wheat varietal decision-making tool that provides them with credible and independent yield, disease & grain quality information to make the most profitable variety decisions.
A winter wheat farm-scale trial was sown in West Kendenup 5 April 2023. There was a wide range of flowering dates with Mowhawk flowering first, on the 4 Sept, and RGT Cesario flowering last on the 17 October. Illabo yielded the highest (5.06 t/ha), however, given the challenging season (dry finish), the true winter wheat varieties also yielded reasonably well (3.8 t/ha average overall).
Hosted in West Kendenup, a broadscale demonstration trial was established including the following cultivars: Accrocc, Bennett, Illabo, Cesario, Mohawk (early), and Mohawk (late). All cultivars were seeded at 80kg/ha. Each cultivar was seeded on the 5th of April, excluding the late-sown Mohawk that was seeded on the 12th of May. These were then treated identically within the growing season with development stages being observed to determine both suitability and productivity of each cultivar within the APZ.
The trial was seeded into marginal moisture, with the main break of the season occurring 7 days after seeding. Whilst this did not impact plant establishment (figure 2) with each variety having relatively similar emergence counts, the delayed germination potentially impacted the three longest season cultivars (Bennett, Accroc and Cesario), given the optimum seeding window for these cultivars would likely be at the end of March.
| Lead research organisation |
Stirlings to Coast Farmers |
|---|---|
| Host research organisation |
Stirlings to Coast Farmers |
| Trial funding source | GRDC SCF2304-003SAX |
| Related program |
Tactical wheat agronomy for the west |
| Acknowledgments |
Stirlings to Coast Farmers would like to acknowledge the GRDC for its investment in this project. |
| Other trial partners | Glenridge Park |
| Crop type | Cereal (Grain): Wheat |
|---|---|
| Treatment type(s) |
|
| Trial type | Demonstration |
| Trial design | Randomised,Unreplicated |
| Farm size | 42ha |
|---|---|
| Paddock size | 42ha |
| Sow rate or Target density | 80kg/ha |
| Sowing machinery |
10-inch Seeder |
| Sow date | 4 April 2023 4th April 2023 |
| Harvest date | 19 December 2023 19th December 2023 |
| Trial design method | STD Strip Plot Design |
| Trial design arrangement | 1 rows x 6 cols |
| Total plots | 6 |
| Plot size | 48m x 550m |
| Plot replication | Not specified |
| Psuedoreplication | N |
| Plot blocking | No |
| Plot randomisation | N |
| Other trial notes |
In 2023 Stirlings to Coast Farmers established a broadscale winter wheat demonstration trial, to assess the productivity and viability of various winter wheat culitvars in HRZ of WA. Winter wheats have slowly been growing in popularity with local growers in the Great Southern Region. Initially it has been adopted in grain and graze enterprises with an emphasis on maximising the grazing opportunity or they have been adopted by growers in the region, who have looked at utilising agronomy from the eastern states to close the yield gap. Traditionally farmers have used spring varieties which have been bred for conditions more suited to the wheat belt, Wimmera and central NSW, (shorter season length, medium rainfall, and hot dry finishes). However, the push to seed earlier and take advantage of early rainfall within the great southern region has driven the desire to find cultivars that will extend the growing season to take advantage of typically wet march/April conditions. |
| # | Variety |
Treatment 1
|
Grain yield (t/ha) | NDVI (.) | Emergence plants (plants/m2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | █ RGT Accroc | █ Early Sowing | 3.853 | 0.9 | 194 |
| 2 | █ DS Bennett | █ Early Sowing | 3.785 | 0.892 | 177 |
| 3 | █ Illabo | █ Early Sowing | 5.065 | 0.884 | 176 |
| 4 | █ RGT Cesario | █ Early Sowing | 3.719 | 0.893 | 164 |
| 5 | █ Mowhawk | █ Early Sowing | 4.173 | 0.902 | 201 |
| 6 | █ Mowhawk (Late Sown) | █ Late Sowing | 3.487 | 0.883 | 213 |
| Rainfall avg ann (mm) | 554mm |
|---|---|
| Rainfall avg gsr (mm) | 469mm |
| Rainfall trial total (mm) | 526.2mm |
| Rainfall trial gsr (mm) | 473mm |
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.
Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR)
Some crop varieties used in research trials may be covered by Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR). Users should confirm PBR status of relevant varieties by searching the IP Australia PBR database, http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/pbr_db/ or Variety Central (http://varietycentral.com.au/) and contacting variety owners for further information if required. Where possible, varieties have been listed according to their registered PBR name, although OFT cannot and does not guarantee that the information is accurate or complete.
Note that PBR cover is administered through the Plant Breeders’ Right Act 1994 (