• Earlier sowing generally resulted in highest yields. Similar to Minyip ,there were no major differences in yield with wider row spacings (30cm c.f. 19.5cm).
• However, an increase in pod height in the wider rows and standing stubble was only recorded at the second sowing date.

• In 2009, earlier sowing resulted in highest yield and best grain quality, particularly due to the extreme heatwave in November.

• Average grain yields across all varieties in retained stubble treatments (Slashed and Standing) were equal or greater than Removed stubble treatments in all years of testing.
• There was generally a greater yield response from the Standing treatment than the Slashed treatment.
•  The yield response from stubble retention was generally the greatest at the Late sowing date.

• Optimum plant density rates for the new lentil varieties Nipper (red) and Boomer (green) are the same as for current varieties.
• Lower than optimum plant densities resulted in lower grain yields particularly at later sowing dates.
• The new green lentil variety Boomer is well adapted to the more favourable lentil growing areas
• Nipper performed similarly to Nugget and Northfield last year in the absence of foliar diseases.

The optimum time for sowing lentils, for the 1996 season, was in early to mid May.

• PBA Ace and PBA Jumbo2 performed very well across a range of agronomic characteristics compared with the other varieties in this experiment. 
• Sowing time was a critical management factor in the 2015 season.
• Sow lentils in early to late May at 120 plants per square meter in the eastern cropping region of southern NSW to avoid yield penalties. 

• Sowing time is a critical management factor in this environment.
• Sow lentils in late April - 10 May in the south western cropping region of southern NSW.
• Target plant populations of 120 plants per square meter.
• Commercial lentil yields of 1,2-1,5 t/ha on acidic red brown earths of south western NSW are now realistic giving growers the confidence and economic viability to introdce the pulse into their cropping rotations.  

• Desiccating lentil crops was critical in 2010 to minimising losses by allowing an earlier harvest, prior to the heavy rainfall events. Rainfall affected crops yielded up to 50% less.
• The earlier maturing varieties PBA Flash and PBA Blitz offer higher yields in drier years but not necessarily in long seasons such as 2010.  
• In the Mallee, PBA Blitz offers good disease resistance which improves reliability and yield and its medium large seed makes it attractive for export.
• Late in 2010 in the Mallee, disease and virus were observed. These may have resulted in higher seed infection and inoculum levels. Be prepared for higher disease and virus levels in 2011.

• Ascochyta blight- and botrytis grey mould-resistant red lentil variety, Nipper, available for higher rainfall areas.
• Green lentil, Boomer, available for farmers but must be harvested early to maximise yield and seed quality.
• Good lentil management is beneficial in most years, irrespective of rainfall.

Paddock selection, disease management, variety selection and marketing are important to maximising profitability from lentils.

Lentil yields were poor in 2004 due to dry conditions, mainly through October, combined with high temperatures and frost during the reproductive period. Trial data were unreliable for many sites and variety selection should be based on long term data. Disease was not a major issue in 2004 but seed from the Horsham trial site had high levels of infection by ascochyta blight and diligence must be maintained in disease management.

Note: CIPAL203 was resistant to botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight and is suited to medium rainfall areas such as the Wimmera. CIPAL411 and CIPAL415 have improved salt tolerance. CIPAL402 is moderately resistant to botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight and is a larger seed size than Matilda.

• Lentils are a viable pulse option for the Southern Mallee, except in dry years on soils where high soil boron, sodicity and salinity are a problem.
• Digger has consistently been the highest yielding variety tested in the Mallee but the new variety Cassab offers a good alternative to growers.

• Nugget has been the highest yielding variety in Victoria in long term variety comparisons.
• Botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight are major threats to the yield and quality of the Australian lentil crop.
• Digger and Cassab have the best resistance to botrytis grey mould. Northfield is the only variety with seed resistance to ascochyta blight but it is the variety most susceptible to botrytis grey mould.
• Northfield, ILL7685 and ILL6788 are more tolerant to salinity in glasshouse studies and were the highest yielding lines at Birchip where EC levels were high.

• Paddock selection, disease management, variety selection and marketing are important in maximising profitability from lentils.
• Nugget has excellent yield potential in the Wimmera. Nugget, Cassab, Digger and Cobber are the best varieties for the Mallee.
• Cassab, Digger and Nugget are the best varieties where botrytis grey mould is a serious threat and Northfield is the best variety where ascochyta blight cannot be controlled.

