Establishment was highest where stubble was removed, however sufficient plants were established for a commercial crop where stubble remained standing rather than laying on the ground.

Conditions post spreading of the seed were perfect for establishment - seed spread onto moist soil, 30 mm of rain and cool temperates post rainfall - and a similar level of success may not be achievable evry season.

• Tissue test results from all sites showed no trace element deficiencies and nitrogen levels were all adequate however 1% higher on plots receiving 80 kg of nitrogen. There was no significant differences in yield in response to zinc or sulphur rates across all sites. 
• For further results please see the attached trial report.

• Soil analysis obtained from the site indicated that most nutrients were in adequate supply with the exception of Phosphorus. Gypsum was applied to both sites in 1995 at 2.5 T/Ha. DAP was applied to the crop at sowing at the rate of 100 kg/ha. 
• For further discussion please see the attached trial report.

Different fungicide applications didn’t result in a significant difference in grain yield, however there was a large difference in the amount of internal blackleg infection.

• Early sowing opportunities may provide a great opportunity to maximise canola yield, but selection of the correct variety is important.
• Understanding the drivers behind canola development will help to improve canola management and variety selection.
• Varietal maturity ratings don’t always correlate with varietal phenology.

• Plant breeders have done a good job in reducing the lodging tendency of canola varieties. AIR Grace is a particularly good standing variety.
• Unless you are dealing with very high nitrogen soils and the growing season is particularly favourable, growth regulators should not be required in canola.
• Chlormequat had no effect on reducing plant height.
• Chlormequat appeared to have no adverse effect on grain yield and grain quality. 

• The results suggest that there was no significant impact on yield or oil content of the canola following the application of growth regulators. 
• For further conclusions please see the attached trial report.

The physical height difference between the treatments was very small and unable to be measured. None of the plots in the trial lodged.
None of the growth regulator treatments in the trial significantly increased or decreased the yield or oil content of the canola compared to the control treatment.

• Limited results are available from 2006 due to the dry season.
• Only limited seed is available for many of the new canola varieties.
• Review available data and always try new varieties in conjunction with proven varieties.
• Plant back residues may be an issue – check the labels!
• Match cultivar selection to available soil moisture and the break of the season.
• 14 new varieties are expected to be released in 2007 in Victoria.

• Canola is an important part of my cropping rotation as it has been profitable in it's own right and provided benefits to following crops.
• However it requires a lot of water and nutrients to be successful, and when port prices fall below about $300/tonne I question taking the risks involved in growing canola.

The 2009 season was one we would like to forget, with decile 1 growing season rainfall for nearly all grain growing regions in Victoria. Despite the season, crops in many areas looked excellent, but those without stored subsoil moisture at sowing struggled considerably with no effective rainfall in spring. Oil contents were highly variable, and generally low. Frosts on 23 October and 17 November wiped off about one-third of the crop in the Western District

The grain yield of TT Tornado canola was not significantly affected by nitrogen form (urea or SOA) or timing (IBS to green bud).

• Split application of nitrogen at green bud and full flower produced the highest yields.
• The risk of a dry season can be reduced by using split fertiliser timings.
• Applying nitrogen consistently increases levels of protein in canola but reduces oil content.
• Using flutrifaol-treated starter fertiliser and in-crop fungicides increased yields of canola by an average of 0.42 t/ha.
• Fungicide use had no consistent impact on grain quality.
   

While the 2003 series of trials is largely inconclusive, they do highlight a number of take-home messages:
• Do not expect nutrients like nitrogen to work effectively where other essential nutrients like phosphorus are lacking.
• Site selection for nutrition trials is vital - conduct of trials on recently constructed beds is advised against. Ideally, trials will be conducted in situations where beds have been in a normal cropping rotation for at least 5 years.
• The jury is still out on best approach to N management for canola, but where reasonable profile N is present before sowing a crop, split applications are advisable to mitigate risk.

No product or timing had significant effects on crop height.

• Time of nitrogen application was not as important as the quantity available to the plant.
• Nitrogen is an important driver of canola yields across dune-swale soil types and must be managed in the low rainfall zone for the crop to be profitable.

