• Dry sowing did not significantly compromise nodulation and nitrogen fixation in chickpea in 2019.
• Peat slurry and granular inoculants led to satisfactory nodulation and nitrogen fixation in dry and wet sowing conditions in 2019.
• Chickpeas inoculated with peat based or bentonite clay granule inoculant and sown either dry or into moisture provided similar growth and production in a subsequent wheat crop in 2020.
• No significant differences in final grain yield of wheat was observed between inoculant types of sowing times.
• Some differences were observed in plant growth where the previous chickpea crop had been inoculated compared to uninoculated however inoculant type had no effect on wheat growth.
• Wheat grain quality was better when grown after an inoculated chickpea crop compared to an uninoculated crop and would contribute to a higher quality grade.

• Spray topping remains the most effective control option for matricaria in pastures.
• Sheep did not graze matricaria at any growth stage and the use of MCPA in a spray-graze scenario did not increase grazing of matricaria. Grazing would not be a reliable control method for matricaria, even when paired with chemical manipulation, in an average year.
• Matricaria had good feed value but had less crude protein and metabolisable energy than the other green feed in the paddock.
• Mowing or weed wiping to control matricaria at the flowering stage was significantly less effective in reducing biomass and number of flowers and had significantly more regrowth compared to district practice of spray topping.

• Even though Group A herbicide gave excellent control of barley grass in 2019, the dormant seed bank allowed dense emergence in 2020.
• Paraquat spray topping in 2019 did not reduce seed set and subsequent barley grass density in 2020.
• Effective Group A weed control in 2019 combined with Sakura® + Treflan® in 2020 successfully reduced this very dense barley grass population by 98% compared to a rotation of grazing (no herbicide) in 2019 and Treflan® alone in 2020.
• Effective barley grass control increased pasture biomass in 2019 and crop yield in 2020.

• Pre-emergent herbicides were equally as effective at controlling broadleaf weeds as post-emergent herbicides in this faba bean trial
• Reflex® is a new pre-emergent herbicide option for control of broadleaf weeds with good residual activity and is effective at reducing weed density and biomass
• If a post-emergent herbicide is required Ecopar® is best for broadleaf weed control in non-imi-tolerant varieties and Intercept® is good for imi-tolerant varieties

The effective pasture control treatments in 2019 and pre-emergent herbicides in the 2020 wheat crop have reduced barley grass density from over 1000 plants/m2 to 2-12 plants/m2 over the entire trial site.

The best initial control in 2020 resulted from TriflurX® and Sakura®.

A brown manuring treatment in August 2020 applied to all treatments reduced but did not prevent seed set. Barley grass growth in 2021 will indicate how effectively the treatment reduced seed viability.

In 2019, early application of Targa® provided excellent control of barley grass. Spray topping with glyphosate, later in the season, prevented production of viable barley grass seed while giving greatest pasture biomass.

In 2020, late sowing (May) gave better barley grass control and better crop establishment than early sowing (April). Time of sowing did not impact crop yield, although yield was reduced by high weed density.

• Faba bean sown in 2019 significantly reduced Pratylenchus neglectus (root lesion nematode) numbers. Lentil and canola also reduced P. neglectus but to a lesser extent. This carried through to 2020 sown wheat where populations remained low.
• In 2019, faba bean was the lowest risk non-cereal option in the break crop phase to manage a late start or dry finish, although wheat outperformed all crop types in terms of yield and gross margin in 2019.
• Wheat sown in 2020 yielded more when sown after pulses (faba bean, lentil, chickpea) compared to when sown after canola or wheat,
• In a poor season or low rainfall situation the low nitrogen strategy (30N basal) offered the best returns, there was no yield response to higher rates of nitrogen applied in-season.
• Wheat after pulses had the greatest yield response to applied nitrogen.
• Protein response to nitrogen rate was higher in wheat-wheat compared to when sown after break crops.

