Desi chickpea varieties CBA Captain, Neelam and PBA Striker, and Kabuli chickpea variety Genesis 079 showed good tolerance to a range of chickpea herbicides or herbicide mixtures at the label rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 1.1 kg/ha applied before seeding reduced seed yield of PBA Striker (9%) significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Desi chickpea varieties CBA Captain, Neelam and PBA Striker showed good tolerance to a range of chickpea herbicides or herbicide mixtures at registered rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

IBS application of simazine + Balance® appears safer than PSPE application especially on PBA Striker.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 1.1 kg/ha IBS was tolerated well by all the varieties.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Lentil varieties PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark XT and PBA Jumbo2 showed good tolerance to a range of lentil herbicides or herbicide mixtures at registered rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

Unregistered use pattern of Brodal® (diflufenican) at 200 mL/ha as PSPE and of Metribuzin 750 at 100 g/ha in mixture with Brodal® 100 mL/ha as post-emergent application reduced seed yield of PBA Bolt and PBA Jumbo2 significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Lentil varieties PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark XT and PBA Jumbo2 showed good tolerance to a range of lentil herbicides or herbicide mixtures applied at the label rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

Unregistered use pattern of Brodal® (diflufenican) at 200 mL/ha as PSPE and of Metribuzin 750 at 100 g/ha in mixture with Brodal® 100 mL/ha as post-emergent application reduced seed yield of PBA Jumbo2 significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Pre-emergent simazine and propyzamide (IBS) at maximum label rates recorded low crop safety margin.

Higher uptake of simazine following good soil moisture appeared to have made lupins varieties sensitive to damage by normally safe rates of post-emergent broadleaf herbicides.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 2.3 kg/ha applied before seeding was tolerated by all the lupin varieties.

For blue lupin control/suppression, Garlon® 600 (triclopyr) at 30 mL/ha applied at 8-leaf stage and at pod setting on main stem of narrow leafed lupins caused statistically significant yield loss across all the lupin varieties. Triclopyr use on narrow leafed lupins is not registered.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

All the lupin varieties tolerated the registered pre and post-emergent herbicides at the label rates and timings with good safety margin.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 2.3 kg/ha applied before seeding was tolerated by all the lupin varieties.

For blue lupin control/suppression, Garlon® 600 (triclopyr) at 30 mL/ha applied at 8-leaf stage of narrow leafed lupins was tolerated well by all the varieties, whereas its application at pod setting on main stem of narrow leafed lupins caused statistically significant yield loss across all the lupin varieties (18-24%). Triclopyr use on narrow leafed lupins is not registered.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

As expected melaleucas had a greater survival on the site across all treatments when compared wtih the eucalypts as they are better adapted to saline conditions.

The herbicide tolerance of two new desi chickpea varieties (Howzat and ICCV96836) were compared to Tyson. All three varieties showed similar tolerance to a range of herbicides. Simazine, Balance + Simazine and Spinnaker applied Post Sowing PreEmergent had little effect on yield, whereas Broadstrike applied Early Post Emergent on stressed plants it suppressed yield. For the main weeds in the trial (prickly lettuce, milk thistle) the best weed control option was Balance + Simazine. In paddocks where musk is a problem the best control option will be Spinnaker.

In this trial Simazine, Diuron and Brodal were quite safe when used post sowing preemergent. However, Brodal has been known to cause crop damage when used at this stage. There are no safe early post emergent herbicides available in vetch for the control of broadleaf weeds. It appears that Morava is less tolerant of pre-emergent and in-crop herbicides compared to Blanchefleur or Languedoc.

• None of the Imi treatments resulted in a significant grain yield loss for the tolerant varieties, and few visual symptoms of crop damage were observed.

• PBA HeraldXT and CIPAL1101 have good tolerance to imidazolinone chemicals, but may not be as tolerant to Imi-3 as the lines CIPAL1208 and CIPAL1209.
• Conversely, PBA HeraldXT and CIPAL1101 have improved tolerance to the Sulfonylurea herbicides relative to the control and CIPAL 1208 and CIPAL 1209, indicating potential benefits where residues may be an issue in cropping systems.

