• Challus lathyrus (winter-growing annual grain legume) produced hay that was more nutritious than vetch and field peas.
• Out of the commercial vetch varieties and the SARDI breeding line, Haymaker, produced the most nutritious hay, however it has greater than 5% hard seeds.
• The best alternative commercial vetch variety to Haymaker was Morava as it has no hard seeds.
• The SARDI breeding lines that performed the closest to Haymaker were SA/34433 and SA/33600.

• Seedling densities were high at both sites, reflecting favourable conditions during spring.
• Sowing 5-10 mm below the surface into furrows resulted in a significantly higher density than the other treatments at both Gillingarra and Eneabba.
• Surface seeding into furrows gave a significantly higher density than into no furrows at Gillingarra, although there were no statistical differences between the two treatments at Eneabba.
• Surface-sown plots with no furrows were also the most patchy.

With a soil nitrogen content of 153kg N/ha at sowing, Derrimut wheat yielded just less than 6 t/ha with no N fertiliser.

• High rates of seed and fertiliser could indeed be a useful tool for controlling weeds. Seed costs would be a little greater but the ability to control the weeds without using chemical - particularly in a situation where resistant weeds become a problem, could certainly make the cost acceptable.

Precision farming tools such as EM surveys and yeild mapping can add greatly to our understanding of grain yield and quality variation across a paddock. The results of N fertiliser and sowing rates on Silverstar wheat demonstrated that:

• grain yield differences are determined by soil type.
• high sowing rates can contribute to lower screenings but does now guarantee lower screenings.

The larger scale trial work raised issues on how to interpret small scale plot work. There is a greater need for researchers and farmers to work together towards identifying and interpreting paddock variability, before large scale, and often costly, management practices are put in place. 

• Blackleg internal infection was found to be greater in retained seed compared to the original hybrid.
• Some trials showed a yield loss when retained sowing seed was used.
• The use of farmer retained hybrid seed must be questioned based on these and other trial results.

Higher apparent N recovery efficiency was recorded in the topdressed treatments than the mid-row banded treatments, particularly the one topdressed early before waterlogging (TDE). There was no real difference in the N recovery between the MRB rates (190 and 290 kg/ha).

•  Yields were significantly higher under narrow row spacing, but sowing direction had no influence on yield.
• Weeds had a significant effect on yield, but the scale of yield penalty (t/ha yield loss) did  not alter with row spacing or sowing direction in 2015.
• Weeds established faster where row spacings were wider, however by late tillering, all treatments had similar weed numbers and biomass levels.

• Yields were significantly higher under narrow row spacing, but sowing direction had no influence on yield.
• Weeds had a significant effect on yield, but the scale of yield penalty (t/ha yield loss) did not alter with row spacing or sowing direction in 2015.
• Weeds established faster where row spacings were wider, however by late tillering, all treatments had similar weed numbers and biomass levels.

KEY FINDINGS:

• Cereal variety choice can have a large impact on Pratylenchus thornei (Pt) population build-up within paddocks, which can then affect how following crops and/or varieties perform in the rotation.
• Significant differences were evident between varieties with an 8.9-fold difference in final Pt populations between the best (Commander) and worst (Mitch) entries.
• Very susceptible varieties should be avoided in paddocks with known root lesion nematode (RLN) populations as they can increase the population to high risk levels in one season (e.g. 19.1-fold increase with Mitch).
• There was no significant difference between varieties in crown rot inoculum level that developed during the season based on postharvest PreDicta B assessment.

Conclusions

Cereal variety choice can have a significant impact on the build-up of Pt populations within paddocks with an 8.9  fold difference in final populations between the best and worst variety at this site in 2015. Starting Pt populations of below 2.0 Pt/ g soil are considered low risk, populations between 2.0 and 15.0 Pt/g soil are considered medium risk and above 15.0 Pt/g soil are considered high risk for yield loss in intolerant crops or varieties in the northern region. This could have serious consequences for the production of following Pt intolerant crops and/or varieties within the rotation with all but two entries (Commander and Suntop) increasing the Pt population from a medium to a high risk level in one season or with one variety (Mitch) increasing the Pt population as high as 105.0 Pt/g soil at this site in 2015. Recent NSW DPI research has also demonstrated that significant yield loss still occurred in the moderately tolerant wheat variety EGA Gregory with high risk (>15.0 Pt/g)  populations in the top 30 cm of soil at sowing. Very susceptible varieties should be avoided in paddocks with known RLN populations as they can blowout the population to high risk levels in one season.

Although varieties appear to significantly differ in their yield in the presence of crown rot infection, differences in the levels of partial resistance, which limits the rate of spread of the crown rot fungus through the plant during the season, do not appear to result in significant variation in inoculum levels at harvest. Partial resistance does not actually prevent the plant from being infected but rather slows the rate of fungal growth in the plant arguably delaying expression of the disease which can translate into a yield and grain quality (reduced screenings) benefit. However, the crown rot fungus, while being a pathogen when the winter cereal plant is alive, is also an effective saprophyte once the plant matures and dies. This saprophytic colonisation of infected tillers late in the season as the crop matures is the likely reason why limited practical differences in residual inoculum levels are created between varieties and winter cereal crop types.

 

Further research across sites is required to confirm differences in resistance of barley and wheat varieties to Pt as this can have significant implications for the build-up of Pt populations within a paddock and hence following rotational choices. For instance, while it appears that Mitch has a useful level of tolerance to crown rot (average 0.54 t/ha higher yielding than EGA Gregory in 2015), its increased susceptibility to Pt resulted in it taking nematode populations from a medium risk level at sowing to an extremely high risk level by harvest at Macalister in 2015 (Figure 1). Hence, Mitch should only be considered for production in paddocks known to be free of Pt as its increased susceptibility to Pt is likely to override the yield gain in the presence of crown rot when considering the whole rotational sequence.

