• PBA DrummondA generally had more Ascochyta blight infection than CBA CaptainA.
• Fungicide reduced Ascochyta blight infection in both varieties.
• At Canowindra on 17 September Ascochyta blight infection was rated as 6.1 in untreated PBA DrummondA (1 = no disease, 10 = disease across whole plot and all plants dying) and 2.5 in untreated CBA CaptainA.
• Fungicide reduced Ascochyta blight infection in CBA CaptainA (rated moderately susceptible [MS] to Ascochyta blight) and PBA DrummondA (rated susceptible [S] to Ascochyta blight) at both Canowindra and Parkes.
• Where fungicide applications were Delayed until after the crop had visible signs of Ascochyta blight, yield was lower than the Complete fungicide treatment for PBA DrummondA but the same as Complete fungicide treatment for CBA CaptainA (at both sites).
• The average yield was 1.78 t/ha at Canowindra and 1.49 t/ha at Parkes
• At Parkes the yield of CBA CaptainA was 0.7 t/ha higher in the Complete fungicide treatment compared to the Nil. PBA DrummondA yield increased by 2 t/ha for the same comparison.
• At Canowindra, CBA CaptainA yield increased by 1.5 t/ha and PBA DrummondA by 1.3 t/ha from Nil to Complete fungicide. However, the yield of the CBA CaptainA was still more than double the yield of PBA DrummondA in a high disease pressure environment.
• At Canowindra, yield of CBA CaptainA with Nil fungicide was either equal to or better than PBA DrummondA with fungicide applied. At Parkes, yield of CBA Captain with nil fungicide was higher than both the Budget and Delayed treatment, but lower than the Complete treatment of PBA DrummondA.
• These trials show that even a subtle improvement in varietal resistance from susceptible (PBA DrummondA) to moderately susceptible (CBA CaptainA) can take a lot of pressure off fungicide programs in environments and seasons conducive to disease.

• The application of fungicide reduced infection of Botrytis Grey Mould (BGM) compared to the untreated control. Ascochyta blight was not observed in this trial.
• Despite high levels of disease infection, the control of BGM did not increase yield.
• Grain yields above 2 t/ha were achieved with all treatments.

• Ascochyta blight was detected at both Ganmain and Caragabal, with infection observed in the Complete fungicide treatment.
• CBA Captain had less Ascochyta infection than PBA Slasher at Ganmain (only CBA Captain sown at Caragabal).
• At both Ganmain and Caragabal, a Complete fungicide program and a Budget fungicide program reduced Ascochyta blight infection compared to the untreated control.
• At Caragabal, grain yield was highest with the Complete fungicide program (2.20 t/ha) with no difference between the Budget program and the untreated control.
• The Ganmain site was not harvested due to a hail storm on 18 December.

• Application of inoculant (standard peat rhizobia) increased nodulation on CBA CaptainA, but there was minimal effect of crop nutrition (N and P) on nodulation.
• Inoculation increased crop biomass, even where 40 kg/ha N was applied. N application only increased biomass where inoculant was not applied.
• Increasing P rate from 5 to 15 kg P/ha did not affect crop biomass.
• The trial was not harvested for grain due a hailstorm.
• Biomass samples are being processed to determine the amount of N-fixation in the nil N treatments.

• Grain yield of the two faba bean varieties PBA Nasma and PBA Samira was very high, with an average yield of 6.2 t/ha.
• Chocolate spot disease severity was low across the trial.
• Fungicide application reduced chocolate spot severity in both varieties.
• The low level of chocolate spot infection did not reduce yield.
• PBA Nasma had slightly more chocolate spot infection than PBA Samira.
• PBA Samira (6.4 t/ha) yielded slightly more than PBA Nasma (6.1 t/ha).

• When disease (primarily chocolate spot) was controlled, there was no yield difference between PBA Amberley and PBA Bendoc, but different fungicide strategies could be adopted in each cultivar to achieve peak yields
• There was no effect of fungicide on yield of the moderately resistant (MR) variety PBA Amberley, whereas a minimum of two fungicide applications was required on the susceptible (S) PBA Bendoc.
• These results highlight the importance of disease resistance to reduce reliance on fungicides, and the need for more intense fungicide management in susceptible cultivars.
• The application of fungicides reduced disease incidence in the sprayed canopy layers, which in turn reduced disease infection above the layer of fungicide application.
• A two-spray strategy incorporating a new generation SDHI (succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor) fungicide (Miravis® Star) didn’t improve disease control or grain yield compared to the more traditional 2-spray strategy using chlorothalonil and carbendazim.
• Further trial work across multiple environments will provide greater confidence in the use of new generation fungicide products.

