• The trial highlights the advancements made through breeding, with most modern varieties at least 25% higher yielding than Dundale, despite the extreme weather conditions (dry spring and frosts). In most cases this resulted in gross margins improved by more than 100% in 2014.

Previous trials and demonstrations have highlighted zinc deficiencies in both cereals and pulses, which could produce substantial profits over the cost of zinc. A trial conducted on wheat at Hopetoun in 2006, on a zinc responsive soil type with a good zinc history defined responses to zinc and demonstrated that responses to phosphorus or nitrogen cannot be achieved if zinc is deficient, in a drought year.

• Treat infested pastoral areas with 3.0 litres MCPA amine per hectare in the autumn. Apply the MCPA with 100 litres of water per hectare. Horehound can be a difficult plant to wet. A wetting adjuvant may be of assistance.
• Maintain grasses to prevent the establishment of seedlings. Burn the infested area the following year, in early
• autumn, to destroy as much of the seed bank as possible. Respray the area later in the autumn to control any subsequent horehound germinations with MCPA amine.

Over the last two years the Department of Agriculture WA, has been developing an analogue forecasting system for southern Australia. All through 2002 we issued analogue years (similar years in the past) that were typically El Nino years and/or droughts. In 2003, we were confident that the El Nino would decay. This paper discusses the forecasts that were issued and how they related to what happened at Birchip in 2003.

Chara sown 13th June gave a small but significant responses to applied nitrogen, despite a soil N reserve of 176 kg/ha N (0‐90cm) pre planting. With this later sown trial there was no significant difference in nitrogen timing, though there was a trend for seedbed/GS31 (50/50 split of N) treated crops to be slightly higher yielding than GS31/37 (50/50 split of N) treated crops.

• Deep ripping was very worth while at this site but had not effet of lowering crop requirements for N in this situation.
• Nitrogen requirements may have been lower after deep ripping if there had been more organic N to mineralise (say after a lupin crop) and/or the soil had higher mineralised N levels that were subjected to more leaching pressure.
• After deep ripping, high N inputs may be more effective delyaed until late tillering. 

• Glasshouse experiments measured plant DM response and recovery of Zn fertilisers in oxide and sulfate form using three placement treatments - banded, mixed throughout the soil volume, and applied to the soil surface.
•  Also plant recovery of Zn from pure Zn phosphates and carbonates, which are likely reaction products of banded Zn fertilisers in soil, was measured. Recovery of Zn from Zn phosphates, carbonates and oxides was lower than that of Zn sulfates when banded.
• Placement was the major factor controlling plant responsiveness to Zn.
• Zinc oxide fertilisers had very low water solubility and slow dissolution rates in water, which is related to the high pH when the oxide is dissolved in water.
• There was significantly less recovery of fertiliser Zn by plants from Zn oxides than from Zn sulfates when the fertiliser was banded near the seed, likely due to higher pH in the band as the oxide dissolved.
• However, the Zn supply to plants was the same for both sources of Zn when fertilisers were mixed through the soil, as the soil likely buffered any dissolution-induced pH increases.
• This means that Zn oxides, despite their low water solubility, can be effective fertilisers if uniformly mixed throughout the crop rooting depth but Zn sulfate is preferable for banding or surface application.

• Inoculation with effective formulations significantly improved nodulation, herbage and yield. 
• Sterile peat slurry innoculant produced more nodules on faba beans than all other rhizobial products; freeze dried rhizobia applied to seed and peat applied as liquid inoculant produced greater nodules than granular inoculants. 
• inoculation with peat slurry, peat applied as a liquid, and freeze dried inoculants significantly improved herbage and yield compared with uninoculated treatments. Yield was also improved following application of bentonite granules. 

• Inoculation with freeze‐dried rhizobial formulations produced nodulation of grain legumes equivalent to that of the traditional peat slurries, with significantly less preparation required when inoculated in furrows. Becker Underwood granules produced less nodules than peat slurries treatment, but improved inoculation over nil treatments.
• Granular products varied in their ability to provide nodulation of grain legumes.

Farmers make their luck by:
• concentrating on preventing losses, rather than depending on bonanzas,
• giving priority to reducing costs, even if it means missing some income in good years, and
• diversifying markets (on-farm) and investments (off-farm).

• Surface applied liming will only move to address subsurface acidity if pH(Ca) in the topsoil is kept greater than 5.5
• Surface applied lime movement is very slow and may take many years to treat subsurface acidity
• Check the plant back period for legumes if using sulphonyl urea herbicides as surface applied liming makes the pH level in the top 2.5 cm high and will affect its break down 

• Wheat grain yield in 2007 was increased by 0.2t/ha after the addition of 5.0t/ha of wheat straw
• Straw is important for decreasing evaporation and conserving moisture in topsoil, particularly after canopy closure and when the crop is senescing
• The additional moisture available under straw significantly increased dry matter production after GS65.
• Inter-row sowing reduces straw burial

• 3t/ha Little Sahara limesand will increase the pH in the top 5 cm of soil within 6 months and the effect will last for 4 years before re-acidification occurs

• It can take up to two years to get a pH change down to 10 cm in the soil profile

• Maintain surface pH above 5.5 to minimise risk of sub surface acidification.

• 3t/ha limesand will increase the pH in the top 5 cm of soil within 6 months.
• Possibly takes up to two years to get a pH change down to 10 cm in the soil profile.

• We can not rely on current varieties remaining resistant and as farmers, breeders and pathologists we must remina vigilant in manageing stripe rust.
• This involves managing diversity in our varieties, reducing the opportunities for hte fugus to carryoever from one season to the next on volunteer wheat and using seed treatments where appropriate.

• This manual provides useful guidance on the design of experiments to explore and treat nutrient deficiencies in agricultural crops.

There is some excellent material coming through the programme, with significantly higher yields than the existing check varieties. At this stage grain quality tests have not been done.

• There was no significant difference between the varieties which were well below the normal canola average for the area.

 For mid-April sowing dates at the SA Crop Technology Centre (CTC) barley has been under consistent pressure from disease and lodging.
 New spring introductions all have improved net form net blotch resistance compared to the current control RGT Planet but are weaker for Scald (referenced in table 2)
 Leaf rust was evident in high yielding European introductions Laureate and Sanette
 Winter barley reference in table 2 (shaded in light red) had superior disease packages compared to spring barley.
 Head loss, brackling and lodging was a major constraint in 2020 at this location and the winter barleys were inferior to spring barley for head retention.
 Some of these lines were also assessed for yield at the same sowing date in the HYC Elite Screen trial (Trial 2 – next write up).

 For mid-May sowing dates at the SA Crop Technology Centre (CTC) barley has been under consistent pressure from disease and lodging.
 The levels of NFNB were less in the current control RGT Planet at the second sowing date suggesting delaying sowing date is a viable solution to reducing NFNB pressure.
 European introductions Laureate and Sanette were clean for disease at this sowing date compared to Australian cultivars.
 Crop development speed rankings changed at this sowing date compared to the earlier sowing date. There is a suite of new spring introductions more suited to the long season environment with improved disease resistance package compared to RGT Planet. This presents an exciting opportunity for subsequent HYC trials.
 Some of these lines were also assessed for yield at the same sowing date in the HYC Elite
Screen trial (Trial 2).