When selecting a variety, growers also need to consider their individual farm and paddock situation and the access and availability of likely target markets and to make their selection on all available information.

• Over the longer term PBA Hallmark XT has outperformed PBA Hurricane XT and growers interested in IMI tolerant lentils are encouraged to try this variety on their farm

• Timely harvest can make a big difference to yields when lentils produce high biomass. • Over the longer term PBA Hallmark XT has outperformed PBA Hurricane XT and growers interested in IMI tolerant lentils are encouraged to try this variety on their farm

• PBA Hallmark XT – the new imi tolerant variety released in 2018 –performed well at Mingenew matching the yield of all other released varieties.
• Over the longer term PBA Hallmark XT has outperformed PBA Hurricane XT and growers interested in IMI tolerant lentils are encouraged to try this variety on their farm.

• Lentils are well suited to the heavier soils of Dalwallinu
• The newly released variety PBA Highland XT produced the highest yields of 1 t/ha in tough conditions.

• Lentils are well suited to the heavier soils of Mingenew
• The newly released variety PBA Highland XT produced the highest yields
• XT lines will prove useful if farmers have SU residues or use IMI herbicides

 

• PBA Hallmark XT handled SU residues better than PBA Bolt
• Lentils should not be sprayed with Metribuzin on light lands until metribuzin tolerant varieties are made available. 
• Until that time IMI herbicides and XT lentils are probably the safest option on light lands in WA or consider alternative species.

Soil treatments had no effect on grain yield. Varieties differed in biomass and grain yields.

• Field peas and vetch were most profitable in this low rainfall year. While grains yields were low, all crops either ‘broke even’ or made a small profit, indicating that pulses have a fit in farming systems in this region with additional benefits achieved in the following crop. Always consider varietal performance over several seasons to ensure suitability. 

Although we reached harvest at both Kimba and Farrell Flat, multiple environmental factors coinciding with bacterial blight infection meant that data was compromised, and no sound conclusions could be drawn from this work.

• There was a small difference in plant establishment between the varieties and breeding lines (see Table 3 in attached trial report summary).  The two CIPAL lines had significantly higher plant populations than PBA Bolt and PBA Jumbo2.  However, these treatments still had adequate plant densities, and this is not expected to have affected grain yield in such a dry season.
• There were no significant differences in grain yield between varieties with a mean yield of 0.39 t/ha across all varieties and breeding lines.  Prior to harvest a blackening of the lentil foliage was noticed, therefore a visual score of the percentage of blackening observed in each plot was recorded.  It is unknown what caused this effect; however, it could relate to underlying variability of subsoil constraints.  There was a significant difference between varieties for blacking score with PBA Jumbo2 and PBA Hurricane XT showing significantly less blackening than the other varieties.  This score was also used as a covariate in the grain yield analysis however this still did not result in significant differences. 
   

• There were no significant differences between treatments for any of the variables measured on the sandy loam soil.
•  The mean grain yield across all treatments was 0.55 t/ha which was slightly higher than that achieved on the contrasting loam soil type (0.39 t/ha).  This outcome reflects higher levels of plant available water on lighter textured soils under low rainfall conditions such as those experienced in 2018. 

• Growth of lentil varieties and breeding lines was poor and grain yields were very low due to extremely dry conditions and multiple frost events during the growing season. Several of the salt tolerant lines appeared to show better growth early in the season.
• PBA Hurricane XT matured relatively early compared to other recently released varieties under dry conditions.
• Consistent with previous seasons, the new breeding line CIPAL1504 had grain yield similar or higher than recently released varieties, highlighting its yield stability and potential for future release.  

This trial was sown to showcase the growers, the viability of growing lentils in the region and evaluate varietal performance in the local conditions at Dookie 2019.
Older varieties like PBA Jumbo and PBA Jumbo2 were the top yielding varieties in a region where lentils are not traditionally grown. Yields were very good (1.21-1.97 t/ha), considering the very dry finish at Dookie.