• Fungicide reduced but did not control chocolate spot infection in PBA Nasma and PBA Samira at both Ganmain and Caragabal.
• PBA Nasma generally had more chocolate spot infection than PBA Samira but the fungicide response was similar for both varieties.
• Faba bean yield was very high at both sites, with an average yield of 4.4 t/ha and 5.0 t/ha at Ganmain and Caragabal respectively.
• PBA Samira (4.7 t/ha) yielded more than PBA Nasma (4.1 t/ha) at Ganmain but the yield of the two varieties was similar (5.0 t/ha) at Caragabal.
• Fungicide response overall was modest, with 0.4 t/ha and 0.3 t/ha increase in grain yield from a ‘Complete’ fungicide program compared to ‘Nil’ fungicide at Ganmain and Caragabal respectively.
• ‘Budget’ fungicide management increased yield compared to the untreated control and there were no further yield increases from ‘Complete’ fungicide management at either site.

• Where phosphorus (P) was applied in-furrow with seed, increasing P fertiliser rate to 20 kg/ha (227 kg/ha single superphosphate) reduced plant establishment by ~12% compared to where no P was applied. P application in-furrow with seed did not affect establishment at rates up to 10 kg/ha.
• There was no effect of P application on establishment where it was broadcast in front of the seeder and incorporated by sowing (IBS).
• The application of 5 kg/ha P (57 kg/ha single superphosphate) increased yield by 0.3 t/ha compared to nil P, but there was no further yield increase with higher P rates.
• There was no difference in yield between the P application treatments, either incorporated by sowing (IBS) or placed in-furrow with seed.

• Increasing plant density from 10 to 40 plants/m² increased the lower pod height from 30 to 41 cm and the upper pod height from 70 to 85 cm (measured only at Ganmain).
• There was close to a 1 t/ha yield increase at Ganmain where plant density increased from 10 to 20 plants/m² (65 to 130 kg/ha seeding rate), with no further yield response to higher plant densities.
• There was no difference in grain yield with plant density ranging from 20 to 40 plants/m² at Caragabal.
• Grain size increased as plant population increased at Ganmain but there was no difference in grain size across the plant populations at Caragabal.

• Grain yields of all species (lentil, field pea, faba bean and chickpea) at this site were very low and generally less than 0.5 t/ha. Seasonal conditions were very dry during autumn and winter before favourable spring growing conditions (rainfall and relatively cool maximum temperature during September and October) provided for some yield recovery.
• Triasulfuron (e.g. Logran, sulfonylurea herbicide Group 2) residues and the in-crop application of Intercept® (imazamox + imazapyr, an imidazoline herbicide Group 2) resulted in total crop failure in the conventional (non-herbicide tolerant) varieties of all four species.
• The presence of Intercept® residue did not affect the grain yield of the conventional field pea variety (PBA Wharton) or conventional faba bean variety (PBA Samira). However, Intercept® residues completely killed the conventional lentil variety PBA Bolt and reduced yield by two-thirds in the conventional chickpea variety CBA Captain.
• PBA Highland XTA (imidazolinone tolerant) showed good tolerance to Group 2 herbicide treatments, including where triasulfuron residues were simulated.
• Triasulfuron residues suppressed the yield of the imidazolinone tolerant faba bean (PBA Bendoc), field pea (GIA2005P) and chickpea (D16218). However, yield was not affected by the post-emergent application of Intercept® and Broadstrike®.

