Background
A short, informal lunchtime Q&A webinar designed to support farmers and advisors – help them interpret what they’re seeing and prepare for possible decisions. The session will feature a small panel of researchers and agronomists responding to live questions and discussing current advice on re-sowing, crop recovery and establishment strategies.
Thank you to researchers Andrew Fletcher and Kenton Porker from CSIRO, as well as agronomists Nick Zordan (SMS Rural), Matt Bissett (ExceedAg) and Craig Muir (AgriVision Swan Hill) for joining the discussion.
Take home messages:
- Managing expectations is important. Accept that yields will be lower this year
- 5 plants/m2 in the ground now is worth more than 50 plants/m2 in the future
- To test viability of seed still in the ground, a quick test can be to put a drum of water on it, you should see emergence should occur in 7 – 10 days
- There are learnings to be made in dry seasons like this: inspect paddocks for differences in emergence in different soil types for lessons that can be applied in the future
- Canola seedlings can be resilient
- Seed treatments shouldn’t deteriorate rapidly in these dry conditions
This project was supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, and received funding from the GRDC project Reducing risks to canola establishment through an integrated understanding of genetics, management, and environment (CSP2212-005RTX).