• The grain yield of lentil varieties and breeding lines varied widely from as low as 0.28 t/ha to 0.72 t/ha (see Table 3 in attached trial report summary).  PBA Ace was the highest yielding treatment and the only commercial variety to yield higher than the new PBA genotypes: Len3, CIPAL1504, Len4 and Len5.  
• With the exception of PBA Ace, the yields of all other commercial varieties were similar.  
• The line Len 1 was the worst performing treatment in the trial.  It was noted that it flowered and matured significantly earlier than all other treatments and therefore may have been adversely affected by the dry weather during September, relative to other lines. 

• Normalised Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to compare lentil growth of varieties across the 10 subplots.  As shown in Figure 1 in the attached trial report summary, lentil growth was greatest on the flat soil type (bay 1-3), however productivity declined on the mid-slope and sand dune (bay 4-10).  Overall, PBA Ace had the highest NDVI, but that varied across the bays. In the sandier (mid slope and sand dune) bays, PBA Hurricane XT and CIPAL 1721 performed relatively well.  

• There was no statistically significant effect of herbicide treatments on the grain yield of lentils or pod maturation (see Table 3 in attached trial report summary).  Although there were no significant differences for grain yield or pod maturity, the treatments resulted in visual differences in foliage greenness 7 days post application.

Key message: Herbicide damage symptoms were not observed in PBA Hallmark XT due to herbicide treatments at Wudinna and Warnertown, 2019. This is likely due to the dry seasonal conditions, which lowered herbicide mobilisation within the soil. Consequently, effects of zinc sulphate on herbicide damage recovery were not visible. Average grain yield of PBA Hallmark XT was 0.71 t/ha at Wudinna and 0.93 t/ha at Warnertown.

Key message: Herbicide damage symptoms were not observed in PBA Hallmark XT due to herbicide treatments at Wudinna and Warnertown, 2019. This is likely due to the dry seasonal conditions, which lowered herbicide mobilisation within the soil. Consequently, effects of zinc sulphate on herbicide damage recovery were not visible. Average grain yield of PBA Hallmark XT was 0.71 t/ha at Wudinna and 0.93 t/ha at Warnertown.

Herbicide damage on crops was negligible. Grain yield of PBA Hurricane XT (1.94 t/ha) was 150 kg/ha greater than PBA Hallmark XT, at Coomandook, 2019.

There would be significant benefit in combining improved group C herbicide tolerance with the ‘imidazolinone’ tolerance of varieties like PBA Hallmark XT, providing a more complete herbicide management package for lentils into the future. Results suggest that the use of Group C products at sowing in the ‘imidazolinone’ tolerant varieties may increase sensitivity to in crop use of ‘imidazolinone’ products.

• PBA Hurricane XT lentils continue to show tolerance to all group B herbicides tested in this trial, presenting an opportunity for flexibility in crop rotations.
• PBA Hurricane XT lentils displayed small amounts of yellowing and stunting from some herbicides, most evident following ‘SU2’ applied at 4 node, however they recovered quickly. No grain yield reduction was observed in PBA Hurricane XT from any of the herbicides applied in this trial.
• PBA Jumbo 2 displayed a significant yield reduction from terbuthylazine incorporated by sowing (IBS) in comparison to simazine applied IBS. As would be expected, the application of ‘SU1’ post-sow preemerge (PSPE) and ‘Imi2’ at 4 node significantly reduced grain yield in comparison to all other treatments.
• Early in the growing season, both varieties showed slightly more damage from terbuthylazine than simazine both applied IBS.
• ‘Imi1’ and ‘SU2’ both displayed the worst physical herbicide damage but recovered over time. 

The grain yields of group B herbicide tolerant lentil and faba bean varieties were not decreased due to simulated residues of Group B herbicides. However, the grain yield of GIA Kastar, which is a group B herbicide tolerant field pea variety, was decreased by Chlorsulfuron and Metsulfuron-Methyl simulated residues.

•  All results need to be treated with caution, due the dry conditions, frosts and weed burden at the trial site. Similar to previous research PBA Hurricane XT showed tolerance to imidazolinone herbicides and improved tolerance compared with PBA Jumbo2 to sulfonylureas and sulfonamide herbicides. Flowering applications, as expected generally had the most significant reduction on grain yield. The improved weed control in several of the herbicide treatments meant that significant yield gains were commonly observed in the herbicide treatments. 
   