 

• Seasonal conditions had an overriding influence on crop performance and bean yields in 2015. 
• Early sowing benefited yields in less favourable low/medium rainfall environments where biomass production was lower.
• Sowing densities above the recommended rates of 24 plants/m2 led to high increases in biomass production at flowering time however, had no effect on final grain yield.
• Seed size was small in 2015, adjust seeding rates accordingly to maintain optimum plant populations for 2016.

• Growers should utilise the tools, knowledge and rule of thumb guidelines for growing irrigated canola, accessible on the GRDC website.
•  The correct variety should be sown at the correct time for maximum yield potential.
• Be prepared to sow early in a suitable paddock, knowing that seasonal conditions can dictate the success of dual purpose crops.
•  Recovery and winter growth of canola is slower than cereals.
•  Don’t graze too early (wait until the 6–8 leaf stage) and lock up before bud elongation is >10 cm.

• Results indicate that management practices will need to be slightly modified in many instances to maximise the yield benefits of these new cultivars.
• For example, the new pea variety Kaspa should generally be sown slightly earlier and at higher density than the traditional cultivars Parafield and Dundale.

Birchip: The site was located in a paddock with moderate subsoil limitations (40 to 70cm layer had chloride reading of 1800ppm, and an EC of 0.6dS/m). The site had a previous legume history and was high in soil available N (prior to sowing the soil contained 230 kg available N/ha to 1m depth).

Kooloonong: The site was located on a Mallee land system, on a flat to sloping rise with a sandy loam soil to a depth of 40cm and at greater depth a sandy clay loam to at least 130cm. The soil has no subsoil limitations but because it is light and sandy, leaching of nutrients can be a problem. 2010 had a growing season rainfall of 329mm (decile 10).

• Yield of all varieties were largely unaffected across the range of plant density (12 to 80
  plants/sqm) during the highly favourable season of 2010.
• As densities increased, seed size increased.
• Varieties differed significantly in grain yield and seed size. Sturt was the highest yielder,
  followed by OZP0901 and OZP0703.

• Vegetable beetle and slater activity is correlated to high relative humidity, mild temperatures and time of day, and that these conditions overlap with other crop emergence pests such as conical snails.
• Vegetable beetles and slater movement was not correlated with soil moisture content, unlike conical snails.
• There may be a wider window of opportunity to apply chemical controls to target these pests pre-sowing especially in dry sowing situations. Whereas when baiting for snails, efficacy is improved when baits are applied immediately following rain when the soil surface is moist and there is high relative humidity overnight.

• Velocity and Precept selective herbicides are based on a new active pyrasulfotole.
• This is a new mode of action on broadleaf weeds in cereals in Australia (Group H).
• Velocity and Precept showed excellent crop safety.
• Broad spectrum and reliable broadleaf weed control.

• Early sowing is the key to maximising canola yield in the northern region;
• Delaying sowing by 15 days after March 31 led to 195kg/ha less yield – a loss of 13kg/ha/day.
• When sowing in March at Wongan Hills the mid and mid/late maturity varieties performed best.
• When sowing in mid-April early and early/mid maturity varieties performed best.

• Vetch grain and dry matter yields were very good at Minnipa in 2015, the grain trial mean was 1.4 t/ha with the top lines achieving 2.1 t/ha, mean dry matter yields were 4.1 t/ha with the top line achieving 4.3 t/ha.
• The Piednippie SAGIT trial was poor, suffering from moisture stress post emergence which stunted growth and limited the potential once the crop received rain in mid-June, the site mean was only 1.1 t/ha of dry matter.
• Early sowing (mid-April) can achieve good results but is heavily reliant on either good subsoil moisture or follow-up rain.
• The new varieties, Volga and Timok continue to out yield all existing varieties in both grain and hay production on the EP.
• Herbicide choices for vetch are very dependent on local conditions so talk to your local agronomist about the best options for your conditions.

Early termination of vetch resulted in higher soil N and soil water at sowing the following year compared with later termination timings of vetch. Wheat yield in the year following vetch was highest for the earlier termination timings of the vetch. Brown manure vetch had higher soil N and soil water compared to vetch taken through to harvest.

Environmental conditions were not conducive for disease development. Good biomass yields were achieved due to favorable rainfall and likely to provide good profits. Varieties did not differ in biomass production but sowing earlier resulted in greater biomass. Timok produced more grains when sown early but Morava preferred late sowing. Although differences in grain yield due to fungicide were observed these are unlikely due to disease.

Environmental conditions were not conducive for disease development. The variety Timok produced more biomass and grain yield than Popany and thus appeared to be better suited to the Pyramid Hill climate during the 2019 season. Biomass yields were good and likely to provide higher profits than grain yields given the seasonal conditions. There was a good start and a drier finish to the season, which resulted in decreased grain yields than the projected outlook.

All varieties produced greater biomass and grain yields when sown early. Disease control strategies did not have significant effects on growth and yield because the site had low disease prevalence. PBA Butler produced greatest biomass at flowering (4.36 t/ha) and grain yield (2.16 t/ha) across both times of sowing. Vetch varieties were similar in biomass yield but Timok performed well when sowing was delayed, indicating a higher tolerance to delayed sowing.

Narrow disc seeding system resulted 72% and 87% more biomass than wide row knifepoint and paired row systems across all varieties. Timok yielded 1.5 t/ha of biomass when averaged across all harvesting dates, which was 13% and 25% higher than Studenica and Morava.

