Take Home Messages
- New high yielding varieties of field pea, APB Bond, and lentil, ALB Terrier, released in 2023 offer growers new opportunities. The recently released imi tolerant lentil, GIA Thunder continued to perform well across Victoria.
- In-crop application of metribuzin was the most effective method of suppressing spiny emex in GIA Metro lentils in 2023.
- Despite the common perception that faba bean have poor yield stability, they recorded the highest yield and profit stability of all pulses in trials across variable soil types in the West Wimmera.
- Due to drier conditions from July to September, disease was generally not a major issue in 2023
Aim
To evaluate hay yield and quality of oat varieties at different times of sowing and under different nitrogen (N) nutrition strategies.
Background
The pulse industry continues to thrive in Victoria, particularly in the Mallee with large areas of lentils now grown profitably. This paper highlights some of the key recent findings from the Southern Pulse Agronomy (SPA) program which delivers localised applied agronomic trials and extension activities to close the economic yield gap and maximise faming systems benefits from pulse (lentil, faba bean, chickpea, field pea, vetch and lupin) production.
In 2023, good opening rain combined with stored soil moisture from extreme rainfall in 2022 means pulse grain yields were generally average to above average (for example lentils across the Wimmera and Mallee ranged from 1.0–3.5t/ha). Grain prices also remained high for most pulses, in particular lentils ($800–900/t), resulting in good profitability.
There were, however, several challenges in different regions, which were reflected across the pulse agronomy trial sites. In many trials, variable establishment was experienced due to drying soil conditions throughout the sowing window. High rainfall from late May and during June ensured crops fully established. There were some early indications of waterlogging at the Gerang Gerung and Dooen lentil trials. Cold and dry conditions in July slowed growth in most regions. At Dooen there was significant vegetative frost damage in lentils, with plants dying, particularly where there was heavy stubble from the previous crop. Disease was not a major issue across sites due to the dry July to September period, although Ascochyta blight did establish in early sown chickpea trials. The dry conditions also led to water stress symptoms, particularly in faba beans at the Woomelang (southern Mallee) and west Wimmera (Gerang Gerung) sites. A rainfall event of 28mm over October 3 and 4 at Woomelang ensured crops achieved potential grain yield, however the Wimmera sites continued to experience dry and cold conditions. Harvest conditions were ideal in the Mallee, however rainfall events through November, December and January impacted harvest at the Dooen site, significantly affecting harvestability and grain quality.
New varieties and key agronomic lessons from 2023
In 2023, one new lentil ALB Terrier® and one new field pea APB Bondi® were released.
ALB Terrier® (tested as CIPAL2122) is a small red market class imidazolinone (imi) tolerant variety with high yield potential and adaptation to major lentil growing regions. It is a mid-flowering and mid-maturity variety. It is rated R for Nipper and RMR for Hurricane resistant Ascochyta blight ratings. In agronomy trials, it has performed well across a range of sowing dates in 2022 and 2023, with grain yields similar to GIA Thunder in the Wimmera and slightly lower in the Mallee (Table 1).
APB Bondi® (tested as OZP1903) is a Kaspa seed type field pea broadly adapted across southern Australia. In agronomic trials it has been the highest or equal highest yielding variety in 2023. It has shown good yield stability across a range of sites, likely due to its tolerance to boron toxicity, moderate tolerance to salinity and resistances to seed-borne mosaic and bean roll virus.
The recently released GIA Thunder® continued to perform well across Victoria in 2023 and is likely to become the most widely grown imi variety in coming seasons, particularly in the Mallee. The long-term grain yield of GIA Thunder has been generally equivalent or higher than the highest yielding conventional variety PBA Jumbo2 and up to 15 per cent higher than the current high yielding imi varieties, such as PBA HallmarkXT and PBA HighlandXT. In the agronomy trials, it has performed particularly well in the Mallee (See Woomelang 2023; Table 1) and across a wide range of soil types, generally benefiting from earlier sowing. Disease management trials indicate maintaining proactive fungicide applications will be of benefit, particularly in seasons with higher disease risk. In the Wimmera its long-term grain yields have been higher than other imi varieties but slightly less than the conventional PBA Jumbo2. Trials in 2023 near Dooen (Wimmera), which experienced significant frosts during winter, demonstrated a similar trend (Table 2).
GIA Lightning® also showed good yields in several agronomy trials. Its improved adaptation to sandier soils could be of benefit in some regions. It also showed good yields despite frosts at the Wimmera site at Dooen, which may be due to its later maturity. Proactive fungicide applications are essential for this variety with its moderate susceptibility to botrytis.
Weed managment – using the metribuzin tolerance of GIA Metro to improve control of spiny emex in the northern Mallee
In 2023, one new lentil ALB Terrier® and one new field pea APB Bondi® were released.
ALB Terrier® (tested as CIPAL2122) is a small red market class imidazolinone (imi) tolerant variety with high yield potential and adaptation to major lentil growing regions. It is a mid-flowering and mid-maturity variety. It is rated R for Nipper and RMR for Hurricane resistant Ascochyta blight ratings. In agronomy trials, it has performed well across a range of sowing dates in 2022 and 2023, with grain yields similar to GIA Thunder in the Wimmera and slightly lower in the Mallee (Table 1).