• Group B herbicide application timing significantly influenced the level of herbicide damage and subsequent yield loss in lentil varieties. PBA Jumbo2 incurred significant herbicide damage and a subsequent yield loss of 33-100% from all the treatments except PSPE application of SU1 and incrop application of Sulf at 4 node, 8 node and flowering stages. In contrast, PBA Hallmark XT had significant herbicide damage and yield loss only from application of SU1 at flowering and SU2 at 8 node and flowering stages. PBA Hallmark XT was able to recover from damage caused by some of the herbicide treatments and produce grain yield equivalent to the nil treatment.
• Establishment and Plant growth: Establishment was favoured by adequate soil moisture at sowing and good rainfall conditions after sowing. Assessment of establishment about 7 weeks after sowing showed significant difference between the varieties, however the impact of the PSPE herbicide treatments on establishment was not significant. Averaged across herbicide treatments, PBA Hallmark XT had about 18 more plants/m2 than PBA Jumbo2 (Table 2). Plant growth was average despite drier spring conditions and a few frost events during vegetative and reproductive growth stages.

The application of all Group C herbicide products decreased grain yields of lentils grown on the deep sand soil at Pinnaroo. Application IBS reduced crop damage and had lower levels of grain yield loss for all chemicals compared with PSPE.

• ‘LGPC’ demonstrated improved tolerance to Metribuzin compared to PBA Jumbo2, particularly on the sand dune.

• Applications of metribuzin PSPE significantly reduced lentil establishment compared to IBS and the untreated control (see Figure 1 in attached trial report summary).  Across all varieties and sowing depths, establishment following the PSPE application was 75 plants/m2 while the IBS and untreated treatments had a plant establishment of 100 plants/m2.  Damage following PSPE application of metribuzin was particularly severe in the PBA Hurricane XT lentils.  The 4 node treatment had similar establishment to the control as the in crop herbicide treatment had not been applied at the time of the establishment assessment. 
• See attached trial report summary for further results and interpretations.

• PBA Jumbo2 showed significant herbicide damage from all the herbicide treatments except applications of up to ‘r2’ of ‘HTGpC-D’, ‘r2’ of ‘HTGpC-H’ and ‘r1’ of ‘HTGpC-F’ at the four node stage.
• The new genotype ‘LGPC’ had no significant herbicide injury from any herbicide treatment except ‘HTGpC-A’.
• Both genotypes showed the highest sensitivity to application of ‘HTGpC-A’ at the four node stage.
• Grain yield results should be interpreted with caution due to very dry seasonal conditions and yield loss in ‘LGPC’ due to seed shattering. 

• Key Messages: SP1333 and PBA Hallmark XT showed little to no signs of herbicide damage at x0.25 gai/ha and 376 gai/ha. At higher herbicide rates SP1333 showed lower herbicide damage than PBA Hallmark XT, but grain yield results were unreliable due to shattering in SP1333.

• Establishment and Plant Growth: Application of ‘Gp C’ PSPE had little or no impact on emergence and early plant growth. Lentils had optimum establishment and growth as a result of adequate soil moisture at sowing and favourable conditions during the rest of the season. Growth, development and yield were not affected by the few frost events, which occurred in the spring.

• Herbicide Damage: Both varieties did not show symptoms of herbicide damage at lower rates (x0.25 and x0.5 gai/ha) irrespective of the time of application (Table 1). However, at higher rates (x1 and x2 gai/ha) the new variety SP1333 showed less damage than PBA Hallmark XT. At x2 gai/ha, PSPE damaged SP1333 more whereas application at 4 node stage was more detrimental for PBA Hallmark XT.

• Number of weeds: Better control of weeds were achieved when ‘Gp C’ was applied as PSPE or 4 node applications at rates above x0.5 gai/ha (Table 2). Almost full weed control was seen in the x1 gai/ha and above for both PSPE and 4 node treatments. Weed densities were not different between varieties.

• Biomass at flowering: At flowering varieties were not significantly different in biomass. In PBA Hallmark XT biomass improved when low rates (x0.25 and x0.5 gai/ha) were applied as PSPE spray but decreased at the highest ‘Gp C’ rate (x2 gai/ha) applied as PSPE or 4 node stage spray, compared to the plants which did not receive herbicides (Table 3). This indicates that application of ‘Gp C’ at lower rates as PSPE sprays in PBA Hallmark XT can effectively control weeds without the crop damage or biomass loss, as oppose to higher rates. However, rates or times of herbicide application did not cause any biomass change in SP1333.

