Technical Bulletin – 14 JULY 2016

• Black keeled slugs are still causing many issues where they are found. Particularly if management was compromised due to access issues for spreading bait. No crop type has been safe.
• Blackleg levels in canola are very high in some Wimmera crops due to high pressure and early sowing.
• Powdery mildew in wheat has been reported about two weeks earlier than last year in the Mallee.
• Net form net blotch (NFNB) and Septoria are present in barley and wheat respectively. Fungicide plans are being actioned where risk is greatest.
• In the northern Mallee there has been some crop wilting despite good moisture—suspect compaction is the cause. It is a good time to check and identify areas that can be managed out of season. Other than that, growers are quietly positive about the season.

• Welcome rainfall tallies of around 30mm were received across much of the region over the weekend.
• Consideration is being given to cutting cereal crops for hay due to strong prices.
• Regular paddock inspections to assess crop and weed growth and for pest activity and disease.
• Data from long term soil moisture sites indicates infiltration ranging from 20 to 60cm depending on soil type and rainfall. Without follow up rain, crops are likely to continue to use shallower moisture reserves.

In the northern Mallee, reports of Etiella and Heliothis may create more activity in the coming days and weeks. For the southern Mallee, most growers are looking for more rain to protect yield potential, and late fungicide sprays have gone out on wheat.

In the Wimmera (North, Central and West) soil moisture levels are good (explained later in this bulletin) and there are isolated reports of armyworm activity that warrant some monitoring, particularly in cereal on cereal rotations.

Some action points from recent BCG events: leave the fenceline and get out into your crops to assess for potential frost or heat stress damage, adjust your header set up ready for the coming months, succession planning is an ongoing process and farming is about decision making and we can only influence the quality of our decision making by acting more consciously on the best available knowledge.