 Disease pressure and lodging were high at the VIC Crop Technology Centre (CTC) in 2020
 New spring introductions all have improved net form net blotch resistance compared to the current control RGT Planet but are weaker for Scald
 Head loss and lodging was a major constraint in 2020 at this location and the winter barleys were inferior to spring barley for head retention.
 New spring introductions were slower to develop than current controls RGT Planet, and winter cultivars flowered during the optimum period for Gnarwarre.
 Some of these lines were also assessed for yield at the same sowing date in the HYC Elite Screen trial (Trial 2)

 New spring introductions offered slower developing alternatives to RGT Planet, while Rosalind was the quickest cultivar
 There was a larger gap in the development speed of spring cultivars and winter cultivars in WA compared to the eastern states.
 The incidence of disease was very low in 2020 at this site and there were minimal differences between cultivars.
 These cultivars were evaluated for yield in stage 2 screen presented below

 The variation in crop development highlighted the difference between the European and Australian spring germplasm suitability to spring sown conditions.
 Photoperiod (daylength) responsive cultivars progressed to heading too quickly for spring sown conditions, these examples include Rosalind, Fathom, IGB1844, and Laperouse.
 Photoperiod sensitive cultivars in the range from RGT Planet, Laureate, and Westminster developed slower and are likely to be more suited to spring planting
 Lodging and brackling responses varied across cultivars, however all introduced cultivars had lower levels of lodging than the lodging control Compass under irrigated conditions
 These lines progressed to yield evaluation in the next experiment

• For mid-April sowing dates at the SA Crop Technology Centre (CTC) Anapurna has been one of the most consistent varieties grown over the last three years.
• In the following tables varieties with similar phenology (Table 1) and better disease resistance and standing power compared to Anapurna (Table 2) have been referenced.
• The other controls were based on Scepter (spring), Trojan (spring), RGT Accroc (winter) and Nighthawk (facultative).
• Of those lines which had similar phenology to Anapurna and equivalent or better than disease resistance and standing power it was AGF codes, SFR codes, GS-18-105-W, BA26.35 and AGT004 that looked most promising.
• Some of these lines were also assessed for yield at the same sowing date in the HYC Elite Screen trial (Trial 2).

• Cultivars performed similarly at the second sowing date but lower disease pressure resulted in more screened cultivars looking to be potential candidates (those with less than 10% plot infection and no or little lodging issues (less than lodging index score of 50).
• GSUQ-19-48-W, LPB16-0582 and V13079-049 showed STB infection below 10% in addition to those cultivars outlined as more disease resistant in the April sowing screen.

• On 4 September wheat development varied from first node (GS31) to the end of booting (GS49) with Trojan being the most advanced of those wheats tested.
• A number of varieties looked promising in terms of straw strength/standing power and disease resistance to Septoria tritici blotch (STB) and rust.
• Unfortunately, many of the northern European lines were too long for the southern Victorian HRZ environment. These included Graham, Reflection, Shabras and Savello, although the disease resistant cultivar Reflection performed well in the yielded trial (Trial 2).
• Promising lines were represented by SFR86-092, LPB16-0598, AGFWH004618, AGFWH004718 and some of AGT codes 003 & 005. (See trial 2 – Yielded screen entries).

• Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) was the most destructive disease in the untreated screen, severely affecting Trojan and LPB17-4713 (95% and 75% plot infection respectively).
• Septoria tritici blotch (STB) caused by the pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici was notable in terms of green leaf area lost, with between 15-20% infection severity in GSUQ-19-48-W, IGW6563, IGW6496 and V12069-076.
• Powdery Mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici) was only evident in Nighthawk.
• Since Anapurna and RGT Accroc produced the highest yields in the germplasm management trial (GEM Trial 2) the following varieties had similar phenology and as good as or better than disease resistance and standing power (straw strength). Of the varieties were V13079-049, BX7932-074, BX7932-039 and SFR86-090 codes.

 The fungicide treatments were effective in reducing the incidence of foliar disease, however yield responses to fungicide were not significant at this site in 2020.
 Hv8 Nitro had greater infection of Spot Form Net Blotch (SFNB) than Planet, The addition of the seed treatment Systiva combined with a 2-spray foliar fungicide program reduced the infection levels of SFNB on Nitro. In the absence of a seed treatment the additional fungicide at GS39 had little effect on SNFB control suggest GS31 treatments are more effective.
 RGT Planet is more susceptible than HV8 Nitro to NFNB, greater control of infection was achieved in Planet with two foliar sprays compared to one application and untreated, while Nitro achieved similar control with one application at GS31. In this season the addition of Systiva as a seed treatment did not further improve control in Planet, or Nitro.
 Grain quality responses were significant and disease control enabled Planet to achieve malting specification. All fungicide treatments improved test weight by more than 1kg/hl and increased grain plumpness by between 4 – 6% larger.

 Compared to the untreated control a single application of fungicide did not improve yields despite reducing the incidence of NFNB in Planet, and Scald in HV8 Nitro.
 The movement to a two spray fungicide strategy with the first timing at GS31 followed by the second timing at GS39 – 49 increased yield by 0.9 and 1t/ha respectively compared to the untreated control or single unit application.
 The inclusion of an SDHI seed dressing Systiva did not improve yields relative to the two unit fungicide strategy.
 These findings suggest the second timing of GS39-49 is providing the majority of the yield improvement observed at this experiment in 2020, this finding is also true for the level of disease infection expressed
 The use of fungicides applied at GS39 – 49 are consistently improving grain quality and the frequency in which malting quality is achieved even in the absence of a yield response and should not be ignored
 The lack of yield response to seed dressings, and early applications of fungicide suggest that the disease is developing later in the canopy from this sowing date. Subsequent work will follow up this observation in 2021.

 The fungicide treatments were effective in reducing the incidence of foliar disease (namely Scald and Net From Net Blotch), prolonging green leaf area and significantly increasing yield at this site in 2020.
 In two susceptible cultivars a single spray application of Prosaro at GS31 increased grain yield on average by 0.62t/ha and shifting to a two-spray strategy with the addition of Radial at GS39-49 increased yield by 1.5t/ha. The addition of the seed treatment Systiva at sowing to this treatment did not further reduce disease infection levels or increase grain yield. These results highlight the later follow up application is likely to be more effective and important than fungicide usage prior to GS31.
 The yield responses observed from the two foliar spray strategies are correlated to both a reduction in Scald and Net Form Net Blotch but also an increase in green leaf area.
 Grain quality responses were significant, noticeably the later fungicide application increased test weight by 2kg/hL in RGT Planet.
 The benefits of maintaining a green leaf during grain fill are influencing grain quality in malting barley consistently across the high rainfall zone and even in the absence of a yield response should not be overlooked.