Establishment and plant growth: The different seeding systems had a large effect on plant establishment with greater number of plants emerging in the disc sown treatments. As the trial was dry sown, the discs were not able to penetrate as deep as the tine-based systems (Root Boot and PSS) and therefore it is possible that the shallower sowing has resulted in an establishment advantage. However, the seed bed was noticeably more cloddy following seeding with the tine-based systems, which may also have had a negative effect on the establishment, as seed-soil contact was likely to be poorer.

Biomass: The disc seeding system resulted in 99 – 166% more biomass than the tine systems at each harvest date. By the final September harvest data, the narrow row disc system with the highest SBU resulted in over 1 t/ha (117 – 166%) more biomass than the other seeding systems.

Field pea and vetch hay was most economical due to strong hay prices this year. Field peas were the best performing grain crop (Table 1). Early sowing maximised biomass (hay) and grain yield.

Field pea and vetch hay was most economical due to strong hay prices this year. Field peas were the best performing grain crop (Table 1). Early sowing maximised biomass (hay) and grain yield. Table 1. Potential gross margins from the highest yielding varieties and treatments selected from these trials.

Sowing early gave best crop competition with brome grass. Select a variety with high early vigour to suppress brome grass seed set. Select a variety with a short growing season when crop-topping brome.

• Sowing at 5 km/hr gave significantly higher seedling establishment densities than sowing at 10 km/hr and 15 km/h.
• It was most noticeable that the 15 km/h plots had the most soil disturbance.

• The farming systems containing a perennial pasture phase contained 140-180 mm less soil water in the top 300 cm than the continuous cropping system.
• Soil under the two lucerne-wheat cropping rotations and the perennial pasture system were considerably drier below 90 cm, presumably due to water extraction by lucerne in previous years.
• At sowing, June 2004 and June 2005, the continuous cropping system contained 60 and 30 mm respectively more plant available water in the top 1 m than the lucerne-wheat cropping rotations. This resulted in 50% and 35% higher yields in 2004 and 2005 repectively.
• Rooting depth in 2004-5 appeared limited to the top 70-90 cm for wheat, 50-70 cm for peas and 210 cm for perennial pasture.
• Modelling indicates potential drainage of 19 mm annually under annual crops, thus a 2-3 year lucerne phase is capable of providing 7-9 years of buffering at average rainfall

• Triflur and Roundup CT applied pre-sowing produced the best yield and gross margin result, some other treatments were statistically similar.
• All 4 rates of Diuron produced the same yield and gross margin.
• The best timing for weed control to maximize yield and gross margin is prior to sowing.

• Growing wheat in an area with a growing season of 140-175 days and only 220 mm of incrop rainfall, benefits from at least one deep cultivation (15-20cm) prior to sowing.
• The timing of cultivation of a chemically fallowed pasture is probably unimportant. If an erosion risk is present then cultivation should be delayed as late as practical.
• Reduced tillage systems are becoming more widely adopted by central western wheat farmers. It is suggested that most farmers could increase their average yield by 10% if they modify their chisel plough to a one pass plough. For design modification contact Alan Palmer at Trangie Agricultural Research Centre.

• Yield was higher on 220 mm row spacings compared to 440 mm and 660 mm.
• Reducing sowing rates to 40 kg/ha from 60 kg/ha produced the same yields.

Sowing cereals in early April on a soil profile full of water is possible if:

• long season varieties are planted to ensure that the crop does not flower before the high-risk frost period has passed,
• the topsoil is moist at seeding to ensure that the crop germinates and allows for early root growth down into the stored water in the subsoil, and
• weeds can be controlled.

• Sowing date combined with appropriate variety selection and adequate nitrogen supply was key to increasing grain yields.
• Nitrogen fertiliser decision needs to consider the maximum attainable yield and be adjusted for the seasonal conditions and initial available soil nitrogen.

• Early to mid season wheat varieties (Axe, Gladius and Wyalkatchem) sown in March yielded less than May and June sown crops.
• A mid to late season wheat variety (Yitpi) and two barley varieties (Barque and Maritime) produced similar yields from a March and April sowing.
• The earlier the sowing the later maturing variety and vica versa.

May 4th sown Mackellar wheat produced yields in the range of 4.74 – 5.99 t/ha following canola stubble. With high soil nitrogen reserves (176 kg/ha N, 0‐90cm) recorded 2 days pre sowing, there was a small but significant response to applied nitrogen (0.43 t/ha at 50kg/ha N & 0.58 t/ha at 100kg/ha N). There was a significant advantage to nitrogen timed during stem elongation (GS30‐39) over nitrogen applied in the seedbed. This advantage was evident in both single and split applications between which there was
no difference.

The trial demonstrated clearly that late May sowing gave higher wheat yields and better grain quality than late April and early July sowing. Some varieties such as the winter wheat MacKellar went against this trend, with higher yields being achieved with the late April sowing.

Although only a demonstration, the various treatments within the later sown trial showed that small yield differences between the various row spacing treatments. With the earlier sown trial, narrow row spacing gave higher yields, however there were some deficiencies with the trial design which means that a confident conclusion can’t be reached.

Funded by DAFWA and GRDC through DAW00204 ‘Delivering agronomic strategies for water repellent soils in WA’ and DAW00218 ‘Wheat agronomy systems profitability’. Thanks to LivingFarm for management of sites at Wickepin and Cranbrook. The provision of sites and support of growers Ray Falconer, Kyle Carson, David Stacey, and Kim Oliver is greatly appreciated. Thanks to Trevor Bell, Anne Smith, Stephanie Boyce, Paul Bartlett, Virginia Smee and Greg Brown for technical support. Thanks to West Midlands Group, Northern Agri Group, Facey Group, Gillami Centre and the soil wetter product manufacturers for ongoing support.