• In 2000, growers in the northern wheatbelt were concerned about resistant weeds and began to manage them through a range of innovative approaches other than herbicides alone.
• With GRDC and DPIRD support weeds researcher Peter Newman worked with growers and annually monitored 27 focus paddocks for the surviving ryegrass populations in Spring. Monitoring from 2017 was continued by the Regional Research Agronomy project
•  In 2001, the average ryegrass count across the paddocks was 183 plants/m2 but growers reduced these numbers by an average of 98% over the first nine seasons.
• Once ryegrass numbers were reduced to low levels, growers using harvest weed seed control (HWSC) have consistently kept weed numbers close to zero, while those without HWSC have experienced some volatility in numbers annually.
• In 2020 IWM strategies have continued to maintain low ryegrass numbers and manage herbicide resistance; average ryegrass numbers have reduced by over 99% since 2001

• An integrated weed management (IWM) approach was used incorporating integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (iHSD), herbicide, hand picking, crop rotation and early grazing opportunities
• After seven years wild radish numbers were controlled on paddocks that previously had high densities 
• Between 2018 and 2020 the radish population was reduced by 71%

• In 2020 lentils produced similar biomass from all times of sowing.
• Seed yields were highest from June sowing.

 

• PBA Highland XT produced higher yields than the standard variety PBA Bolt
• PBA Highland XT appeared to have better herbicide tolerance than PBA Bolt
• Deeper sowing and rolling immediately after sowing increased crop safety and yields
• Applying soil active herbicides prior to sowing increased crop safety

• The impact of nitrogen rate and fungicide strategy on canola grain yield and seed quality was investigated at two field sites.Increasing nitrogen rate decreased oil % in seed.
• 280kg/ha nitrogen increased protein compared with the 100kg/ha treatment.
• There was no impact of fungicide applications although the season was not conducive to disease development. Observations failed to detect disease in either trial.
• Analysis of coarse and fine stubble fractions showed increasing N concentration and yield of each fraction with increasing N rate.
• Higher amounts of soil mineral N were present at end of autumn 2021 following high rates of fertiliser N in the previous season.
• High N fertiliser rates increase the N concentration of stubble residue and the total amount of stubble.
• The higher soil N in the following season is only a small proportion of the additional fertiliser N, a small compensation for over fertilising should the previous canola crop yield well below expectation.

• Rip to below your compacted layer
• Ripping to 60cm reduced soil strength, and this effect continued into the second year after ripping
• Wheat yield response to the 60cm rip treatment paid for deep ripping in the first year
• It is important to understand potential yield benefits of ripping before you rip

• Crop establishment, biomass, yield and harvest index of wheat was largely unaffected by break crop rotation from the previous two seasons.
• Wheat yield was above district average for both the light and heavy soil site which was not expected on the average decile 4 rainfall.
• Grain produced from wheat following a pulse-canola rotation had higher protein content compared to the canola-chickpea rotation.

• No crop type on any soil achieved optimum plant density at this site, with canola treatments having extremely poor establishment.
• Overall, wheat had a significantly higher biomass than canola, lupins or chickpeas.
• Wheat yields were average to above average for the area depending on the soil type, which is a favourable result given the average decile 4 growing season rainfall.
• Canola yielded extremely poorly and proved to be a risky crop choice for the given season and soil types

• Seasonal conditions during 2020 were not conducive to chocolate spot development and no significant yield difference was measured between fungicide spray regimes.
• Unnecessary application of fungicides reduces gross margins.
• Real-time IoT sensors (data loggers) used for crop microclimate monitoring can support timely fungicide use and reduce unnecessary prophylactic sprays.
• Further trials are required in disease-conducive seasons to increase confidence in the use of this technology for spray decision support.

Canola yield increased significantly up to, but not above, 200 kg N/ha.

There was little benefit to applying above 15P or any K, S or trace elements.

Fertilisers (both banded and top-dressed) significantly decreased plant establishment and early growth.

Triflur X® provided excellent control of barley grass over the entire site, although by August, weed density was lower following Triflur X® at 3L/ha rather than 2L/ha.

Intervix® provided excellent control in-crop, preventing panicle production.

Increased seeding rate increased crop density, and resulted in a non-significant reduction to barley grass panicles.

•  Legume break crops reduced populations of RLN (Pratylenchus neglectus) in the soil while canola increased the population.
• RLN levels increased across the site after one season of Scepter wheat (a susceptible host) to medium risk levels on legume plots and high risk levels where canola had been a break crop.
• A single break crop in the rotation may be insufficient to effectively reduce disease inoculum beyond the season following a break crop year.

