• This site was unresponsive to nutrient treatments in 2017
• Treatments were adjusted to reflect grower standard practice due to drier than normal conditions at the beginning of winter.

 

• Wheat yields were low, around 1 t/ha, as a result of low growing season rainfall in 2017.
• Treatments were adjusted to reflect standard grower practice due to drier than normal conditions at the beginning of winter.
• This site was unresponsive to nutrition treatments in 2017.

 

The 2007 growing season was extremely dry and proved extremely difficult for trials.

Table 1 shows there was no benefit in applying black urea at 75kg/ha or white urea at 75 or 100kg/ha over the control.

• Highly winter active lucerne varieties had better establishment than the winter active or semi dormant varieties.
• Many of the breeder's lines showed better establishment than the commercial cultivars.

• Cost of treatments repaid in the first year.
• Grizzly/Control returned the best net margin in the first year.

• Tedera geminated well on gutless sand in Watheroo
• It is expected that the first tedera cultivars will be released to a commercial partner in 2015.
• Tedera can persist with an average rainfall of 150mm and up to 5 months in drought.

 

• In a low yielding season canola yield reached a plateau at between 20 and 40 plants/m².
• Hybrid canola reached a plateau at lower density than open-pollinated canola.
• Canola yield held up at high density well, even though plants became severely stressed in early winter and early spring.
• Hybrid canola had a significant yield advantage over open-pollinated (OP) canola in a below average season.

• In a low yielding season canola yield reached a plateau at between 20 and 40 plants/m².
• Hybrid canola reached the plateau at lower density than open-pollinated canola.
• Optimum density ranged from 10 plants/m² for hybrid canola to over 65 plants/m² for open-pollinated (OP) Triazine tolerant (TT) canola.
• Hybrid canola had a significant yield advantage over open-pollinated canola in a below average season.

• The highest yielding varieties were Trigold, Tribune, Tornado TT, ATR-Beacon and ATR-Stubby. The choice between these varieties needs to take into account their tolerance to blackleg and their concentrations.

• Tanami was the highest yielding variety in this trial although not significantly higher than all other varieties.
• Some varieties had poor establishment in the second replicate which resulted in high variability between replicates.
• Please interpret results of farmer demonstrations carefully and utilise numerous sources of data to make final decisions regarding varieties.

• Sturt was the higher yielding of the two varieties. 
• Differences in flowering could be seen throughout the year, with Sturt flowering later in the season. 
• Ryegrass was a problem in the trial area and very patchy, which has potentially affected results. 

• Farmer observation: Jackpot looked more drought stressed than other varieties. 
• Quality tests were also taken to determine oil content. CBH standards require oil to be greater than 38% for CAN1 grade, CAN2 must be over 30%. Snapper and Bonanza were the only varieties to make CAN1 oil grade with Jackpot TT and ATR Stingray, Crusher TT, Fighter TT and Hyola 555TT all less than 1% lower than the required 38%. 
• This farmer demonstration 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.

• This demonstration was conducted using farmer equipment.
• Farm scale demonstrations are a valuable way to explore new varieties, products and practices, complimenting results which are produced through more scientifically rigorous, small plot trials.

• Increasing inputs from low to district practice significantly increased crop emergence for all four varieties, reflecting the increased seeding rate.
• Crop head density was higher under district input practice, reflecting the higher seeding rate and crop nutrition, and was positively correlated with seedling establishment.

• Wimmera rye grass. Score 4 (Early season). 2 (Mid season).
• Capeweed score 4 (Early season. 2 (Mid season).
• Drought score 5 (Mid season).
•  

This demonstration was conducted using farmer equipment. Farm scale demonstrations are a valuable way to explore new varieties, products or practices, complimenting results which are produced through more scientifically rigorous, small plot trials.

• Many of the new lines that have better ascochyta resistance than Sona out-yielded Sona.
• Sona is susceptible to ascochyta while WACPE 2073 and Kaniva are highly susceptible.
• Resistance of other lines are rated as moderately resistant to moderaly susceptible except for FLIP94-90C and ICCV that may be classed as moderately resistant depending on further results.

• There appeared to be little difference in yield between applying fungicide and nil fungicide. 
• The fenugreek variety Power gave the best yield results as expected as Power is the variety for seed production and Might is a fodder variety.

• Clearfield chemistry significantly increased brome grass control, at this timing compared to the SU's.
• Clearfield offers control, not suppression.
• There are many factors that must be weighed up before deciding upon the weapon of choice for brome grass control.

• In 2004 there were no measurable differences in dry matter production between Safeguard ryegrass and Itialian/Wimmera ryegrass.
• The sheep grazing assessment between Safeguard and Wimmera/Italian ryegrass we inconclusive.
• The large differences in nematode galls between Safeguard and the Wimmera areas at the Driscoll site indicates that Safeguard successfully inhibited nematode gall formation.

