The Simazine and Lexone treatments had the lowest yields and these wer significantly lower for Northfiedl lentils.

There were no significant differences in crop effect (measured as yield) from the various herbicides used.

• The take home message from the lentil production trial in a disease-free year is that lentils should to be sown prior to mid June, preferably in the late May to mid June period to achieve optimum yields.
• A difference of 1t/ha was achieved between sowing in late May compared to an early July sowing. However it must be remembered that with an early sowing if crops are reaching canopy closure in late winter/early spring then significant levels of disease could be expected under conditions conductive to disease.
• Fungicide applications made no improvements to yield regardless of fungicide type, application timing or the number of applications made.
• However, if the season had been wetter with a higher disease incidence, then crops may have benefited from one or more fungicide applications.

Lentil rolling is a relatively common practice in Wimmera/Mallee districts. Although several management techniques are advised when rolling lentils, after 2 years (2001 and 2003) of BCG trial work there seems to be no adverse affect on lentil growth or no yield reduction when rolling lentils at any stage of growth.

This trial indicated that rolling just prior to coleoptile emergence delivered a desirable paddock surface for harvest without impacting on yield. There have however been reported cases of shoot damage in crops when rolled at this stage.

Lentils need to be sown prior to mid June, preferable late May to achieve optimum yields. Sowing rates equivalent to the current recommendations of 120 plants/m2 appear adequate for cultivars used in this trial.

Sowing depth for lentils to be sprayed with Lexone is critical, a minimum depth of 5cm is required.

• There was a significant difference in lentil yield from sowing depth (shallow yielded none).
• There was no effect of herbicide use.
• Commercial practice would still indicate a minimum sowing depth of 6cm is required for lentils.

• The optimum sowing time for lentils in the southern Mallee is mid May.
• The current recommendation for a sowing rate of 50kg/ha should be followed.

The optimum time for sowing lentils, for the 1996 season, was in early to mid May.

• Desiccating lentil crops was critical in 2010 to minimising losses by allowing an earlier harvest, prior to the heavy rainfall events. Rainfall affected crops yielded up to 50% less.
• The earlier maturing varieties PBA Flash and PBA Blitz offer higher yields in drier years but not necessarily in long seasons such as 2010.  
• In the Mallee, PBA Blitz offers good disease resistance which improves reliability and yield and its medium large seed makes it attractive for export.
• Late in 2010 in the Mallee, disease and virus were observed. These may have resulted in higher seed infection and inoculum levels. Be prepared for higher disease and virus levels in 2011.

• Ascochyta blight- and botrytis grey mould-resistant red lentil variety, Nipper, available for higher rainfall areas.
• Green lentil, Boomer, available for farmers but must be harvested early to maximise yield and seed quality.
• Good lentil management is beneficial in most years, irrespective of rainfall.

Paddock selection, disease management, variety selection and marketing are important to maximising profitability from lentils.

Lentil yields were poor in 2004 due to dry conditions, mainly through October, combined with high temperatures and frost during the reproductive period. Trial data were unreliable for many sites and variety selection should be based on long term data. Disease was not a major issue in 2004 but seed from the Horsham trial site had high levels of infection by ascochyta blight and diligence must be maintained in disease management.

Note: CIPAL203 was resistant to botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight and is suited to medium rainfall areas such as the Wimmera. CIPAL411 and CIPAL415 have improved salt tolerance. CIPAL402 is moderately resistant to botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight and is a larger seed size than Matilda.

• Lentils are a viable pulse option for the Southern Mallee, except in dry years on soils where high soil boron, sodicity and salinity are a problem.
• Digger has consistently been the highest yielding variety tested in the Mallee but the new variety Cassab offers a good alternative to growers.

• Nugget has been the highest yielding variety in Victoria in long term variety comparisons.
• Botrytis grey mould and ascochyta blight are major threats to the yield and quality of the Australian lentil crop.
• Digger and Cassab have the best resistance to botrytis grey mould. Northfield is the only variety with seed resistance to ascochyta blight but it is the variety most susceptible to botrytis grey mould.
• Northfield, ILL7685 and ILL6788 are more tolerant to salinity in glasshouse studies and were the highest yielding lines at Birchip where EC levels were high.

• Paddock selection, disease management, variety selection and marketing are important in maximising profitability from lentils.
• Nugget has excellent yield potential in the Wimmera. Nugget, Cassab, Digger and Cobber are the best varieties for the Mallee.
• Cassab, Digger and Nugget are the best varieties where botrytis grey mould is a serious threat and Northfield is the best variety where ascochyta blight cannot be controlled.

When selecting a variety, growers also need to consider their individual farm and paddock situation and the access and availability of likely target markets and to make their selection on all available information.

Good October rains and mild weather in spring ensured relatively high yields, especially in the Mallee, and good whole seed quality. However, there were several cases of poor quality seed from late infection by ascochyta blight. Growers are urged to treat seed for sowing in 2006 with a fungicide seed dressing and remain vigilant in controlling this disease.

Ascochyta blight and botrytis grey mould resistant red lentil variety Nipper and the green lentil. Boomer are now available for farmers (AWB Seeds). Good lentil management is beneficial in most years, irrespective of rainfall.