APB Bondi® (tested as OZP1903) is a Kaspa seed type field pea broadly adapted across southern Australia. In agronomic trials it has been the highest or equal highest yielding variety in 2023. It has shown good yield stability across a range of sites, likely due to its tolerance to boron toxicity, moderate tolerance to salinity and resistances to seed-borne mosaic and bean roll virus.
The recently released GIA Thunder® continued to perform well across Victoria in 2023 and is likely to become the most widely grown imi variety in coming seasons, particularly in the Mallee. The long-term grain yield of GIA Thunder has been generally equivalent or higher than the highest yielding conventional variety PBA Jumbo2 and up to 15 per cent higher than the current high yielding imi varieties, such as PBA HallmarkXT and PBA HighlandXT. In the agronomy trials, it has performed particularly well in the Mallee (See Woomelang 2023; Table 1) and across a wide range of soil types, generally benefiting from earlier sowing. Disease management trials indicate maintaining proactive fungicide applications will be of benefit, particularly in seasons with higher disease risk. In the Wimmera its long-term grain yields have been higher than other imi varieties but slightly less than the conventional PBA Jumbo2. Trials in 2023 near Dooen (Wimmera), which experienced significant frosts during winter, demonstrated a similar trend (Table 2).
GIA Lightning® also showed good yields in several agronomy trials. Its improved adaptation to sandier soils could be of benefit in some regions. It also showed good yields despite frosts at the Wimmera site at Dooen, which may be due to its later maturity. Proactive fungicide applications are essential for this variety with its moderate susceptibility to botrytis.
Soil variability and yield stability - sandy and duplex soils in the west Wimmera
There have been significant improvements in genetic adaption (for example, improved tolerance to boron and salt or sandy soils) and utilisation of soil amelioration techniques such as deep ripping, spading and clay spreading, to help overcome soil constraints and improve yield and yield stability in pulses. However, new issues and new challenges need to be addressed to ensure the ongoing profitable growth of the pulse industry. Following on from trials in previous seasons, in 2023 at Gerang Gerung in the west Wimmera a range of lentil, faba bean, field pea, chickpea, lupin and vetch varieties were compared on a sandy and a duplex soil in the same paddock to demonstrate which crop and varietal options have the best fit for these variable soils. Faba bean recorded the highest grain yields and profitability across both soil types. In contrast, lentils generally performed poorly and had very low yields on the duplex soil; probably due to transient waterlogging and cold frosty conditions experienced during July (Table 4). Despite commonly held perceptions that faba beans have poor yield stability, in this trial they had the most stable yields across individual plots at both locations. The individual plot yield ranged from 2.1–4.6t/ha on the duplex soil and 1.7–3.4t/ha on the sand (Figure 2). In contrast, individual plot yield in lentils ranged from 0–1.6t/ha on the duplex soil and 0.2–3.5t/ha on the sand. Variation was great across very short distances in lentils where the yield of neighbouring plots varied by more than four-fold. These results highlight the benefit of faba beans across variable soil types, with grain yields consistently higher than 1.7t/ha in these trials. In contrast, lentils were sensitive to soil type where in places no yield (0t/ha) was measured due to hostile environmental or soil conditions.
Disease management in a dry season
Botrytis was extremely difficult to control in faba beans, lentils and vetch in 2023. Complete crop failure occurred in faba beans, particularly in the Wimmera, for the susceptible variety PBA Bendoc. Significant yield loss in lentils and vetch was also observed, despite the use of proactive fungicide practices. Following the 2022 season, several questions have been raised with growers and agronomists asking: “How long until I can grow a bean, lentil or vetch crop in that paddock again without risking a botrytis outbreak?” 2023 presented a unique opportunity to sow pulse trials directly into highly infected faba bean stubble and observe the response to genetic resistance and fungicide control. In the west Wimmera lentil, faba bean and vetch varieties differing in resistance to botrytis were sown in 2023 into a paddock that had a failed faba bean crop in 2022 due to high levels of botrytis grey mould. In the southern Mallee, lentils and vetch were sown in 2023 into a paddock of vetch in 2022 that had high level of sclerotinia and botrytis. Both sites had fungicide strategies ranging from a nil control to a proactive approach aiming to achieve complete control. Both sites experienced very low rainfall from July to September and even in susceptible varieties like PBA Bendoc (faba bean), PBA Bolt (lentil) and Morava (Vetch), almost no botrytis symptoms were observed due to the dry conditions. No grain yield response to fungicide application was observed. The results from these trials are a reminder of the importance of suitable environmental conditions (such as a high number of rain days inducing high canopy humidity) for the development of botrytis. In drier seasons there could an be opportunity to reduce fungicide usage and costs.
References
Frischke A., Clarke G. and Troup G., 2020, 2019 BCG Season Research Results, 'National Hay Agronomy - What variety, when to sow and what N rate to use?' pp 50-54. <https://www.bcg.org.au/national-hay- agronomy-what-variety-when-to-sow-and-what-n-rate-to-use/>
Peace C., 2016, GRDC Update Papers, 'Crops for hay understanding the local regional and export markets! <https://www.grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/ grdc-update-papers/2016/02/crops-for-hay-understanding-the-local-regional-and-export-markets>
Acknowledgements
This research is part of the 'National Hay Agronomy project, funded by the AgriFuturesTM Export Fodder Program. It is a national collaboration between DPIRD, SARDI, Agriculture Victoria, NSW DPI and grower groups including BCG.
