2011 trials

• To investigate an agronomic solution to waterlogging through the use of Agpipe.

• To investigate the effects of nitrogen fertiliser application to established kikuyu stands.

To investigate the question of 'what if there was a simple way to improve the topsoil depth to
encourage plants to grow deeper root systems?'

• To test ProGibb SG for the potential to increase kikuyu production in winter.

• To investigate the establishment of kikuyu pastures on Kangaroo Island.

• To compare an existing kikuyu stand to an adjacent paddock of annual pasture.

• To determine the optimum timing of nitrogen in waterlogged wheat.

• To investigate posture cropping - involving seeding an annual winter active species (peas) into an existing summer-active perennial pasture stand (kikuyu).

• To monitor changes in soil pH under farmland on Kangaroo Island.

• To determine how much genetic variation there is in the tolerance of wheat to waterlogging on Kangaroo Island.

To determine which wheat varieties perform best under local conditions.

To evaluate the responses of seven barley cultivars to three times of sowing (TOS): early, mid and late and assess their suitability to the Wimmera Mallee.

To evaluate the effectiveness of various strategies for managing foliar diseases in separate barley (Experiment 1) and wheat (Experiment 2) experiments using foliar and fertiliser applied fungicides.

To evaluate the potential of combining summer-growing perennial grasses with a cereal in a pasture cropping system in the Mallee.

To compare different fungicides for control of blackleg.

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 conduct a canola variety trial.

To provide growers with a list of suggested varieties for 2012 from the large range of varieties now available and to provide information about current varieties that still have limitations which growers need to know and to manage for.

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 quantify how paddock stubble load and weed burden during summer can affect available soil water, nutrients and subsequent crop yield.

To determine the most effective herbicides for controlling Flaxleaf fleabane (Conyza bonariensis).

• To evaluate the suitability of different wheat and barley varieties for both grazing and grain production, when sown early in the cropping program in low rainfall western Victoria.
• To evaluate how the stage at which the crop is grazed affects its recovery.

To compare the yields of crops grown under four different farming systems common to the southern Mallee region.

• To examine the potential for both grain and forage cereal crops to supply feed for grazing enterprises.
• To determine the effects of grazing on grain yield and quality to help build informed decisions about when to graze crops to ensure maximum profit

To disucss how farmers get lucky.

To discuss options for improving profits and managing risk: two keys to the future.

To assess grain protein following late applied foliar nitrogen at booting stage in wheat.

To give farmers a bettter understanding of the different pest management tools available and to identify which work bets in certain circumstances.

To determine the effectiveness of weed seed set control strategies in driving down the seedbank without reducing yields in cereal-intensive cropping systems.

To demonstrate the feed value of a forage brassica as spring/early summer grazing option and to measure lamb growth rate performance.

To measure increases in grain protein in various barley varieties at flowering with different amounts of applied nitrogen.

To assess the impact of rhizobial inoculation on the performance of four different legumes: chickpeas, lentils, faba beans and peas in the Victorian Wimmera.

To provide information regardin the most important selection criteria (grain yield, disease resistance, maturity, standing ability, shattering and seed type/quality) for a number of lentil varieties.

To investigate the effects of grazing livestock in no-till paddocks on soil structure, soil composition and soil moisture, weed seed burial and carbon/nitrogen cycling in no-till farming systems.

To assess the long-term impact of a range of P fertiliser rates on crop yield and economic returns

To assess new and current varieties for thier tolerance to leaf rust.

To test the performance of barley sown into established native pasture into two different soil types in the Wimmera and Mallee regions.

To determine the nitrogen responses of new barley varieties.

To demonstrate how Yield Prophet can be used to optimise production with reduced risk.

To explore the use of perennial shrubs as a feed source for profitable and sustainable grazing systems in low-to-medium rainfall areas of hte Mallee.

To demonstrate a strategy to reduce the risk of frost and heat shock damage.

To identify early generation lines of canola and mustard which are well suited to low rainfall environments.

To evaluate the efficacy of different foliar fungicides and fundicide mixtures for the control of stem rust in wheat.

To test whether soil fertility and health could be improved under a higher input system compared with a lower input and more traditional system.

To evaluate the effectiveness of up-front flutriafol and in-crop fungicides for controlling stem rust and yellow leaf spot.

• To quantify the reduciton in water use for various weed species at different plant densities.
• To identify thresholds for particular weed types and determine when weed sensing technology benefits outweight blanket spray applications.

• To demonstrate the possibility of sowing long-season wheat and barley varieties when a soil profile is full of water at the beginning of the season.
• To discover the pitfalls of this practice.

To evaluate the effectiveness of various strategies for managing foliar diseases in separate barley (Experiment 1) and wheat (Experiment 2) experiments using foliar and fertiliser applied fungicides.