• An intended comparison between native ryegrass and Safeguard ryegrass became a comparison between what is probably Italian ryegrass and Safeguard ryegrass.
• It was observed that in early November sheep grazed the Italian ryegrass in preference to the Safeguard ryegrass.

Mouldboard ploughing changed the soil structure, inverting the top 30cm of soil and creating a new profile including soil pH. Interestingly there was also a pH response to deep 
ripping.

• There are no significant differences in yields between east-west crop orientation and north-south crop orientation.
• As the paddock has good weed control, the results were primarily influenced by water availability and evaporation within the crop.

Overall the results returned from this trial were confounded by low growing season rainfall and high temperatures during spring. This was reflected in the poor seed yields and significant variation across the treatment replicates reducing the confidence with which results can be drawn from the data.

Note: This trial was an unreplicated demonstration with observations/assesments based on one plot per treatment only, and as such results may not be definitive.

Average yields ranged from 2.1 to 2.5t/ha.

Soil amendments applied in 2004 did not significantly improve wheat yields in 2005.

The high fertiliser regime yielded significantly higher than the district practice regime and the low fertiliser regime.

• Overall imposing a fallow allowed for a small amount of extra water to be stored in the soil and a small amount of extra nitrogen. As a result there was a small yield gain of 0.2 t/ha in 2012. 
• In this trial the fallow treatment was planted then sprayed out in August to replicate what is known as an ‘opportunistic’ fallow compared to a ‘strategic’ fallow where no crop is planted for 18 months. 18 month fallows would have different results to the ones reported here.
• Other benefits of fallow that were not recorded in this trial but could have contributed to the yield gain are improved weed control, disease breaks and opportunity for early sowing. 

• This is the second season in which this trial has been run and the fallow has yielded higher than continuous cropping in both 2011 (0.4 t/ha) and 2012 (0.2 t/ha). Other research indicates that fallows produce yield benefits in dry seasons which are not the case in the crop in 2011, which received 231mm for the growing season. The yield difference in 2011 was therefore more likely to have been the result of extra nitrogen in the soil, or weed or disease control rather than soil water benefits, however, these were not measured.
• Farm economics need to be carefully considered before implementing a fallow, the opportunity cost of not producing a crop needs to be weighed up, and benefits of yield, extra N, weed control and disease breaks carefully factored into the decision. 
• In 2012 the yield benefit from fallow was 0.2 t/ha and likely to be due to extra nitrogen and water being present in the soil. However, this is an unreplicated demonstration and thus it is hard to tell whether yield differences are the result of fallow or random variation in the paddock. 

• A two spray or double knock strategy (including cultivation or another non-herbicide treatment) is often required for complete control in fencelines with the first application early in the season followed by another one later in the season (after the seeding and post-harvest operations are over).
• Tank mixes of residual herbicides plus a knockdown give the best control for the first application.
• A single application of a mixture of Uragan® (bromacil) and paraquat early in the season gives excellent weed control on fencelines.
• The addition of Alliance® (mixture of amitrole and paraquat) as the knockdown gives good broadleaf control.
• Glyphosate can still be used but intensive monitoring and complete seed set control is required to prevent resistance from developing.

 

Harvest results for this trial show a yield and quality improvement for areas where the TM21 was applied. One of the replications was adversely impacted by mechanical damage incurred during either spraying or fertilizer application in the later stages of crop development.

• Trifluralin use resulted in significant crop damage at this site.
• Crusader can cause early crop damage, and the label does warn about crop yellowing, but in general the crop with 'grow out' of this damage in a matter of weeks.

This trial was drought stressed, however, barley and canola do look attractive with the right choice of variety in a more typical season.

• There was no statistically significatn difference between the control and the CFF treated plots.
• The dry conditions experienced in 2007 impacted on this demonstration which indicated a need for further reserach into the effectiveness of this product in a more favourable season.

There are no significant differences in yields between the control and the CFF plots on a wodjil soil type.

• Deep placed lime can improve yields on acidic soils in a very dry season but significatn yield increases were only achieved when lime was place directly into the subsoil to depths of 31 or 51cm.
• Generally, responses from deep placed lime have been recorded in either the year of application or 1-2 years after application.

• Removal of soil compaction and subsurface acidity via deep banding lime to 30cm resulted in 18% yield increase over the untreated control.
• Despite the gross margin of the deep banded lime treatment being $35/ha less than the control in 2005, the benefits of deep ripping and lime application will still be realised in future years.

• Removal of soil compaction via deep ripping to 30cm resulted in  44% yield increase which equated to a gross margin of $38/ha more than the untreated control
• Addition of lime did not significantly improve yield in 2006, however, it is possible that a response will be gained in future years as subsurface acidity is present in the soil profile.