• Benefit cost analysis using the small yield benefit (up to 100kg/ha) found on shallow ironstone areas in this paddock (0-3cm topsoil over ironstone sheet) showed a nil to negative return on investment.
• In 2019, the season was too dry to measure a yield response.
• In 2020, in-season data was collected but the season was dry with a hard finish (0.7t/ha paddock average) and no yield difference was measured. While the Reefinator may increase plant available water capacity, recent seasons have provided very little moisture.
• Yield maps are critical for ongoing monitoring of paddock machinery-scale treatments where soil variability can confound treatment effects.

• Chickpea seed yield responded to 25-50 kg N/ha applied 18 weeks after sowing at Ridely in 2020
• Yield responses were not large enough to pay for the cost on applied nitrogen.
• Kabuli variety Gen090 produced similar yields to desi variety CBA Captain

• Chickpea seed yield responded to 50 kg N/ha applied 8 weeks after sowing at Grass Patch in 2020
• Higher rates did not increase yields when applied at 8 weeks after sowing or in a split application at 8 and 12 weeks after sowing.
• Within plot variation resulted in no significant difference in the gross margin.

• Applying 100 kg N/ha 8 weeks after sowing increased yield, but did not lead to increased gross margins
• Trial site was flooded in August – treat results with caution

• Applying nitrogen to lentil had no positive effect in 2020

• The resistance rating of cereal cultivars to RLN species affects RLN multiplication. Yenda wheat is more resistant than Calingiri wheat and these cultivars affected P. quasitereoides population size for two seasons following.
• In 2019, applying urea increased P. quasitereoides numbers more than applying none, with higher rates upfront at seeding associated with the highest RLN numbers at harvest. Applying urea also significantly increased yield.
• P. quasitereoides population size reduced over the 2019/20 summer by about half and reduced further over the 2020 growing season when Scepter wheat was grown.

•  Grower practice N rates at both sites were the most economical
•  Applying higher rates of N to maintain or increase protein was not profitable if yield did not also increase
•  Grain markets should be watched in case higher quality grades fetch significantly higher prices
•  Increased nitrogen can lead to increased incidence of powdery mildew if not controlled early in the season.

Both invertebrate pests and beneficials are found in association with chaff in paddocks. However, the species composition depends on the location of the paddock. Paddocks located in the Albany port zone are more likely to have higher densities of pests associated with chaff, whereas paddocks located in the Kwinana East port zone had the least pest densities and highest numbers of seed-harvesting ants associated with chaff.

The most abundant beneficials were weed seed harvesting ants which were found in close association with chaff. As these ants predate on weed seeds and live in holes in the ground, it is unlikely they are using chaff as a refuge, it is more probable that they are foraging in the chaff. This trend presents an opportunity to investigate in greater detail whether seed-harvesting ants provide an economic benefit to growers by consuming weed seeds from HWSC systems left to rot-in-situ.

Pitfall trapping was able to capture a higher diversity of invertebrate species than direct sampling of chaff. As pitfall trapping did not rely on samplers locating an invertebrate, it is more likely to be a more accurate representation of species presence and diversity in a paddock. However, this technique does rely on invertebrates moving and falling into a pitfall trap.

Leaving chaff to rot-in-situ does not affect abundances of pests such as desiantha weevil. However, other pests do use chaff as refuges. For instance, pest beetles, Rutherglen bugs, European earwigs were found in association with chaff. It is unlikely these species are feeding on chaff, but rather are using chaff as a refuge. This survey was not able to determine if long term retention of chaff will increase abundances of these pests.

There was no correlation between the presence of chaff and the presence of a mouse holes, nor was there a correlation with HWSC system and the presence of mice.

Of the twenty paddocks sampled for mice, only 5 paddocks had active mouse holes.  Four paddocks  were located near Minginew and had at most two active holes along 4 transects. These are considered to have low levels of mice. One paddock in Esperance had mouse numbers that were considered high, at this site there were an estimated 488 mouse holes per hectare. 