• Seeding rate had a bigger impact on wheat establishment than soil wetting agents
• High seeding rates on soils with low yield potential were sometimes a disadvantage; optimal seeding rates would need to account for yield potential as well as the degree of soil water repellence.
• Delaying sowing providing an opportunity to get a knockdown of weeds was important on water repellent soils where staggered weed germination, and reduced herbicide activity, reduces efficacy of in-crop and pre-emergent applications.
• In these trials soil wetting agents did not consistently improve wheat establishment and despite some evidence of benefits to vegetative growth this generally did not translate into a grain yield benefit.

• In 2010 we saw little effect of varying nitrogen rates on grain yield at Conmurra or Frances.
• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus decreased grain yield by about 1 t/ha at both sites in 2010.
• Highest grain yield was achieved by the earlier sowing dates but very good disease control was required to achieve this.

• In 2010 we saw little effect of varying nitrogen rates on grain yield at Conmurra or Frances .
• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus decreased grain yield by about 1 t/ha at both sites in 2010.
• Highest grain yield was achieved by the earlier sowing dates but very good disease control was required to achieve this.

• In 2010 we saw little effect of varying nitrogen rates on grain yield at Conmurra and Frances
• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus decreased grain yield by about 1t/ha at both sites in 2010.
• Highest grain yield was achieved by the earlier sowing dates but very good disease control was required to achieve this. 

• The first sowing date produced the highest grain yields but there was a significant interaction between varieties and sowing date at each site.
• Nitrogen application rate had large effects at both sites while application time had small effects on yield and quality.
• Due to the heat wave in early November, longer season wheat varieties produced lower grain yields than earlier maturing varieties
• Control of BYDV had less effect on grain yield than in previous years.

• In 2010 we saw little effect of varying nitrogen rates on grain yield at Conmurra or Frances.
• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus decreased grain yield by about 1 t/ha at both sites in 2010.
• Highest grain yield was achieved by the earlier sowing dates but very good disease control was required to achieve this.

• Despite high levels of available soil nitrogen at the start of the season (113 kg/ha N, 0 – 100 cm), there was a significant yield response to applied nitrogen. There was no yield advantage of 100kg/ha N over 50kg/ha N.
• At 50kg/ha N, there was a significant yield advantage (0.47t/ha) from application at GS33 (third node) compared to application pre-sowing.
• At 100kg/ha N, there was a significant yield advantage (0.55t/ha) from application at GS30 above seedbed application. Differences at 50kg/ha were not significant.

• Grain yields increased with the addition of nitrogen, producing a maximum of 4.64 t/ha, with 75 kg N/ha.
• Nitrogen application timing produced no significant differences to grain yield.
• Crop sensors used at early stem elongation, were able to accurately measure crop nitrogen uptake and tiller number.

• Nitrogen application timing produced no significant differences to grain yield.
• Grain yield was reduced by 12% with the presence of ryegrass.
• Crop sensors were able to accurately measure crop dry matter.

On a site with high N at sowing, yields of 2.0-205t/ha were achieved and there was no apparent benefit from N applications of 30 and 60kg N/ha, thus all applied nitrogen treatments lost money relative to the zero nitrogen plots.

The slower development of MacKellar compared to Kellalac was associated with a higher tiller count in spring. However this did not translate to higher ear numbers, since with Kellalac 75% of tillers produced an ear, compared to 65% with
MacKellar (in Hamilton the opposite occurred).g/ha Sulphur.

• It was a relatively low yielding site, perhaps reflecting the fact that the site was in cereal in 2001 and the soil nitrogen status at planting was very low. Protein figures certainly indicate the fact that soil nitrogen was low 
• All varieties performed equally, although the winter wheat types had slightly lower grain protein than the spring wheat types. 
• The season tended to favour the earlier maturity types such as Chara, although given this, the performance of MacKellar and Brennan was quite acceptable. 

Chara was the top yielding variety in the milling wheat demo site and Brennan was the highest yielder of the winter wheat varieties.

• Grain yield responded to the interaction between season, variety, N rate and sowing date.
• The dry finish to the 2015 season meant sowing later reduced yield. Nitrogen application did not affect yield regardless of sowing time.
• The end of 2016 was characterised by a wet and cool finish and yield increased with N, but there was no sowing time effect.
• Nitrogen application generally increased protein. Only in 2015 did late sowing increase protein further.

• Elevated temperature reduced yield by 0.3 – 0.4 t/ha per degree (°C) higher during pre- and post-flowering. •
• The effect of temperature was offset by grain number per m2 .
• Higher N rates may partially mitigate the effect of elevated temperature..

• Pre-sowing: dry seeded some moisture below seeding depth.
• Early season and pre-harvest: dry and hot days caused tipping.

Traditionally sowing wheat in Western Australia was not recommended until after Anzac Day.  A date based on the yield performance and maturities of commercially available wheat varieties in the 1990s. Since then growers have seen the release of Mace, a high yielding and very adaptable variety which at 67% dominates the area sown to wheat in WA in 2015 (Data courtesy of CBH group). Growers are now set up and keen to take advantage of any summer rainfall, but there is limited information on which wheat varieties to grow with a very early sowing opportunity.

Research carried out by James Hunt et al. (2014) suggested that the faster maturing winter wheat Whistler appeared well adapted to WA. When sown in mid-April Whistler was able to yield equivalent or better than Mace planted in late May (Crop Updates 2015). Results from Dandaragan and Katanning trials do support this suggestion but this research also suggests there are commercial varieties currently available in WA which can yield similar or higher and have a superior grain quality classification compared to Whistler. However these varieties can still be at the risk of frost and grain quality problems associated with very early sowings.

