Vetch trials

To recommend options to improve;
• soil nutrients and groundcover, and 
• reduce disease levels and chemical use.

• Trials were implemented to compare break crop productivity and profitability on major soil types in the northern South Australian Mallee. This information will help farmers in the region to select the most appropriate break crop for their farming system.

To conduct an advanced vetch variety evaluation.

To evaluate improved vetch varieties for the Victorian Mallee.

To evaluate the phenology and grain yield responses of various albus lupin, faba bean, vetch, lentil and chickpea varieties. 

To investigate establishment, crop phenology, days to flowering, flowering duration, and grain yield responses of commercially available pulse and legume varieties.

To look at alternative crops to wheat and barley.

To see whether green manure a viable management option (in terms of maintenance of ground cover and other agronomic benefits) as we know that terminating cover crops will result in 100% seed set control providing that the crop is effectively killed at an appropriate time.

Barley grass is one of the major weeds in the southern region. Many southern growers think their barley grass is resistant to grass selective herbicides and may have developed late germination to avoid pre-seeding herbicides. In this area, barley grass is a major problem in pastures, and often in break crops as well.

The trial aims to investigate pre-emergent herbicides in wheat in 2019, crop density and post-emergent herbicides in barley in 2020, and pre-emergent herbicides and grass selective herbicides in vetch in 2021.

To evaluate the effects of break crop species on the yield of subsequent wheat crop.

To evaluate the suitability of different pulse species as break crops for different climatic, soil and biotic stress conditions.

To identify low-risk, profitable break crops for the mallee regions and quantify their benefits to subsequent wheat crops.

To identify low risk, profitable break crops and end-uses for the Mallee region and quantify their benefits to subsequent wheat crops.

To identify low risk, profitable break crops for the Mallee region, and quantify their benefits to subsequent wheat crops.

To determine the effect of different cropping sequences to continuous cropping.

To identify low risk, profitable break crops and end-uses for the Mallee region, and quantify their benefits to subsequent wheat crops.

To identify low risk, profitable break crops and end-uses for the Mallee region, and quantify their benefits to subsequent wheat crops.

To investigate the implications of novel herbicide toerance traits in lentil and vetch on the management of broadleaf weeds.

To investigate selection of the right rotation and herbicide strategy for brome grass management.

• To compare three time of sowing dates across five newly released and commercial varieties of field peas, lupins and vetch and evaluate their contribution to soil nitrogen and the benefits to the following wheat crop.

To investigate adaptability chickpea, faba bean, field pea, lupin, vetch and lentil varieties and breeding lines to spring sowing. Specifically, in chickpea there was a focus on new early flowering breeding lines with improved cold tolerance during the pod set phase.

To evaluate different commercially available forage crop varieties for their feed value and capacity to recover during winter and spring in a low rainfall Mallee-Wimmera environment.

To answer the question 'What if there is no break until June or July?'

Trials were implemented to compare break crop productivity and profitability on major soil types in the northern South Australian Mallee. This information will help farmers in this region to select the most appropriate break crop for their farming system.

Trials were implemented to compare break crop productivity and profitability on major soil types in the northern South Australian Mallee. This information will help farmers in this region to select the most appropriate break crop for their farming system.

To compare break crop productivity and profitability on major soil types in the northern South Australian Mallee.
 

This research determines to assess the benefits (economic and environmental) of a green manure phase under current cropping systems in areas with a poor nutritional status. 

To evaluate crop types and incorporation techniques to rejuvenate poor performing soils using a green manure phase, as well as to identify and evaluate the potential longevity of benefits on a heavy loam soil in Mullewa, Western Australia over five years.

To focus on the impact of trafficking by heavy vehicles on crop production and soil condition, as well as monitoring how quickly LRZ soils will "self-repair" if heavy trafficking is stopped. Issues of implementing CTF and managing permanent wheel tracks are being addressed in other components of the project.

To assess the financial consequences of changing farming systems and inputs, specifically investigating the impact of changing break crop type and reduced fertiliser inputs on subsequent wheat yields and longer term profitability.

To quantify the agronomic benefits that break crops can provide in Mallee cropping rotations so that farmers can be confident of the long term benefits of more diverse crop sequences.

To compare the impact and profitability of the inclusion of broadleaved break crops in paddock rotations in the Northern Victorian Mallee.

Agronomic constraints threaten the sustainability of intensive cereal no-till cropping systems. Local research has shown these constraints can be managed by diversifying rotations with break crops, however as this research was conducted at only one site, farmers wanted to know whether the same results would be observed on a commercial scale at a whole of paddock level. In 2014, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA) funded a project to compare the impact and profitability of the inclusion of broadleaved break crops in paddock rotations in the Northern Victorian Mallee.

Agronomic constraints threaten the sustainability of intensive cereal no-till cropping systems. Local research has shown these constraints can be managed by diversifying rotations with break crops, however as this research was conducted at only one site, farmers wanted to know whether the same results would be observed on a commercial scale at a whole of paddock level. In 2014, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA) funded a project to compare the impact and profitability of the inclusion of broadleaved break crops in paddock rotations in the Northern Victorian Mallee.

Agronomic constraints threaten the sustainability of intensive cereal no-till cropping systems. Local research has shown these constraints can be managed by diversifying rotations with break crops, however as this research was conducted at only one site, farmers wanted to know whether the same results would be observed on a commercial scale at a whole of paddock level. In 2014, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA) funded a project to compare the impact and profitability of the inclusion of broadleaved break crops in paddock rotations in the Northern Victorian Mallee.

Agronomic constraints threaten the sustainability of intensive cereal no-till cropping systems. Local research has shown these constraints can be managed by diversifying rotations with break crops, however as this research was conducted at only one site, farmers wanted to know whether the same results would be observed on a commercial scale at a whole of paddock level. In 2014, the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (Mallee CMA) funded a project to compare the impact and profitability of the inclusion of broadleaved break crops in paddock rotations in the Northern Victorian Mallee.

To investigate the effect of water quality on glyphosate efficacy when used in a spring-spraying knockdown scenario.

To compare a number of different varieties  which could be used for making hay.

To compare three legume crops in farmer scale seeding strip trials at three locations in the Albany Port Zone. Demonstrations will compare several legume crops in different soil types in different micro-environments. The same trial sites will be monitored in 2019 to determine the effects (positive or negative) of the legume break crop on the subsequent barley/wheat crop and soil nitrogen status. The legume demonstration trials will provide growers with current agronomic information for pulses/legumes as a break crop in farming systems for the Albany Port Zone. Information from both the legume demonstration and effect on the subsequent crop will complement the Crop Sequence Calculator Workshops to be run concurrently by Farmanco.  

To investigate the impact of early sowing and fungicide strategies on disease development in vetch 

To determine whether UAN as a carrier, rather than just water, increases the efficacy of grass selective herbicides on ryegrass control.

To investigate the dry matter (DM) productivity and nutritive value (NV) of a range of pasture species sown independently or in conjunction with Fathom barley at Hart in winter and summer.

To evaluate emerging and newly released medic, vetch and forage peas varieties for their ability to produce dry matter and nutritive value for stock in the Mallee and Wimmera environments.

To evaluate the impact of agronomic strategies to enhance productivity of vetch growth on sandy Mallee soils

To assess the value and place of grain legumes in a wheat rotation.

To develop cropping rotations to include pulse crops.

To evaluate forage varieties in a cropping system. 

To investigate using alternative crops in medium to high rainfall zone, and to collect more data to establish dry matter and production in these zones.  

To collect more data on dry matter and production figures for forage varieties.