• PBA Jumbo 2 showed significant herbicide damage and a 38-73% yield loss from application of higher rates of ‘HTGpC-E’, ‘HTGpC-B’ and both low and higher rates of ‘HTGpC-A’, ‘HTGpCC’ and ‘HTGpC-G’. In contrast, the genotype ‘LGPC’ showed improved tolerance to post emergence application of various Group C herbicides and Group C & F mixes, and produced biomass and grain yields equivalent to the nil treatment. 

PBA Hallmark XT and PBA Hurricane XT, which are tolerant to Group B herbicides displayed less herbicide damage at all three locations.

Ripping increased mature biomass by 116% and grain yield by 126% compared to unripped plots. However, plants were more susceptible to lodging in ripped plots as they had heavier biomass at maturity. None of the agronomic treatments or varieties had any effects on grain yield.

The application of inoculant at sowing has proven to be of high importance in optimising pulse production. Providing adequate level of available phosphorus boosts pulse production. Application of calcium shortened mature lentil plants diminishing harvestability, as pods formed closer to the ground.

• A significant reduction in biomass was observed when phosphorus was omitted from the fertilizer on both soil types, however grain yield was reduced only on the sandhill, not swale.
• The dry growing season conditions may have reduced movement and uptake of the applied macro and micro-nutrients by the crop. Hence, results should be treated with caution.

• NDVI indicated differences in lentil growth with low values in treatments which received no nitrogen (see Table 3 in attached trial report summary).  The highest values were in the treatments which received all macro nutrients (All and Alltrace elements).  
• Biomass data was collected from bays 3, 5 and 9.  Individually no bay showed statistically significant effects of the treatments, but collectively there was significance at the p < 0.01 level (see Figure 1 in attached trial report summary).  The treatments with the lowest biomass were the All-N and Nil plots which both had no nitrogen added.
• The only significant effect on grain yield was in bay 4 where the All-N and Nil treatments were lowest.  While the grain yield in this bay was very low, the response is consistent with the data from both NDVI and biomass. 

Only treatments with phosphorus removed from fertilizer resulted in grain yield losses consistent with previous seasons. Some visual responses were observed for other nutrients, but nothing resulted in a yield gain or loss.

Delayed sowing resulted in 25% of grain yield loss in PBA Jumbo2 and 15% loss in PBA Hurricane compared to sowing early. TOS did not influence grain yield of other varieties. Grain yields were not affected by sowing density when sown early as the dry finish to the season resulted in biomass loss in denser plots. However, lower plant densities resulted in grain yield losses in delayed sowing.

Average yield of autumn sown lentils were 1.7 t/ha in 2019 with a range from 1.0 to 2.1 t/ha between cultivars. PBA Hallmark XT, PBA Bolt, Jumbo2 and CIPAL1701 had the highest yields of the eight varieties tested (Table 2).

Average yield of autumn sown lentils were 1.7 t/ha in 2019 with a range from 1.0 to 2.1 t/ha between cultivars. PBA Hallmark XT, PBA Bolt, Jumbo2 and CIPAL1701 had the highest yields of the eight varieties tested (Table 2).

• Lentils are not traditionally grown in the Victorian HRZ. Mid-season vigour was good and suggested a promising fit for lentils in the region, but late rain in November caused lodging and significantly reduced yields, highlighting the importance of sowing into standing residue.
• Sowing on May 14 increased crop biomass compared to sowing on May 31, but this did not translate into greater grain yields.

•  Lentils are not traditionally grown in the Victorian HRZ. Growth vigour was good and suggested a promising fit for lentils in the region, but unfavourable weather during reproductive stages, and late rain in November that caused lodging reduced grain yields.
• Large numbers of pods were dropped before harvest, with more than twice the number of pods dropped in plots sown on May 17 compared to June 6.  
   

• Grain yields of varieties and breeding lines were very low due to dry seasonal conditions. Hence, results of these trials should be interpreted with caution.
• Several frosts during the flowering and podding phase significantly impacted grain yields, particularly the earlier sown treatments which were further advanced in the reproductive phase and unable to recover. As a result, the trends observed in 2018 are completely opposite to long term trial results in low rainfall environment for lentil, which generally indicate significant benefits from earlier sowing.
• The mid/late maturing breeding lines CIPAL1504 and CIPAL1522 have consistently performed well in the Mallee across multiple seasons, highlighting the yield potential of advanced lines coming through the breeding program.

