Loamy clay trials

Barley grass is becoming an increasingly problematic weed in Western Australia. A GRDC funded project sought to increase adoption of integrated weed management tactics for barley grass, by working with grower groups to develop regionally appropriate rotations for optimal control. A survey indicated that in southwest Australia, many growers thought their barley grass was resistant to grass selective herbicides and may have developed late germination to avoid pre-seeding herbicides. In this area barley grass was a major problem in pastures, and often in break crops too.

A three year trial aimed to investigate pre-emergent herbicides and autumn tickle in wheat in 2019, pre-emergent herbicides and crop density in barley in 2020 and grass selective herbicides and crop topping in pasture in 2021.

To evaluate yields and quality of new and existing chickpea varieties.

To determine the susceptibility of new chickpea varieties and fungicide treatment against Ascochyta blight.

To conduct comparisons

• crop safety and yield of EverGol Prime compared to Dividend for the contro lof rhizoctonia in wheat,
• efficacy of EverGol Prime compared to Dividend for rhizoctonia control, and
• barley covered smut control of EverGol Prime to current standards.

To demonstrate the disease resistance of new Sonali, Rupali and Genesis836 and potential releases Genesis90 and Genesis508, chickpea varieties.

Investigate the dry matter accumulation and timing of a range of pastrure species and mixes and comparing them to the dry matter production by crops that are grown to be grazed before being shut up for grain production or cut for hay or silage.

Investigate the dry matter accumulation and timing of a range of pastrure species and mixes and comparing them to the dry matter production by crops that are grown to be grazed before being shut up for grain production or cut for hay or silage.

To quantify the effects of nematode feeding groups in Western Australian soils on crop performance.

• To better understand the tradeoffs between lupin yield and weed management with delayed sowing. 
• To demonstrate shielded spraying in controlling large weed populations, which often arise after dry sowing.

This project set out to contribute to an understanding of legume agronomic and financial management in the Esperance Port Zone in an effort to support the decision-making process undertaken by growers in deciding the best crop sequence for their farms, including which break crop best suits their needs.

This project aims to:

1. Contribute to the agronomic understanding of best practice pulse agronomy in the EPZ.
2. Contribute to the financial decision-making process undertaken by growers in deciding the best crop sequence for their farms, including which break crop is the best option to suit their needs.

The objective of this research is to determine the value of agronomic management (plant density and nitrogen) on production of quality grain for profitable wheat systems. Increasing plant density is a useful tool to increase the competitiveness of a crop against weeds, however, how will this influence grain yield and quality for the new wheat varieties.

To investigate the effects of nitrogen placement and timing in wheat.

To evaluate the performance of different in-crop nitrogen treatments and plant populations at a range or row spacings in first wheat following canola.

To examine the difference in profitability between low and high input cropping practices over an extended period of time.

To examine the difference in profitability between low and high input cropping practices over an extended period of time and to determine the effect these practices are having on soil carbon.

To examine the difference in profitability between low and high input cropping practices over an extended period of time and to determine the effect these practices are having on soil carbon.

To investigate chemical control options of ‘slender iceplant’ (Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum) with commonly used crop herbicides. The focus was to find suitable pre- and post-emergent options, in legume crops and pastures.

To compare the efficacy of different adjuvants with varying rates added to Glyphosate or paraquat on weeds such as Paddy Melons, Wild Radish, Serradella, Mint weed, Capeweed, Couch grass and Blue Lupin.

To determine the efficacy and rate of gypsum required to improve soil structure on heavy clay soils in a minimum tillage system.

This project aims to establish 4 demonstration sites in the Esperance Port Zone that are used by growers to increase their knowledge and adoption of deep ripping and controlled traffic farming to alleviate non-wetting soils, compaction and waterlogging on different soil types in the port zone to improve crop production.

To do so the project will measure the grain yield and gross margin outcome of each soil ameliorant treatment at each site.

To demonstrate the crop safety and efficacy of Sakura 850WG pre-emergent herbicide on barley grass (Hordeum leporinum) in wheat compared to commercially available herbicides.

To evaluate the effectiveness of skip row spacing of wheat in a low rainfall environment with subsoil constraints.

To establish if the current wheat yield could reach potential yield by extra N fertilisation and to identify potential constraints of 8 Satellite Sites throughout the Liebe area

To compare the economic and agronomic response between the paddock rotations of wheat on wheat, wheat on late pasture topping and wheat on chemical fallow. This investigation aims to identify winter fallowing as a low-risk rotational strategy for low rainfall cropping systems in the North and Eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

To evaluate the effectiveness of wide row spacing in Arrino wheat in a low rainfall environment with limited inputs.

To establish wheat yield variation through wide row spacing and seeding rate in the low rainfall zone.