Previous research has shown that physical intervention on compacted sandy soils can deliver significant yield increases. However, deep incorporation can be expensive and can increase erosion risk. The development of inclusion plates attached to deep ripping tynes allows for deep mixing of surface applied nutrients at a relatively low cost and with less risk of soil erosion than spading or mouldboard ploughs. This trial aimed to:

• Determine if physical intervention and soil mixing improved grain yield on a sandy soil on eastern EP.
• Compare deep ripping with inclusion plates to spading.

• Determine if deeper ripping improved results.
• Identify if the addition of fertilisers or organic material (OM) provide additional benefits.

Current farming systems in the low rainfall zone of southern Australia are dominated by cereal production. There is increasing concern about grass weed and soil-borne disease pressure, as well as diminishing soil fertility (particularly nitrogen), and water use efficiency, as a result of continuously cropping cereals. Break crops have a key role to play in addressing these issues, as well as diversifying crop production and economic risk, and maintaining long-term sustainability of the system. However, there remains a lack of information available to growers about choosing the break crop best suited to their situation, as break crop development to date has largely occurred in medium and high rainfall zones. The aim of this research is to identify the best break crop options for different climate, soil type and biotic stress situations within major cropping regions of the southern low rainfall zone. This project builds on previous GRDC and SAGIT funded projects, including DAS00119 (profitable crop sequencing in the low rainfall areas of South Eastern Australia) and MS115 (adopting profitable crop sequences in the SA Mallee).

Legume pastures have been pivotal to sustainable agricultural development in southern Australia. They provide highly nutritious feed for livestock, act as a disease break for many cereal root pathogens, and improve soil fertility through nitrogen (N) fixation. Despite these benefits, pasture renovation rates remain low and there are opportunities to improve the pasture base on many low to medium rainfall mixed farms across southern Australia. There are also reports of poor protein levels in wheat following medic pastures and many reports of poor medic nodulation. Previous work has shown that substantial responses to inoculation are possible in the Victorian Mallee, which is possibly linked to the poor N fixation capacity of some populations of soil rhizobia. The extent to which inoculation can still improve medic nodulation on Eyre Peninsula requires clarification.

The Dryland Legume Pasture Systems (DLPS) project aims to develop recently discovered pasture legumes together with innovative management techniques that benefit animal and crop production and promote their adoption on mixed farms in the low and medium rainfall areas of WA, SA, Vic and southern NSW.  One objective within this work program is to increase the amount of fixed N provided by the pasture.

This is a component of a new five year Rural Research and Development for Profit funded project supported by GRDC, MLA and AWI; and involving Murdoch University, CSIRO, SARDI, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Charles Sturt University and grower groups.

Legume pastures have been pivotal to sustainable agricultural development in southern Australia. They provide highly nutritious feed for livestock, act as a disease break for many cereal root pathogens, and improve fertility through nitrogen (N) fixation. Despite these benefits pasture renovation rates remain low and there is opportunity to improve the quality of the pasture base on many low to medium rainfall mixed farms across southern Australia. A diverse range of pasture legume cultivars are currently available to growers and new material is being developed. Some of these legumes, such as the annual medics, are well adapted to alkaline soils and have high levels of hard seed, which allow them to self-regenerate from soil seed reserves after cropping (ley farming system). Other legume cultivars and species are available and being developed that offer improved seed harvestability, are claimed to be better suited to establishment when dry sown and/or provide better nutrition for livestock. Regional evaluation is needed to determine if they are productive and able to persist in drier areas (<400 mm annual rainfall) and on Mallee soil types common to the mixed farming zone of southern Australia.

The Dryland Legume Pasture Systems project will both develop and evaluate a range of pasture legumes together with innovative establishment techniques, measure their downstream benefits to animal and crop production and promote their adoption on mixed farms.

In southern Australian mixed farming systems, there are many opportunities for pasture improvement, providing positive impacts to both cropping and livestock systems. Dryland legume pastures are necessary in low to medium rainfall zones to support productive and healthy livestock, along with optimal production in crops following these pastures. The majority of pasture species used in these mixed farming systems are short-lived annuals that complete their lifecycle from winter to early summer, with dry seasonal conditions resulting in a shorter growth window between germination and senescence. This is a major issue for livestock producers in these regions due to unreliable rainfall patterns leading to fluctuating legume growth, and the subsequent impact on feed supply and quality for grazing animals.

Innovative and improved legume species and pasture systems have the potential to fill existing nutrient gaps, thus reducing supplementary feed required for optimum ruminant performance, and maintain or improve livestock productivity through growth rates, fertility or product quality.

The Dryland Legume Pasture Systems (DLPS) project aims to boost profit and reduce risk in medium and low rainfall areas by developing recently discovered pasture legumes together with innovative management techniques that benefit animal and crop production and farm logistics. A theme of the DLPS project involves ‘Quantifying the benefits of novel legume pastures to livestock production systems’ and aims to maximise the advantages that pastures provide to livestock through increased animal growth and reproduction by extending the period of quality feed and reduced supplementary feeding. The animal systems research within the project will also assess areas of understanding anti-nutritional factors and ‘duty of care’ for new pasture species, providing opportunities for improved weed management and evaluate the main benefits of novel self-regenerating pasture legumes in crop rotations on animal production, health and welfare.