When sowing was delayed until rains in May (Wet) overall grain yields in varieties decreased by 20 – 80% in lentil, 40 – 80% in chickpea and 30 – 60% in field pea compared to Early and Dry sowing in April.

• Grain yields of varieties and breeding lines were very low due to dry seasonal conditions and extreme temperature events (heat and frost) during the growing season. Hence, results of this trial should be interpreted with caution. Long-term data and additional information should be considered when making varietal or agronomic decisions.
• Several frosts during the flowering and podding phase significantly impacted grain yields, particularly the earlier sown treatments which were further advanced in the reproductive phase and unable to recover. As a result, the trends observed in 2018 are completely opposite to long term trial results for lentil, which generally indicate significant benefits from earlier sowing.
• The mid/late maturing lines CIPAL1504 and CIPAL1522 have consistently performed well across multiple seasons, highlighting the yield potential of advanced lines coming through the breeding program. 

Grain yields in the Mallee were very low (< 1 t/ha) but results clearly indicated the adaptability of PBA Bolt which was the highest yielding variety in 2019 at Ouyen. Sowing early achieved higher yields, but only marginally better than mid-May.
Good grain yields (>1.5 t/ha) were achieved in the Wimmera, with a mid-May being the optimum. A new breeding line, CIPAL 1504 had the highest yields overall and offers potential to maximise yields when sown early. PBA Jumbo2 again was very high yielding, equivalent to the new ‘imi’ tolerant variety PBA Hallmark XT.
In these trials, consistent with previous work there is no clear link between flowering and maturity time and grain yield, with an early line like HSI2001 performing well alongside a mid/late flowering line, CIPAL1504.

None of the lentil varieties developed ascochyta blight due to the dry conditions during the season. Only few isolated lesions were developed in PBA Hurricane XT.

Good October rains and mild weather in spring ensured relatively high yields, especially in the Mallee, and good whole seed quality. However, there were several cases of poor quality seed from late infection by ascochyta blight. Growers are urged to treat seed for sowing in 2006 with a fungicide seed dressing and remain vigilant in controlling this disease.

Ascochyta blight and botrytis grey mould resistant red lentil variety Nipper and the green lentil. Boomer are now available for farmers (AWB Seeds). Good lentil management is beneficial in most years, irrespective of rainfall.

• The AB isolate caused a moderately susceptible disease reaction in unprotected (Nil) plots on varieties which are currently rated as being MR (PBA Blitz) and MR/MS (Nipper, Nugget and PBA Greenfield) which indicates a change in virulence of the AB isolate resulting in a loss of foliar AB resistance in these varieties.
• Research conducted by SARDI Pathology group and reported elsewhere (Pulse Diseases 2017, GRDC Updates 2017 proceedings) has shown that the AB isolate tested in the current trial, caused susceptible reactions in PBA Hurricane XT and disease reactions in PBA Ace and PBA Bolt when tested under controlled environmental conditions. This results were however not confirmed under field conditions in the current trial.
• The current results suggest that there is a change of virulence in the AB pathogen which may be causing a loss in foliar resistance on varieties currently rated as being relatively resistant. The AB isolate tested was collected from the high intensity lentil producing area in the Yorke Peninsula region in SA.
• Protection of the plant foliage through application of fortnightly Chlorothalonil significantly increased yield in the most susceptible variety, PBA Flash (76 %) over unprotected (Nil) plots.
• Grain yields were also improved in varieties that had moderate disease reactions together with those varieties that showed no disease symptoms, indicating the importance of fungicide sprays in not only controlling disease but also enhancing plant growth.
• All commercial lentil varieties should be managed as having potential for risk from foliar AB especially under favourable conditions that promote disease. Varieties will need close monitoring for disease during the growing season and strategic fungicide sprays will be required in all varieties even in the absence of disease symptoms particularly in varieties rated as having foliar resistance to AB pathogen.

Seeding rate of lentils in the Mallee could be lowered from 120 to 80 plants/m2, particularly with new disease resistant varieties sown early. Lentils were profitable in the mallee, producing up to $653/ha at Kulwin and $433/ha at Curyo.