 There was limited visual disease symptoms at this site in 2020, however a significant yield response to fungicide was measured. Untreated achieved an average yield of 5.51t/ha.
 A single application of Folicur at GS31 increased yield by 0.35t/ha, and an additional application of Opus at GS39 – 49 did not offer any additional yield benefit.
 The treatment combining Systiva seed dressing, Folicur at GS31 and Radial at GS39-49 yielding 0.58t/ha higher than the untreated control but not significantly greater than the single application.
 The benefits of maintaining a green leaf during grain fill even in the absence of significant disease required further investigation.
 Later fungicide timings are consistently influencing grain quality in malting barley across the high rainfall zone and even in the absence of a yield response should not be overlooked.

 A low seed density of 100 seeds/m2 yielded 0.5 t/ha less than the current recommended rate for spring sown barley (300 seeds/m2)
 Seeding rates greater than 200 seeds/m2 up until 500 seeds/m2 did not result in additional yield or quality responses.
 Lodging was not exacerbated by higher seeding densities
 These results confirm growers can continue to target current recommended seed densities of 300 seeds/m2 for spring sown barley

• There was a significant interaction between variety and fungicide management on grain yield indicating that varieties responded differently to the application of fungicide.
• The more disease resistant winter feed wheats Tabasco, Anapurna and SFR86-090 were significantly higher yielding than other cultivars when left untreated with fungicide or when treated with only one unit of fungicide at flag leaf.
• In addition, the margin return with each of these varieties were maximised with one unit of fungicide applied at GS39 as opposed to four units of fungicide applied at seeding, GS31, GS39 and GS61.
• The dominant disease in the trial was Septoria tritici blotch (STB) with leaf rust also present through much of the season as a result of the earlier mid-April sowing.
• RGT Accroc suffered the greatest yield reduction when left untreated with fungicide with a 3.81t/ha yield reduction, in large part due to the leaf rust pressure.
• Much of the effect of fungicide application is observed in green leaf retention at flowering and grain fill (Figure 1 – 4) whether measured subjectively or using crop reflectance (NDVI).
• There is evidence that leaf rust susceptible cultivars such as RGT Accroc may have lost yield to leaf rust post flowering as at flowering (GS65) the flag leaf already showed 5% infection in the treatment that had four units of fungicide applied.
• The significance of late leaf rust development in a warmer November cannot be understated and may have taken yield from the more susceptible varieties in the GEM trial (Trial 3).

• The feed winter wheats SF Adagio, RGT Accroc and Anapurna were the only cultivars to break through the 9t/ha threshold.
• SF Adagio at 9.67 t/ha was significantly superior to all other cultivars with one fungicide applied (GS39 flag leaf emergence spray).
• There was a significant interaction between cultivar and fungicide management with the stripe rust and Septoria tritici blotch (STB) susceptible cultivars giving large yield responses to high input fungicide input (e.g. Trojan had a 6.83 t/ha response to controlling stripe rust, Revenue a 2.87 t/ha response to fungicide as a result of STB and leaf rust control).
• In contrast, the STB resistant varieties SF Adagio, Tabasco and Nighthawk gave less than 1 t/ha response to 4 units of fungicide over the untreated with no statistical yield difference between 1 and 4 fungicide units. STB levels at flag leaf were observed to be less than 5%.
• STB was the principal disease in the majority of varieties with the more resistant cultivars SF Adagio and Anapurna being the only varieties to deliver over 8t/ha when untreated with fungicide, however all cultivars including these two generated significantly more yield with fungicide.
• Unfortunately, Tabasco’s excellent STB resistance is combined with a phenology that is generally too long for a southern HRZ mainland environment.

• Systiva was less effective against Septoria (75% control) than stripe rust infection when assessed at flag leaf (GS39) but control was not complete.

• The feed winter wheats RGT Accroc and Anapurna significantly out yielded all other cultivars at all three levels of disease management and achieved over 10t/ha with fungicide input.
• There was a significant interaction between cultivar and fungicide management with the stripe rust susceptible cultivars Trojan and DS Bennett giving yield responses of 5.27 and 3.07 t/ha to a single flag leaf fungicide compared to less than a 1t/ha with the majority of cultivars.
• Septoria tritici blotch (STB) was the principal disease in untreated crops of Scepter and Beckom, whilst stripe rust was the main disease in Trojan, DS Bennett, Coolah, RGT Accroc and Catapult. Other cultivars were subject to low levels of both stripe rust and STB disease pressure.
• Only Trojan, Catapult, Coolah and DS Bennett gave significant yield increases to the application of four units of fungicide (seed treatment and three foliar fungicides) over a single flag spray.
• It was noted that compared to lower altitude locations stripe rust infection was relatively later at the Wallendbeen, NSW location (540m above sea level).
• Note of caution. At the southern Victorian location at Gnarwarre Trojan was almost completely defoliated in the lower canopy under the one spray regime compared to Wallendbeen and the 1 spray approach was little better than the untreated (both approaches yielding under 3t/ha).
• The significant interaction observed in grain yields was also apparent in the grain quality (test weights and screenings).

 The highest yielding spring cultivar at 9.76t/ha yielded similar to the control RGT Planet at 8.72t/ha while Rosalind was lower yield at 8.35t/ha
 The highest yielding 2 row and 6 row winter barley was Newton at 7.13t/ha and Pixel 7.43t/ha respectively (shaded green in table below).
 Proteins were in the range for malting however test weights were low suggesting some weather damage these ranged from 63.3 – 68.3 in spring cultivars, and 60.4 – 67.7 in winter cultivars.
 The phenology responses range from the earliest flowering in the spring cultivars Rosalind on the 11th September and Planet on the 19th September.
 Winter cultivars developed slower with the fastest winter being Urambie flowering on the 30 September through to the 17th October in Newton
 Despite flowering at a more optimum time for Millicent yields were lower from later flowering. This was due to a combination of reduced light limiting potential yield and head loss and lodging were the major causes of yield loss in the winter cultivars.

 The highest yielding spring cultivar was Laureate at 9.83t/ha yielded similar to the control RGT Planet at 9.58t/ha while Rosalind yielded 8.98 respectively.
 Despite being sown later the winter cultivar Cassiopee achieved 7.33t/ha
 Proteins were in the range for malting.
 Importantly test weights were higher at the second sowing date suggesting barley is better adapted to this position in the rotation. Testweights ranged from 64.5 – 70.7 all in the range for malting.
 In general yields were higher from the second sowing date. The data demonstrates that there are now cultivars capable of achieving similar yields to Planet with improved disease resistance (when combined with the disease data from stage 1 screen)

 Similar yields were achieved between the highest yielding spring and winter cultivars despite flowering a month apart and at a more optimum time for Gnarwarre. We postulate higher yields were not achieved from later flowering due to a combination of reduced light in October limiting potential yield (biomass) and increased incidence of lodging in the winter cultivars.
 The highest yielding spring cultivar was the quick spring cultivar control Rosalind at 8.33t/ha, while RGT Planet yielded 7.88t/ha.
 The highest yielding 2 row and 6 row winter barley was Newton at 8.37/ha and Pixel 8.48t/ha respectively (shaded green in table below).
 Proteins were in the range for malting however test weights were low particularly in the six row winter cultivars consistent with other sites. Test weights ranged from 63.6 – 68.0 in spring cultivars, and 55.8 – 67.4 in winter cultivars.

