Take Home Messages
- Pioneer® PY421C was the highest yielding variety in the Mallee, and second highest in the North Central and Wimmera.
- InVigor® LR 4540P was the highest yielding variety in the North Central and yielded well in the Mallee.
- Hyola® Solstice was the top variety in the Wimmera, and performed well in the North Central region.
Aim
To compare the performance of new and existing canola varieties in the Mallee, North Central and Wimmera NVT.
Background
Reflecting the dynamic nature of agricultural practices in the Mallee, Wimmera and North Central regions, canola faced a unique set of challenges and opportunities during the 2023 season. Patchy germination was noted in some parts of the region as a result of marginal moisture conditions at sowing. Favourable early season rainfall led to robust plant development. Growers experienced a drier July to August period, however critical September rainfall revitalised crops. This late season rainfall was pivotal in determining the success of canola across the region.
There were some accounts of pest management strategies being implemented to mitigate snail and slug damage, particularly in the North Central and Wimmera regions. Even so, canola crops generally yielded well and exhibited high oil content. The oil content percentage often reached the 40s, reflecting favourable conditions for oil production and contributing positively to the economic value of the crop.
When planning for the 2024 season, growers can use a combination of National Variety Trial (NVT) data, individual site reports and multi-environmental trial analysis (MET) long term summaries from the past five years to better understand how varieties perform in their region. Canola can be a valuable tool for managing weed burdens. Therefore, it is important when choosing a canola variety, for growers to consider yield performance as well as the benefits the package offers to their cropping program, such as available herbicide tolerances.
Trial Details
Crop type: Canola, refer to Figures 1–3 for varieties
Target plant density: 40 plants/m² Mallee, 50 plants/m² North Central and Wimmera
Seeding equipment: Knife points, press wheels, 30cm row spacing
Replicates: Three
Nutrition, weeds, insects and disease were managed as per best practice.
Location Details
Trial Inputs
Fertiliser: Granulock® Supreme Z + Flutriafol (200ml/100kg) @ 60kg/ha
Seed Treatment: EverGol* @ 260mL/100kg and Gaucho @ 240mL/100kg
Trial managed as per best practice for herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
Method
This research was conducted through the NVT program delivered by the GRDC. The program involves a series of replicated field trials that test varieties across different crop types. These trials aim to maximise genetic potential yields, rather than profitability. The sites receive multiple fungicide applications and are managed to ensure they are not nitrogen limited to avoid confounding factors when assessing the genetic potential of varieties. The data displayed in this article is a combination of NVT results, individual site reports and multi-environmental trial analysis (MET) long-term summaries. Variety performance is presented as the grain yield percentage of the site average, with MET data indicating performance in 2023, relative to the previous five years (2018–22).
Results & Interpretation
New Varieties Released in 2023
Glyphosate tolerant
Pioneer® PY421C is an early-mid maturing hybrid variety marketed by Pioneer Seeds as a replacement for Pioneer® 44Y94CL.
Pioneer® PY422G is an early-mid season Optimum Gly® hybrid variety; 2023 was its first year in the NVT trials. Marketed by Pioneer Seeds, its blackleg rating is to be determined.
Pioneer® PY525G is a mid-maturing Optimum Gly® hybrid variety, 2023 was its first year in the NVT trials. It is suited to medium to high rainfall zones. Marketed by Pioneer Seeds, its blackleg rating is to be determined.
The range of glyphosate tolerant lines has increased over time to enable greater flexibility with product application. The original application window allowed Roundup Ready herbicide to be applied up until 6 leaf. Tru Flex® increased both the maximum rate, and timing for application out to first flower. Optimum Gly® hybrids have since stretched that further to 10 per cent flowering and up to three applications of approved products. Glyphosate/Liberty tolerant
InVigor® R LR 4540P is an early-mid maturing variety, slightly later than InVigor® LT 4530P. This genetically modified (GM) variety bred and marketed by BASF is suited to medium to high rainfall zones, with a provisional blackleg rating of resistant to moderately resistant (RMR). It is a hybrid Glyphosate and LibertyLink® tolerant variety with PodGuard® technology, making it suitable for later windrowing timings and direct harvest.