At all three sites in this trial series, barley out yielded wheat with both the mid-April and the early May planting (note we have included the predicted yield for barley with mid-April planting at Dandaragan of 7t/ha in this assessment). Barley was over 1.5t/ha better than wheat with both mid-April and early May planting. Whilst this research continues to highlight the need for a wheat variety which is more suitable for early sowing opportunities in Western Australia, growers looking for a cereal to sow in April could consider barley as being their new wheat variety until such wheats are released. Whilst this is only one year of observations there are many reasons to consider barley particularly with mid-April planting ahead of planting a wheat variety, including reduced (but still possible) frost risk.

The feed barley varieties Lockyer, Oxford, Rosalind and Urambie did not provide any yield advantage over those with a ‘malt’ classification at Dandaragan in 2015. The ‘malt’ varieties would therefore have been more profitable than the feed varieties as they were received with a premium over the feed barley varieties (either Malt 1 or Malt 2) at a similar grain yield.

With any early planting opportunity growers need to factor in increased fungicide costs. At Dandaragan powdery mildew and barley leaf rust in the barley plots and yellow spot in the wheat plots had to be controlled, particularly in the mid-April planting.

 

Pre sowing comment: good moisture. Small amount of capeweed and lupins.

Early season comment: dry period after emergence. Some lupins present and a small amount of radish.

Mid season comment: dry periods after frost.

Pre harvest comment: severe frosts during grain fill effected earlier maturing lines.

• Phenology and grain yield responses were significantly influenced by seasonal conditions in 2019.
• Severe heat stress and terminal drought conditions favoured faster developing spring genotypes, which achieved the highest grain yields in 2019.
• Grain yield responses varied in response to sowing date, and highest yields occurred when phenology was matched with recommended sowing windows.

Despite weed competition, less-than-ideal winter weather and soil conditions, wheat responded to both P and N application at this site. Grower returns on fertilizer investment were best with P applied at 8 to 16 kg/ha and N applied at 40 kg/ha. Greater response and returns from increased fertilizer application may be expected with improved early-to-mid season moisture conditions and less weed competition.

• The harvest results show the gains to be made from the banded application of phosphorus and nitrogen to wheat crops grown in the southern Mallee.
• Carefully assess soil fertility prior to sowing of cereals and canola to ensure dollars spent on the most profitable nutrient combination for each paddock.
• Plan on balanced nutrition of crops to optimise farm profits.

• The average sowing rate in low rainfall zones is 50 kg/ha.
• Increasing seeding rates is generally not helpful for yield as moisture is limiting in this zone.
• Higher seeding rates can have other benefits such as reducing weed burdens.

• The flowering time response of varieties was influenced by sowing time. 
• Managing a varieties sowing time to target flowering within a flowering window is one tool to manage risk of reduced yield reduction and frost damage risks. 
• The estimated flowering window in the northern districts is August 16th to September 9th.  Early maturing varieties such as Emu Rock, Bonnie Rock, Supreme and Westonia achieve 50% flowering before August 18th when sown on May the 9th
• Mid –long maturing varieties such as Calingiri, Cutlass and Zen, flowered after September 9th when sown on the 2nd of June.
• Mace wheat is a parent of Scepter, and both are considered mid-long maturing wheats.  However, the development of Scepter wheat at the trial site in 2016 was longer than Mace.  Scepter reached the start of flowering approximately 6 days after Mace when sown in either May and June.  It yielded similarly to Mace at the first sowing time but significantly better at the second sowing time.
• The cooler temperatures and the higher rainfall have benefited production of the longer maturing wheats which have some adaptation for the northern region. 

Best options for the 2002 season are: ƒ

• Yitpi for low rainfall, sodic or light textured soils, particularly where boron levels are high.
• Mitre for medium rainfall, alkaline to slightly acid soils ƒ
• Chara for medium to high rainfall and irrigation on neutral to acid soils
•  H45 as a late sowing option where CCN is controlled.

The incentive to grow AH over APW varieties is small when wheat is pooled under the golden rewards payment system.

• 2012 saw high yields across all varieties and across all three SFS trial sites with a Western District average of 7.3 t/ha.
• The red grained feed varieties topped the yields. Beaufort was the top performer across all of the sites in 2012, with Revenue and Preston also producing high yields.
• Amongst the white wheats, Bolac and Forrest produced the best gross margins in a year where there was a good premium for growing quality wheat.

• Trojan and Beckom were the highest yielding in the Mallee and Trojan, Cosmick and Scepter topped the yields in the Wimmera.
• There was a 0.5t/ha advantage in having earlier sowing varieties in the Wimmera (sown on 18 May), over later sowing
• Cosmick, Corack and Mace have performed consistently well over the last six years in NVT, showing their adaptability to these regions regardless of sowing time.

Corack, Cosmick and Correll were soild performers in the Mallee in 2014.

Mace and Shield were the highest yielding varieties in the Wimmera (Horsham).

Mace, Scout an Corack topped the variety trial in the West Wimmera (Nhill). 

Corack and Mace have been solid performers for the past three years across the Wimmera and Mallee regions. 

 

There was no influence of seeding rate on crop production in 2012 at Mullewa when the crop was sown close to the break. However there was a yield penalty with the higher seeding rate when the sowing time was delayed by a month. These results are in contrast to 2011 at Mullewa . Increasing seeding rate increased crop production when sown close to the break and there was no effect on  roduction with increasing seeding rate when seeding was delayed.

Emergence: 

Emergence was staggered for the first sown treatments only. This is because seeding was on the 11th May into a drying seed bed. It had rain ed in April and early May. The second sowing time was on the 7th June. Rainfall in June was 56 mm.The seeding rate treatments targeted 100, 200 and 300 plants/m2. The actual plant population was 100, 147 and 200 plants/m2 respectively (averaged across variety and sowing time). The range in ears produced across treatments was not large however it was a significantly different between the highest (145 ears/m2) and the lowest seeding rate (137 ears/2) (ave across variety and sowing time).

