• In 2020 lentils produced similar biomass from all times of sowing.
• Seed yields were highest from June sowing.

 

• PBA Highland XT produced higher yields than the standard variety PBA Bolt
• PBA Highland XT appeared to have better herbicide tolerance than PBA Bolt
• Deeper sowing and rolling immediately after sowing increased crop safety and yields
• Applying soil active herbicides prior to sowing increased crop safety

• Chickpea seed yield responded to 25-50 kg N/ha applied 18 weeks after sowing at Ridely in 2020
• Yield responses were not large enough to pay for the cost on applied nitrogen.
• Kabuli variety Gen090 produced similar yields to desi variety CBA Captain

• Chickpea seed yield responded to 50 kg N/ha applied 8 weeks after sowing at Grass Patch in 2020
• Higher rates did not increase yields when applied at 8 weeks after sowing or in a split application at 8 and 12 weeks after sowing.
• Within plot variation resulted in no significant difference in the gross margin.

• Applying 100 kg N/ha 8 weeks after sowing increased yield, but did not lead to increased gross margins
• Trial site was flooded in August – treat results with caution

• Applying nitrogen to lentil had no positive effect in 2020

There was no correlation between the presence of chaff and the presence of a mouse holes, nor was there a correlation with HWSC system and the presence of mice.

Of the twenty paddocks sampled for mice, only 5 paddocks had active mouse holes.  Four paddocks  were located near Minginew and had at most two active holes along 4 transects. These are considered to have low levels of mice. One paddock in Esperance had mouse numbers that were considered high, at this site there were an estimated 488 mouse holes per hectare. 

 

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.

• Four field trials in 2018 assessed the influence of plant density, nitrogen timing and grazing on yield and quality of three long maturing wheat varieties sown early April in Western Australia.
• Based on yield, Forrest and Longsword wheat varieties are more suitable for the early sowing opportunities in April than growing a mid winter (ie EGA Wedgetail) earlier.
• If there are establishment issues sowing in early April, there is generally no penalty if establishment is down to 50 plants/m². Some varietal specific responses were observed although these responses were also driven by nitrogen timing.
• For early April sown crops, delaying nitrogen application until stem elongation improved yields at Esperance, Katanning and Yuna.
• Grazing did reduce yields by up to 0.9t/ha depending on environment and variety choice, but could be achieved with minimal yield loss for some varieties and environments.

• Overall yield from May 17 sowing was impressive for this AgZone, at 1.6 t/ha.
• Delayed sowing by 34 days, to June 20, led to 1042 kg/ha less yield – 30 kg/ha/day.
• Short season hybrids could extend the safe sowing window later in this environment.
• Difficulty establishing canola in hot conditions could limit how far the sowing window can be brought forward.
• To take advantage of early autumn rains in this environment larger seeded broadleaf species that can be sown deeper should be tested.

• Yield were impressive; 1.9t/ha from April 26 and 2.2t/ha from May 17.
• Mid-season maturity varieties showed the greatest plasticity in plant development across sowing dates and may be a good option over a wide sowing/establishment period.
• Short season hybrids may enable the sowing window to be extended later with reduced risk.
• Long season varieties yielded poorly from these sowing dates.

• Yields were relatively stable across sowing times ranging from 2.2 to 3.1 t/ha.
• Early and mid-season hybrid varieties out-yielded the open pollinated varieties of the same season length.
• These hybrids combine early flowering, high biomass and in some cases a long flowering period.
• In general varieties had substantial plasticity and growers may be able to use a few varieties across a wide range of emergence dates; this is important if pre-ordering hybrid seed and/or dry sowing.

• Canola yield increased up to 17% when plants were spaced evenly apart compared to the spacing observed in commercial paddocks.
• Lupin yield improved up to 7% when plants were spaced evenly apart, but this was not statistically significant.
• Moving towards improved plant spacing without achieving perfect spacing is likely to improve yield.

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

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

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

• One or two well timed fungicide applications increased yield 10% and full control a further 15%.
• Newer fungicides were more effective at supressing ascochyta but this did not translate to increased yield.
• Further testing of new fungicides is required in more locations and seasons.

• One or two well timed fungicide applications increased yield 10% and full control a further 15%.
• Newer fungicides were more effective at supressing ascochyta but this did not translate to increased yield.
• Further testing of new fungicides is required in more locations and seasons.

 Kowari and Williams yielded similarly, and out-yielded newly accredited variety Bilby  (breeding line 06204-16) (by 0.15 t/ha) and Carrolup (by 0.25 t/ha).

Bilby was the most sensitivity to increasing nitrogen, with N increasing from 0 to 60kg N/ha significantly reducing Bilby’s hectolitre weight.

 New variety Bilby  (breeding line 06204-16) out-yielded Carrolup (by 0.7 t/ha), but did not out-yield Williams , and had lower grain quality than Carrolup in grain quality. 

Similar to 2017, a mild finish to the growing season meant all varieties met Oat1 quality specifications, and agronomy had a reduced impact on grain quality.

 New variety Bilby  (breeding line 06204-16) out-yielded Carrolup (by 0.3 t/ha), but did not out-yield Williams, and was between Williams and Carrolup in grain quality. 