 Spring cultivars were significantly higher yielding than winter cultivars at this site in 2020. This was due to a dry winter and increased heat during grain fill relative to other hyper yielding environments. Fast spring cultivars achieved higher yields by accumulating more biomass and a higher harvest index
 The highest yielding spring cultivar was Laperouse a new release at 4.96t/ha and similar to the quick spring cultivar control Rosalind at 4.83 t/ha, while the other quick – mid control RGT Planet yielded similar at 4.63t/ha.
 The highest yielding winter barley was Urambie at 3.69 t/ha compared to slower developing winters all yielding less than 3t/ha. This suggests faster winter types are required for WA and will require a targeted breeding effort.
 Proteins were in the range for malting however test weights were less than 60 in all winter cultivars particularly in the six row winter cultivars consistent with other sites.

 The highest yielding spring cultivar in this experiment was Laureate at 11.42t/ha compared to the quick spring cultivar control Rosalind at 9.27 t/ha and RGT Planet yielded 10.43 t/ha.
 Yields achieved at this site were the highest across the hyper yielding program and shows the adaptation of barley to spring sown conditions in Tasmania. The long sunny days and cool grain fill conditions allowed for greater biomass accumulation and maintenance of grain weight.
 Alestar, Fathom, IGB1844, Laperouse, Rosalind and other photoperiod responsive cultivars yielded significantly lower (less than 9.5 t/ha) than the cultivars without a strong photoperiod requirement such as RGT Planet, Laureate, Hv8 Nitro, and the AGTB0244 line
 Grain proteins were greater than 12% and outside of malt specification, while testweight varied and in general the faster developing cultivars trended lower.
 At the time of this report final dry matters have yet to be calculated.

• For mid-April sowing dates at the SA Crop Technology Centre (CTC) it was the AGFWH004718, AGFWH004818 and AGFWH004618 that stood out with good agronomic characteristics and yields of 10t/ha or greater.
• The longer season UK wheats Reflection and Shabras also gave 10t/ha yields despite a phenology that meant that they were at the end of booting (GS49) in the period considered to be the optimum for flowering (GS61) based on the last two years sowing in mid-April.
• Reflection was the most interesting of the two with excellent disease resistance and standing power, however Shabras was similar but with more pronounced susceptibility to Septoria.

• Of those varieties that were just under 10t/ha that had good agronomic characteristics it was GS-18-105-W and SFR86-092 that exhibited good disease resistance.
• SFR86-071 was equally good under full fungicide protection but susceptible to both STB and leaf rust in the HYC 1st stage screen.

• Although set up as spatially separate trials (with some differences in varieties tested) the mean yield of the second time of sowing (12 May) was over 1t/ha higher yielding than the first time of sowing (17 April).
• At the second sowing nine varieties exceeded 10t/ha compared to only five varieties at the first time of sowing.
• A number of the winter wheat varieties exceeded 10t/ha at the mid May sowing with AGFWH004718 almost hitting 11t/ha.
• RGT Accroc which was subject to considerably less STB pressure than the first sowing date yielded 10.62t/ha compared to only 8.71t/ha when sown in mid-April.
• Although harvest dry matters were lower in 2020, the harvest index for RGT Accroc was 58% using a typical harvest dry matter (9.29/16t/ha at 0% moisture).
• At this sowing date the gap between the best feed wheat and milling wheat (Scepter) was approximately 2t/ha.
• Protein levels (11% plus in most varieties) and test weights would indicate that optimum yields were generated with the level of nitrogen applied (120kg N/ha).

• Other than the control Anapurna, five cultivars yielded in excess of 10t/ha these were LPB16-0598, SFR86-092, SFR86-071, AGFWH004418 and AGFWH004618.
• SFR86-092 exceeded 11t/ha.
• Many of these cultivars (where tested) have performed well in 1st stage screens.
• Despite stripe rust susceptibility and yellowing flecks over the canopy Catapult (mid – late spring AH in south eastern region) gave promising yields, and although they were not significantly better than Scepter its phenology is more suited to late April sowing.
• 138 kg N/ha plus 10N at sowing with a soil N reserve of 103.5kg N/ha (0-60cm) was sufficient to optimize yield at this site with an average protein content of 11.7% (range 10.4 – 13.9%).

 Selecting the best varieties is important to achieve Hyperyielding canola:
o HyTTec Trifecta (TT), 45Y28 RR and Xseed Condor (Truflex) were the highest yielding cultivars at both High and Low input.
 Extra inputs can increase yield potential in Hyperyielding canola:
o High input management (extra fungicide and nitrogen) increased grain yield (compared to Low Input) by an average of 0.74 t/ha.
 The best cultivars also had the strongest response to increasing inputs:
o The three highest yielding cultivars, HyTTec Trifecta, 45Y28 RR and Xseed Condor, increased yield by >0.9 t/ha with High Input management, compared with an average yield increase of 0.6 t/ha for the other six varieties.
o The increase in yield was mostly due to extra nitrogen in the High Input treatment.
 Increasing inputs (nitrogen and fungicide) increased final (maturity) biomass and increased harvest index.
 High yielding varieties can also have high oil concentration:
o Xseed Condor and HyTTec Trifecta had the highest oil concentration, increasing their potential gross income.

 Increasing the input of fungicide and nitrogen increased grain yield in 7/9 varieties.
 45Y28 RR and Nuseed Diamond yielded > 3 t/ha with High Input management.
 Spring non-TT varieties including 45Y28 RR, NCH18Q421 (Xseed Condor) and Nuseed Diamond were the highest yielding group, 0.4 and 0.5 t/ha higher yielding than the Spring TT and Winter varieties, respectively.

 There was no overall effect of increasing crop inputs or an interaction between input and variety choice.
 There were however large differences in yield between cultivars with the winter cultivars and the spring Clearfield cultivars the standouts. This is especially important since all cultivars (with the exception of the open-pollinated ATR Wahoo) would have similar seed cost.
 The winter cultivars grew more than double the vegetative biomass than the spring cultivars; 40% more biomass by maturity and were twice as tall, but grain yield was the same as the best spring Clearfield cultivars.
 The differences between winter and spring varieties in this trial highlights the need for the development of cultivars somewhere between these two groups for Hyperyielding grains regions.
 To improve grain yield in this region, there will need to be an increase in harvest index of the winter cultivars or an increase in biomass of the spring cultivars.
 Spring cultivars that were fast to develop (e.g. Nuseed Diamond) or slow to grow biomass (TT) were severely penalised for grain yield and even a very high conversion of biomass to grain (e.g. HyTTec Trifecta grew 3.57 t/ha grain with 9 t/ha biomass at maturity) was not enough to make up for low biomass.

