The first few weeks of a crop’s life are crucial. Seedlings are set up in these early growth stages to access water, nutrients and sunlight and compete with weeds, pests and diseases.
A four-year GRDC-funded investment ‘Optimising plant establishment, density and spacings to maximise crop yield and profit in the southern and western regions’ aims to better understand the drivers and improve crop establishment and yield in canola, wheat, faba bean, lentil and lupin to maximise profit.
BCG is in the second year of a three-year trial assessing the crop establishment and yields of canola and lentils sown with a precision planter versus the traditional tyne and press wheel system.
Precision planters are designed to place single seeds at a consistent distance along the seeding row and at a precise and uniform depth.
Results in 2018 showed lentils were better at establishing and reaching target plant density than canola, while canola was considerably more responsive at converting increasing sowing densities into yield than lentils.
Complementing this research is a commercial-scale seeder comparison trial where canola was sown at two different sowing rates (3.5kg/ha and 1.75kg/ha) with disc, tyne and precision planters.
Both trials will be open for inspection at the BCG Main Field Day in Birchip (9km west of town) on Wednesday 11 September. For more information contact the BCG office on 03 5492 2787.