Similar to 2017, a mild finish to the growing season meant all varieties met Oat1 quality specifications, and reduced the response of varieties to changes in plant density and applied nitrogen.

 

• At Cunderdin in 2018 hybrid TT’s sown at the same target density produced similar yields to OP TT.
• With low seed costs, ATR Bonito retained for 2, 3 or 4 years produced equal highest gross margins of over $600/ha - Comparable to the high yielding hybrid Nuseed HyTTech Trophy.
• Retaining ATR Bonito seed ‘on-farm’ for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years produced similar yields, oil and higher gross margins than purchasing new OP seed.
• At our three sites in 2018, using ATR Bonito seed stored for 4 years produced plants lacking in vigour and overall poorer performance than growing out and retaining seed each year or purchasing new commercial seed.

• At Grass Patch in 2018 hybrid TT’s produced higher yields and gross margins than most of the OP TT canola variety ATR Bonito treatments.
• Retaining ATR Bonito seed ‘on-farm’ for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years produced similar yields, oil and higher gross margins than purchasing new OP seed.
• Using ATR Bonito seed stored for 4 years produced plants lacking in vigour and overall poorer performance than growing out and retaining seed each year or purchasing new commercial seed.

• At Merredin in 2018 the OP TT canola variety ATR Bonito produced similar yields and higher oil than hybrid TT’s.Retaining ATR Bonito seed ‘on-farm’ for 4 years produced similar yields, oil and financial returns to purchasing new seed.
• Using ATR Bonito seed stored for 4 years produced plants lacking in vigour and overall poorer performance than growing out and retaining seed each year or purchasing new commercial seed.

Match the maturity of a variety with sowing date to maximise biomass accumulation, flowering during the optimum time and maximise grain yield potential: – “If sowing early, sow long, or don’t sow wheat at all”.

• There is an opportunity cost and yield penalty of sowing short-mid season varieties too early (early to late April) in the central and southern production zones, similar to sowing mid-long season varieties too late.
• If sowing mid-April in the northern, eastern and southern wheatbelt without frost risk sow mid-long season varieties. If sowing in late May sow short-mid season wheats.
• If sowing in areas of frost risk in the northern, eastern and southern wheatbelt, don’t sow wheat in April, in early May sow mid-long season varieties in areas of low to moderate frost risk and sow areas of severe frost risk in late May to mid-long varieties.
• Highest yields at all sites have typically been achieved by mid-long maturing varieties sown from late April onwards, and short-mid maturing varieties sown in mid-May. At moderate to severe frost prone sites and with disease pressure, however, delaying sowing of mid-long maturities into mid-May, and the use of winter/long wheats when sowing in early to late April, is essential to minimise frost and disease risk.

• Farmers can continue to use retained OP seed for at least three years.

NDVI taken June 13 and July 11 showed no treatment differences.  Similarly we found no significant treatment effects on seed yield, oil, oil yield or gross margins in this experiment.  The surrounding crop was also of adequate density and in contrast to some years in this region the farmer did not have any low density areas on his farm.  Thus we did not really have conditions similar to those reported by the farmers in previous years and the experiment did not add to our knowledge base. 

• Lupin yielded 3.0 t/ha and canola 2.0 t/ha from late May emergence.
• Lupin gross margins were competitive with canola, and lupin gave the highest return on investment.
• For both lupin and canola variety selection was important, in particular Jurien lupin performed well from all sowing dates.

Soil DTPA was 0.27 mg/kg soil.

Grain yield increase by 32 % for both granular and fluid applied Cu.  About 1.3 kg Cu /ha was required for maximum grain yield of 3.2 t/ha.

Foliar application reached 85% of the maximum yield when applied at flag leaf before flowering; earlier application at first node was effective but only reached about 75% of the maximum.  

At this site seed coating had a small effect on germination of seedlings and was insufficient Cu for wheat seedling to recover from Cu deficiency.

Flag leaf Cu concentrations were 1.3 mg Cu/kg and grain Cu concentration from nil Cu treatments were 1.3  mg/kg

Soil DTPA was 0.32 mg/kg soil.

Grain yield increased by 2 % for both granular and fluid applied Cu.  About 1.5 kg Cu /ha was required for maximum grain yield of 3.32 t/ha.

Foliar application reached 97% of the maximum grain yield when applied at flag leaf before flowering; earlier application at first node was effective but only reached about 95% of the maximum.  GY

At this site seed coating had no effect on germination of seedlings..

Flag leaf Cu concentrations were 1.5 mg Cu/kg and grain Cu concentration from nil Cu treatments were 1.4  mg/kg

The Cunderdin trial saw Pioneer 43Y23 (RR) perform better in terms of higher grain yield, oil yield and gross margins than Sturt TT, with both varieties producing similar oil %. Grain yield responded to applied nitrogen up to 30 kg N/ha.  As the rate of applied nitrogen increased the % oil in the seed of both canola varieties decreased at a rate of 0.02% oil per kg applied N/ha.  Gross margins also responded to nitrogen application up to ~ 30 kg N/ha after which further increases in nitrogen led to no further financial gain.  Overall when nitrogen was applied it did not alter the response to nitrogen of both varieties for GY, oil, oil yield and GM.