 Variety responses differed with canopy management consistent with other trials.
 Additional Nitrogen had a detrimental effect on yield in the winter cultivar Cassiopee when the canopy was not managed. While the application of a PGR increased yield in Rosalind and Planet was not responsive to canopy management
 Disease pressure was lower than in previous years and similar yields were achieved between the standard and higher input fungicide strategy in all cultivars.
 These results confirm the importance of variety choice and management, Planet was the highest yielding cultivar across all management regimes, however Rosalind was able to achieve similar yields when managed with a PGR. The data highlights the downside risk of winter cultivar Cassiopee and suggests it is not as well adapted to Millicent conditions were large canopies are unavoidable. An additional PGR application may be required for the winter cultivar.
 Defoliation did not result in a yield penalty in any cultivar highlight the application of barley for dual purpose use (grain and graze).

 In a season with a wetter than average growing season and timely rainfall, the fast-developing spring barley Rosalind significantly out yielded RGT Planet (7.80t/ha) and the slower developing winter barley Cassiopee (7.70t/ha).
 There were significant visual differences in disease protection between the standard and high fungicide inputs which translated to yield increases of 0.93t/ha in the most susceptible cultivar RGT Planet and 0.49t/ha in Rosalind respectively. This means they require a more robust fungicide strategy whereas cultivars with improved resistance such as Cassiopee achieved similar yields with the standard management.
 Extra N increased yields but only when significant canopy management was adopted, however the management strategy depended on cultivar. When extra N was applied the plant growth regulator intervention increased yield by 0.9t/ha in the winter cultivar Cassiopee but not in other cultivars RGT Planet and Rosalind. RGT Planet and Rosalind benefited from defoliation
and both yielded 0.7t/ha higher when defoliated an extra N was applied where as Cassiopee did not benefit from defoliation.
 Defoliation was more effective at reducing lodging than the PGR strategy in all cultivars.
 These results highlight the importance of canopy management to improve the crop structure in the higher rainfall zone to maximize the yield and benefit of inputs such as fungicide and nitrogen.

 With a decile 1 start (sowing – early August), barley following canola exceeded 6 t/ha with the fast-developing spring cultivar Rosalind significantly higher yielding than RGT Planet (6.5 v 6.0 t/ha) and the slower developing winter cultivar Cassiopee (3.77 t/ha).
 The highest yields at the site were observed with Rosalind grown under a full fungicide package based on Systiva and two foliar sprays (6.7 t/ha), despite low disease levels at early stem elongation.
 This higher fungicide input increased harvest dry matter and grain yield relative to a cheaper triazole based two spray programme (standard input) when averaged across all cultivars.
 There was no yield benefit of plant growth regulation in the trial.
 Mechanical defoliation at GS30 “simulating grazing” reduced grain yields on average by 0.29 t/ha relative to the ungrazed crop. The yield penalty was greater in the winter cultivar Cassiopee which reached GS30 later in the spring.
 An additional 50kg N/ha had no significant effect on yield irrespective of fungicide, variety, or defoliation.

 The influence of germplasm choice was greater than the influence of crop management. RGT Planet yielded 9.59t/ha, and Rosalind 8.29t/ha. The spring wheat Trojan yielded 8.79t/ha.
 Spring barley is well suited to this position in the crop rotation and is yielding higher than spring wheat at this sowing date, this is in contrast to autumn planted crops where wheat is superior to barley.
 Fungicide strategy was the only management strategy to significantly influence yield but this depended on cultivar. Moving from a standard management increased yield from 8.79t/ha to 9.67t/ha in RGT Planet, while there was no additional benefit in Rosalind and Trojan highlighting the importance of genetic resistance if lower input fungicide strategies are going to be used.
 Increasing N inputs upfront and moving a proportion of the N inputs towards tillering did not increase yield. Increasing seed density to 450 seeds/m2 also did not offer any additional benefit
 Dry matters and Harvest Index results are still being processed

• Winter feed wheats RGT Accroc and Anapurna were significantly higher yielding than all other cultivars tested giving yields over 10t/ha and a 2t/ha advantage over Scepter.
• The ASW wheat DS Bennett was significantly higher yielding than all other white wheat milling varieties.
• Of the AH classified wheats Nighthawk and Beckom were the highest yielding (mean of the three managements).
• There was a significant reduction in yield as a result of defoliation (simulated grazing) at GS30 when the results from all cultivars were averaged.
• Although there was some evidence that the different varieties responded to management differentially the interaction was not statistically significant (p=0.06).
• Dry matter (DM) contents at harvest ranged from 17 – 20t/ha with significantly higher DM accumulation in the longer season winter wheats such as RGT Accroc, Anapurna and DS Bennett compared to Scepter.
• Greater dry matter accumulation with the winter wheat up to GS30 was the result of a longer vegetative period that correlated to higher tiller number per unit area and tillers/plant.
• At harvest however although there were more heads/m2 with winter wheats they were not always significantly higher than spring wheats indicating greater tiller mortality in winter wheats compared to springs.
• In general, disease (principally Septoria and stripe rust) has been controlled by the two spray programme set out in standard management approach, however those varieties that tended to give higher yields at higher input (not significant) were in general the more susceptible.
• The increased nutrition (18kg N/ha and 25kg S/ha) and PGR applied with the high input approach did not generate any notable yield gains.
• In those cultivars that lodged (Gregory, Catapult, Beckom and Trojan) there was no indication that the PGR application reduced lodging, although there were significant positive effects from grazing on standing power.
• Protein levels averaged just 11% and indicated that yields were optimised at the level of N application.
• Harvest indices for winter wheats were in general closer to 37-40% compared to higher yielding spring wheats that were closer to 45%.

• The awnless feed wheat SFR86-090 (RGT Cesario) was the top yielding variety under high input management at 9.88t/ha, however its yield was not significantly different to the winter varieties Anapurna and Tabasco.
• Unlike SFR86-090, Anapurna and Tabasco gave no significant reduction in yield when input level was reduced to standard input (120N, 2 Fungicide units, no PGR) from high (160N, 4 Fungicide units and 2 PGRs).
• Protein levels of 11 – 11.6% for most feed wheats indicated that yields were maximised at 120N with no need to go to 160N in the high N input.
• The sowing date was too early for the spring wheat germplasm (Trojan and Scepter) which developed too quickly (flowering 22-25 September) even when defoliated (simulated grazing).
• Defoliation at GS30 resulted in greater dry matter offtake with later developing cultivars, Tabasco giving over 2100kg/ha with defoliation on 25 August, compared to RGT Accroc which produced 1340kg/ha from 7 August defoliation.
• In contrast to previous seasons, there was little yield penalty for defoliation observed in the high yielding winter wheats compared to standard and high input, a possible indication that yield potential at standard and higher input was restricted.
• There were a number of factors that were the possible causes but warmer than average temperatures in November, leaf rust pressure, later army worm and low-level crown rot could have been factors.
• The dominant foliar diseases in the trial were Septoria tritici blotch (STB) with leaf rust also a significant disease. Late stripe rust was also observed in the trial, particularly in Trojan.
• In terms of yield potential, elevated temperatures in early November may have limited yield potential, but local commercial yields were higher and Tabasco with its late flowering (1st December) was still one of the highest yielding cultivars.
• With the exception of Tabasco the highest yielding cultivars flowered in the last 10 days of October, the period traditionally associated with the highest yields from this mid-April sowing date over the last three years at the SA CTC.

