At Birchip Cropping Group’s Trials Review Day on February 19, Victorian Government senior pulse research agronomist Jason Brand will present the research results from 2015 Mallee pulse trials and explain what they mean for farmers.
While the positive results last year were largely thanks to strong global demand and high prices, Dr Brand said improvements in varieties and farming practices were also having an impact.
“Farming system changes and varietal improvements go hand in hand,” he said.
“Pulses love soil that has been well looked after, so when you combine well-managed soils with the genetic advances, growers are in a good position to include them in their system.”
Particularly encouraging from last year’s research was the performance of new faba bean varieties which have been identified for improvements in drought resistance.
Dr Brand described the performance of the new varieties at Curyo in 2015 as “excellent” with most easily out-yielding traditionally grown varieties such as PBA Samira.
Despite the dry season, faba bean yields averaged 0.8t/ha at the Kulwin research site and 0.7t/ha at Curyo, with the best variety (the yet-to-be released AF12025) delivering a net return of $150/ha.
It was a similar story in lentil trials with new lines with consistently high yields and biomass, improved herbicide tolerance and disease resistance set to become available in the next few years.
While Dr Brand stressed the importance of assessing crop varieties based on long-term results, rather than just on their performance in an individual season, he said new pulse lines could offer future opportunities for growers in the Mallee.
Dr Brand will speak to growers at the BCG Trials Review Day which will be held at Birchip Leisure Centre next week. He will feature among an excellent line-up of speakers booked to share information and expertise on a range of topics, and to help farmers interpret the results from field research conducted in the Wimmera and Mallee in 2015.
The day will include the results from chemical and cultural weed control trials, wheat, barley and oat varietal comparisons and a discussion about the impact of crop nutrition on frost.
A farm business management session will be led by Harm van Rees (Cropfacts) and Phil O’Callaghan (ORM). University of SA seeding machinery research, Dr Jack Desbiolles, will discuss matching machinery to stubble load and soil conditions and climate specialist Dale Grey (DEDJTR), will deliver the outlook for 2016.
A comprehensive report on 2015 Mallee pulse trials will feature in the 2015 BCG Season Research Results compendium, to be launched at Trials Review Day.
The BCG Trials Review Day is for BCG Members only. Non-members can purchase a membership prior to the event or on the day. Registration is from 8:15am with sessions to begin at 9:00am sharp. For more information, including a full program, visit www.bcg.org.au or phone (03) 5492 2787.