• PBA HurricaneXT has improved tolerance to the sulfonylurea herbicides relative indicating significant benefits where residues may be an issue in cropping systems.

• PBA HurricaneXT has improved tolerance to the sulfonylurea herbicides relative indicating significant benefits where residues may be an issue in cropping systems.

• None of the Imi treatments resulted in a significant grain yield loss for the tolerant varieties, and few visual symptoms of crop damage were observed.

• PBA HeraldXT and CIPAL1101 have s good tolerance to imidazolinone chemicals, but may not be as tolerant to Imi-3 as the lines CIPAL1208 and CIPAL1209.
• Conversely, PBA HeraldXT and CIPAL1101 have improved tolerance to the Sulfonylurea herbicides relative to the control and CIPAL 1208 and CIPAL 1209, indicating potential benefits where residues may be an issue in cropping systems.

• The early season climatic events of waterlogging (Wanilla) and hail damage (Tooligie) were not
  conducive for small scale field trial studies, but reflected wide scale industry issues from these
  regions.
• Although this meant that some measurements could not be taken, reasonable results were
  still gained from these trials.

The best overall herbicide options for controlling the most common broadleaf weeds in the southern Mallee are Simazine alone or Simazine plus Diuron, applied post sowing pre-emergent.

The three wheat varieties all showed good tolerance to the herbicides used in this trial.

• A newly released herbicide tolerant faba bean provides increased weed management options.
• A new release lentil provides another herbicide tolerant lentil variety with different agronomic characteristics.
• However, care still needs to be taken in relation to herbicide use, paddock selection, and herbicide permits and registrations.
   

• Field Peas - There were no differences in pea yields from the applied post sowing pre-emergent herbicides. However, Tough at 2L significantly reduced pea yields in the post emergent herbicide applications.
• Lentils - Simazine alone (1.5L) or in combination with Lexone (1L + 100g respectively) significantly reduced lentil yields. The best options were post sowing pre-emergent Lexone (180g) or Diuron (Diurex at 1.1 kg) or post emergent Broadstrike (25g, no wetter) or Brodal at 150ml.
• Chickpeas - the chickpea yields in the control plots were significantly reduced because of weed competition. The best options were post sowing pre-emergent Simazine and Atradex (1L + 275g respectively) or Spinnaker and Simazine (125ml + 0.75L respectively).
• Lupins - there were no significant differences found in lupin yields between the different herbicides applied.

Rainbow vs Karoo canola - Karoo canola is tolerant to the triazines Simazine and Atrizine; however, it also appears that Karoo has a higher degree of tolerance to Lexone.

• In-crop applications of some broadleaf and grass herbicides can reduce nodulation and nitrogen fixation of peas.
• Timing of herbicide application and seasonal conditions play an important role in herbicide-legume interactions. 
• Late applications of some broadleaf and grass herbicides can reduce crop yields.

• Group B herbicides can exacerbate trace element deficiencies in cereal crops.

• Infrequent rainfall events, poor weed germination early and dry conditions at seeding resulted in challenging conditions for early weed control and crop establishment in 2018.
• In a high Barley grass weed situation herbicide mixes containing Sakura provided good weed control.
• Trifluralin (1.5 L/ha) IBS followed by Lexone (metribuzin) (180 g) post emergent caused significant crop damage due to rainfall events following the metribuzin application.
• Use as many options as possible to lower grass weed seed banks including two-year breaks.
• Regularly test grass populations for herbicide resistance.
• Aim to prevent 100% of seed from setting in all phases of the rotation.

• All herbicides provided effective control of brome grass and barley grass in wheat this season.
• Crop safety in wheat was achieved by all herbicide mixes in 2008.

Rotation of herbicide groups paramount for effective annual reygrass control

Rotation of herbicide groups paramount for effective annual reygrass control

Rotation of herbicide groups paramount for effective annual reygrass control

Rotation of herbicide groups paramount for effective annual reygrass control

• This trial demonstrated the attributes of true forage varieties in comparison to grain varieties.
• The practices adopted through graze and grain techniques have been invaluable to WA farmers and the products used in the trial can be adopted to increase production in mixed areas where livestock play an important part in farming systems through increased stocking rates and maintaining existing cropping rates.