Yield:

At Mullewa, there was no interaction between seeding rate, sowing time and variety on crop yield. However, there was an interaction between seeding rate and sowing time on crop production for all varieties. When sown close to the break of the season, changing seeding rates did not affect crops yields significantly. In contrast to the first sowing time, the grain yield (averaged across all varieties) was significantly reduced at the higher actual plant population compared to the middle and lower targe ted plant populations of 100 and 147 plants/m2. Delaying seeding by a month later, reduced crop production by 500 - 600 kg/ha. This equates to 20kg/day/ha.

Emu Rock, Mace and Corack were the higher yielding varieties at each sowing time. Emu Rock and Mace are AH varieties, Corack is an APW variety.

Quality:

There was no influence of seeding time, plant density or variety on grain protein (P>0.05). Initial assessment of grain screenings includes whole and cracked grain. Except for Emu Rock, screenings of all varieties were lower than 5% when sown at the first sowing time (P<0.05). Observations of Emu Rock at harvest suggest the screenings are a result of mechanical damage, rather than small grain (further measurements are to be undertaken to assess this).

.

Sowing time has a greater influence on production of all wheat varieties than seeding rate. Weed competition is one factor which can limit early sowing and increasing crop competition through increasing plant density has been demonstrated as a useful non chemical tool to reduce weed growth. The research has demonstrated that increasing plant density did not adversely affect crop yield or grain quality of crops sown close to the break of the season in May however higher plant densities of varieties sown in June did reduce yield of wheat varieties.There was no influence of seeding rate on crop production in 2012 at Mullewa when the crop was sown close to the break. However there was a yield penalty with the higher seeding rate when the sowing time was delayed by a month. These results are in contrast to 2011 at Mullewa. Increasing seeding rate increased crop production when sown close to the break and there was no effect on production with increasing seeding rate when seeding was delayed.

In spite of a warm and very dry October combined with 3 frosts over the site, the winter wheat varieties performed well. Tennant, with the longest maturity of the 4 winter wheat varieties was the variety most affected by the dry, hot October. MacKellar performed extremely well, with a yield of 5.9 t/ha. The spring wheat varieties all produced high screenings as well as high protein. This was the result of the later sowing coupled with the seasonal conditions. Silverstar, an early maturing variety, produced an outstanding yield, possibly being affected less by frost than the other varieties.

Best options for the 2003 season are:

• Yitpi for low rainfall, sodic or light textured soils, particularly where boron levels are high.
• Annuello for low to medium rainfall areas where the domestic market is targeted to achieve a price premium.
• Mitre for medium rainfall, alkaline to slightly acid soils.
• Chara for medium to high rainfall and irrigation on neutral to acid soils.
• H45 as a late sowing option where CCN is controlled. Be aware of the stripe rust risk.

• Sowing date, particularly for mid–late maturing varieties, was found to be a significant determinant of grain yield potential, with yield reductions of >25% observed due to a delayed sowing date (8 May vs. 7 June).
• Variety and sowing date in particular affected grain quality parameters, with a significant increase in the level of screenings for all varieties when the sowing date was delayed.
• Higher plant populations had a greater influence on grain yield when the sowing date was delayed. Yield potential was optimised at 200 plants/m2 for a 7 June sowing date vs. 100 plants/m2 for the earlier 8 May sowing date, supporting the principal of increasing targeted plant populations when sowing is delayed.
• Altering variety and maturity type, and increasing targeted plant population in response to a delayed sowing date did not fully compensate for yield losses associated with a delayed vs. timely sowing date.

Conclusions:

Results from this experiment highlight the importance of timely sowing, particularly for mid–late maturing varieties. Yield reductions of approximately 1.3 t/ha averaged across plant population treatments were recorded for the mid–late maturing varieties LRPB LancerA and EGA GregoryA with delayed sowing, which equates to a 25% and 26% yield decline, respectively. Similarly, the late maturing variety EGA EaglehawkA suffered a yield penalty of around 22% (0.98 t/ha) whilst the mid maturing variety SuntopA suffered a 14% (0.70 t/ha) yield reduction due to delayed sowing. In comparison, the earlier maturing varieties LRPB DartA and LRPB SpitfireA suffered only minimal yield reductions when SD was delayed. Importantly however, the earlier maturing varieties did not exhibit any yield advantage over the later maturing varieties in SD 2 and were significantly lower yielding than these varieties at SD 1. Temperature and plant available water during anthesis/grain fill would also have affected both yield potential and grain quality parameters, with limited effective in-crop rainfall in September/October, and temperatures exceeding 35 °C for an extended period from 4 October. The longer season variety EGA EaglehawkA in particular had high screenings for both SDs, and also produced a low yield in SD 2, reinforcing the need to sow this variety early due to its lack of adaptability under unfavourable conditions. Increasing plant population had a greater influence on GY when SD was delayed, with yield potential optimised at 200 plants/m2 in SD 2 vs. 100 plants/m2 in the earlier SD 1, supporting the principal of increasing targeted plant populations with delayed sowing. These findings further emphasise the advantage of planting early in the sowing window compared to delayed sowing just simply in terms of input seed requirements. Variety selection and sowing date particularly affected grain quality parameters and screenings. There was a significant increase in the level of screenings for all varieties when sowing was delayed. LRPB LancerA was the only variety in this experiment that achieved screenings of <5%, but only at SD 1. All other varieties, including LRPB LancerA in SD 2, exceeded the critical 5% screenings receival standards level. LRPB LancerA appears to have excellent grain stability with significantly lower screenings than either EGA GregoryA or SuntopA. Findings from this experiment indicate that there were differences between varieties in terms of grain stability, due possibly to variations in kernel shape/plumpness and or kernel weight stability. These results also highlight the adaptability of some of the mid–late season 16 | NSW Department of Primary Industries varieties, and the yield and quality advantages of sowing these varieties early, compared with sowing earlier maturing varieties later

Maturity of wheat varieties and their associated phenological traits need to be considered when making decisions about
variety selection and seeding programs. The correct combination is required to achieve yield potentials across different seasonal
conditions. In seasons with an early break or situations which require early feed, winter wheat varieties have shown the ability to mature, provided they are sown early. High rainfall zone growers should be aware of disease pressures when sowing early.
If sowing later, mid-maturity spring wheats that have a moderate vernalisation and moderate photoperiod requirement have out-performed the early maturing varieties with weak vernalisation and weak photoperiod, regardless of the spring finish.