 

• Quality of on-farm lime and distance from coastal limesand sources are important factors in determining economic advantage over coastal limesand
• Cultivation of sources resulted in higher net present values after the 20 year iLime simulation, and improved return on investments at 5 and 10 years compared to when uncultivated
• In 2019 cultivation consistently improved yield and the high rates of local dolerite and limesand improved yield by 0.55t/ha and 0.57t/ha respectively.
• Due to the 2020 season and in season challenges there were no significant differences in yield between sources and cultivation

• Vegetable beetle and slater activity is correlated to high relative humidity, mild temperatures and time of day, and that these conditions overlap with other crop emergence pests such as conical snails.
• Vegetable beetles and slater movement was not correlated with soil moisture content, unlike conical snails.
• There may be a wider window of opportunity to apply chemical controls to target these pests pre-sowing especially in dry sowing situations. Whereas when baiting for snails, efficacy is improved when baits are applied immediately following rain when the soil surface is moist and there is high relative humidity overnight.

• Deep ripping did not affect depth to free water in 2018 or 2019; however these were decile 2 and decile 1 growing seasons at Kendenup West.
• Yield data was limited; however deep ripping may have produced a cultivation effect that slightly increased yield.
• Deep ripping is unlikely to be a reliable management option for waterlogging in forest gravel soil.

• Rip to below your compacted layer
• Ripping to 60cm reduced soil strength, and this effect continued into the second year after ripping
• Wheat yield response to the 60cm rip treatment paid for deep ripping in the first year
• Important to understand potential yield benefits of ripping before you rip

• The monitoring undertaken showed no evidence for significant reduction of soil borne disease by ripping and cultivation.
• The spatial variability of soil borne diseases dictates that careful site selection, small plots, multiple replications and intensive sampling is required to obtain meaningful results.

• Baiting with metaldehyde baits resulted in approximately 50-60% mortality.
• Baits had most effect on snails larger then 6mm.
• This trial highlight the need for further research into the growth rates and fecundity of snails under different environmental conditions and availability of sources of food and refuges.

• Soil amelioration, particularly liming with incorporation to depth, increases break crop options.
• Faba beans can be successfully grown on light soil types if pH is managed.
• Subsequent nitrogen fertiliser programs should take account of residual N to optimise the benefits of pulse crops.

Desi chickpea varieties CBA Captain, Neelam and PBA Striker, and Kabuli chickpea variety Genesis 079 showed good tolerance to a range of chickpea herbicides or herbicide mixtures at the label rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 1.1 kg/ha applied before seeding reduced seed yield of PBA Striker (9%) significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Desi chickpea varieties CBA Captain, Neelam and PBA Striker showed good tolerance to a range of chickpea herbicides or herbicide mixtures at registered rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

IBS application of simazine + Balance® appears safer than PSPE application especially on PBA Striker.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 1.1 kg/ha IBS was tolerated well by all the varieties.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Lentil varieties PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark XT and PBA Jumbo2 showed good tolerance to a range of lentil herbicides or herbicide mixtures at registered rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

Unregistered use pattern of Brodal® (diflufenican) at 200 mL/ha as PSPE and of Metribuzin 750 at 100 g/ha in mixture with Brodal® 100 mL/ha as post-emergent application reduced seed yield of PBA Bolt and PBA Jumbo2 significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Lentil varieties PBA Bolt, PBA Hallmark XT and PBA Jumbo2 showed good tolerance to a range of lentil herbicides or herbicide mixtures applied at the label rates and timings with good crop safety margin.

Unregistered use pattern of Brodal® (diflufenican) at 200 mL/ha as PSPE and of Metribuzin 750 at 100 g/ha in mixture with Brodal® 100 mL/ha as post-emergent application reduced seed yield of PBA Jumbo2 significantly.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

Pre-emergent simazine and propyzamide (IBS) at maximum label rates recorded low crop safety margin.

Higher uptake of simazine following good soil moisture appeared to have made lupins varieties sensitive to damage by normally safe rates of post-emergent broadleaf herbicides.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 2.3 kg/ha applied before seeding was tolerated by all the lupin varieties.

For blue lupin control/suppression, Garlon® 600 (triclopyr) at 30 mL/ha applied at 8-leaf stage and at pod setting on main stem of narrow leafed lupins caused statistically significant yield loss across all the lupin varieties. Triclopyr use on narrow leafed lupins is not registered.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

All the lupin varieties tolerated the registered pre and post-emergent herbicides at the label rates and timings with good safety margin.