 

• Subsoil acidity, topsoil water repellance and herbicide resistance weeds are often found in combination on sandplain soils in Western Australian wheatbelt.
• One-off mouldboard ploughing is being investigated as a way to decimate herbicide resistant weed seed banks. bury water repellant top soil and incorporate lime into into acid subsoils.

These results highlight the potential for canola yields to be increased with extra P fertiliser rates above 20 kg P/ha. However, fertiliser research has indicated high rates of starter fertilisers such as MAP and DAP can have a negative impact on seedling germination due to fertiliser "burn".

• 16 new varieties/hybrids will be marketed in 2006. ƒ
• Limited yield results are available to date – check NVT database and produce summaries for your areas. ƒ
• Review long term data and try new varieties in conjunction with proven varieties. ƒ
• Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and has the potential to offer grain growers an alternative market for their oil-based grains. ƒ
• GM crops have had significant global economic and environmental impact but have been effectively on-hold in the short term in Australia due to the moratoriums imposed by state governments. ƒ

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. 

Unfortunately this trial was quite patchy and the other results from Victoria were also variable so it is difficult to make much comment.
Although there were no disease symptoms at this site, an observation that was made at a number of locations in Victoria and South Australia in 2003, was that the Jockey ® seed treatment was effecting plant vigour and slowing development of the canola.
This is reflected in the Victorian average yield figures and has led to the development of a potential alternative product known as Maxim ®. While trials will continue in 2004, Maxim will be available to some extent this year for activity on both Blackleg and Pythium.

• Intermittent prevailing dry conditions experienced through the growing season probably impacted negatively on the residual activity of Atradex WG and Intervix in the TT and CL canola systems respectively, while resistance to Group A and Group B Herbicides would also have been a contributing factor.
  • Final weed control ratings (out of 10):
  • Roundup Ready canola system – 9.9
  • Triazine Tolerant canola system – 7
  • Clearfield canola system – 7.5
• The trial was harvested 5th November (168 days after sowing). Yield data are shown below. The high yields and oil content probably reflect timely rain rather than a particularly good season. There is some discrepancy between the yields of the trial and the paddock average harvested by Andrew. The harvest contractor is confident that the figures reflect the true yield for the site and suggest that this area of the paddock was possibly a high yielding area compared to other areas of the paddock, or that the impact of small plot water harvesting may have played a role. The trial is more about relative performance than actual performance: on average the RR system yielded 38 percent higher than the TT system and 15 percent higher than the CL system.
• System specific input costs used in calculations in the table above provide a ball park summary of specific costs associated with each system. They are not hard and fast figures, to be disputed. It is appreciated that each and every item is subject to negotiation with suppliers so readers are encouraged to re-work the figures to suit their experience and anticipated costs for 2011.
• The trial demonstrates that in this instance growers would have on average an additional $500 per hectare to meet other costs when growing RR canola over TT canola (purchased seed) or an additional $465 per hectare over TT canola (using farmer saved seed – assuming that the same yields are obtained for these TT crops).
• Again in this instance growers would have on average an additional $225 per hectare to meet other costs when growing RR canola over CL canola (purchasing all seed) or an additional $190 per hectare over CL canola (using farmer saved seed).
• These additional earnings per hectare are even more attractive when one considers the fact that the level of weed control achieved by the RR system was significantly better than that achieved by the other two systems.

• Average site canola yield in the trial was 1.24t/ha.
• The dry spring and late frosts significantly reduce yield potentials.
• The top yielding canola was the new 46Y81 (CL) hybrid.
• The average yield of the commercial Clearfield hybrids was not significantly different to the Roundup Ready hybrid tested. 
• The Roundup ready hybrid was 34% or 0.46t/ha higher yielding than the TT check variety.
• Weed pressure at the site was low. 

• Average site canola yield in the Dunkeld trial was 1.98 t/ha.
• The record high temperatures during late spring significantly reduced yield potential.
• The top yielding variety at Dunkel was the new 45Y82 (CL) hybrid.
• Average of the Clearfield and Roundup Ready hybrids at the Dunkeld site was 32% of 620 kg/ha higher than the average of the TT check varieties compared to the difference of 34% or 460 kg/ha reported in 2008 at the Ross Bridge site.
• The average in gross income at the site was $266 per ha more than TT canola. 