• Removal of soil compaction via deep ripping to 30cm resulted in  44% yield increase which equated to a gross margin of $38/ha more than the untreated control
• Addition of lime did not significantly improve yield in 2006, however, it is possible that a response will be gained in future years as subsurface acidity is present in the soil profile.

• Removal of soil compaction via deep ripping to 30cm resulted in  44% yield increase which equated to a gross margin of $38/ha more than the untreated control
• Addition of lime did not significantly improve yield in 2006, however, it is possible that a response will be gained in future years as subsurface acidity is present in the soil profile.

This work has demonstrated that it is possible to incorporate lime into seams in the soil profiel which can increase the soil pH and decrease the levels of toxic aluminium.

• Deep ripping dry sand was more effective with two passes (or shallow leading tines); less cloddy.
• Yield benefits of 410 kg/ha (18%) from deep ripping were mainly due to better head fill. Better head fill was probably due to better cooling of the crop in hot weather due to better supply of moisture.
• Extra moisture seemed to be from rain which infiltrated deeper in the ripped soil to avoid more evaporative loss than the unripped soil.
• A controlled traffic system will better protect the investment in deep ripping and extend the benefits. Deep ripping costs will also be reduced when the permanent tramlines are left unripped; seeding can also be easier with better flotation on permanent tramlines.

 

Helena is the highest yielding field pea in this trial and confirms other trial experience where the later maturity of Kaspa results in its yield potential being limited in lower rainfall environments.

• During the season, plant growth was measured using a Greenseeker to measure Normalised Vegetation Differential Index (NDVI) at early tillering (growth stage GS14), end of tillering (GS30), and at the end of stem elongation (GS40).
• This data has not been presented in this report.

Excluding the effect of the herbicide treatments, the performance of Mandelup was outstanding with its yield significantly higher than other varieties.

• Saltbush and bluebush appear best suited to the moderately to severely saline areas of the site.
• Lucerne has presisted well on the non-saline area adjacent to the saline area.
• Sub-tropical grasses didn't persist due to excessive levels of salininty and possible competition and allelopathic effects of iceplant.
• The sandy duplex soil type appears well suited to direct seeding, as there doesn't appear to be any difference in growth between saltbush seedlings and direct seeding.

• Adequate control of weeds and sufficient plant densities resulted in a clean, competitive crop at the Carnamah site. Canola remains a high earning crop that commonly forms part of a crop rotation in many farming enterprises. Robust agronomy packages and prices of the legume types demonstrated by this project, means crops such as field peas and lentils have potential suitability in the Carnamah region.
• The need to harvest chickpeas early to match the logistics of harvest of the trial compromised the results for the chickpea treatments. Use of established management practices for the harvesting of chickpeas is required to reduce the incidence of yield loss at harvest time.
• The ranking of each species on profitability should be viewed in light of the highly variable price of pulses from year to year.
   

• Adequate pre and post emergent weed control is critical for maintaining yield potential and quality of grain legume crops.
• Canola remains the most profitable non-cereal crop type demonstrated at this site in 2018.
• Where vetch grain is not harvested and sold as feed, consideration of this legume crop type for its grazing value may be advantageous for a mixed farming system.
   

• Preparation of paddocks is key to the success of legume crops such as chickpeas and field peas. Control of weeds prior to sowing is crucial and, rolling to level the seed bed post seeding improves the ability to harvest such crop types.
• Field peas and chickpeas are more susceptible to frost damage compared to canola or lupins.
• Canola remains a highly profitable non-cereal crop in Kalannie in 2018.
   

• Significant weed burdens can impact yield of legume crops considerably if not controlled well with rotation or pre and post emergent herbicide options.
• Without control of weeds, soil borne diseases can be carried from legume phase into the cereal phase. 

• The early maturity of Quilinock and Belara allowed these avrieties to avoid significant crop loss from the first gramozone croptopping treatment.
• Mandelup was affected by the first gramozone treatment but not as much as Tanul and Kalya.
• The competitive yield preformance of Mandelup was also determined.

• A clear advantage in yield was seen with 50cm rows compared to 25cm row spacing.
• It is possible that the response to wide rows at this site would be gretaer if the finish was drier than 2004.
• Consideration needs to be given to ensuring excellent weed control in the wide row system.

• The trial at Dalwallinu suffered from low soil temperature after sowing.
• Disease was not a larege problem at this trial as the level of inoculum would have been very low.
• Bird damage accounts for some of the large standard deviaitons in the Genesis 90.

• Baudin produced a statistically higher yield than Gairdner under all treatment regimes.
• The dry growing season lead to a very low disease presence in the plots.
• Under non-experimental cropping situations, foliar fungicide sprays would not have been applied in the absence of disease; however, in this trial the cost of foliar applications were not returned through improved yield.