This theme is a component of a five year Rural R&D for Profit funded project supported by GRDC, MLA and AWI; and involving Murdoch University, CSIRO, SARDI, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Charles Sturt University and grower groups.

A five-year grazing system trial was established at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC) in 2018 to examine this theme and is the main livestock field site for the DLPS trial in the southern region of Australia.

On the upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP), calcareous soils constitute a high proportion (more than 1 million hectares) of soils used for agricultural production (Bertrand et al. 2003). The website ‘Yield Gap Australia’ (http://yieldgapaustralia.com.au/maps/) identifies that the average grain yield on western Eyre Peninsula (WEP) and UEP is between 41 and 45% of the water limited yield potential (1.5 t/ha for WEP and 1.8 t/ha for UEP). Closing the grain yield gap for wheat on UEP presents a challenge to growers mostly due to nutrient deficiencies, particularly on calcareous soils (Holloway et al. 2001). The majority of landholders in the western and upper Eyre Peninsula currently use granular fertilisers, which require good soil moisture conditions to enable uptake of nutrients. Limitations of water availability during the growing season influences grower decisions regarding fertiliser applications, with associated impacts on crop profitability. Consequently, growers often apply lower rates of nutrients than are required to achieve the water limiting yield potential as a risk management strategy (Sadras and Roget 2004; Monjardino et al. 2013). A deeper understanding of the multiple factors influencing the efficacy of applied granular fertilisers such as fertiliser position in relation to seed, fertiliser composition and soil structure and moisture can be used to develop alternative strategies for increasing the effectiveness of fertiliser applications (McLaughlin et al. 2011). This study aimed to determine the impact of different fertiliser products and placement relative to the seed on crop emergence, crop WUE and grain yield.

On the upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP), calcareous soils constitute a high proportion (more than 1 million hectares) of soils used for agricultural production (Bertrand et al. 2003). The website ‘Yield Gap Australia’ (http://yieldgapaustralia.com.au/maps/) identifies that the average grain yield on western Eyre Peninsula (WEP) and UEP is between 41 and 45% of the water limited yield potential (1.5 t/ha for WEP and 1.8 t/ha for UEP). Closing the grain yield gap for wheat on UEP presents a challenge to growers mostly due to nutrient deficiencies, particularly on calcareous soils (Holloway et al. 2001). The majority of landholders in the western and upper Eyre Peninsula currently use granular fertilisers, which require good soil moisture conditions to enable uptake of nutrients. Limitations of water availability during the growing season influences grower decisions regarding fertiliser applications, with associated impacts on crop profitability. Consequently, growers often apply lower rates of nutrients than are required to achieve the water limiting yield potential as a risk management strategy (Sadras and Roget 2004; Monjardino et al. 2013). A deeper understanding of the multiple factors influencing the efficacy of applied granular fertilisers such as fertiliser position in relation to seed, fertiliser composition and soil structure and moisture can be used to develop alternative strategies for increasing the effectiveness of fertiliser applications (McLaughlin et al. 2011). This study aimed to determine the impact of different fertiliser products and placement relative to the seed on crop emergence, crop WUE and grain yield.

Barley grass and ryegrass are the major grass weeds in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula. An integrated approach to weed management (IWM) is required to slow the development of herbicide resistance and aims to lower the weed seed bank with the use of non-chemical techniques such as harvest weed seed management, including narrow windrows, chaff cart dumps and burning stubble. This is a summary of paddock surveys of harvest weed seed collection samples taken in 2016, 2017 and 2018 as a part of the GRDC Stubble Initiative project ‘Maintaining profitability in retained stubbles on upper Eyre Peninsula’ (EPF00001).

Legumes are frequently inoculated with rhizobia at sowing, to improve nodulation and nitrogen fixation. Rhizobia can be supplied as peat, freeze-dried (liquid) or granular inoculant formulations. At sowing time, farmers often wish to apply different treatments together, to increase the efficiency of the sowing operation. In some cases, rhizobial inoculant is combined with the application of commonly used seed pesticides, but this may result in toxic effects on the rhizobia. Given the importance of rhizobial survival to crop production, there is a need for independent data and guidelines to inform farmers about the potential reduction in legume nodulation and nitrogen fixation arising from the combination of various treatments with inoculants.

Laboratory data has shown that under sterile conditions, P-Pickel T is toxic to Rhizobium leguminosarum which nodulates pea, bean, lentil and vetch. This work also showed that peat may offer protection to the rhizobia compared with freeze-dried inoculant. The objective of this work was to determine the potential toxicity of the fungicide P-Pickel T (PPT) to rhizobia applied as a commercial inoculant (peat and freeze-dried) on field pea (R. leguminosarum, group F) in field conditions in a soil with a low rhizobial background.

Previous work on Eyre Peninsula at Wharminda (Wilhelm, unpublished data) investigated the impact of two soil wetter chemistries applied within the seed row on crop establishment and grain yield. This work showed that both wetting agents increased cereal crop establishment in most trials over three years, but this rarely translated into grain yield benefits (1 trial in 6, with 1 wetting agent). This experience contrasts with extensive work in WA (e.g. Davies, 2018) suggesting soil moisture conditions at seeding have a major influence of crop response to soil wetters. Using soil wetters while dry seeding in repellent sands achieved average grain yield increases of 11% (10 trials), and 18% when dry seeding in repellent forest gravels (6 trials). These grain yield responses to soil wetters significantly reduced when seeding occurred after a reasonable rainfall, dropping to non-significant (7 trials) and to 5% average yield benefit (3 trials), respectively.