• I see the value of canola in an intensive cropping system but I believe it is more profitable for me to grow wheat with a good pasture phase in the rotation to manage soil structure and nutrients.

Grain yield losses of up to 40% can be caused by clethodim at particular rates and timings. Early application timings were the best to avoid crop damage. Variation does exist between herbicide tolerant crop types (Conventional, Clearfield and TT) and their level of sensitivity to clethodim

• TM4 is a variety that has proven to have better early vigour than Pinnacle and 1% Oil advantage.
• Release of this variety is dependant on further evaluation. TM5 is a variety with a maturity similar to Rainbow and therefore could be a possible future Clancy replacement. It has better oil quality and yield. 

• Garnet, Hyola 50 and 44Y84 yielded significantly better than the site mean (2.4t.ha).
• Quality was exceptionally high in all varieties.
• Average yields of Triazine Tolerant (TT) varieties were similar to the Roundup Read (RR), Imi-tolerant (IT) and conventional varieties in 2010.

• Crusher (TT), Garnet (conv), 44Y84 (IT) and Hyola 505 (RR) yielded significantly better than the site mean (2.20t/ha).
• Oil (%) was above 42% in all varieties.
• The best yielding of the triazine tolerant (TT) varieties were equal to the best of the other herbicide groups
• Of the Clearfield tolerant (IT) varieties, hybrids (44Y84 and 45Y82) yielded 14% higher than conventional open pollinated varieties (44C79 and 43C80).

Note: blackleg resistance ratings shown are for 2007, and ranked from 1.0 to 9.0. Varieties with ratings of 3-4.5 are moderately susceptible; 5-5.5 are moderately resistant; 6.0-7.0 are resistant and 7.5-9.0 are highly resistant. Check the Victorian Winter Crop Summary for 2008 ratings.

Hybrid varieties (44Y84CL, 44Y24RR, Hyola® 555TT) topped the yields at the Mallee sites, particularly on deep red Mallee sand. The shorter season varieties (ATR Stingray, IH30 and GT41) were not able to capitalise on the spring rainfall as well as later maturing varieties. New RoundUp Ready and Triazine Tolerant canola variety Hyola®525RT® was not a yield record breaker, but the technology is very exciting. Expect more varieties to be released with greater yield potential in the near future.

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

• Farmer observation: Jackpot looked more drought stressed than other varieties. 
• Quality tests were also taken to determine oil content. CBH standards require oil to be greater than 38% for CAN1 grade, CAN2 must be over 30%. Snapper and Bonanza were the only varieties to make CAN1 oil grade with Jackpot TT and ATR Stingray, Crusher TT, Fighter TT and Hyola 555TT all less than 1% lower than the required 38%. 
• This farmer demonstration should be interpreted with caution. It is suggested to refer to national variety trial data over a number of seasons to get a better picture of variety performance.

It would appear that there are a number of new varieties showing promise in relation to yield. Beacon, 603 CL and NS04397 are stand out varieties in the TT category and Ag Castle, P98125, 46C04 and 45C05 in the non IT category. The seed treatment Jockey ® appeared to give a yield increase to the varieties Beacon and Grace, although depressed the yield of Sapphire. This cannot be explained.

The results of the trial should be viewed in light of a high CV (Co-efficient of Variation). This indicates that there was a high degree of variation within the trial, mainly caused through harvesting difficulties and the amount of grain shattering.

The results clearly indicate the need for ongoing variety testing as new lines are being developed. More varieties are being developed that are suitable to Tasmania's climate and growing conditions, however, on the basis of one trial and site most new lines evaluated cannot be excluded from further testing. The yields of the better performing varieties suggest material is available for Tasmanian growers for potentially good yields. 

The tough growing conditions impacted on the trial with yields below average. Despite the very dry season (Decile 1) grain quality was very good, with high test weights and oil percentage. It is important to view this data along with information from other sites and from years with more “normal” rainfall conditions.