• Winter Graze n Grain Hybrids provide huge yields and multiple cropping and grazing opportunities.
• Hyola® late Spring Super Hi-Biomass Hybrids show very high yield potential in the HRZ with Hyola 725RT and Hyola 600RR topping their respective herbicide technology groups.
• Triazine Hybrids show similar performances and gross returns to the best Clearfield Hybrids and much higher Gross returns $/ha than OP TT varieties especially Hyola 650TT and Hyola 559TT.
• RT® dual herbicide tolerant Hybrids show their $/ha value and as a critical new competitive IWM management tool for all canola growers.
   

There was a strong early visual response to applied phosphorus (P), with the nil P plots lacking vigour early. This was confirmed with significantly better P levels in the plant tissue up to 35 kg of P applied see There was no significant response to applied copper, zinc or sulphur. There was a significant yield response to applied P, however at the highest rate of applied P the yield began to fall. This is possibly due to the increased dry matter produced using more moisture and as a consequence of the dry finish in November losing some yield potential. In this situation the most appropriate rate of applied P for this year would have been between 15 - 20 kg P/ha.

For results please see the attached trial report.

• Phosphorus (P) responses were visual and evident from 3 leaf stage until the end of September with the 50 of P treatments being well ahead of the nil P.
• The 15 P plots also were visibly behind.
• There was a strong trend to increased yield with increasing rate of P applied, however this was not significant due to the high CV as a result of crown rot.
• The zinc and copper cote treatments performed better than most treatments and were significantly better than the nil P treatment, but not significantly better than the straight 25 P treatment as DAP. 
• Grain proteins were lower than expected with a very high CV 13%, usually grain protein CV's are about 2 - 3% showing that there was a dramatic effect of possibly crown rot in the site.
• The site had been in barley the year prior which is the best cereal host for carry over of crown rot and a dry finish makes the crown rot worse. 
   

• More salts in the high input soil which can be detrimental to some plants. 
•  Significantly higher residual phosphorus and potassium in the high input soil, along with higher levels of sulphur. 
•  A soil structural problem in both soil types indicating a need for gypsum and possibly lime. • A crop could be grown in the high input soil with minimal fertiliser input in 1999, whereas significant fertiliser input would be required for the district practice treatment. 

• The District Practice treatment generated a much higher average gross margin than the High Input treatment ($607 vs $408) over the last 4 years.
• The beds performed worse than their flat counterparts in 1999.
• The District Practice treatment has been much more efficient in producing income relative to costs, by comparison to the High Input treatment.
• Over the 4 years of the trial, the deficit May - November rainfall of 227mm would have contributed significantly to the relatively poor performance of the high input treatment compared to the district practice. 

• Similar to the previous 4 years, the district practice treatment has given better performance than the high input treatment.
• This to a degree reflects the relatively fertile site and the fact that the seasons have finished quickly in November.
• On the data gathered so far, it is not economic to increase inputs, particularly fertiliser, beyond what is regarded as good district practice.

• The net return for the high input over the district practice treatment was therefore approximately $154 per hectare. 
• For further discussion please see the attached trial report.

• National GRDC funded project ‘Optimising the yield and economic potential of high input cropping systems in the high rainfall zone’.
• Two nutrient omission trials sown in 2016 at Bool Lagoon to test canola and wheat yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Relative to the treatment supplied with non-limiting nutrients, both canola and wheat grain yields were significantly lower if either P or S were not applied at sowing (38 and 30 % depression respectively for canola, 24% and 17% for wheat).
• Relative to the treatment supplied with non-limiting nutrients, canola biomass at flowering was 36 % lower without in-crop N and 8% lower without P at sowing, while wheat biomass at flowering was 40% lower without in-crop N and 12% lower without P at sowing.

• Regional survey on the nutrient status of nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S) and the micro-nutrients Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) of soils in the HRZ of south-eastern Australia undertaken and status report prepared.
• Two omission trials sown in 2015 to test crop yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Seasonal conditions resulted in the only responses being received from nitrogen applications; the omission trials to be repeated in 2016 under different seasonal conditions.