This 2018 trial was established at Murlong as part of the GRDC funded and CSIRO-led ‘Sandy Soils Project’ and is investigating water repellence mitigation options at seeding. The trial aims to identify the driving chemistries (surfactants vs humectants) and application techniques (furrow surface, vs seed zone) that are better able to lift crop responses under local sowing conditions. This article reports on the Year 1 data, with more work being planned for the 2019-20 seasons.

Break crops continue to occupy a small percentage of arable land across the southern low rainfall zone, despite extensive research demonstrating their role and value in farming systems. This is generally thought to be due to a perception that break crops have an increased risk and production cost, compared to cereals. There is also a lack of confidence about correct break crop management required to reduce production risk and minimise inputs in a low rainfall system. There is little information in this area, as break crop development has largely occurred in medium and high rainfall zones, and often these strategies are inappropriate for low rainfall environments. The aim of this work is to identify low-risk break crop management strategies for the low rainfall zone.

Herbicide damage in lentil commonly occurs in low rainfall environments. This trial aims to identify crop safety levels and economic risk of pre- and post-emergent herbicide use on lentil across different soil types and environments in the southern low rainfall zone. This project builds on previous GRDC-funded projects, including DAV00113 (southern region pulse agronomy).

The aim of this trial was to identify plant varieties or mixtures that can increase dry matter production of the pasture break phase on the highly alkaline soils of upper Eyre Peninsula. Current cropping and grazing systems are mostly based on monocultures and the potential feed base of the break phase could be broadened to be more productive for grazing and available for a longer time period in the season. Current oat varieties, mixed break crops and newer pasture species were trialled at Piednippie in 2018 to investigate whether a more productive and prolonged feed base is possible.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). The use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to identify and assess barley grass populations in paddocks and monitor potential resistant populations may be a useful tool for farmers. Barley grass weed density was monitored in three paddocks on upper EP (Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC), Heddle’s at Minnipa and Wilkins’ at Yaninee using an UAV during the 2017 (EPFS Summary 2017, p 83) and 2018 growing seasons at three different timings, with paddock transects conducted to verify grass weed density in paddocks.

This research aims to determine whether adding extra nitrogen (N) at GS31 will bring benefits above the current standard practice of only applying nitrogen at or near sowing in three different Eyre Peninsula (EP) environments.

Every season, growers need to make choices over limited resources in order to maximise their profitability. Nitrogen and water represent two of the key limiting resources which set the grain yield potential of a paddock. The unpredictability of growing season rainfall patterns restricts in-season N applications for EP growers, due to the associated high economic risks. Therefore, less than optimum N rates are applied in many instances, and maximum grain yield gains and optimum protein contents are not reached on occasions where opportunities have existed. Understanding soil water and N dynamics can be useful to determine if extra N application at GS31 is worth the investment in EP dryland farming systems.

This research aims to determine whether adding extra nitrogen (N) at GS31 will bring benefits above the current standard practice of only applying nitrogen at or near sowing in three different Eyre Peninsula (EP) environments.

Every season, growers need to make choices over limited resources in order to maximise their profitability. Nitrogen and water represent two of the key limiting resources which set the grain yield potential of a paddock. The unpredictability of growing season rainfall patterns restricts in-season N applications for EP growers, due to the associated high economic risks. Therefore, less than optimum N rates are applied in many instances, and maximum grain yield gains and optimum protein contents are not reached on occasions where opportunities have existed. Understanding soil water and N dynamics can be useful to determine if extra N application at GS31 is worth the investment in EP dryland farming systems.

This research aims to determine whether adding extra nitrogen (N) at GS31 will bring benefits above the current standard practice of only applying nitrogen at or near sowing in three different Eyre Peninsula (EP) environments.

Every season, growers need to make choices over limited resources in order to maximise their profitability. Nitrogen and water represent two of the key limiting resources which set the grain yield potential of a paddock. The unpredictability of growing season rainfall patterns restricts in-season N applications for EP growers, due to the associated high economic risks. Therefore, less than optimum N rates are applied in many instances, and maximum grain yield gains and optimum protein contents are not reached on occasions where opportunities have existed. Understanding soil water and N dynamics can be useful to determine if extra N application at GS31 is worth the investment in EP dryland farming systems.

In the past 15 years the area sown to pulses in South Australia has increased by 50% (ABARES 2015) and continues to expand as new pulse varieties become available with improved herbicide, disease and soil constraints tolerance. Dry sowing legumes allows growers to better manage time demands around sowing, ensure successful early establishment of crops and reduce yield losses in dry springs.

The trials at Minnipa were part of a larger program to assess a range of commercial rhizobia inoculant products, application strategies and sowing times to provide growers with recommendations that ensures adequate nodulation and nitrogen fixation in dry sown crops.

Inoculation provides one of the most cost effective ways to improve legume performance where the legume (or another from the same inoculation group) has not previously been grown and/or where conditions are detrimental to the survival of rhizobia in the soil.

There is less risk of poor crop nodulation when a background of soil rhizobia is present. On Eyre Peninsula chickpea is nearly always responsive to inoculation.

This research has developed predictive formulas that can be used by growers to estimate in-season soil moisture at different depths and crop nutrient content from proximal sensing (PS) data.

The upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP) is a challenging environment for growers, due to the Mediterranean-type of climate, where irregular and infrequent winter rainfall patterns are coupled with low soil fertility. Additionally, poor soil structure, low water holding capacity and limited nutrient availability provide challenging conditions for plant growth, as growers currently use granular fertilisers which require good soil moisture conditions to enable the uptake of nutrients. Topsoils from calcareous soils may dry quickly after rain events, which may explain poor water use and nutrient extraction efficiency.

Proximal sensing technologies have the potential to support grower’s nutrient management decisions by monitoring in-season soil and crop water and nutrient content (Allen et al. 2017, Arsego et al. 2017). Compared to the Green Seeker/normalised difference in vegetation index (NDVI) device, newer PS technology can use a wider range of wavelengths to predict soil and crop nutritional status in a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive way. Until recently, PS technology was limited to laboratory use given the size and robustness of the machinery necessary to perform the analysis. The development of small, portable PS devices has now allowed the use of this technology in the field, allowing for the potential for PS to be utilised by growers in their paddocks in the near future. In this research, two years of UEP trials have been combined to calibrate PS for crop nutrient content, and one year of data has been examined for soil moisture and nutrient content.

This research has developed predictive formulas that can be used by growers to estimate in-season soil moisture at different depths and crop nutrient content from proximal sensing (PS) data.

The upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP) is a challenging environment for growers, due to the Mediterranean-type of climate, where irregular and infrequent winter rainfall patterns are coupled with low soil fertility. Additionally, poor soil structure, low water holding capacity and limited nutrient availability provide challenging conditions for plant growth, as growers currently use granular fertilisers which require good soil moisture conditions to enable the uptake of nutrients. Topsoils from calcareous soils may dry quickly after rain events, which may explain poor water use and nutrient extraction efficiency.

Proximal sensing technologies have the potential to support grower’s nutrient management decisions by monitoring in-season soil and crop water and nutrient content (Allen et al. 2017, Arsego et al. 2017). Compared to the Green Seeker/normalised difference in vegetation index (NDVI) device, newer PS technology can use a wider range of wavelengths to predict soil and crop nutritional status in a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive way. Until recently, PS technology was limited to laboratory use given the size and robustness of the machinery necessary to perform the analysis. The development of small, portable PS devices has now allowed the use of this technology in the field, allowing for the potential for PS to be utilised by growers in their paddocks in the near future. In this research, two years of UEP trials have been combined to calibrate PS for crop nutrient content, and one year of data has been examined for soil moisture and nutrient content.

This research has developed predictive formulas that can be used by growers to estimate in-season soil moisture at different depths and crop nutrient content from proximal sensing (PS) data.

The upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP) is a challenging environment for growers, due to the Mediterranean-type of climate, where irregular and infrequent winter rainfall patterns are coupled with low soil fertility. Additionally, poor soil structure, low water holding capacity and limited nutrient availability provide challenging conditions for plant growth, as growers currently use granular fertilisers which require good soil moisture conditions to enable the uptake of nutrients. Topsoils from calcareous soils may dry quickly after rain events, which may explain poor water use and nutrient extraction efficiency.

Proximal sensing technologies have the potential to support grower’s nutrient management decisions by monitoring in-season soil and crop water and nutrient content (Allen et al. 2017, Arsego et al. 2017). Compared to the Green Seeker/normalised difference in vegetation index (NDVI) device, newer PS technology can use a wider range of wavelengths to predict soil and crop nutritional status in a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive way. Until recently, PS technology was limited to laboratory use given the size and robustness of the machinery necessary to perform the analysis. The development of small, portable PS devices has now allowed the use of this technology in the field, allowing for the potential for PS to be utilised by growers in their paddocks in the near future. In this research, two years of UEP trials have been combined to calibrate PS for crop nutrient content, and one year of data has been examined for soil moisture and nutrient content.

This research has developed predictive formulas that can be used by growers to estimate in-season soil moisture at different depths and crop nutrient content from proximal sensing (PS) data.

The upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP) is a challenging environment for growers, due to the Mediterranean-type of climate, where irregular and infrequent winter rainfall patterns are coupled with low soil fertility. Additionally, poor soil structure, low water holding capacity and limited nutrient availability provide challenging conditions for plant growth, as growers currently use granular fertilisers which require good soil moisture conditions to enable the uptake of nutrients. Topsoils from calcareous soils may dry quickly after rain events, which may explain poor water use and nutrient extraction efficiency.

Proximal sensing technologies have the potential to support grower’s nutrient management decisions by monitoring in-season soil and crop water and nutrient content (Allen et al. 2017, Arsego et al. 2017). Compared to the Green Seeker/normalised difference in vegetation index (NDVI) device, newer PS technology can use a wider range of wavelengths to predict soil and crop nutritional status in a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive way. Until recently, PS technology was limited to laboratory use given the size and robustness of the machinery necessary to perform the analysis. The development of small, portable PS devices has now allowed the use of this technology in the field, allowing for the potential for PS to be utilised by growers in their paddocks in the near future. In this research, two years of UEP trials have been combined to calibrate PS for crop nutrient content, and one year of data has been examined for soil moisture and nutrient content.

This research has developed predictive formulas that can be used by growers to estimate in-season soil moisture at different depths and crop nutrient content from proximal sensing (PS) data.

