• Chickpeas are not traditionally grown in the Victorian HRZ. Plots were not harvestable due to unfavourable weather during reproductive stages at this exposed site.
• Many pods were white and did not produce grain, as a result of cold conditions and frost.  
   

• Although it was a dry year, the results highlighted significantly less ascochyta blight infection in Genesis 090, which is rated MS as compared to PBA Striker which is rated S.
• There was also significantly higher infection in the variety PBA Striker when Bixafen + Prothioconazole or Tebuconazole + Azoxystrobin were used after the first signs of infection compared to when they were used as a preventative spray. 

• Both varieties had similar grain yields (Genesis 090: 0.28 t/ha, PBA Striker: 0.26 t/ha) and no significantly different effect of fungicide treatment (see Table 3 in attached trial report summary). There was no evidence of an interaction between the fungicide and the variety.

• Despite a dry year with low grain yields, ascochyta blight was observed in all varieties, with stem breakages visible.
• However, there was significant variation between varieties and some newer breeding lines including CICA1454 ranked equal or better than Genesis 090 (see Table 2 in attached report).  
• Although there were significant differences between varieties with ascochyta blight infection, this did not equate to differences in grain yield.
• There was only a significant difference between fungicide treatments (see Table 3 in attached report). 

• Despite a dry year with low grain yields, ascochyta blight was observed in all varieties, with stem breakages visible. There was a significant interaction between variety and fungicide treatment. This showed some newer breeding lines including CICA1352, CICA1454, CICA1156 ranked equal or better than Almaz and Genesis 090 (see Table 2 in attached Trial report).
• Grain yields varied significantly, with a significant variety and treatment affect observed. Grain yield losses up to 36% were observed in the untreated (nil) plots (see Table 3 in attached Trial report). This also highlighted CICA1156, CICA1552, ‘C1’, and CICA1652 which ranked higher for yield than the highest named variety Almaz. In a pairwise analysis only CICA1652 was significantly higher than Almaz. 

• Significantly more ascochyta blight infection and lower grain yields were observed in PBA Striker (rated S) than Genesis090 (MS). Captan and Propiconazole treatments were also less effective in controlling ascochyta blight than the tebuconazole + Azoxystrobin and Bixafen + Prothioconazole, but both the Captan and Propiconazole treatments had less disease than the untreated plots. This did not equate to significantly different grain yields due to the dry season with low grain yields overall. 

• The treatments resulted in highly significant differences in nodulation assessments.  The best treatments included peat applied to the seed or Tagteam or Nodulator granules applied in the seed furrow.  No inoculation or applying the product Alosca in furrow produced very few nodules.  
• Grain yield was very low (<150 kg/ha) due to the dry season and poor establishment, therefore data has not been reported. 

• There is a benefit in inoculating chickpeas where there are limited rhizobia present in the soil. Granular inoculants present an opportunity to potentially improve nodulation under dry sowing conditions and assist with sowing logistics, with no reduction in nodulation or grain yield. It is important to understand how your seeding system may impact on efficacy of inoculants, including liquid placement, seed dressings and seed box. 

• Treatments which included Nodulaid peat and Nodulator or TagTeam granular at twice the recommended rate produced the greater number and highest weight of nodules.  Nodulator and TagTeam granular applied at recommended rates and the EasyRhiz liquid treatment produced similar outcomes for both variables.  The application of Alosca at both label and twice label rate produced very few nodules and therefore total nodule weight was the lowest of all commercial products evaluated.  There were no nodules produced in the nil treatments which confirms there was not a background population of chickpea rhizobia in the soil and highlights the importance of inoculating pulses such as chickpea.
• For further results and interpretation see attached trial report summary.

• Grain yield was very low and variable in 2018 due to low soil pH at the site and water logging in part of the trial. The removal of phosphorus from the fertiliser significantly reduced plant biomass and showed a trend towards reduced grain yield. However, results should be treated with caution due to high variability in the trial.   