• Amarok yielded highest out of the TOS1 wheat varieties. Bolac and Wedgetail had the highest protein content.
• Preston produced the highest yeild of the TOS2 wheat varieties.
• For varieties grown in both TOS1 and TOS2, their combined average yields were significantly highter in TOS2 thatn TOS1. The test weight for TOS2 wheat also tended to be higher thatn the test weight of the varieties of wheat grown at TOS1.
• Longer maturity varieties in each trial tended to out-yield shorter season cultivars.

The wet winter and subsequent waterlogged conditions through June and July resulted in reduced tillering, particularly in the earlier maturing varities, and overall yield performance was reduced.

• These trials are carried out each year to assess the range of wheat varieties at several sites across the South-East.
• The regular use of fungicides for disease control within wheat NVT has reduced the impact of disease on grain yield performance, placing greater importance on the use of disease guides for varietal choice.  
• Need to minimise or avoid sowing of susceptible varieties which do not meet minimum disease standards unless a vigilant and successful disease control strategy is in place.
• Data from the NVT (National Variety Trial) data contains long-term site results. This data should be utilised to reduce the effect of seasonal variability in the decision-making process. 

• These trials are carried out each year to assess the range of wheat varieties at several sites across the South East.
• Cosmick, Trojan and Corack are the highest long-term yielding varieties across all of the South East NVT sites.
• Variety trial sites are selected and managed to maximise the full genetic potential of each variety; when selecting varieties ensure that the disease profile of varieties is taken into account.
• Early vs late sowing at Conmurra highlighted the importance of matching the variety to the time of sowing to maximise yield.

• These trials are carried out each year to assess the range of wheat varieties at several sites across the South-East.
• The regular use of fungicides for disease control within wheat NVT has reduced the impact of disease on grain yield performance, placing greater importance on the use of disease guides for varietal choice.  
• Need to minimise or avoid sowing of susceptible varieties which do not meet minimum disease standards unless a vigilant and successful disease control strategy is in place.
• Data from the NVT (National Variety Trial) data contains long-term site results. This data should be utilised to reduce the effect of seasonal variability in the decision-making process. 

• These trials are carried out each year to assess the range of wheat varieties at several sites across the South-East.
• The regular use of fungicides for disease control within wheat NVT has reduced the impact of disease on grain yield performance, placing greater importance on the use of disease guides for varietal choice.  
• Need to minimise or avoid sowing of susceptible varieties which do not meet minimum disease standards unless a vigilant and successful disease control strategy is in place.
• Data from the NVT (National Variety Trial) data contains long-term site results. This data should be utilised to reduce the effect of seasonal variability in the decision-making process. 
   

• The performance of the wheat varieties sown at the first sowing time was influenced by drought induced copper deficiency (visual assessment).   These symptoms were not observed in the other sowing times. 
• Noodle varieties Fortune and Calingiri had the highest economic returns due to the exceptional prices received for noodles in 2010.  If noodle prices return to traditional premiums then returns for these varieties will significantly reduce.
• Magenta was the highest yielding variety at the first sowing time however there was a 600kg/ha drop in production when seeding was delayed by 18 days.  Screenings (whole and cracked) were greater than 5% at time of sowing 1 and 2 which influenced economic returns.
• Mace and Wyalkatchem yielded similarly at each sowing time however economic returns were greater for Mace because it is classified as Aust. Hard wheat.

• These trials are carried out each year to assess the range of wheat varieties at several sites across the South East.
• Cosmick, Trojan and Corack are the highest long-term yielding varieties across all of the South East NVT sites. 
• Variety trial sites are selected and managed to maximise the full genetic potential of each variety; when selecting varieties ensure that the disease profile of varieties is taken into account.
• Early vs late sowing at Conmurra highlighted the importance of matching the variety to the time of sowing to maximise yield.

• The regular use of fungicides for disease control within wheat NVT has reduced the impact of disease on grain yield performance, placing greater importance on the use of disease guides for varietal choice.
• Need to minimise or avoid sowing of susceptible varieties which do not meet minimum disease standards unless a vigilant and successful disease control strategy is in place.
• Data from the NVT (National Variety Trial) data contains long-term site results. This data should be utilised to reduce the effect of seasonal variability in the decision-making process.

• Early sowing increased grain yields in all of the wheat varieties trialed, however, the size of the increase was dependent on the variety.
• Nitrogen application increased grain yield in the early sown treatments and increased grain protein especially in late sown crops.

• Despite the late sowing, wheat yields were reasonable. The hightest yield was for wheat after canola with ripping. With 80kg N/ha, this was 3.1t/ha.
• The benefit of ripping had decreased markedly from the previous season.
• The canola rotation increased wheat yield by about 0.5t/ha. It was greater with ripping.
• The main conclusion from this experiment is that on this soil type, potential yields can be obtained with management tools already available to growers.

The 2005 season in general suited wheats with mid-late maturity because of the favourable spring following a dry winter. Entries in the National Variety Testing (NVT) system were not sprayed for rust control and stripe rust had a large effect on yield of susceptible varieties in many environments. Growers should keep these two factors in mind when assessing yield data from the 2005 season.