The upper Eyre Peninsula (UEP) is a challenging environment for growers, due to the Mediterranean-type of climate, where irregular and infrequent winter rainfall patterns are coupled with low soil fertility. Additionally, poor soil structure, low water holding capacity and limited nutrient availability provide challenging conditions for plant growth, as growers currently use granular fertilisers which require good soil moisture conditions to enable the uptake of nutrients. Topsoils from calcareous soils may dry quickly after rain events, which may explain poor water use and nutrient extraction efficiency.

Proximal sensing technologies have the potential to support grower’s nutrient management decisions by monitoring in-season soil and crop water and nutrient content (Allen et al. 2017, Arsego et al. 2017). Compared to the Green Seeker/normalised difference in vegetation index (NDVI) device, newer PS technology can use a wider range of wavelengths to predict soil and crop nutritional status in a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive way. Until recently, PS technology was limited to laboratory use given the size and robustness of the machinery necessary to perform the analysis. The development of small, portable PS devices has now allowed the use of this technology in the field, allowing for the potential for PS to be utilised by growers in their paddocks in the near future. In this research, two years of UEP trials have been combined to calibrate PS for crop nutrient content, and one year of data has been examined for soil moisture and nutrient content.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula. An integrated approach to weed management (IWM) is required to slow the development of herbicide resistance and aims to lower the weed seed bank with the use of non-chemical techniques such as harvest weed seed management including burning stubble, narrow windrows and chaff cart dumps. Swathing early then harvesting for weed seed collection may be another tool for IWM which needs further evaluation, especially for barley grass.

Just prior to harvest in 2016, Bruce Heddle swathed a cereal crop with grass weed issues early (between 20 and 40% grain moisture) for grass weed seed capture into windrows, which he followed with harvesting using a chaff cart. This SAGIT funded project has provided resources to assess barley grass weed seed capture by swathing and weed seed capture in chaff dumps after harvest, to determine how effective these practices can be in contributing towards an IWM program for barley grass on upper Eyre Peninsula.

Adoption of Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) in the low rainfall zone (LRZ) of the Southern Region is very low. The GRDC-funded project ‘Application of controlled traffic in the low rainfall zone’ has been evaluating whether or not this scepticism is justified. To help LRZ growers answer the questions and uncertainties they face when thinking about CTF adoption, the project is conducting research on five sites (R sites) across dominant soil types and agro-ecological zones in the Southern Region LRZ. These trials focus on the impact of trafficking (by heavy vehicles) on crop production and soil condition as well as monitoring how quickly LRZ soils will “self-repair” if heavy trafficking is stopped. Issues of implementing CTF and managing permanent wheel tracks are being addressed in other components of the project.

This article summarises the first four years of crop performance after trafficking was imposed on a red calcareous sandy loam at Minnipa Agricultural Centre (a detailed summary of 2015, 2016 and 2017 results can be found in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summaries, respectively). Three other trials similar in design and monitoring have also been implemented across the LRZ – on a deep sand at Loxton (SA), a brown loam near Swan Hill (Vic) and on a deep red earth at Lake Cargelligo (NSW). All these trials except Swan Hill (land ownership has changed) have been maintained for at least the five years of the project. A new trial was set up in 2018 to investigate the role of CTF on a deep sand which has been ameliorated with deep ripping.

Farmers in the Kimba area have been producing oaten hay for export for several years. The industry has been expanding, with dedicated storage facilities established in recent years on the outskirts of Kimba. To maximise production and quality, the Buckleboo Farm Improvement Group wanted to identify the current best oaten hay variety for the Kimba area.

Farmers and advisors list weeds as one of the major constraints to improving the productivity and sustainability of southern Australian farming systems. Narrow windrow burning has been rapidly adopted across southern Australia as a weed management tool. The technique has been found to be very effective for controlling annual ryegrass and wild radish in WA. These weed species retain much of their seed by the time of crop harvest and a significant amount of weed seeds can be collected by the harvester and then concentrated into rows with the chaff and straw. High weed seed kill efficacy is generally achieved for annual ryegrass and wild radish at temperatures often achieved by burning narrow windrows.

Knowledge of both the threshold temperatures to kill weed seeds, and the temperatures achieved when burning crop residues in various formats are required to provide a guide to expected weed seed control of problematic weeds in low rainfall cropping systems. Unlike a whole paddock burn, this information will only relate to the fate of seed that enters the harvest windrow. The total efficacy of this method will be largely controlled by the proportion of weed seeds that can be collected by the harvester. 

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Swathing a cereal crop involves cutting the cereal crop and weeds into windrows at between 20 and 40% grain moisture and allowing it to dry after cutting. Having the weed seeds cut and in the windrow before the seed heads shatter and before tillers fall over, may allow greater weed seed collection when using a chaff cart or windrows. Swathing early then harvesting for weed seed collection needs further evaluation as it may provide farmers with another tool for integrated weed management, especially for barley grass that matures and sheds seed before crops ripen.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Swathing a cereal crop involves cutting the cereal crop and weeds into windrows at between 20 and 40% grain moisture and allowing it to dry after cutting. Having the weed seeds cut and in the windrow before the seed heads shatter and before tillers fall over, may allow greater weed seed collection when using a chaff cart or windrows. Swathing early then harvesting for weed seed collection needs further evaluation as it may provide farmers with another tool for integrated weed management, especially for barley grass that matures and sheds seed before crops ripen.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). Swathing a cereal crop involves cutting the cereal crop and weeds into windrows at between 20 and 40% grain moisture and allowing it to dry after cutting. Having the weed seeds cut and in the windrow before the seed heads shatter and before tillers fall over, may allow greater weed seed collection when using a chaff cart or windrows. Swathing early then harvesting for weed seed collection needs further evaluation as it may provide farmers with another tool for integrated weed management, especially for barley grass that matures and sheds seed before crops ripen.