Clearfield tolerant
Nuseed® Ceres IMI is an early maturing Clearfield® hybrid variety suited to low to medium rainfall zones. Bred by Nuseed, it has a blackleg rating of Resistant (R) and has been tested in the NVT from 2021.
Triazine tolerant
ATR Swordfish is an early to mid-season maturing open pollinated (OP) variety suited to low to medium rainfall areas. Marketed by Nuseed, it has a blackleg rating of Moderately Resistant to Moderately Susceptible (MRMS) and has been in the NVT since 2021.
DG Avon TT is an early maturity OP variety suited to low to medium rainfall zones. Marketed by Nutrien Ag Solutions, it has a blackleg rating of MR and has been in the NVT since 2022.
Triazine/Clearfield tolerant
Hyola® Defender CT is a mid to early maturing variety that has tolerance to both triazine and Clearfield® chemistries. This variety is suited to medium to high rainfall zones with a blackleg rating of RMR. Bred and marketed by Pacific Seeds, it has been in the NVT since 2022.
Yield Results
Given the various challenges encountered across the season, such as variable establishment, pests and dry periods, most sites performed well. The only exception was Hopetoun, which may have been impacted by dry periods throughout the season and some frost damage during grain fill. Mean yields across locations and herbicide groups are presented in Table 2. Although not directly comparable, it is interesting to note site yield means across herbicide groups displayed limited differences across the IT and TT lines. For some locations there was a small yield increase in GT lines.
Mallee (Birchip)
The Mallee results are presented as individual sites due to differences in performance across the two locations. These differences occurred as a result of a significant dry period and instances of frost across the Hopetoun region.
At the Birchip site, the glyphosate tolerant (GT) varieties averaged yields of 2.7t/ha, the IT varieties averaged 2.7t/ha and triazine tolerant (TT) averaged 2.8t/ha.
The top two GT varieties were InVigor® R 4520P (110 per cent of site mean) and InVigor® LR 4540P (110 per cent of site mean). These two lines carry PodGuard® traits which offer greater flexibility with windrowing and harvest operations as they are less likely to shatter. Shattering however at the site was minimal (Figure 1).
The top performing IT (Clearfield®) variety at Birchip was Pioneer® PY421C which yielded 115 per cent of the site mean. Two other IT varieties exceeded the site mean, Pioneer® 44Y94 CL (109 per cent of site mean) and Hyola® Continuum CL (101 per cent of site mean). Pioneer® PY421C is marketed by Pioneer Seeds as a possible replacement for Pioneer® 44Y94 CL, and yielded 6 per cent higher in 2023.
The highest yielding TT variety was Hyola® Blazer TT which yielded 111 per cent of the site mean. This was followed by HyTTec® Velocity and HyTTec® Trident at 108 per cent of the site mean. These three varieties are hybrids and not suitable for seed retention from season to season. The best performing open pollinated lines were Renegade TT (105 per cent of site mean) and DG Bidgee TT (102 per cent of site mean).
Mallee (Hopetoun)
Hopetoun yields averaged 1.1t/ha in the GT varieties, 1.3t/ha in the IT varieties and 1.0t/ha in the TT varieties.
The two highest yielding GT varieties were the TruFlex® and Clearfield® hybrid variety Hyola® Regiment XC (111 per cent of site mean), and the Clearfield® hybrid variety Nuseed® Hunter TF (110 per cent of site mean) which only has TruFlex® tolerance.
The IT lines performed well given the seasonal conditions, with the top performer Hyola® Solstice achieving 122 per cent of the site mean. Also yielding well were Pioneer® PY421C at 117 per cent of the site mean and Pioneer® 44Y94 CL (113 per cent of site mean).
In the TT varieties, Hyola® Blazer TT was the top performer yielding 124 per cent of the site mean. The other top performing varieties were HyTTec® Velocity (122 per cent of site mean) and Hyola® Enforcer CT (121 per cent of site mean). The highest yielding open pollinated varieties were DG Bidgee TT (109 per cent of site mean) and Renegade TT (94 per cent of site mean) (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Grain yield results in Mallee NVTs ordered by herbicide group.