• Regional survey on the nutrient status of nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S) and the micro-nutrients Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) of soils in the HRZ of south-eastern Australia undertaken and status report prepared.
• Two omission trials sown in 2015 to test crop yield response and the interactions between nutrients where N, P, K and S and micro-nutrients Zn and Cu are omitted.
• Seasonal conditions resulted in the only responses being received from nitrogen applications; the omission trials to be repeated in 2016 under different seasonal conditions.

• Raised beds had a greater impact on the yields of later sown crops.
• July sown canola yielded higher than May sown canola in both years on the beds.
• There appears to be an important interaction between time of sowing and raised beds. Hence recommendations developed from time of sowing experiments conducted on the flat may not be transferable to crops sown on raised beds.
• Yields did not appear to be greatly influenced by sowing rate.
• The impacts of row spacing on final yields are inconsistent. 

• Faba bean sown in 2019 significantly reduced Pratylenchus neglectus (root lesion nematode) numbers. Lentil and canola also reduced P. neglectus but to a lesser extent. This carried through to 2020 sown wheat where populations remained low.
• In 2019, faba bean was the lowest risk non-cereal option in the break crop phase to manage a late start or dry finish, although wheat outperformed all crop types in terms of yield and gross margin in 2019.
• Wheat sown in 2020 yielded more when sown after pulses (faba bean, lentil, chickpea) compared to when sown after canola or wheat,
• In a poor season or low rainfall situation the low nitrogen strategy (30N basal) offered the best returns, there was no yield response to higher rates of nitrogen applied in-season.
• Wheat after pulses had the greatest yield response to applied nitrogen.
• Protein response to nitrogen rate was higher in wheat-wheat compared to when sown after break crops.

• Wyalkatchem wheat reinforces its position in the cropping rotation.
• Magenta may be a possible alternative to Wyalkatchem.
• Advisable not to grow durum on the lateritic ironstone soils on the plateau.
• More research required into suitability of soft wheat varieties .
• Linseed tolerates and yields in wet soils, but its marketing requires further investigation.
• Avoid growing chickpeas unless you can eliminate wildlife.
• Lentils require good inoculation and well-drained soil. Target early or medium maturity varieties.

• Soil water content is being measured to 3 m depth in the CWFS core site.
• The lucerne plots in the phase farming systems contained 200 mm less soil water than the continuous cropped plots at the end of 2003.
• Lucerne had dried the soil to a similar extent after 3 years of lucerne (conventional tilled system) and 2 years of lucerne (reduced till system).
• Most of the additional moisture in the annual plots was below 1 m depth.
• Including a perennial pasture such as lucerne in a cropping system can reduce the risk of excessive deep drainage.

• Yield and quality response to nitrogen program and seeding rate was difficult to observe due to moisture stress throughout grain-fill.
• Seeding rate had no significant effect on grain yield or quality.
• Nitrogen program significantly affected N uptake and grain protein, but not yield or other quality parameters. Grain protein was very high overall.

• There is wide phenological diversity in Australian canola varieties. From a 28 March sowing date the fastest variety, Nuseed® Diamond, started flowering on 22 June and the slowest variety, Hyola® 970CL (winter type), started flowering on 28 September, a difference of 98 days from sowing to start of flowering.

• The highest yield of 4.7 t/ha came from sowing fast (e.g. Nuseed® Diamond) and mid (e.g. Pioneer® 45Y25 (RR)) spring phenology types in mid-April to early May. Sowing the fast variety early (Nuseed® Diamond) resulted in significant frost damage, reducing yield and quality, as it started flowering in June.

• The winter varieties and the slow spring varieties had stable yield across sowing dates, but generally yielded closer to 4 t/ha.

• Open-pollinated (OP), triazine tolerant (TT) varieties yielded within 5% of hybrid non-TT varieties (with similar phenology).
 

• Hindmarsh, Skipper and Fathom all yielded consistently better than other varieties across all the trial sites.
• Commander performed the best out of the malt varieties and achieved Malt more often.
• Hindmarsh dominated the yields and is still worth selecting over any other variety, even in the Wimmera.
• At current Malt premiums, growing Hindmarsh is a good alternative to most malt varieties.

• 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).