• Grain yields were generally low in 2018 due to dry seasonal conditions and frost events during the vegetative and reproductive stages. There was no yield response to the soil nutrition treatments on both soil types. All the treatments except all nutrient minus phosphorus resulted in significantly higher biomass than the nil on the 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 that on the heavier soil types (bay 1- 4), the All – trace elements treatment had the highest growth and this was significant in bays 1,3 and 4.  On the sander soils in bays 6 to 10 there appeared to be a response to the addition of nitrogen with the All – N and Nil treatments having the lowest NDVI values.
• Biomass data was collected from bays 3, 5 and 9. There was a response to nutrients in bay 3 with the all nutrients treatment having the highest biomass and no nutrients treatment the lowest.  The All-N treatment also had low biomass in bay 1.  There were no significant differences for biomass in the sandier soil types however productivity from these bays was very low.   

• Autumn-sown chickpea had grain yields of up to 1.3t/ha c.f. with 0.2t/ha for spring sowing. Neelam was the highest yielding variety autumn sown.  

•  In contrast to long term trial results, the chickpea varieties and breeding lines did not have yield benefits from earlier sowing in 2018.  Several frost events during the flowering and podding phase caused significant flower and pod abortion, particularly in the earlier sown treatments which were further advanced in the reproductive phase. However, it is worth noting that grain yields were impacted by dry seasonal conditions and mice damage earlier in the season and hence, results should be interpreted with caution.
• All varieties and breeding lines had significant ascochyta blight (AB) infection in the early sown and irrigated treatment. Among the varieties and breeding lines, CICA1454 and CICA1352 showed significantly less AB symptoms than others, while PBA Striker and ‘C2’ had the most severe symptoms.  

• In contrast to long term trial results, the chickpea varieties and breeding lines did not have yield benefit from earlier sowing in 2018. Several frost events during flowering and podding caused significant flower and pod abortion, particularly in the earlier sown treatments which were further advanced in the reproductive phase. Hence, growers should consider long-term data and additional information when making varietal or agronomic decisions. Early sowing and irrigating with 20 mm of water increased establishment, early growth and flowering, and risk of frost damage. The performance of varieties and breeding lines were similar except ‘C1’and ‘C2’ which had lower biomass and grain yield than others.

•  Due to extremely dry seasonal conditions and temperature events, grain yields were very low in 2018. The commercial varieties Kaniva, Genesis090, PBA Striker and Sonali yielded better than most breeding lines. Among the breeding lines, ‘CT1’ and ‘CT2’ had grain yields equivalent to Genesis090 and PBA Striker. 
   

• Sowing early (April 26) produced the highest grain yields in 2018.
• In a drier than average year there was a yield benefit from very high sowing rates on narrow row spacings, with significant gains from 21 to 31 plants/m2, and from 31 to 45 plants/m2.
• 2018 was a low disease year and there was no disease penalty from higher sowing rates. Yield benefits from higher plant densities should be weighed against higher disease risks in wetter years. 

• There was low disease pressure in 2018 and there was no difference in grain yield between the nil control and various fungicide programs. 

• There was low disease pressure in 2018 and there was no difference in grain yield between the nil control and the fungicide programs.  
   

• Across four years of trials, PBA Samira and PBA Zahra appear to have consistently shown higher grain yields than older varieties in the Victorian HRZ.
• PBA Bendoc, a new faba bean variety with Group B imidazoline herbicide tolerance, has been released. It was bred from Nura and PBA Samira, has similar flowering time and maturity to these varieties and has yielded similarly to PBA Samira in 2015-2018.
• The breeding line AF11023 is a standout of the new breeding lines for the Victorian HRZ. It has yielded equal to or greater than PBA Samira and PBA Zahra and has a higher level of resistance to chocolate spot than either variety. 

• Plant densities greater than 25 pl/m2 produced the highest grain yields in 2018.
• PBA Samira and PBA Zahra performed equally well, with average grain yield of 3.2 t/ha and 3.1 t/ha, respectively.
• 2018 was a low disease year and there was no disease penalty from higher sowing rates. Yield benefits from higher plant densities should be weighed against higher disease risks in wetter years. 