Adoption of Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) in the low rainfall zone (LRZ) of the Southern Region is very low. The GRDC-funded project 'Application of controlled traffic on the low rainfall zone' is evaluating whether or not this is justified. To help LRZ growers answer the questions and uncertainities they face when thinking about CTF adoption, the project is conducting research on four sites (R sites) across dominant soil types and agro-ecological zones in the Southern Region LRZ. These trials focus on the impact of trafficking by heavy vehicles on crop production and soil condition, as well as monitoring how quickly LRZ soils will "self-repair" if heavy trafficking is stopped. Issues of implementing CTF and managing permanent wheel tracks are being addressed in other components of the project.

SAGIT funded a project to assess the potential of fluid nutrient delivery systems and disease control strategies compared to current systems. Fluid systems have the potential to increase production through more effective delivery of micro and macro nutrients, use of lower cost trace element sources and improved control of cereal and canola root and leaf diseases.

Blackleg continues to be a major issue facing canola growers especially on lower Eyre Peninsula and fluid delivery systems for fungicides may increase production and improve disease control. With the development of new fungicides and the technology to deliver liquid products around the seed row during the seeding pass, there is now a range of application strategies available to growers to make use of these new products. These trials compared the relative benefits of a range of fungicide strategies for blackleg control on canola compared to current practices.

The aim of this SAGIT-funded project was to build on previous research by updating knowledge of the benefits, including disease control and nutrition, of fluid delivery systems. Fluid systems have the potential to increase production through efficient delivery of micro and macro nutrients, reduced cost of trace element delivery and increased control of cereal, root and leaf diseases using new fungicide products.

Historically, fungicidal control of Rhizoctonia, which can infect all of the major crops grown in southern Australia, has generally been poor, but fluid systems are a new option for delivery of fungicides, which potentially may improve disease control and increase production. Trials were undertaken over three years to assess the benefits of fluid delivery of nutrients and fungicides, under various application strategies, to wheat grown in two upper Eyre Peninsula environments.

The aim of this SAGIT-funded project was to build on previous research by updating knowledge of the benefits, including disease control and nutrition, of fluid delivery systems. Fluid systems have the potential to increase production through efficient delivery of micro and macro nutrients, reduced cost of trace element delivery and increased control of cereal, root and leaf diseases using new fungicide products.

Historically, fungicidal control of Rhizoctonia, which can infect all of the major crops grown in southern Australia, has generally been poor, but fluid systems are a new option for delivery of fungicides, which potentially may improve disease control and increase production. Trials were undertaken over three years to assess the benefits of fluid delivery of nutrients and fungicides, under various application strategies, to wheat grown in two upper Eyre Peninsula environments.

The broad aim of this 3 year SAGIT funded project was to investigate if current management tools for medic based pastures, such as herbicides, fertilisers and rhizobial inoculants, are affecting N fixation by medic pastures under field conditions typical of the upper Eyre Peninsula. These results should also be relevant to other low rainfall Mallee systems where medics are used.
Annual medics (Medicago spp.) are self-regenerating legumes that are well suited to crop rotations on neutral to alkaline soils in the low to medium rainfall areas of southern Australia. They provide highly nutritious feed for livestock, act as a disease break for many cereal root pathogens, and improve soil fertility through N fixation.  However, it appears that some of these pastures are not providing sufficient N reserves (as mentioned at local farmer meetings) for the following cereal crops, even where the medic has been quite productive. The longer term decline of protein levels in cereal crops are of concern. Medic pastures are now often sprayed with a range of herbicides and pesticides, both to ensure its productivity as pasture for livestock, and to ensure that minimal weed seeds are carried into the following cereal crop. This project examined if commonly used management strategies reduced N fixation by the medic pasture, and consequently mineral N supply to the following crop.

The broad aim of this 3 year SAGIT funded project was to investigate if current management tools for medic based pastures, such as herbicides, fertilisers and rhizobial inoculants, are affecting N fixation by medic pastures under field conditions typical of the upper Eyre Peninsula. These results should also be relevant to other low rainfall Mallee systems where medics are used.

Annual medics (Medicago spp.) are self-regenerating legumes that are well suited to crop rotations on neutral to alkaline soils in the low to medium rainfall areas of southern Australia. They provide highly nutritious feed for livestock, act as a disease break for many cereal root pathogens, and improve soil fertility through N fixation.  However, it appears that some of these pastures are not providing sufficient N reserves (as mentioned at local farmer meetings) for the following cereal crops, even where the medic has been quite productive. The longer term decline of protein levels in cereal crops are of concern. Medic pastures are now often sprayed with a range of herbicides and pesticides, both to ensure its productivity as pasture for livestock, and to ensure that minimal weed seeds are carried into the following cereal crop. This project examined if commonly used management strategies reduced N fixation by the medic pasture, and consequently mineral N supply to the following crop.