• There was a significant interaction between variety and management on grain yield with Anapurna, Nighthawk, Beaufort and Cobra giving statistically similar yields under the three management regimes (low, standard, high).
• In contrast, cultivars such as Zanzibar (spring feed wheat), gave almost 2.5t/ha yield increase as input moved from lower input to higher input.
• The winter wheat Anapurna and spring wheat Zanzibar grown under a high input regime (three fungicides, 160kg N and PGR) were the only varieties to yield over 10t/ha, with Anapurna topping the yields at 10.6t/ha.
• Unlike Zanzibar, Anapurna maintained yields over 9t/ha when grown under reduced management strategies primarily as a result of significantly better disease resistance.
• The dominant disease was Septoria tritici blotch (STB) with leaf rust present throughout the season and a late stripe rust infection evident in susceptible varieties.
• Varieties giving over a 1.4t/ha increase in yield when grown under higher input compared to low input were Zanzibar, RGT Accroc and Catapult.
• All protein levels were 11% or above therefore it was concluded that grain yield was not compromised by lack of nitrogen supply (soil & fertiliser).
• Of the newer milling wheat options Rockstar outperformed Catapult and the controls of Scepter and Trojan, a difference that was significant when inputs were reduced under the low input management approach.
• Harvest dry matters varied from approximately 14 – 18t/ha compared to 13 – 19.5t/ha at the first sowing date (excluding defoliation treatments at the first sowing date).

• The winter feed wheat RGT Accroc (awned) was significantly higher yielding under all managements compared to other varieties tested and exceeded 10t/ha under high input management.
• In general, grazing (mechanical defoliation at GS30) had less impact on yield with faster developing cultivars which reached GS30 earlier in the season (e.g. Scepter, Nighthawk, RGT Accroc and DS Bennett) compared to the slower developing wheats (e.g. RGT Calabro, Tabasco and Manning).
• Septoria tritici blotch (STB) was the principal disease in the majority of varieties, however the varieties subject to stripe rust infection, Trojan and Scepter, saw the biggest improvement in yield (2.95t/ha and 1.63t/ha respectively) associated with greater fungicide input under the high management approach.
• Tabasco, a slow developing winter wheat from northern Europe with good disease resistance and standing power was significantly higher yielding under the standard input management compared to the high input management regime giving no yield response to additional fungicide, N or PGR input.
• Scepter under high input management was the highest yielding (9.03t/ha) quality milling wheat and was 13.4% lower yielding than the highest yielding feed wheat (10.42t/ha).
• Above ground dry matter available for grazing varied from 150kg/ha with the spring wheats to over 2000 kg/ha with the long season winter wheats.

 When harvested on time RGT Planet achieved a grain yield of 8.8 t/ha significantly higher than the winter cultivar Cassiopee at 6.6 t/ha.
 Delaying harvest timing by 3 weeks resulted in a significant yield penalty of 2.2 t/ha and 1.7t/ha in RGT Planet and Cassiopee respectively. This highlights the importance of harvesting barley in a timely manner.
 Applications of PGRs did not increase yield when harvest was delayed at this site in 2020. A significant weather event occurred prior to the timing of harvest in the ‘on time’ treatments which may have masked some of the treatment effects.

 RGT Planet achieved a grain yield of 8.3 t/ha significantly higher than the winter cultivar Cassiopee at 8.0 t/ha when harvested on time.
 Untreated (without PGR) and harvested on time achieved an average yield of 7.89t/ha and delaying harvest by three weeks yielded 0.47t/ha less at 7.42t/ha due to headloss. PGR’s increased yield on average irrespective of harvest date and enable growers more time to manage harvest logistics with limited downside risk. The two-spray strategy of a PGR at G31 followed by a second application at GS37 – 49 yielded significantly higher at 8.32t/ha when harvested on time, and did not suffer a yield penalty when harvest three weeks later.
 Irrespective of harvest date the PGR had the largest effect in Cassiopee and the use of a single PGR at GS31 increased yield by 0.5t/ha compared to untreated. This application benefit was primarily due to reducing lodging, the addition of a second application at GS37 did not further increase yield, however when the GS31 application was combined with a later application at GS49 yield increased 1.45t/ha due to the added head loss control.
 There wasn’t any significant yield difference across all treatments in RGT Planet relative to the untreated control. While there was consistently 5 – 10 heads/m2 on the ground from delaying harvest in RGT Planet, these were not enough to influence yield.
 The pressure on head loss was less at this site in 2020 compared to other hyper yielding centers highlights under moderate head loss pressure RGT planet is unlikely to benefit from PGR applications while winter cultivars will require them.
 These results require further validation in 2021 but have demonstrated there is little downside risk with the use of PGRs in the higher rainfall zone. This works well for farm logistics and the timings of a PGR application at GS31 and later application could also be combined with the most effective fungicide timings.

 Buff achieved a grain yield of 6.29 t/ha significantly higher than RGT Planet at 5.85 t/ha when harvested on time.
 Harvest logistics and cultivar choice was the major factors influencing yield losses due to a delay in harvest. Buff suffered a 1.83t/ha yield penalty from delaying harvest by 3 weeks, and RGT Planet 1.07t/ha.
 Despite large yield losses to delaying harvest, plant growth regulators (PGRs) applied at all three timings did not offer any yield advantage in both cultivars whether harvested on time or when harvest was delayed. This is important because growers can have confidence in higher head loss risk areas that yield potential is unlikely to be compromised by PGR applications.
 Current recommendations to growers are to ensure timely harvest and to choose cultivars with improved head retention. Yields were lower than expected in 2020 and the additional benefits of PGR application for lodging and brackling control were not observed in this experiment.
 The use of PGRs for head loss control requires further development in 2021 but these and other center results have demonstrated there is little downside risk with the use of PGRs in the higher rainfall zone and a GS31 and later application could be combined with the most effective fungicide timings.

 RGT Planet achieved a grain yield of 9.57 t/ha significantly higher than Rosalind at 8.37t/ha.

 Delaying harvest had little impact on grain yield and were similar to crops harvested on time

 Despite a lack of response to a harvest delay, plant growth regulators still had a positive influence on yield but only when they were applied in a split treatment at GS31 and either GS37 or GS49. PGR applied at GS31 achieved a yield of 8.8t/ha and when applied in a split treatment achieved yields of 9.2t/ha

 These results require further validation in 2021 but have demonstrated there is little downside trade off with the use of PGRs in the higher rainfall zone and a GS31 and later application could be combined with the most effective fungicide timings.

 Diamond was the fastest cultivar to flowering, nine days faster than ADV Galaxy and 38 days faster than the slowest cultivar ADV Magnificent.
 The optimum flowering date for this environment is late August/early September, which suited high yielding mid-season cultivars such as Nuseed Quartz, HyTTec Trifecta, 45Y93 CL, 45Y28 RR, NCH18Q551 and AN20RR002.
 The highest yield was from the unreleased Nuseed cultivar NCH18Q551 with 5.61 t/ha, 0.93 t/ha higher yielding than the highest winter variety.
 The average yield of each herbicide tolerance group was:
o Conventional – 4.70 t/ha
o Triazine tolerant (including CLF + TT) – 4.46 t/ha
o Clearfield (including Truflex + Clearfield) – 4.60 t/ha
o RR/Truflex – 5.20 t/ha.
 This highlights the very-high yield potential of the RR/Truflex group and suitability for HYC environments. NCH18Q551 also had the highest oil concentration, the only cultivar >50%.
 The overall oil yield of the highest yielding treatment NCH18Q551 was 2.82 t/ha, 34% more than the lowest yielding cultivar, Nuseed Diamond. This highlights the importance of cultivar choice for Hyperyielding environments.