• The site chosen was a red sandy loam soil with inherent low fertility and an acidic topsoil, pH (CaCl2) 4.5. Field peas were last grown in 2017.
• Nodulation was greatest in both lentils and field peas where seeds were inoculated (standard or acid tolerant rhizobia) and no N was applied.
• Standard peat and acid tolerant rhizobia strain (regardless of N treatment) had greater nodulation over the Nil in both the lentil and field pea trial.
• In lentils the acid tolerant rhizobia strain resulted in the highest peak biomass (8.01 t/ha), 1.24 t/ha more than standard peat.
• In lentils yield was higher in both the standard and acid tolerant rhizobia than uninoculated. Nitrogen application increased yield by an average of 0.29 t/ha (averaged across inoculation treatments).
• In field peas, there was no difference in grain yield between inoculation treatments or nitrogen treatments.

• Lentil grain yields at this site were very low and generally less than 0.5 t/ha. Seasonal conditions were very dry during autumn and winter before favourable spring growing conditions (rainfall and relatively cool maximum temperature during September and October) provided for some yield recovery.
• Despite low rainfall, all herbicide treatments damaged PBA Highland XTA (Group 2 imidazolinone tolerant) and reduced yield. Damage was exacerbated by sowing into a dry seedbed which allowed metribuzin (Group 5, trizainone herbicide) to quickly wash into the crop root zone on the break of the season.
• The grain yield of the metribuzin (and imidazolinone) tolerant variety GIA 2004 L was relatively consistent across all treatments (average 0.4 t/ha). In contrast the grain yield of PBA Highland XTA declined from 0.79 t/ha where no herbicides were applied to 0.1 to 0.2 t/ha where metribuzin was applied in crop.
• In the absence of herbicide damage, there was a large penalty for growing GIA 2004L in place of the current commercial variety PBA Highland XTA. Therefore, to replace the current variety with the metribuzin tolerant variety, growers would need to be confident that there was a high risk of herbicide damage or significant benefits to be achieved by using metribuzin at higher than current rates.
• Post-emergent applications of metribuzin are currently not on label and have only been used in this trial to demonstrate the tolerance range of GIA 2004L. Always read and follow product label thoroughly.

• The site chosen for the trial was a red sandy loam soil with inherent low fertility and an acidic topsoil, pH (CaCl2) 4.5.
• Establishment was reduced in both the lentil and lupin trials where phosphorus (11 and 22 kg P/ha) was placed with the seed.
• The greatest impact on establishment was in lupins where the higher P rate (22 kg P/ha) was placed with the seed.
• In the lentil trial, yield was greater where P was applied with the seed (3.25 t/ha) as opposed to IBS (incorporated by sowing, 3.09 t/ha). Yield was also higher where the higher rate of P (22 kg P/ha) was applied (3.55 t/ha), despite the reduction in plant numbers.
• In the lupin trial there were no differences in yield between P rate and P placement.

• Faba beans had the highest grain yield (average 5.7 t/ha Canowindra and 5.8 t/ha Parkes) and produced very high biomass (average 14.9 t/ha Canowindra and 13.6 t/ha Parkes) at both sites. The high biomass indicates a high amount of nitrogen fixed (N-fix samples currently being processed), but the beans also had very high removal in the grain with an average removal of 229 kg N/ha at Canowindra and 262 kg N/ha at Parkes.
• Faba beans out-yielded both canola and wheat at Canowindra and Parkes, even with high N input.
• MurringoA (albus) and PBA BatemanA (narrow-leaf) lupins produced very high biomass at Canowindra (17.6 and 15.6 t/ha respectively), but grain yield was lower than faba beans. Biomass of lupins was lower at the Parkes site (3.0 and 7.9 t/ha for MurringoA and PBA BatemanA respectively) which had intermittent waterlogging. Grain yield followed a similar trend with high yield for MurringoA (4.3 t/ha) and PBA BatemanA (3.4 t/ha) at Canowindra but low yield for MurringoA (0.8 t/ha) and moderate yield for PBA BatemanA (2.6 t/ha) at Parkes.
• The dry matter production from vetch was relatively low at both sites but vetch was cut at an earlier growth stage (before podding) to simulate hay cut timing.
• CBA CaptainA chickpeas had relatively low biomass compared to faba beans at both sites, with moderate grain yield (2.2 and 2.6 t/ha at Canowindra and Parkes respectively). CBA CaptainA chickpeas yielded more than lentils at both sites. Lentils (like MurringoA albus lupins) suffered from waterlogging at Parkes and had low biomass and yield.
• Lupins had the highest seed N content, removing 90% more N than chickpeas (lowest seed N content) per tonne of grain produced.
• An assessment of total nitrogen derived from fixation is being completed on the biomass samples to determine a nitrogen balance of each species at these sites and other sites in the project.