The broad aim of this 3 year SAGIT funded project was to investigate if current management tools for medic based pastures, such as herbicides, fertilisers and rhizobial inoculants, are affecting N fixation by medic pastures under field conditions typical of the upper Eyre Peninsula. These results should also be relevant to other low rainfall Mallee systems where medics are used.

Annual medics (Medicago spp.) are self-regenerating legumes that are well suited to crop rotations on neutral to alkaline soils in the low to medium rainfall areas of southern Australia. They provide highly nutritious feed for livestock, act as a disease break for many cereal root pathogens, and improve soil fertility through N fixation.  However, it appears that some of these pastures are not providing sufficient N reserves (as mentioned at local farmer meetings) for the following cereal crops, even where the medic has been quite productive. The longer term decline of protein levels in cereal crops are of concern. Medic pastures are now often sprayed with a range of herbicides and pesticides, both to ensure its productivity as pasture for livestock, and to ensure that minimal weed seeds are carried into the following cereal crop. This project examined if commonly used management strategies reduced N fixation by the medic pasture, and consequently mineral N supply to the following crop.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). The use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to identify and assess barley grass populations in paddocks and monitor potential resistant populations may be a useful tool for farmers. Barley grass weed density was monitored in three paddocks on upper EP (Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC), Heddle's at Minnipa and Wilkins' at Yaninee) using a UAV during the 2017 growing season at three different timings, with paddock transects conducted to verify grass weed density in paddocks.

Barley grass continues to be a major grass weed in cereal cropping regions on upper Eyre Peninsula (EP). The use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to identify and assess barley grass populations in paddocks and monitor potential resistant populations may be a useful tool for farmers. Barley grass weed density was monitored in three paddocks on upper EP (Minnipa Agricultural Centre (MAC), Heddle's at Minnipa and Wilkins' at Yaninee) using a UAV during the 2017 growing season at three different timings, with paddock transects conducted to verify grass weed density in paddocks.

Within Eyre Peninsula, as in other Mediterranean environments, grain yields of cereal crops are variable, and in many cases, this is due to under-fertilization. Previous modelling and field experiments showed the need for higher rates of fertilization in south-eastern Australia. Research into interactions between water and N, with simulation models and empirical data, has proved that yield, as well as water-use efficiency, is positively related to the degree of co-limitation between water and N [1, 2] .  In other words, yield and water use efficiency increase when the stress produced by water has similar intensity than the stress produced by N. The understanding of how resources co-limit and its genotypic variability in wheat crops of Eyre Peninsula is a key step for improving the water use efficiency and to reduce yield gaps.

This trial is part of a new project which addresses research and development gaps on the interactions between water and nitrogen in Australian cropping systems identified in GRDC scoping study DAS00157. The novelty of this project is a new tool to estimate the actual water and nitrogen stress and co-limitation in the season. The new tool will complement existing tools and provide opportunities to adjust N availability in the season, thereby reducing farmers’ risk and increasing chances of capturing the benefits of wetter seasons. Results are expected to be applicable to the medium to low rainfall areas of south-eastern and western Australia. The current project is focused on management of nitrogen fertilizer under uncertain conditions as related to variable rainfall and changing agronomic practices.

The aim of the current trial was to evaluate the impact of water and N co-limitation on grain yield of wheat under different N and water availability and to assess the genotypic variability in the main parameters.

These variety trials were identified as priorities by local agricultural bureau groups to evaluate commonly grown varieties, compare them to newly released varieties and provide further information on varietal performance in soil types and rainfall regions where wheat National Variety Trials (NVT) are not conducted.

These variety trials were identified as priorities by local agricultural bureau groups to evaluate commonly grown varieties, compare them to newly released varieties and provide further information on varietal performance in soil types and rainfall regions where wheat National Variety Trials (NVT) are not conducted.

The aim of this paddock demonstration was to compare grain yield and grain quality of a mid-late maturing variety (Trojan) and two early-mid season maturing varieties (Mace and Scepter).

There has been increasing interest from growers and agronomists in low rainfall farming regions to evaluate alternative break crop options to field peas. Field peas are generally well suited to low rainfall farming systems and have historically been the main pulse option for the upper Eyre Peninsula region. However, relatively high prices, production success stories and availability of varieties with improved agronomic characteristics has renewed interest in alternative pulse options and driven an increase in lentil production in low rainfall regions. This is the third consecutive year that this pulse comparison trial has been conducted. Pulse performance in 2016 was generally improved over the previous two years and mean crop yields from each year have been included for comparison.

The aim of this SAGIT-funded project was to build on previous research by updating knowledge of the benefits, including disease control and nutrition, of fluid delivery systems. Fluid systems have the potential to increase production through efficient delivery of micro and macro nutrients, reduced cost of trace element delivery and increased control of cereal, root and leaf diseases.

Historically, fungicidal control of Rhizoctonia, which can infect all of the major crops grown in southern Australia, has generally been poor, but fluid systems are a new option for delivery of fungicides, which may improve disease control and increase production. Trials were undertaken to assess the benefits of fluid delivery of nutrients and fungicides, under various application strategies, to wheat grown in two upper Eyre Peninsula environments.

The previous two years of trials in this project are reported in Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2015, Fluid delivery systems and fungicides in wheat p114 and Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2014, Fluid delivery systems and fungicides in wheat at Warramboo and Streaky Bay p98.