• Average Canola yields in the trial were 2.75 t/ha (2.22 t/ha 2006, 2.4 t/ha 2005).
• The timing of the rain in early November arrived too late for most of the longer season varieties to exploit their full potential.
• The highest yielding variety was a hybrid variety ‘46Y78’ at 115% of the site mean.
• Seven of the top ten yielding varieties were TT varieties, compared to 4 out of 10 in 2006 and only 1 out of the top ten in 2005.
• Disease pressure at the site was low.

• Comparing the herbicide systems, TT varieties had the lowest average yield of 2.07 t/ha and conventional varieties yeilded teh highest at an average of 2.69 t/ha.
• The highest yielding variety was Hyola 76 with 2.79 t/ha; the loest yielding variety was Argyll TT with 1.67 t/ha.
• Overall oil levels were well below normal with only the clearfield varieties having an average of 40.5%.
• The hybrid varieties demonstrated much greater early vigour compared to the OP varieties.

• Comparing the herbicide systems, TT varieties had the lowest average yield of 2.05 t/ha and conventional varieties yielded the highest at an average of 2.59 t/ha.
• The highest yielding variety was Hyola 502 with 2.66 t/ha; the lowest yielding variety was Argyll TT with 1.67 t/ha.
• Overall oil levels were well below normal. TT varieties averaged 39.3%, clearfield varieties 41.1% and Roundup Ready varieties averaged 41.7%.
• The hybrid varieties demonstrated much greater early vigour compared to the OP varieties.

• There were no significant differences in yields between the varieties
• Quality information (admix and oil %) was not available at the time of printing.
• Due to the risk of spray drift onto sensitive crops, broadleaf control of the trial was not ideal. This may have had an impact on trial yields. • Jardee didn’t produce the expected yield advantage over the TT varieties that was expected. This may have been due to consecutive hot days in mid-October reducing the potential for later maturing varieties. This is supported by the highest yield in the trial being the earliest maturity variety (Tanami), although this was not a significant difference.

• Longer season varieties had lowest yields in dry season.
• Hyola 559 TT had highest yield, oil content and gross margin.
• Need to consider gross margin over yield as seed and end point royalties (EPR) costs differ.
• Range of varietal resistance to blackleg at this site.
• Addition of stubble had no impact on performance of Crusher TT.

• 2011 proved to be a high yielding year for canola. The site mean from this trial was 3.47t/ha.
• The Roundup Ready varieties performed particularly well with 6 of the 7 cultivars yielding above the site mean. Of these 45Y21 RR was the top performer and achieved the highest yield from the trial at 4.4t/ah, 127% of the site mean.
• Crusher TT and Thumpr TT (103% of site mean), Hyola 575 CF (106% of site mean) and Garnet Conv. (120% of site mean) were the top performing lines within their respective canola category.
• Oil content was generally high in 2011. The mean oil content from this trial was 46.1%. 

Clearfield canola varieties demonstrated good early crop vigour compared to Triazine Tolerant varieties. There was a clear yield difference by harvest, where TT varieties averaged 2.28 t/ha compared to 1.93 t/ha in the Clearfield varieties. The highest yielding canola variety at Inverleigh was Argyle with 3.03 t/ha.

• Latest information on canola variety yield performance can be found at www.nvtonline.com.au
• Growers should be encouraged to change canola varieties every two or three years to reduce the risk of blackleg 
• Variety selection should be made inconjuction with the latest version of the blackleg risk assessor (available at www.grdc.com.au)

• High seeding densities create dense canopies. Pollinating insects are unable to penetrate the dense canopy.
• There is a clear benefit for managing canopy densities when using bees for pollination.

From this initial work it cannot be concluded that the later nitrogen timings implicit in a canopy management approach significantly influence the need for disease management.

For a full list of take home messages please see the attached trial report.

• The concept of canopy management for improved disease control, fertiliser use efficiency and grain yield has been well documented in cereals, however limited research has been  onductedc on this concept in pulse crops, including faba beans.
• While large bean canopies are beneficial from a nitrogen fixation perspective, these often pose a number of problems, such as shading of flowers, poor fungicide penetration, increase disease intensity, increased plant lodging, decreased harvestability and the potential for haying off in seasons with a sharp finish.

In 2017, approximately 50% of barley grass weed seed was already on the ground (dropped) before the first swathing opportunity.