• PBA Ace and PBA Jumbo2 performed very well across a range of agronomic characters, compared to the other varieties tested in this experiment.
• Sowing time was a critical management factor in the 2015 season.
• Sow lentil early to late May in the eastern cropping region of southern NSW.
• Target establishment densities of 120 plants m2 in this environment.

• Newly released varieties, PBA Ace and PBA Bolt, had the highest grain yields at Curyo (southern Mallee, Vic.) in 2012.
• Yields exceeded 2.5t/ha for both varieties when sown early, despite the very dry season. All varieties had higher grain yields when sown early (May 4) compared with later dates (June 5 and June 22).
• Varietal differences were evident in the relative decline in grain yield as sowing dates were delayed.
• Differences in tolerance to a range of group B herbicides were observed in several breeding lines. Pulse Breeding Australia will use this information to define future breeding directions for herbicide tolerant varieties, following PBA Herald XT.

Managing brome grass populations in wheat is a challenge facing many growers, however chemical and variety control options have improved over the years with the introduction of Clearfield wheat technology and now metribuzin tolerant wheats.

Management practices influence microbial activity by altering carbon availability and conditions reflecting rapid changes in the biological function of the soil, although the reserach is still in the preliminary stages this has been highlighted where increased microbial biomass and nutrient availability was associated with plots receiving high amounts of organic matter.

• Average yield increase of 0.3 t/ha or 12% where chaff was added. (Although in some seasons addition of chaff resulted in no yield benefit or a yield decline.)
• Microbial population has doubled where chaff was added.
• 650 kg/ha more nitrogen where chaff was added.
• Soil now holds 8 t/ha more organic carbon where chaff was added.

• Organic matter treatments showed greater early vigour, but this was not reflected in yield due to the dry season.

 

• There has been a drop in surfact pH for all the lime treatments.
• It is anticipated that further works will be carried out at this site.

Light grazing was shown to leave most of the crop residue horizontal and detached but there were similar amounts of residue to the ungrazed plots. Grazing over summer and winter reduced crop yield at one site and further work on this may be required.

• There were no significant differences between cultivation treatments at the Martin site.  There was a significant effect from lime applied, as expected. There is an interesting trend of increasing pH over the 3 years in the limed treatments, suggesting that the lime applied in 2013 is still acting to reduce soil acidity after three years. 
• There were no significant differences between cultivation treatments at any depth in either year at the Brown site. 
• There were no significant differences between cultivation treatments at any depth at the McAlpine site. 

• Significant lime response in third year after application
   
• Sub soil acidity can be addressed with lime incorporation but may not be most cost-effective treatment – requires further seasons of testing

• Surface applied lime can take many years to ameliorate subsoil acidity.
• Ongoing acidification has resulted in lower subsoil pH’s and the depth of the acidic layer is increasing.
• This has generated renewed interest in one-off lime incorporation using strategic tillage to reduce the time required to ameliorate the subsoil acidity and to get a more rapid return on investment from applying lime.
• Effective amelioration of subsoil acidity requires the creation of continuous pathways of pH corrected soil from the soil surface through the acidic subsoil layer.

It is critically important to sample soil pH to depth prior to investing large sums in lime application and incorporation. Typically it has been found that on sandplain soils the yield benefit of one-off deep cultivation or deep ripping is large enough to cover the cost of the tillage in the first year so the subsequent productivity benefits associated with more rapidly fixing the soil pH by incorporating lime can be realised sooner. Other factors such as water repellence, herbicide resistant weeds, subsoil compaction, wind erosion risk and soil type will impact on the choice of incorporation implement used.

• No significant differences were obtained between any of the lime rates with the only differences being between varieties.
• This is the second year that this result has occurred at the site and it needs to be put into context.
• The soil pH is very low (4.7 in H20), but the aluminium levels are extremely low and this would probably have some bearing on the result.
• Further work needs to be done. 

• These initial results indicate that to change soil pH at depth ideally requires some form of incorporation and/or higher application rates
• In the second year of monitoring, there was a significant increase in yield with the high rates of lime application (either incorporated or surface application)

There was a 0.6 t/ha response to fertiliser, but no response to molybdenum (Mo) or lime. Plant tissue analysis showed that sodium molybdate (Na2MoO4) was effective applied as a seed dressing or banded with Flexi-N. The high Mo levels in these treatments indicate that application rates were much higher than needed. Grain analysis results confirmed that Mo was not limiting. Grain protein was about 9.0%, hectolitre weights 80 kg/hl, and screenings 3% in all treatments.