• Newly released varieties, PBA Ace and PBA Bolt, had the highest grain yields at Curyo (southern Mallee, Vic.) in 2012.
• Yields exceeded 2.5t/ha for both varieties when sown early, despite the very dry season. All varieties had higher grain yields when sown early (May 4) compared with later dates (June 5 and June 22).
• Varietal differences were evident in the relative decline in grain yield as sowing dates were delayed.
• Differences in tolerance to a range of group B herbicides were observed in several breeding lines. Pulse Breeding Australia will use this information to define future breeding directions for herbicide tolerant varieties, following PBA Herald XT.

Managing brome grass populations in wheat is a challenge facing many growers, however chemical and variety control options have improved over the years with the introduction of Clearfield wheat technology and now metribuzin tolerant wheats.

• Granular and liquid fertilisers were equally effective in terms of grain yield for wheat. ƒ
• The addition of zinc and copper had no effect on crop performance.
• Liquid P produced more dry matter production at the 5-leaf stage than granular P. ƒ
• More P was taken up by the crop as a liquid rather than as a granular.

• Over two years of trial work, there has been no economic advantage for the use of fluids.
• The site was yield responsive to high rates of liquid P.
• At rates typical of farmer practice there was no difference between granular and fluid.

• Modest autumn grazing of no-till crop stubbles sometimes leads to small measurable increases in surface soil bulk density.
• In two seasons, on soils in the Mallee and Wimmera, modest autumn grazing of no-till crop stubbles had no measurable effect on crop yield, quality or weed seed burial.

Light to moderate grazing of sheep on no-till stubbles in autumn is unlikely to have detrimental impacts on crop growth in the following season.

After 8 years of trial work on a Mallee clay loam with subsoil limitations:

• In only 2 years did yields increase after applying P fertiliser,
• the site has remained responsive at nil and 5P treatments, but maintaining rates >5kg P/ha did not produce any extra yield,
• in 2010 there as a 25% increase in wheat yield between nil P and where P had been applied (at rates 5kg P/ha or higher),
• the 5kg P/ha treatment provided the highest net income, and
• soil Colwell P together with PBI accurately estimated the response seen in 2010.

• After nine years, applying more than 5kg P/ha had no impact on grain yield in 2011.
• Consistently applying 5kg P/ha has been the most productive and profitable rate used.
• The DGT soil P test will undergo commercial testing at CSBP laboratories in 2012.

• In a Morgan pea hay crop, there were no dry matter differences between any of hte P fertiliser rates in 2009.
• The most profitable application of P on average between 2003 and 2009 has been zero P/ha on a site with a strong fertiliser history and initial soil P Colwell of 41mg/kg.
• A rate of 5kg P/ha per year produced the second highest net income with the least amount of risk.

• The application of P improved the yield (especially barley) and soil P content (Colwell P).
• Soil P balance doubled when high P rates were applied.
• Responses to P applications above 6kg P/ha are rare and extra expense would not be justified in the Mallee.

Phosphorus responses were undertaken in 2004 on a barley crop. This is a long-term trial to determine the effect of a range of fertiliser application rates of phosphorus (P) on long-term grain yields and soil phosphorus reserves. Results indicate that in paddocks with a good phosphorus history little response, in terms of grain yield and protein, will be gained from higher rates of P. However grain yields and protein were significantly higher where some P was applied compared to no P.

• Since this trial began in 2003, there has been no significant economic response to applied P. The most profitable treatment over five years was where either no P or 5kg P/ha had been applied.
• If considering reducing P rates in 2008, it is important that the amount of P that has been applied and removed over a 3-4 year period is calculated. If the P removal is not greater than P inputs then you can consider reducing P rates.
• The 5kg P/ha rate maintained a neutral P balance after the 5 years, whereas the control had a negative balance of just under 20kg P/ha. The higher rate treatments failed to utilize applied P and subsequently accumulated a positive balance greater than 20kg P/ha.

• There was no significant yield difference between any of the P rates in 2008
• The most profitable application rate of P on average between 2003 and 2008 has been zero on a site with a strong fertiliser history and initial soil P Colwell of 41ppm
• Maintenance rates of 5kg/ha, produced the second highest net income with the least amount of risk
• Avoid making fertiliser decisions on ‘gut feel’. Make use of tools such as soil tests and nutrient balances to determine P rates in 2009.

• Field peas are responsive to the applicatio nof phosphorus.
• In the Mallee, peas sown on low phosphorus soils (<15ppm Colwell) should be sown with 13-15kg P/ha. In higher P soils, rates should be 10-13kg P/ha. 

• Good paddock selection, average growing season rainfall and high inputs meant this was a very high yielding site. The average yield at the site was 2.5t/ha, with a difference of only 0.4 t/ha across all varieties tested.
• Hyola 60, Surpass 603CL performed well however these varieties rely on the B. sylvestris major gene resistance for black leg, which has broken down in some SA districts.
• Varieties with conventional blackleg resistance (multigenic) such as AVSapphire, AGCastle, and ATRBeacon performed well at this site. This demonstrates that there are both conventional and triazine tolerant high yielding alternatives to B. sylvestris varieties, suited to this district.
• Oil contents at the site were high, with the exception of Stubby and Beacon, which fell below the minimum 42%.