• Although high below-ground carbon input by plants is important to enhance soil organic matter, only a few studies have quantified carbon allocation dynamics in crop-soil systems in dryland regions under contrasting management practices.
• There seems to be environmental constraints and features of dryland farming systems (such as high aridity and low rainfall, low soil carbon and low moisture) that limit the extent of below-ground carbon allocation as found in this study. It is thus challenging to enhance soil organic matter stocks in the dryland regions through conservation tillage only.
• The majority of newly assimilated carbon remained in aboveground plant material, particularly in the wheat-soil system at Condobolin, which is a relatively drier climate than Wagga Wagga.
• A larger proportion of newly assimilated carbon was translocated to below-ground carbon pools in the canola-soil system at Wagga Wagga (7%−11%) than in the wheat-soil system at Condobolin (2%).
• Tillage practices had no effect on the allocation and storage of newly assimilated carbon in the crop-soil systems. Moreover, the management practices had no significant effect on grain yield, soil carbon stocks or bulk density.
• These results suggest that reduced tillage or no-till can maintain equivalent soil functionality relative to conventional tillage while reducing operational costs associated with energy and machinery inputs.

There is considerable uncertainty regarding the future of carbon trading in agriculture. The UNFS group is working on several project to help identify how growers might take advantage of the carbon market in the future. Improved production and sustainability needs to be the key driver of any management changes with carbon credits being a bonus, not the drivers of change.

• Yield and biomass can be used to assess variation and identify soil sampling points (more than five may be needed).
• However, the cause of yield variation can vary within production zones so zones may differ depending on management input targeted.
• Ground truthing is  essential including grower knowledge.

Irrigators should be advised by policy makers in the strongest possible terms to utilise continual logging soil moisture monitoring in their irrigation management plans. Soil moisture monitoring should not be viewed as an optional extra in an irrigation system but rather as the control centre that determines when to irrigate and how much to apply. The role of irrigation for crop production and salinity management requires soil moisture monitoring to determine the optimal time and volumes to achieve measurable objectives. Further research is needed to qualify and quantify the use of salt leaching irrigations as well as the use of gypsum applications to manage surface compaction created by stock and irrigation impact. White clover seed producers need to improve their attention to irrigation efficiency and focus on the net $ return/ML of irrigation applied. They are also advised to review their agronomic practices including paddock selection and rotations to aid in mitigating their current high end herbicide use on the white clover seed crops.

The highest yielding wheat overall was Meering at Charlton.

The highest yielding wheat overall was Meering at Charlton.

The highest yielding wheat overall was Meering at Charlton.

• Ryegrass is a “pussy” in dry seasons, but a “panther” in wet seasons!
• Crop competition does not suppress ryegrass when the soil remains waterlogged.

Wheat yields at Gippsland were well below the average yields recorded at SFS’ other trial sites in the western districts of the state.

• Significant yeild increases were measured at Conmurra by controlling aphids to reduce the impact of BYDV
• A range of fungicide treatments, applied at GS31 9increased grain yeild in wheat at Conmurra by about 2t/ha
• High levels of black point occured at Millicent and allowed good ratings to be made. 

•  Significant yield increases were measured at Conmurra by controlling aphids to reduce the impact of BYDV.

•  A range of fungicide treatments, applied at GS31 increased grain yield in wheat at Conmurra by about 0.8 t/ha

•  High levels of black point occurred at Millicent and allowed good ratings to be made. 

At the higher rainfall sites such as Conmurra, consideration should be given to spraying to control aphids in order to reduce the early infection of cereals by BYDV. At lower rainfall sites such as Frances this may only be a viable proposition in years with high summer and autumn rainfall that may allow increased aphid survival. The development of new varieties with increased tolerance to BYDV will reduce this need to spray. CSIRO has wheat lines in their breeding program that have this tolerance. While fungicides would normally be used when disease is present, there are some circumstances where yield increases can be recorded even in the absence of disease. 

• Edillilie crops show huge potential to recover from grazing and value add to cereals.
• Edillilie crops responded to late N application with higher DM production and grain yield.
• Barley was the highest producer of DM at Minnipa.
• Two other G&G regions conducted cereal grazing trials - see the "Sharing Info" section of this book.