The aim of this SAGIT-funded project was to build on previous research by updating knowledge of the benefits, including disease control and nutrition, of fluid delivery systems. Fluid systems have the potential to increase production through efficient delivery of micro and macro nutrients, reduced cost of trace element delivery and increased control of cereal, root and leaf diseases.

Historically, fungicidal control of Rhizoctonia, which can infect all of the major crops grown in southern Australia, has generally been poor, but fluid systems are a new option for delivery of fungicides, which may improve disease control and increase production. Trials were undertaken to assess the benefits of fluid delivery of nutrients and fungicides, under various application strategies, to wheat grown in two upper Eyre Peninsula environments.

The previous two years of trials in this project are reported in Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2015, Fluid delivery systems and fungicides in wheat p114 and Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2014, Fluid delivery systems and fungicides in wheat at Warramboo and Streaky Bay p98.

A SAGIT Fluid delivery project was funded to update the benefits of fluid delivery systems from previous research and assess the potential of fluid nutrient delivery systems and disease control strategies compared to current systems. The fluid systems have the potential to increase production through delivery of micro and macro nutrients, lower cost of trace element delivery and better control of cereal and canola root and leaf diseases.

Blackleg continues to be a major issue facing canola growers especially on lower Eyre Peninsula and fluid delivery systems for product delivery may increase production and improve disease control. With the development of fungicides and the ability to deliver liquid products around the seed row during the seeding pass, there is now a range of application strategies available to growers to make use of these new products. This trial investigated the relative benefits of a range of fungicide strategies for blackleg control on canola.

The previous two years of trials in this project are reported in Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2015, Fluid delivery systems in canola p118 and Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2014, Fluid delivery systems in canola p104.

Mixed livestock and cropping systems have an important role to play in the diversification, risk management and sustainability of farming in low rainfall areas. The majority of farms in these areas use livestock to provide enterprise diversity and risk management, however grazing also offers a range of other system benefits that are generally not accounted for in mixed farming enterprises. As a result of increasing cropping intensity in these systems, there is a perception of declining productivity of the pasture phase, with pastures remaining largely unimproved and most farming systems continuing to rely on self-regenerating medic for livestock feed and nitrogen (N).

Pastures in these lower input mixed farming systems are generally set stocked and grazed at low stocking rates throughout the season with minimal effort to manage grazing for optimal production. Farmers are hesitant to increase grazing in the break phase of the rotation partly due to the perception that livestock can damage soil health, remove organic matter and induce weed germination, but also because their efforts are often concentrated on the cropping enterprise due to the income it brings into the business. With prices for livestock (both meat and wool) increasing over the past decade, and the valuable nutrition and disease break effect that the pasture phase provides to subsequent cereal crops, interest in the productivity and profitability of medic and livestock systems has increased.

A long-term study was established at the Minnipa Agricultural Centre from 2008 to 2016 (EPFS Summaries 2008 to 2015) to assess the systems impact of grazing on crop and pasture production, and soil health. The nine-year broad acre demonstration with a wheat-medic rotation (Table 1) also tested whether productivity could be improved under a higher input system (e.g. higher fertiliser and seeding rates, establishment of improved pasture) compared to a lower input and more traditional system (district practice seed and fertiliser inputs, volunteer pasture), and what effect this had on soil fertility.

Adoption of Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) in the low rainfall zone (LRZ) of the Southern Region is very low. The GRDC-funded project ‘Application of controlled traffic in the low rainfall zone’ is evaluating whether or not this scepticism is justified. To help LRZ growers answer the questions and uncertainties they face when thinking about CTF adoption, the project is conducting research on four sites (R sites) across dominant soil types and agro-ecological zones in the Southern Region LRZ. These trials focus on the impact of trafficking (by heavy vehicles) on crop production and soil condition as well as monitoring how quickly LRZ soils will “self- repair” if heavy trafficking is stopped. Issues of implementing CTF and managing permanent wheel tracks are being addressed in other components of the project.

This article summarises the first two years of crop performance after trafficking was imposed on a red calcareous sandy loam at Minnipa Agricultural Centre (a detailed summary of 2015 results can be found in the EPFS Summary 2015, p197). Three other trials similar in design and monitoring have also been implemented across the LRZ – on a deep sand at Loxton (SA), a brown loam near Swan Hill (Vic) and on a deep red earth at Lake Cargellico (NSW). All these trials will be maintained for at least the five year life of the project.

Many medic pasture phases are now being managed to produce vigorous medic dominant pastures using a range of herbicides and pesticides to control weeds and pests. However, it appears that some of these pastures are not producing high nitrogen (N) reserves for the following cereal crops. The broad aim of this SAGIT funded project is to assess the impact of soil nutrition, current herbicides, adjuvants and rhizobial inoculants on N fixation by medics under field conditions typical of the upper Eyre Peninsula. This article reports on the second year of field trials in this three year SAGIT funded project. First year results are available in the Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2015 p209-213.

Many medic pasture phases are now being managed to produce vigorous medic dominant pastures using a range of herbicides and pesticides to control weeds and pests. However, it appears that some of these pastures are not producing high nitrogen (N) reserves for the following cereal crops. The broad aim of this SAGIT funded project is to assess the impact of soil nutrition, current herbicides, adjuvants and rhizobial inoculants on N fixation by medics under field conditions typical of the upper Eyre Peninsula. This article reports on the second year of field trials in this three year SAGIT funded project. First year results are available in the Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summary 2015 p209-213.