• Despite very low disease pressure in 2018, there was a significant and profitable grain yield increase of between 40 and 55% with the use of fungicide strategies. 

• Disease was not an issue in 2018 due to very dry seasonal conditions. There was no difference in grain yield between the disease management strategies, and the varieties and breeding lines.  

• AF11023 and AF12025 had significantly higher grain yield than other breeding lines, and equivalent grain yield to varieties such as PBA Samira, PBA Farah, PBA Marne and PBA Bendoc.
• This highlights the potential for reliable and profitable faba bean production in low rainfall environments.
• In addition to the rotational benefit of faba bean to the farming system, the high yielding varieties and breeding lines had an estimated net return of $24-89/ha.
• However, it is worth noting that the price of faba bean at harvest was exceptionally high in 2018/19, reaching more than $1100/t. 

•  Group B herbicide application timing significantly influenced herbicide damage of faba bean varieties. Herbicide damage scores generally increased with delaying herbicide application timing from PSPE to 4 node, 8 node and flowering stages. Although the level of damage in PBA Bendoc was significantly less than PBA Samira, both varieties showed the highest sensitivity to in-crop application of sulfonylurea herbicides (see Table 1 in attached trial report summary). Grain yield results are not presented due to soil variability and poor root nodulation caused by soil acidity. 

• Group B herbicide application timing significantly influenced herbicide damage, biomass and grain yield loss of faba bean varieties. Herbicide damage and subsequent yield losses were more severe in the conventional variety PBA Samira than in the group B tolerant variety PBA Bendoc, and generally increased with delaying herbicide application timing from PSPE to 4 node, 8 node and flowering stages. PBA Samira incurred significant yield loss from all the herbicide treatments except PSPE and in crop application of ‘Imi2’, and application of ‘Imi1’ up to 8 node stages. In contrast, PBA Bendoc showed improved tolerance and did not have significant yield loss from the herbicide treatments except in-crop application of ‘SU1’ and ‘SU2’ at 8 node and flowering stages. The results should be treated with caution due to the confounding effect of dry seasonal conditions and repeated frost events. 
   

• Grain yields were low and variable in 2018 due to low soil pH at the site, and waterlogging that occurred during winter. The removal of molybdenum from the fertiliser significantly reduced plant vigor and grain yield. However, due to the high soil variability results should be treated with caution. 
   

• There was no grain yield response to the phosphorus fertilizer rates. These results may be due to very dry growing season conditions, which might have reduced movement and uptake of the applied nutrient by the crop. Hence, results should be interpreted with caution. Biomass yield however showed a significant increase from application of 20 kg/ha and higher rates of P2O5. 

• There was low disease pressure in 2018 and no differences in grain yield between the untreated and fungicide programs.  

• There was no grain yield response to supplementing a foliar application of micronutrients as a foliar spray to field peas.  
• 2018 was a low disease pressure year and there was no grain yield response to fungicide applications.  

•  Field peas sown on May 3 had grain yields of 2.6 to 3.4 t/ha. PBA Butler and the blue field pea breeding line OZB1308 were highest yielding.  
    

• Grain yield was highest sown earlier; 1.2t/ha May 17 c.f. 0.7 t/ha June 6.  
   

• Well below average growing season rainfall did not provide favourable conditions for the development of blackspot, therefore there were no significant differences in grain yield between any treatments.  The mean yield across all varieties was 0.64 t/ha. 

• There were no significant differences in grain yield between treatments.  The mean yield across all varieties was 0.79 t/ha. 

• The inoculation treatments did not significantly affect the number of nodules per plant despite the paddock having no history of chickpea production.  However, field pea production was influenced by the treatments.

• 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. 

• 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.  

• 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.

• 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. 

•  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. 
   

• ‘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. 

• 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. 

• 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.