• Wheat on wheat can be successfuly grown with relatively low risk if all factors that influence diease are considered.
• The most important are: disease carry over, variety selection, sowing time, seed treatment and burning stubbles.
• Barley on wheat is less of a problem, except for self-sown wheat in the barley sample.

• Wheat on wheat can be successfuly grown with relatively low risk if all factors that influence diease are considered.
• The most important are: disease carry over, variety selection, sowing time, seed treatment and burning stubbles.
• Barley on wheat is less of a problem, except for self-sown wheat in the barley sample.

On-Duty residues may affect the performance of subsequent susceptible crops. Cereals are considered a safe crop option following Clearfield canola as long as the On-Duty has been applied prior to the end of August and that rainfall between spraying and sowing the next winter crop has been at least 250mm.

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

• Burning or cultivating 2015 stubbles tended to produce higher yields, however this was only significant at Ungarie.
• High rainfall and a soft finish removed the benefit of stored soil moisture that stubble retained systems may have provided.
• Nitrogen was the limiting factor for both yield and protein for 2016.
• Growers cannot let stubble negatively impact on weed control and timely sowing.
• Growers should use crop rotation to their advantage by aiming to sow the right crop into the least antagonistic stubble.
• Stubble retained systems can require more nitrogen due to increased nitrogen tie-up.

Root diseases such as 'Take all', cereal cyst nematode, and Rhizoctonia cost cereal farmers acorss the Mallee and the Wimmera millions or dollars each year.

Grain legumes are ideally suited for direct drilling into cereal stubble. Cereal stubble does not affect grain legume growth or yield. The legume's large seed size and tolerance to variations in sowing depth allows them to safely emerge through stubble. Stubble should be left on the soil surface. Attempts to break up and bury it with repeated harrowing and workings will damage the soil structure, negating any benefit from retaining it.

• Grazed crops showed no effects from grazing in 2016 – an excellent season producing high early biomass. Crops recovered and yielded very well.
• Trojan and LRPB Arrow were the best dual purpose wheat varieties.
• Fathom, Spartacus and Rosalind were the best dual purpose barley varieties.

• A diagnostic service is available to farmers and industry for diseased plant specimens.
• Samples of all leaf and aerial plant parts should be kept free of moisture and wrapped in paper not a plastic bag. Roots should be dug up carefully, preserving as much of the root system as possible and preferably kept damp. Samples should be sent to the following address:

SARDI Diagnostic Centre
Plant Research Centre
Hartley Grove
Urrbrae SA 5064

• Oats produced the most dry matter after repeated grazings.
• Manage timing of grazing to allow cereal recovery. • Establish as much bulk as possible in a cereal pasture by increasing.
• seeding rate and consider dry sowing.

The GRDC-funded Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative recommends the use of chaff carts as part of a 10-point plan to beat crop weeds on the WeedSmart website.

• Resistance to Group B herbicides is common across western Victoria.
• Resistance to trifluralin is increasing.
• A new pre-emergent herbicides should become a fundamental part of an integrated weed management strategy to aid in control of multiple-resistant ryegrass.

• CL Kord seed treated with EverGol Prime and 40 kg/ha DAP out-yields standard 40 kg/ha DAP and untreated CL Kord seed. Very little differences between other treatments at Penong in 2013.

• Application of nitrogen fertiliser significantly increased yield compared to no fertiliser.
• Grain protein results suggest that in 2014 nitrogen was not the limiting factor to yield especially at the higher rates; incremental increases in mean grain protein were recorded with each increase in N, up to 300 kg N/ha.
• Variety choice had a significant effect on final grain yield and protein, however individual variety response to applied N rates were relatively similar.
• There was a strong link between N rate and what was left in the soil after harvest, and the higher rates left a considerable amount.
   

• Prior to sowing, seed was treated with various products that are commercially available although no seed treatment improved crop performance relative to the untreated control.
• Rancona C had no negative effects on germination early vigour, establishment or yield of wheat when compared to other seed treatments or the untreated control.
• There was no evidence of wheat smut at the trial site this season, if disease pressure was greater we may expect to see difference in yield between treatments.