North Central
North Central region yields averaged 3.5t/ha for the GT varieties, 3.4t/ha for the IT varieties and 3.3t/ha for the TT varieties.
The highest yielding GT variety was a newly released variety for 2023, InVigor® LR 4540P at 116 per cent of the region mean. This is a hybrid LibertyLink® and TruFlex® variety which is classified as GM. Other varieties that yielded well were Nuseed® Hunter TF (113 per cent of region mean) and InVigor® R 4520P (112 percent of region mean). Most GT varieties exceeded the region mean (Figure 2).
The highest yielding IT variety was Pioneer® PY421C, another new variety released in 2023, which yielded 114 per cent of the region mean. Other top performing IT varieties were Pioneer® 44Y94 CL and Hyola® Solstice CL (111 per cent of region mean), and Pioneer® 45Y95 CL (110 per cent of region mean).
The top performing TT variety was a hybrid, HyTTec® Trifecta, which yielded 107 per cent of the region mean, followed by RGT Baseline® TT and open pollinating variety, Renegade TT (106 per cent of region mean).
Figure 2. Grain yield results in North Central NVTs ordered by herbicide group.
Wimmera
In the Wimmera, the GT varieties averaged yields of 2.8t/ha, IT averaged 2.7t/ha and TT averaged 2.6t/ha.
Most GT varieties exceeded the region mean of 2.6t/ha, with DG Hotham TF (112 per cent) the highest yielding GT variety, followed by Nuseed® Raptor TF and Pioneer® 45Y28 RR (109 per cent of region mean) (Figure 3). In addition to yielding well, DG Hotham TF and Nuseed® Raptor TF both offer the added benefit of TruFlex® chemistry, allowing greater flexibility with herbicide application.
The highest yielding IT variety in the Wimmera was Hyola® Solstice CL, which averaged 118 per cent of the region mean, followed by Pioneer® PY421C (116 per cent of region mean) and Pioneer® 45Y95 CL (115 per cent of region mean).
The top performing TT variety was HyTTec® Trophy, which yielded 104 per cent of the region mean. The other TT varieties that exceeded the region mean were PY520TC and DG Torrens TT (101 per cent of region mean). DG Torrens and DG Bidgee TT (99 per cent of region mean) were the top yielding open pollinated varieties in the Wimmera.
Figure 3. Grain yield results in Wimmera NVTs ordered by herbicide group.
Commercial Practice and On Farm Profitability
The main attributes to consider when selecting canola varieties include yield, oil content, maturity, herbicide tolerance and disease resistance. Canola can be a high risk but profitable crop to add into the rotation. Selecting the right variety can help mitigate the risks of growing the crop while taking advantage of the benefits.
Selecting for disease resistance is especially important in the medium-high rainfall zone where blackleg is prevalent. Most new varieties will have an excellent disease rating. The new varieties released in 2023 have ratings ranging from MRMS to R to blackleg, although some are yet to be determined. This is important to keep in mind to reduce the risk of losses from disease.
Canola can be a valuable weed management tool when matched with the weed control requirements of the paddock. With three herbicide options – GT, IT and TT – along with stacked options – GT + IT and IT + TT – growers have the flexibility to choose an option that targets their problematic weeds. Often there is not much difference between the top performer in each herbicide tolerance group, which means growers can be strategic in choosing a system that suits their rotations and weed control needs first, before selecting the variety.
Grain quality data from NVT was not available at the time of compiling this report.
References
GRDC, 2023, 2024 Victorian and Tasmanian Crop Sowing Data Summary, https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/nvt-crop-sowing-guides/vic-tas-crop-sowing-guide.
GRDC, 2023, National Variety Trials yield data, https://nvt.grdc.com.au/.
Acknowledgements
This research was conducted through the National Variety Trial (NVT) program delivered by the GRDC.
Thank you to Kelly Angel and Claire Pickles, BCG, for providing a technical review of this article.