 Diamond was clearly the fastest cultivar but there were several grouped together at the slower end including the commercial cultivars SF Ignite TT, ATR Wahoo and 45Y25 RR.
 Four cultivars, including ADV Equinox, ADV Galaxy, NCH18Q421 (now Xseed Condor) and AN20RR002 achieved grain yield > 4 t/ha, compared with none in the winter screen trial.

 The mid-maturity cultivars 45Y93 CL, 45Y91 CL and Nuseed Quartz were the highest yielding cultivars. These cultivars all had at least average oil concentration.
 Average grain yield of the spring screen was 3.28 t/ha compared with 4.14 t/ha in the winter screen. Only one of 16 spring cultivars achieved 4 t/ha grain yield compared with 7/9 in the winter screen.
 The conventional and Clearfield cultivars were on average 0.4 and 0.5 t/ha (13 and 16%) higher yielding than the triazine tolerant cultivars, highlighting the fitness penalty that comes with triazine tolerance.
 Many of the lowest yielding cultivars also had very low oil, reducing profitability further.

• All defoliation treatments reduced grain yield relative to the “ungrazed” crop except the light graze treatment in Trojan.
• Those defoliation treatments that removed larger amounts of dry matter at stem elongation (GS30-32) invariably reduced grain yield more.
• The concept of “resetting” Trojan at GS32 was unsuccessful in maintaining or increasing yield.
• In Trojan “light grazing” (as opposed to hard grazing) did not reduce grain yield and was the only treatment that showed canopy compensation by flowering (GS61) when assessed by canopy reflectance (NDVI).
• With Trojan “light grazing” at GS30 which removed only 240kg/ha on July 7 increased margins by the value of the grazing $60/ha plus a small increase in grain output (not significant) of $53/ha.

• All defoliation treatments reduced grain yield relative to the ungrazed crop except the “light graze” GS30 treatment in Trojan and the tillering defoliation (GS23) in RGT Accroc.
• Those defoliation treatments that removed larger amounts of dry matter at stem elongation (GS30-32) invariably reduced grain yield more.
• The concept of resetting Trojan at GS32 was unsuccessful in maintaining or increasing yield from a late April sow date. In addition, the undefoliated crop was not affected by frost.
• In Trojan both “light grazing” and “hard grazing” did not reduce yield with all treatments showing canopy compensation by flowering when assessed by canopy reflectance.
• With Trojan at 25 cents/kg dry matter and $300/t for grain the light grazing was the only treatment to produce a similar margin to the ungrazed control.
• In RGT Accroc where grazing was later than planned (and past the cut off of GS30) GS31 defoliation produced large dry matter offtakes and large reductions in grain yield but at the prices chosen would have been more profitable than the ungrazed control.
• The most profitable crop was the RGT Accroc defoliated at the end of tillering (GS29) which gave yields equal to the ungrazed and 3200 kg/ha dry matter removed.

• All defoliation treatments applied post GS30 reduced grain yield relative to the ungrazed and crops grazed at GS30.
• Although shorter grazing (hard grazing) produced more dry matter and gave slightly larger reductions in grain yield than light grazing, the differences were not statistically significant.
• With later grazing dates, due to a longer vegetative period, dry matter offtakes were significantly greater with RGT Accroc than with Trojan.
• The concept of “resetting Trojan” at GS32 was unsuccessful in terms of grain yield with a 22 April sown crop in the absence of any frost events.
• The development stage of grazing and degree of grazing (hard or light) were well correlated to preventing crop lodging due to reduced crop height and in some cases significantly less harvest dry matter.
• Unless the crop was reset with defoliation post GS30 at GS32 there was little noticeable difference in flowering date, although as would be expected RGT Accroc flowered later than Trojan.

 There is a gradual shift earlier in flowering date with new cultivars, with the recently released Phoenix CL, SF Nizza CL and now Hyola Feast CL (CL82005) all being at least five days faster to flower than the industry benchmark Hyola 970CL.
 The fastest winter was still however 19 days slower to flower than the slowest spring cultivar, highlighting the need for local breeding to fill this space.
 CL82005 (now Hyola Feast CL) was the highest yielding variety and had the highest oil concentration. It will form a major part of HYC canola trial programs in coming seasons.
 The mean yield of the winter screen of 4.04 t/ha was 0.74 t/ha below the mean yield of the spring screen. The flowering date of the winter cultivars was later than ideal for the region, whereas the spring cultivars can flower close to the optimum flowering date (late August-early September).

 CL82005, now released as Hyola Feast CL was the highest yielding cultivar, with a yield of 3.99 t/ha.
 Hyola Feast CL was > 0.6 t/ha higher yielding than the two other most popular winter canola cultivars in the trial, Edimax CL and Hyola 970CL.
 There were subtle differences between the oil concentration cultivars, but not to the magnitude of the differences in grain yield.

 There was no difference in grain yield or oil concentration in the nine winter cultivars in this trial.
 Seed size was highest in Edimax CL and CL210004, and lowest in CL82003 and CL82005.
 CL82005 has since been released as Hyola Feast CL.

Please see attached trial report for results.

Please see attached trial report for findings.

• Hyola 404RR and Hyola 505RR show their adaptation to the medium or higher rainfall districts of Victoria and ability to have the highest yields and oil %s assisted with excellent blackleg resistance.
• Hyols 474CL and Hyola 575CL performed well against competitor Clearfield hybrids along with providing improved oil %s and stability.
• Most of the hybrids evaluated significantly out-yeilded the OP Clearfield variety 43C80.
• Hyola 555TT, Crusher TT, Thumper TT and Jackpot TT show good adaptation and ability to have some of the highest yields for the Western District of Victoria.

Overall the site experienced low starting rainfall with staggered plant emergence and then with further rainfall plot populations were within 75 to 85% of targeted plants/m2. All pests and diseases were controlled to an acceptably high level.

Full laboratory analysis of all samples has not been completed, but some interesting data have already emerged.

Experiments were conducted in a commercial lentil crop (2006) in a paddock considered representative of the southern Mallee region of Victoria (McCellands Jil Jil East). The study identified that seasonal variations in the spatial pattern for grain yield were explained principally by differences in the ‘effective plant available water’ (ePAW) rather than differences in nitrogen supply. ePAW was considered to be related to both the textural properties of the surface soil (eg. small rainfall events at the season break are more effective in coarser textured soils than in clay soils) and the presence of physio-chemical in the subsoil, which can limit crop access to stored water.

