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Summer fallow management
The Mallee received widespread rain over the 2010/2011 summer, causing quality issues at harvest. With 361mm of summer rain falling at Hopetoun from November to February, farmers needed to conserve some of this moisture for the following season. The BCG water use efficiency (WUE) trial at Hopetoun, now its third year, is investigating how weed burden during summer can affect available soil moisture and subsequent crop yield. For the past three summers we have been controlling summer weeds while also allowing summer weeds to grow in other plots. Barley was sown in 2009, canola in 2010 and wheat in 2011.
The trial was harvested last week and results at the sand site indicate that an average wheat yield of 3.6t/ha occurred by controlling summer weeds. Conversely, where summer weeds were left uncontrolled, the wheat yielded 2.3t/ha, resulting in an extra 1.3t/ha by controlling summer weeds. This shows the importance of summer weed control even in a summer with high rainfall. Differences can still be seen almost a year later from controlling weeds.