• The 'Full' treatment was significantly better yielding than the other treatments.
• The 'Full' treatment was more profitable than other treatments for wheat.

Diuron appears to be safe when applied pre-sowing of lupins at label rates, as there was no difference in yield between the Simazine alone and Diuron alone treatments.

 

• Crop production is often a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions including nitrous oxide (N2O).
• Increasing organic carbon (C) in the surface soil increased N2O emissions from a cropped soil in the Western Australian grainbelt, however, losses were low by international standards.
• Greatest N2O emissions occurred in response to summer-autumn rainfall events.

 

• Grazing once early in the season did not affect grain yield.
• Grain yields were reduced when varieties were grazed late in the season.
• Oats and barley showed better early vigour than the wheat varieties.

• Grazing once early in the season did not affect grain yield.
• Grain yields were reduced when varieties were grazed late in the season.
• Oats and barley showed better early vigour than the wheat varieties.

• The high nitrogen rates caused the plants to burn off in early August.
• Grain fill of earlier season varieties was affected by frost damage.

• There was significant rain in early April.
• It was very wet at the time of seeding.
• Reduced emergency due to soil crusting and seeding depth.
• There was adequte rain overall but dry at emergence.

Three years after application of lime, soil pH (CaCl2) increased by 0.68–1.45 units at 0–10 cm depth, 0.20–0.47 units at 10–20 cm and 0.08–0.18 at 20–30 cm depth. • Lime reduced density of ryegrass by 42% and barley grass density by 67%, improved barley crop vigour by up to 13%, and increased barley grain yield by up to 7% in 2013. • Boxer Gold in 2013 season together with Sakura and simazine in previous seasons reduced annual ryegrass density by 96% and barley grass density by 99%, improved barley crop vigour by up to 15%, and increased barley grain yield by up to 16%. • Lime effect on efficacy of herbicides in controlling weeds was not evident.

Three years after application of lime, soil pH increased by about 1 unit at the top soil and 0.08-0.26 units at the sub-soil layers. • The effect of liming improved crop vigour in 2013 by up to 16% and this effect reduced wild radish density by 50%. This reduction was however not significant, most likely due to low radish densities and a high level of variability. • Velocity together with simazine in previous seasons reduced wild radish density by 98% in 2013 season and improved crop vigour by up to 16%. • Lime increased barley grain yield by up to 6% and Velocity by up to 8%. • Lime effect on herbicide efficacy to control radish in barley crop was not evident.

• There was a significant yield difference due to liming in the Magenta and Roe plots; however, the Buloke plots were not significantly different.
• Soil pH increased from 4.68 to 5.24.
• This iste had a massive radish seed bank after poor control in lupins in 2008.

• Sowing wheat 75mm deep compared to 40mm deep reduced crop establishment by up to 62% and wheat yield by up to 24%.
• Within the same variety small seed was much more sensitive to deep sowing than large seed.
• Corack and Mace were the least sensitive varieties to deep sowing in terms of yield.
• Growers should endeavour to use seed larger than 35 g/thousand seeds, especially if sowing into stressful conditions.

• Stubble height would appear to have a statistically significant effect on early lupin plant height.
• This effect, although trending towards a higher lower pod height on those plants, is not statistically significant in this trial.
• This trial had insufficient measurements taken to determine the mechanism that caused the plants growing in the tall residue to grow taller and have a higher first pod, and whether that led to an increase in yield.

• There was very little activity from the soil active herbicides due to conditions at the site.
• The idea that higher rates of soil active herbicide might be able to be used with the wide row system was not available to be tested due to the overall lack of response to the herbicide treatments.

• Reduced yield experienced on cultivation treatment with the drying out effect at seeding.
• More root biomass in the early part of the season with cultivation.
• With no sub soil moisture cultivation did not have the desired effects on yield.

 

• The soil treatments investigated at these sites are considered to be ineffective for broad acre farming.
• Changes to nematode composition and microbial biomass were small and did not result in plant biomass production.
• Inprovements in the effectiveness of the soil treatments may occur when applied as seed dressings.

• Simizine damage early, affected growth.
• Lupin yields averaged 0.77t/ha.
• Protein levels averaged 34.3%.

• Plant densities varied with seed rate, time of planting and variety.
• Quinilock showed the greatest response in protein level to delayed planting time.

• The levels of resistance reported are from targeted problem ryegrass paddocks and are not a true indication of the area's overall resistance status.
• There is a high level of ryegrass resistance to 'fop' chemicals in these tests.

• Bambatsi Panic and Rhodes grass have good drought tolerance but maintaining a high plant density has proved difficult.
• Due to low rainfall seasons, more drought tolerant species are required on the site hence planting the saltbush alleys.
• Salinity varies over the site and therefore so does the ground cover, species composition and FOO.
• Roly-poly control can be achieved by spraying with 2,4-D Ester ad Garlon and rolling.