• Nodulation and shoot dry matter in medics is depressed by poor phosphorus (P) nutrition and in-crop application of certain herbicides.
• Applying P when establishing a medic pasture boosts shoot and root dry matter and improves root health.
• The timing of application of certain herbicides can have an important effect on maximum shoot dry matter.
• High soil nitrogen levels can reduce nodulation in medic pastures.

• Growers should be aware that the application of certain broad-leaved herbicides can result in a reduction in shoot dry matter of medic pastures.
• Application of a full label rate of Agritone 750 (late) resulted in the largest reduction of shoot dry matter.
• Applying P to a soil with low P reserves when establishing a medic pasture boosts shoot and root dry matter, improves root health and improves N fixation.
• Growers should also be aware that the use of herbicides can reduce nodulation and N2- fixation in medic pastures.

• Applying phosphorus to a soil with low P reserves when establishing a medic pasture boosts shoot and root dry matter, improves root health and improves N fixation.
• The addition of urea at seeding can reduce nodulation in medic pastures.
• Residues of the herbicide Logran can severely stunt medic growth.
• Applying a full label rate of Agritone 750 (late) decreases pasture production and N fixation in actively growing pastures.
• Any management practice that reduces medic biomass will reduce N fixation, such as the late application of certain herbicides, eg Agritone 750.
• In a dry growing season when medic plants are already moisture stressed, herbicides will have little impact on medic production and N fixation.
• Regardless of seasonal conditions, the management of newly established medic pastures with regard to herbicides and nutrition, appears to have no impact on the yield and protein levels of the wheat crop in the following year.

The HRZ of south-eatsern Australia has a high yield potential but for this potenial to be realised, new traits will need to be introduced. Important traits are likely to include high seed numbers per pod, drought tolerance during flowering and seed development and good blackleg resistance. Further testing of germplasm under a wider range of conditions will be needed to verify findings and develop cultivars adapted to the region. 

This demonstration has shown that there are many tools available to help farmers identify paddock zones. In this case, the farmer was easily able to identify roughly each zone, however from the yield map it is apparent that using the yield maps, to get those zones 100%, slight changes were required. There was little advantage in applying fertiliser in any of the zones, however, emergence issues may have confounded some of these responses. Both P tests (Colwell and DGT) indicated that Zone 2 was responsive to P. There appeared to be a slight increase in yield to P. This was indicated visually during the season, though the difference was thought to be greater and unlikely to be significant. Most importantly, this demonstration has highlighted that you don’t need to invest heavily to practice PA and VR. The farmer identified 80-90% of the variation with the help of other tools. Those tools will prove very important when the zones as less pronounced or in paddocks that have been recently acquired.

• VBHT805 is an inidazolinone tolerant barley variety in the final stages of evaluation and commercialisation.
• VBHT805 could be a useful tool for managing Group B soil residual herbicide carryover for improved grass weed control in intensive cereal rotations.

• Yield of PBA Ace and PBA Jumbo2 (the only two imidazilinone or IMI-sensitive varieties evaluated) was reduced by 70%–80% from applying imazethapyr.
• PBA Hurricane XT and PBA Herald XT are the only current commercial IMI-tolerant varieties. PBA Hurricane XT is better adapted, producing more dry matter and grain yield than PBA Herald XT in southern NSW.
• CIPAL1422 is a promising advanced Coordinated Improvement Program for Australian Lentils (CIPAL) breeding line with high grain yield. It is very IMI-tolerant, and tall and bulky with late maturity.
• Advanced breeding lines are equal to, or better than, PBA Ace and PBA Jumbo2 in southern NSW. They bring additional features such as herbicide tolerance, extra bulk and height, and a wider range of maturity.
• IMI herbicide tolerance will expand weed-control options in lentil, which is a poorly competitive crop with a limited number of registered herbicides.
• These new varieties, coupled with new technologies, demonstrate considerable potential for expanding lentils across the better class of acidic, red-brown soils of southern NSW

• The trial was sown into dry soil on the 11th May. This trial was indicative of many lupin crops within the West Midlands region in 2010, with establishment and weed control issues. Establishment was inconsistent across the trial site with seasonal conditions, non-wetting soil and rhizoctonia root rot contributing to uneven plant numbers and poor growth within some plots. Herbicide management of weeds, particularly ryegrass, was less effective than expected, resulting in high weed burdens, especially in plots with poor lupin establishment.
• Anthracnose was introduced into plots 4 weeks after sowing but warm dry weather following introduction of infection and long dry spells during the growing season reduced disease development.
• Disease assessments at crop maturity indicated that despite high levels of inoculum being introduced only low levels of disease were present within the trial and differences between varieties were not statistically significant. Approximately 10% of the moderately susceptible Jenabillup plants suffered stem infection, the resistant variety Tanjil and resistant breeding lines had between 2-4% of plants with stem infection. Pod infection levels were low across the trial due to dry weather during podding.
• Due to uneven establishment, variable soil moisture, root disease and weed burden, individual plot yields varied from 0.5 t/ha to 2 t/ha across the site (average 1.4 t/ha), however neither variety nor anthracnose infection significantly affected yield.
• In seasons with good rainfall, anthracnose can be a yield constraint for lupin production in the high-medium rainfall regions of the northern agricultural region (particularly in areas with abundant blue lupins); the anthracnose resistance in current advanced breeding lines will reduce disease development and yield loss.

• A medium level of common root rot infection reduced the yield of LRPB Gauntlet by 11% with a high level of infection resulting in 20% yield loss.
• Crown rot infection had around double the impact on yield loss with a medium level of inoculum reducing yield by 23% and a high level of crown rot infection resulting in 41% yield loss.
• Combined infection with both pathogens further exacerbated yield loss which equated to 31% and 52% with a medium or high level of inoculum of both pathogens, respectively.
   

• A medium level of common root rot infection reduced the yield of LRPB GauntletA by 5% with a high level of infection resulting in 13% yield loss.
• The expression of crown rot was reduced in 2016 due to the wet seasonal conditions. The medium level of infection did not significantly reduce the yield of LRPB GauntletA, but a high level of infection caused 9% yield loss.
• Combined infection with both pathogens – common root rot and crown rot – further exacerbated yield loss, which equated to 23% with a high level of inoculum of both pathogens.
• The effect from a mild, wet season on reducing the extent of yield loss caused by either of these two pathogens appears to be more pronounced with crown rot than common root rot.
   

1. Barley and wheat crops led to increases in P. neglectus, while mungbeans, wheat and chickpea led to increases in P. thornei.
2. The non-host summer crops (cotton, maize, mungbean and sorghum) provided the greatest reduction in crown rot inoculum while most non-host winter crops had virtually no impact.
3. There was little impact from most species on common root rot levels with wheat the worst crop option, while common root rot declined under the moderately resistant barley variety CompassP.

1. Grain legumes (chickpea, faba bean, field pea, mungbean) often leave more residual soil water at harvest than cereals, this difference is diminished due to lower subsequent fallow efficiencies and hence soil water is often similar at the sowing of the next crop.
2. Higher intensity systems have higher fallow efficiencies while lower intensity systems and those with more legumes have lower fallow efficiencies.