2012 trials

To assess the performance of wheat following either peas, wheat or barley.

To use a thick layer of cereal straw maintained within the growing season to focus on reducing the amount of moisture lost to soil evaporation. 

To investigate the long term effects of different approaches to sustainable farming, especially in relation to soil moisture and soil quality.

To measure the effect of plant growth regulants and their interaction with nitrogen on wheat grain yield and quality, in the absence of lodging.

• To investigate soil acidity in Kangaroo Island soils.

To explore whether the nitrogen (N) benefits to subsequent cereals from the break crops, and savings from weed control, could offset the loss of income from break crops in the longer term. 

The objectives were to:

1. reduce nitrous oxide emissions from dryland grains cropping.

2. improve nitrogen use efficiency.

3. validate and develop process-based biogeochemistry models.

4. simulate net greenhouse gas emission under current and projected future climate scenarios. 

In this series of experiments, we have quantified the extent of yield loss displayed in a number of commonly grown winter cereal varieties in southern New South Wales across four years.
 

To determine the impact of reducing fertiliser rates following a run of low yielding seasons.

To evaluate the impact of Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Sulfur nutrition on yield and oil content of canola.

To evaluate the impact of late nitrogen application timings on wheat protein levels.

To assess the impact of nitrogen nutrition on chickpea yield.

To evaluate fungicide management strategies for the control of yellow spot and impact on yield and grain quality.

To report on trials conducted in 2012–13 using 15N applied at three N rates (40, 120 and 200 kg N/ha) were reported previously, but those results are repeated here for comparison with more recent trial results.

To screen herbicides for crop safety in mungbeans.

In 2012 the UNFS attempted to validate this early work conducted by the CSIRO. Seed of a long season variety Eaglehawk was sourced. This variety is Prime Hard Quality in NSW and so would be AH in SA.The aim was to conduct a time of sowing trial using three varieties at three times of sowing:- an early maturing variety (Axe), mid season maturing (Frame) and late maturing (Eaglehawk). Ideally the three sowing times were to be 1) mid April 2) early to mid May and 3) early to mid June.

To evaluate the performance of different drill openers at a range or row spacings in canola following wheat to improve water use efficiency (WUE) in no-till cropping and stubble retention systems in spatially and temporally variable conditions in the Riverine Plains.

To evaluate the performance of different drill openers at a range or row spacings for first wheat following canola to improve water use efficiency (WUE) in no-till cropping and stubble retention systems in spatially and temporally variable conditions in the Riverine Plains.

To evaluate the impact of late nitrogen application timings on wheat protein levels.

To compare paraquat double-knock application timings for the control of windmill grass.

To investigate whether a break crop can be used to manage weeds.

To compare the productivity and profitability of cropping in the presence of a background of herbicide resistant ryegrass, and to assess the implications of various low or high input grass control options applied to wheat and break crops on production costs and ryegrass management.

A series of multi-year field trials were conducted at sites in SA, Victoria and NSW to determine key soil, environment and management factors influencing the pathogen dynamics and disease impact in cereal crops.

To assess the differences between disc and tyne seeding systems in commercial practice.

To assess the differences between disc and tyne seeding systems in commercial practice.

To measure the impacts on wheat and canola of brown manure peas. Focus on N usage, moisture conservation, weed control and yield.

To measure the impacts of brown manure peas on nitrogen fixation, moisture conservation, weed control and yield compared to a traditional long fallow system.

• To determine whether fungicide-amended-fertiliser (eg Impact-in-furrow) can be used for effective control of Cercospora Leaf Spot (CLS) in faba bean.

To evaluate the impact of residual herbicide strategies in winter cereals for fleabane management in the spring and summer.

This project identified and demonstrated farm management practices that could increase soil organic carbon (C) in the Monaro region in southern New South Wales.

To evaluate fungicide management strategies for the control of yellow spot and assess the impact on yield and grain quality.

The Australian Soybean Breeding Program develops varieties for diverse production environments across a 3000 km range from the Atherton Tablelands in far north Queensland (Latitude 17.2661°S, Longitude 145.4859°E) to the Riverina in southern New South Wales (Latitude 29.7503°S, Longitude 120.5530°E). T

he program focuses on strategies to broaden the range of adaptation of new cultivars (James & Lawn, 2011), and to complete the transition from traditional dark hilum types that supply lower-value crushing markets to clear hilum types with the grain qualities required for human consumption markets. Advances in yield, disease resistance and other agronomic traits are also targeted.

Primarily, a single seed descent method is used to advance populations to the F4 level of inbreeding. Varieties from the Australian Soybean Breeding Program are not genetically modified (non-GMO). Regional evaluation and selection for environmental adaptation and specific regional traits is carried out across a wide range of environments in the target production regions. Typically, new soybean lines progress through stages of small-scale replicated evaluations for 6–8 seasons, with processors conducting small-scale grain evaluations. Advanced lines then complete evaluation in replicated on-farm experiments before commercial licensing and release.

This paper summarises data from multi-season replicated evaluations and on-farm experiments of RichmondA, a new variety for production in northern New South Wales.

To evaluate the impact of residual herbicide strategies in winter cereals for fleabane management in the spring and summer.

To examine whether integrating row placement, stubble management, chickpea row spacing and a ground engaging tool would affect Fp incidence and grain yield in wheat in a chickpea–wheat sequence grown under a zero-tillage system. 

• Quantify current levels of herbicide resistance in annual ryegrass and common sow thistle across key herbicide groups in dryland and irrigated farming systems in the Griffith region of NSW.
• Collect site specific information to categorise levels of risk for developing herbicide resistance for various farming systems, based on rotational history and farming practices.
• Assess the ability of growers and advisers to predict the resistance status of each sample.

To test whether sheep grazing in no-till systems damages soil and reduces crop yields.

To assess the impact of sheep grazing on crops, stubbles, soil structure, water dynamics and crop yield.

To assess the impact of sheep grazing on crops, stubbles, soil structure, water dynamics and crop yield.

To assess the impact on Pratylenchus thornei multiplication from desi and kabuli chickpea varieties.

To assess the impact on Pratylenchus thornei multiplication from faba bean varieties.

To evaluate the impact of late nitrogen application timings on wheat protein levels.

To assess the impact of nitrogen nutrition on chickpea yield.

• 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 study timing of post-flowering applications of desiccants on
  1. sterilisation of developing ryegrass seeds and
  2. seed-filling, development and yield of range of field pea varieties.
• The objective is to time a single “crop-topping” spray to kill all developing ryegrass seeds and at the same time desiccate the field pea crop with minimal or no loss of yield or seed size.

To determine the impact on soil carbon fraction levels of applications of balanced nutrients, N, P and S, stubble retention, stubble removal and stubble incorporation.

• To investigate the effects of fertiliser rates and its placement on the germination & establishment of deci and kabuli type chickpeas.
• To measure the grain yield responses to fertiliser rates.

To managing competition and lucerne persistence with sowing configuration.

• To test the yield response of four faba bean varieties across 2 sowing times (TOS) in southern NSW.

• To maximise yield of new lentil varieties through the identification of optimum variety and sowing dates.