The trial went well in 2011 because the manure coverage was good. Michael was disappointed with the results from the deep rip treatments with or without lime, because there was no significant yield difference compared to the control and hence no economic gain. However applying chicken manure at 2t/ha resulted in an increase in yield (especially from the most acidic sand rises) with a considerable economic gain/return. Therefore, as a result of these trials Michael is going to implement a strategic manure application programme with the objective of increasing his paddocks yield and profitability while reducing the impact of the sand rises. Fellow growers in the area have embraced the trial outcomes and most of them are keen to adopt a similar strategy in their cropping system since chicken manure is widely available in the area.

• Commercial viability has been difficult to demonstrate.
• Field trials demonstrated that the H Senor was able to accurately classify annual ryegrass in several broadleaf crops, including canola, faba bean, lentil and field pea.
• Other grass weeds such as brome grass and wild oats were also correctly identified as grasses in these crops.
• Broad leaf weeds were accurately classified in cereal crops, however this was more difficult due to the overlapping nature of the cereal crops at the time when the broadleaf weeds had emerged.
• Classification accuracy was lower for detection of grass weeds in cereal crops and broadleaf weeds in broadleaf crops, and these scenarios were not pursued for that reason.  

• Chickpeas and lentils should be sown in early May to achieve early growth and maximise biomass and yield.
• In 2013 at Westmere, growth was generally slow and lacked vigour, however lentils tolerated some short term waterlogging surprisingly well.
• The larger Kabuli chickpeas, like PBA Monarch, Almaz and Kalkee are likely to be the most profitable options for this region.

• Although chickpea yields were higher than previous years at Hart, the rapid finish to the season favoured earlier flowering and maturing varieties such as GenesisTM079 and Sonali.
• Ryegrass competition at 31 and 86 plants/m2 reduced chickpea grain yield by 31% and 56%, respectively.
• Breeder’s line “Chickpea 4” recorded the lowest yield loss from ryegrass competition at both sites (9% at the low ryegrass density at Hart), and also displayed 35% better tiller suppression than other varieties at Hart.
• Early vigour appeared an important trait in chickpea for improved competiveness with ryegrass, whilst short plant height was a disadvantage.

• A combination of weed competition and bird damage likely accounts for the absence of interaction between variety and crop-top application timing for grain yield in this trial. However significant treatment and variety responses were generated for grain yield, as well as a significant interaction for grain weight.
• Earlier maturing cultivars generally showed higher grain yield, favoured by the dry (but mild) finish to the season. The latest maturing cultivar Genesis114 showed the equal lowest average yield with other later maturing cultivars Genesis090, PBA HatTrick and Chickpea 3.

Grain yield results of these trials need to be treated with caution due to the adverse environmental
conditions experienced throughout the season.

• Howzat had significantly greater levels of foliar disease and pod infection levels than all resistant varieties when no fungicides were applied.
• Under high disease pressure in Howzat fortnightly sprays of chlorothalonil did not always prevent plant death from occurring.
• Maximum grain yields in Howzat treatments at Turretfield occurred in fortnightly sprays of
  chlorothalonil, however disease levels in these treatments were still higher than in untreated plots of the resistant varieties
• Resistant varieties with no fungicides applied suffered no yield loss when compared to the same varieties treated with fortnightly sprays under high disease pressure at Turretfield
• One spray at podding to reduce pod infection levels from low levels to very low levels in resistant varieties was all that was required to successfully grow the new resistant chickpeas under high levels of disease pressure last year. There was no significant difference between the fungicides used to reduce pod infection levels in the resistant types, however chlorothalonil reduced levels to a far greater extent than Mancozeb in Howzat.

• Significant levels of disease were present in the trial this year, but due to the high temperatures in November causing a short finish, it appears that potential yield differences were negated.
   

• Both desi and kabuli chickpea varieties suffered severe plant establishment reductions from fertiliser placement with the seed and with increasing fertiliser rates.
• Fertiliser rates of 20 kg P/ha and above placed with the seed had a significant negative effect on grain yields.
• Yields increased with fertiliser rate up to about 20kg/ha of P in this particular season and soil type
• Over two seasons fertiliser placement has been shown to influence plant establishment and yield of chickpea.