Nitrogen use has resulted in great improvements in crop yield in favourable seasons.
In dry seasons too much applied nitrogen can result in haying-off and lower yields.
Good guidelines are now available for nitrogen use to reduce the risk of crop failure resulting from applying too much fertiliser nitrogen.
The critical factors are:
• Stored soil water (control summer weeds)
• Measure how much nitrogen is in the soil prior to sowing
• Calculate nitrogen requirement from the target yield
• Do not pre-drill more than 60 kg/ha of urea in the 350mm rainfall zone (100kg/ha in the 450mm zone)
• Split applications are safer
• Topdress with urea if the soil test indicates a need, the crop is healthy, and the outlook is for an average to wet season

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

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

Andrew’s management of water repellence demonstrates that a strategy of affordable progressive amelioration and better sowing methods for the rest of the crop can be a successful and profitable approach for managing soil water repellence. On-farm testing of water repellence management options can help confirm which strategies are likely to be successful and profitable on particular soils and landscapes. The use of winged paired-row systems, winged points, banded-wetting agents, on-row seeding or broadcast spreading a proportion of the seed ahead of the bar can all potentially improve the effectiveness of sowing on water repellent soils and this is the subject of ongoing research.

The reasons why barley at high sowing rate has the potential for high screenings are:

• Barley produces significantly more shoots per plant than wheat

• Grain weight decreases for each shoot

Hence because barley has many more shoots than wheat, and these extra shoots have smaller grain, the screening level in barley is often higher than in wheat In both crops it is possible to reduce the amount of tillering by increasing the sowing rate. For Silverstar wheat 2.2 shoots formed at a sowing rate of 60 kg/ha, at 120 kg/ha only 1.5 shoots formed. For Sloop barley the number of shoots also decreased but nowhere near as much (at 60 kg/ha - 5 shoots; and at 120 kg/ha - 2.8 shoots).

Hence even at the high sowing rate of 120 kg/ha barley still produced too many shoots and the contribution of the small grain in the third and subsequent shoots is too large a percentage of the whole sample which results in an overall reduced grain weight for the sample.

• The main difference in yield may have been due to poor tillage in the 500mm spaced crop.
• The entire crop was reliant on the soil nutrition from the pasutre as no fertiliser was applied to the paddock prior to and following seeding.
• Later sowing of the trial may have jeopardised the wide row's yield capacity therefore it would be encouraged that when considering sowing in wide rows early seeding is preferable.
• It may be noted that if nutrition was not a limiting factor for the 500mm crop, the water supply from the wide row may have increased yield to similar or better than that of the 250mm crop.

• Winter Graze n Grain Hybrids provide huge yields and multiple cropping & grazing opportunities
• SuperHyola® late Spring Hi-Biomass Hybrids show very high yield potential in the HRZ
• Triazine Hybrids show similar performances to the best Clearfield Hybrids
• RT® dual herbicide tolerant Hybrids show their value as a new competitive IWM management tool

1. Winter cover crops can improve ground cover, increase plant available water and improve subsequent cotton yields in pivot-irrigated systems.
2. The early spray-out treatment was the best cover crop for storing water over the short fallow in this study where cover did not have to last very long. However, the extra cover in the mid-terminated cover treatment continued to boost infiltration in the cotton’s
early growth stages.
3. All cover crop treatments improved the yields of cotton by approximately 3 bales/ha; well in excess of any gains expected from the increased fallow soil water storage.

• There is no significant difference between any of the sowing rates over 100 kg/ha this year, although the higher yields were obtained with the higher rates.
• This is probably due to the dry conditions killing off a large number of secondary tillers at the lower rates, while the increased plant densities at the higher rates with fewer secondary tillers resulted in more grain per hectare.

• While there is little difference between the results it would appear that the best sowing rate for winter wheat in the Hamilton District is between 100 - 120 kg/ha.
• Interestingly the higher rates were not significantly different from the standard rate in a dry year.
• What was evident was the increased number of weeds in the plots with the lower rates despite the plots all being sprayed at the same time. 

Early sowing resulted in excessive vegetattive growth and also provided excelelnt conditions for ryegrass that proved difficult to control.

• The average foliar fungicide treated wheat yields for the Mininera winter wheat trial were 4.60 t/ha. Rust activity was moderately low at the site in 2008, resulting in an average yield increase of 0.26 t/ha across all varieties from the one spray fungicide programme, with 2 of the 8 varieties achieving a 19% or more yield increase from a single fungicide applicaito - when compared to the untreated check.
• All 8 varieties achieved the F1 specifications basedo n the NACMA classifications, consequently quality had no effect on profitability. The highest yielding variety was CS95102.1 at 111% of the site mean, also the most profitable variety obtaining a gross margin of $776.40/ha.

• The average foliar fungicide treated wheat yield for the Dunkeld winter wheat trial was 5.24 t/ha. Disease pressure was high at the site resulting in an average yield increase of 0.75 t/ha across all varieties from the two spray fungicide programme, with 5 of the 8 varieties achieveing a 20% or more yield increase.
• The highest yielding variety was Mackellar at 126% of the site mean, also the most profitable variety returning a gross margin of $1,136.40/ha.
• BYDV management must be considered when growing susceptible varieties of wheat, employing techniques that also minimise the impacts on the predatory environment.

• The winter wehat variety trial yielded an average of 5.72 t/ha. Revenue had the highest yield with 6.67 t/ha after topping the 2008 Mininera variety trial. Mackellar again yielded well with 6.05 t/ha and was the highest yielding variety at Dunkeld in 2008.
• Most varieties were classified as feed wheats, and were all able to achieve this grade. Revenue had the highest gross margin of $750/ha, however consideration must also be given to the value of grazig these dual purpose varieties.
• For further take home messages please see attached trial report.