• The site chosen for the trial was a red sandy loam soil with inherent low fertility and an acidic topsoil, pH (CaCl2) 4.5.
• In the lentil trial PBA Hallmark had the highest grain yield (2.6 t/ha), higher than both PBA Highland and PBA Kelpie. There was no difference in peak biomass between any of the varieties.
• Sturt had the highest grain yield in the field pea trial (5.3 t/ha), with PBA Wharton lower yielding (3.9 t/ha). PBA Wharton also had a lower peak biomass (9.9 t/ha), compared to Sturt (12.5t/ha) and PBA Taylor (12.7 t/ha).
• CBA Slasher yielded the highest in the chickpea trial (2.7 t/ha), with both CBA Slasher (5.0 t/ha) and CBA Captain (4.9 t/ha) having higher peak biomass than the kabuli variety PBA Royal.
• There were no differences in yield between varieties in the faba bean variety trial. PBA Samira had the highest peak biomass of the faba bean varieties (9.4 t/ha).
• The Albus lupin variety Luxor was the highest yielding variety in the lupin trial (3.0 t/ha), higher than both Murringo and PBA Bateman.
• There were no differences in yield or biomass between varieties in the vetch trial.

• Four variety screening trials were sown at each site; one in late April, an Early screen including faba beans, vetch and lupins; three further trials were sown in mid-May – Chickpea screen, Field pea screen and Lentil screen.
• In the Early screen, PBA SamiraA grew the most biomass (17.4 and 12.0 t/ha) and had the highest grain yield (5.7 and 5.2 t/ha) at both Caragabal and Ganmain, respectively.
• There were large differences in seed size (grain weight) for faba beans at both sites which is important from a marketing perspective (larger grains generally more desirable) and for use as seed when calculating sowing rate.
• Faba beans yielded more than double the lupin varieties at Caragabal, primarily due to their ability to tolerate intermittent waterlogging.
• At both Ganmain and Caragabal the desi chickpea varieties CBA CaptainA, PBA DrummondA and PBA SlasherA grew more biomass than the kabuli variety PBA RoyalA. The desi varieties also had higher yield than the kabuli variety PBA RoyalA at Caragabal. Grain size of the kabuli PBA RoyalA was approximately 70% larger than the desi varieties.
• There was no difference in grain yield between the four lentil varieties at each location (Caragabal average 1.7 t/ha, Ganmain average 2.0 t/ha). Intermittent waterlogging at Caragabal likely reduced grain yield compared to Ganmain. PBA KelpieA produced larger seed than the three other varieties PBA HallmarkA, PBA HighlandA and GIA LeaderA.
• In the field pea trial, PBA ButlerA and PBA TaylorA (both 3.4 t/ha) yielded more than PBA WhartonA (2.9 t/ha) and PBA PercyA (2.6 t/ha) at Caragabal. There was no yield difference in the field pea trial at Ganmain (average 2.9 t/ha).
• Grain N concentration was generally highest for vetch and lupins; intermediate for faba beans, field peas and lentils and lowest for chickpeas. Calculated N removal (yield × grain N %) was highest for the high yielding faba beans, averaging 235 kg N/ha removed.
• Biomass data is being processed to determine N-fix of each species which will be used to calculate the N balance for each pulse species.

• Faba beans produced more dry matter than vetch (7.64 v 6.32 t/ha), however nutrition treatment did not influence peak biomass levels.
• Highest grain yield for faba beans (PBA NasmaA) was just over 3.5 t/ha compared with 1.2 t/ha for vetch (Popany).
• Faba bean yield increased by 0.85 t/ha when inoculated with rhizobia compared to no inoculation, where no extra nutrition was supplied.
• The addition of nitrogen reduced nodulation but did not affect yield.
• The addition of experimental FAR PGR21-1 to vetch increased crop height, while PGR21-2 had a shortening effect on faba beans.
• Inoculation was more important than crop nutrition, suggesting inoculated crops were capable of supplying sufficient nitrogen for growth at this site.