• Response of 13 chickpea genotypes to zinc nutrition was studied in a pot experiment under glasshouse conditions.
• When grown with no added zinc, zinc deficiency symptoms appeared 3–4 weeks after planting.
• Zinc efficiency based on shoot dry weight showed marked differences among genotypes.
• Root:shoot ratio was increased and proportionally more zinc was transported to the shoot when the soil was deficient.
• Cultivars that were very sensitive to zinc deficiency tended to have their root:shoot ratio increased by zinc deficiency more than less sensitive cultivars.
• The insensitive lines transported more than 70% of the total absorbed zinc to the shoot .
• Chickpea genotypes vary in their sensitivity to zinc deficiency.

Grain Yield results of these trials need to be treated with caution due to the adverse environmental
conditions experienced throughout the season.

• Growing season rainfall was extremely low (157mm c.f. 230mm long term average) and there was no subsoil moisture due to low summer rainfall. Only 8mm rainfall was recorded in r (a critical period for crop growth and yield determination). There was an extremely hot
  period during October which resulted in significant flower and pod abortion. Many plots had
  died without setting pods prior to harvest. The late rainfall of 50mm in November was too late to be of any benefit.
• Emergence was similar across all treatments and varieties.
• All varieties responded similarly to the herbicide treatments.
• The most significant damage was in simazine + imazethapyr and simazine + isoxaflutole
  treatments. Simazine + isoxaflutole applied at double rates caused a significant reduction in
  crop height.
• The trial was not harvested and grain yields not recorded as there was almost no pods set (see above).

Grain Yield results of these trials need to be treated with caution due to the adverse environmental
conditions experienced throughout the season.

• See Milestone 1 for weather interpretation.
• Emergence was similar across all treatments and varieties.
• All varieties responded similarly to the herbicide treatments.
• The most significant damage was in simazine + imazethapyr, simazine + isoxaflutole and flumetsulam treatments.
• Grain yields were improved in treatments with greatest weed control, hence no yield reductions were observed in the simazine + imazethapyr and simazine + isoxaflutole treatments, where most crop damage was observed.

Key findings:

• In a wet season, substantial yield losses (94%) from Phytophthora root rot (PRR) occurred in susceptible chickpea varieties such as PBA BoundaryA.
• Varieties with improved resistance to PRR (PBA HatTrickA and YorkerA) can also have large yield losses (68–79%) in a season highly conducive to PRR.
• Although yield losses will occur in seasons highly conducive to PRR, crosses between chickpea and wild Cicer species, such as the PBA breeding line CICA1328, currently offer the best levels of PRR resistance.

Summary

Under conditions that are highly conducive to PRR, substantial (94%) yield losses occur in susceptible varieties such as PBA Boundary.  However, significant losses (68-79%) can also occur in varieties with improved resistance to PRR (PBA HatTrick and Yorker).  Crosses between chickpea and wild Cicer species such as the PBA breeding line CICA1328 offer the best resistance to PRR.

• Pod set in chickpeas was suppressed by the cool September and October in 2009. Dry spring conditions further suppressed grain yields and grain weights of late sown chickpea crops by terminating seed fill prematurely.
• The dry season favoured early sowing, and generally favoured the early maturing Genesis079. The desi’s Genesis509 and new release PBASlasher generally performed similarly, although PBASlasher has higher long term yields and improved seed quality over Genesis509 in NVT trials.
• Earlier sown chickpeas yielded higher than those sown later. However, when sowing was delayed, yield was maximised in some varieties by increasing the seeding rate above recommended, similarly to 2008. However current chickpea densities of 35 plants/m2 for kabuli’s (small and large) and 50 plants/m2 for desi’s remain best-practice when sown early.
• Higher grain weights in chickpeas were achieved in 2009 by sowing early, particularly in larger seeded kabuli’s. However this finding was opposite to that found in the past where later sowing dates have led to larger grain weights. Increasing plant density from current recommendations did not influence yield, but reducing density to 20 plants/m2 did show a reduction in grain weight.

• There was no significant variety by seeding rate interaction.
• There was however very significant main effects of variety (p<0.0001) and seeding rate  (p<0.0001).