• The application of lime or dolomite increased soil pH significantly and increased exchangeable Ca and Mg, while the application of gypsum increased soil conductivity levels.
• The nodulation of lupins sown on the gypsum plots was impaired probably because of the high salt levels in the soil.
• Following a drier than average season, lupin yields were lowest where gypsum had been applied in the previous year but benefited from the application of lime or dolomite.

Lime or dolomite were both effective tools for increasing pH in this trial.

The use of gypsum in combination with either lime or dolomite gave the highest yields for both wheat and barley.

 

• Select a few key paddocks and soil test them every few years to monitor soil pH levels.
• Make lime a part of your annual farm budget.
• Lime will increase pasture growth and feed quality.

• A full liquid system including N, P, Trace elements and fungicides provided the greatest yield response and was significantly better than district practice granular treatments.
• Liquid N gave the most significant response of all liquid treatments in terms of mid-season biomass and yield.
• Full liquid and liquid N treatments provided similar returns to that of traditional treatments and greater returns than liquid P only.

• pH soil trials take time to show true results.

• The effect of the liquid lime was less that the 3.5 t/ha lime sand when applied at 113 L/ha.
• In this case the manufacturer’s recommendations were possibly insufficient to guarantee a result.

• The effect of the liquid lime was less than the 3.5 t/ha lime sand when applied at 113 L/ha.
• In this case the manufacturer’s recommendations were possibly insufficient to guarantee a result.

In all three trials there was no statistically significant yield response to additional post-emergent liquid nitrogen. Given the below average rainfall experienced in the district in this season, this result is probably not unexpected. 

For further comments please see the attached trial report.

• Granular and liquid fertilisers were equally effective in terms of grain yield for wheat. ƒ
• The addition of zinc and copper had no effect on crop performance.
• Liquid P produced more dry matter production at the 5-leaf stage than granular P. ƒ
• More P was taken up by the crop as a liquid rather than as a granular.

• Over two years of trial work, there has been no economic advantage for the use of fluids.
• The site was yield responsive to high rates of liquid P.
• At rates typical of farmer practice there was no difference between granular and fluid.

• Changes in soil chemistry were found 14 years after application of high rates of lime and gypsum.
• The source of Ca (lime, gypsum or lime + gypsum) had no significant impact on the long term displacement of Na hy Ca.
• The practical message is that any source of Ca, applied at an equivalent Ca rate, gives equal long term benefits in Na displacement.
• Soil chemistry did not change below 30 cm depth.
• Plant yields have been low due to drought. In 2002 there was no significant difference in plant growth after different ameliorants. This result may not be true and may have occurred because of the low yields.

This trial was an un-replicated farmer demonstration and results should be interpreted with caution. It is suggested to refer to national variety trial data over a number of seasons to get a better picture of variety performance. 

• Modest autumn grazing of no-till crop stubbles sometimes leads to small measurable increases in surface soil bulk density.
• In two seasons, on soils in the Mallee and Wimmera, modest autumn grazing of no-till crop stubbles had no measurable effect on crop yield, quality or weed seed burial.

• For the first time sheep grazing behaviour in a Mallee paddock was monitored and mapped using GPS tracking collars.
• Sheep grazed the entire stubble paddock as they sought out spilt grain during the summer fallow, but they preferred to graze on sandy soil types first.
• While grazing a vetch pasture in the same paddock, livestock spent 50% of the time grazing only 25% of the paddock and 25% of the paddock was not utilised. (iv) At least $4000 profit was foregone from the paddock through the under-utilisation of the vetch pasture.
• Within-paddock fencing technology in large Mallee paddocks has the potential to capture this potential profit by improving feed utilisation.

• For the first time sheep grazing behaviour in a Mallee paddock was monitored and mapped using GPS tracking collars.
• Sheep grazed the entire stubble paddock as they sought out spilt grain during the summer fallow, but they preferred to graze on sandy soil types first.
• While grazing a vetch pasture in the same paddock, livestock spent 50% of the time grazing only 25% of the paddock and 25% of the paddock was not utilised.

Light to moderate grazing of sheep on no-till stubbles in autumn is unlikely to have detrimental impacts on crop growth in the following season.