A new herbicide Ultro® 900 WG at 2.3 kg/ha applied before seeding was tolerated by all the lupin varieties.

For blue lupin control/suppression, Garlon® 600 (triclopyr) at 30 mL/ha applied at 8-leaf stage of narrow leafed lupins was tolerated well by all the varieties, whereas its application at pod setting on main stem of narrow leafed lupins caused statistically significant yield loss across all the lupin varieties (18-24%). Triclopyr use on narrow leafed lupins is not registered.

Note: Always follow label recommendations. The Department Primary Industries and Regional Development, does not endorse the use of herbicides above the registered rate or off-label use of herbicides or off-label tank mixes. Crop tolerance and yield responses to herbicides are strongly influenced by seasonal conditions.

• Liming decreases surface soil acidity.
• The incorporation of lime increased the movement of the lime to the 10-20cm layer neutralising subsoil acidity.
• Subsoil aluminium levels at this site fit WA relationships that toxic Al above 2 mg/kg occur when pH (CaCl2) is below 4.5

• Decision support tools such as ‘Select Your Nitrogen’ and ‘CliMate’ can help decision making with in-season nitrogen applications.
• In a decile 1 year there are limited benefits from in season nitrogen applications when yield does not increase with additional N fertiliser.
• Better economic returns result when both yield and protein are increased in higher decile years.
• It is important to understand production goal and the potential economic return of your nitrogen inputs.

• Aim to bait from mid-March to mid-April before seeding, and consider baiting again immediately post seeding. This timing will increase bait efficacy, increase likelihood of conditions suitable for snail movement, and be timed before most snails lay eggs.
• Bait in autumn not summer even if there is a lot of summer rain as control from baits can be low during summer
• Relative humidity above 85% is when snails are most active, so plan baiting to be before forecast periods of extended high humidity. Throw out test area before baiting whole program to be sure.

• Canola is not a break crop in paddocks if root lesion nematodes (RLN) and Rhizoctonia solani are both present
• Weed free legumes, pulses and pastures are the best options where RLN and R. solani co-exist in a paddock
• Cereals substantially increase RLN and R. solani levels while canola will also increase RLN

• In 2018 there was a reduction in crown rot severity when Product X was applied, however this did not improve yield
• 2019 pre-season PreDictaB results showed a reduction in crown rot risk for Evergol, Product X and Vibrance
• The second year had no carry over benefit of seed dressings or previous year’s variety. These seed dressings are only effective in the year applied and effectiveness can be influenced by initial inoculum level and how conducive the season is for the disease

• None of the products tested repelled snails from senesced barley plants in the laboratory experiment.
• No treatment caused significant mortality of conical snails when assessed after 21 days compared to a water treatment.
• The Esperance field trial demonstrated pyroligneous acid having no repellence effect on the snails.
• This reinforces that products should only be used at registered rates, times and methods of application in crops for which they are registered.

• The wetting agent /humectant SE14 was applied at seeding to see if crop establishment was improved in a dry sown oat crop near Lake Grace on a soil without non-wetting issues
• Significantly more oat plants germinated at SE14 3L/ha + water 47L/ha compared to the nil
• There was no significant difference in plant establishment between two different water rates used for applying the wetting agent
• It is unknown whether the increased plant establishment resulted in increased yield, as yield was not recorded.

• Four field trials in 2018 assessed the influence of plant density, nitrogen timing and grazing on yield and quality of three long maturing wheat varieties sown early April in Western Australia.
• Based on yield, Forrest and Longsword wheat varieties are more suitable for the early sowing opportunities in April than growing a mid winter (ie EGA Wedgetail) earlier.
• If there are establishment issues sowing in early April, there is generally no penalty if establishment is down to 50 plants/m². Some varietal specific responses were observed although these responses were also driven by nitrogen timing.
• For early April sown crops, delaying nitrogen application until stem elongation improved yields at Esperance, Katanning and Yuna.
• Grazing did reduce yields by up to 0.9t/ha depending on environment and variety choice, but could be achieved with minimal yield loss for some varieties and environments.