• Pea vs cereal: field peas will not compete with the lucerne seedling for light and moisture as much as a cereal.
• Peas/cereal vs sowing alone: field peas and cereals provide the opportunity to generate income in the year of lucern establishment.

Lucerne (medicago sativa) is being utilised for a range of benefits in modern farming systems. This includes the incorporation of phase farming principles into dryland cropping systems within the Mallee and Wimmera. In the Mallee, recharge rates vary from 5 to 35mm per year under traditional cropping systems. The principle of phase farming involves the tactical insertion of a lucerne pasture in a crop rotation to retrieve deep soil moisture and create a dry band below the rootzone of annual crops.

The main messages from the workshop were:

P fertiliser inputs can be reduced in most situations and MAP will be the product of choice next year,

N fertiliser inputs will be low at sowing, but growers should top-dress crops if the season turns wet,

Work out your requirements as soon as possible and discuss these with your supplier.

The overall conclusion of this work is that even in yeras with a tight finish, screenings are unlikely to increase as a result of topdressed nitrogen.

• Malting barley needs to be sown early to optimise yield and minimise the risk of protein and screenings being too high.
• Applying fertiliser nitrogen to paddocks with high soil available nitrogen at sowing will lead to high protein and high screenings.
• Narrow row spacings wnd higher sowing rates increases yield and also minimises the risk of producing barley with high protein and screenings.

• Allowing weeds to grow during summer reduced subsequent wheat yield by more than 50 percent
• Provided summer weeds were controlled, other surface treatments (slashed stubble, standing stubble, cultivation, bare earth) had little effect on crop yield
• Controlling summer weeds is one of the most cost-effective input investments available to growers in the Mallee, returning $5 for every $1 invested in this demonstration.

Crop Year Rainfall (November-October) is contributing up to 61% of variability in gross income received by farmers in southern Mallee but only 23% of variability in the Wimmera. Why? : high rainfall years (1993, 95, 96) were difficult years for Wimmera farmers and they were generally unable to take full opportunity of the rainfall received.

• Milling oat varieties Mitika, Bannister, Dunnart and Yallara yielded highest, closely followed by breeding line WA02Q302-9.
• Yallara and new variety WA02Q302-9 had the greatest dual purpose value, incurring little yield penalty after grazing.

The benefits of controlling traffic for yield in the Mallee are uncertain, but could potentially be determined quite easily. However, the benefits for management and input costs should be similar to those experienced by southern Queensland and northern New South Wales controlled traffic farmers.

In years with high summer rainfall, growing break crops is low risk and is an effective management strategy for reducing weeds, while growing profitability. Two year breaks are better than one at achieving favourable returns and reducing brome grass populations. The best brome grass control and gross margins were achieved by two year rotations of Clearfield canola/vetch and continuous Clearfield wheat followed by wheat.

• Another dry season has highlighted the increased resilience that early-maturing cereals express over mid-season-maturing varieties in these adverse years
• Season 2009 will see an increased opportunity for farmers to include new innovative wheat varieties into their farming systems
• Relying on one wheat variety is like ‘putting all of your eggs in the one basket’. New varieties with differing maturity dates and improved agronomics/disease resistance are now commercially available to help offset this potential threat
• Yitpi continues to be the Mallee benchmark, although as Table 1 indicates, a number of new release varieties have grain yields and agronomics that compare favourably with the Mallee icon.

• Yitpi - Watch out for stem and leaf rust and yellow leaf spot - otherwise an excellent wheat for the Mallee.
• Mitre - Smaller grain size than Yitpi, but higher yields - an excellent wheat for the Mallee.
• Camm - Possibly at risk because of a new race of stripe rust, a good wheat for the Mallee where CCN is controlled in other ways.
• Chara - An option to achieve a Prime Hard premium, if markets are available.
• H45 - An alternative very early maturity wheat to Silverstar with improved grain size, but lacking CCN resistance.

• Increasing row spacing reduced plant establishment and shoot densities but this was notreflected in reductionsin grain yield at widerrow spacing treatmentsin droughtstressed trial environments: there were no statistically significant differences in grain yield between any of the row spacing treatments.
• Key management decisions for optimising production were variety choice (at all sites) and nitrogen management (Curyo).
• At Curyo, barley varieties responded differently to row spacing, nitrogen timing and combinations of row spacing and nitrogen.
• Varying pre-emergent herbicide did not effect yield at Manangatang or Jil Jil.
• Variety yield performance was consistent with long-term National Variety Trial data (Hindmarsh, Buloke performing well, Commander and SloopVic performing poorly in dry environments).

Variety choice was the management decision with the highest impact on grain yield and gross income compared to other management considerations.

• Rhizoctonia sererity was low in 1993.
• Cultivation of dry soil did not reduce the impact of rhizoctonia.
• Shallow sowing (2.5cm) may predispose plant roots to rhizoctonia.

At Kinnabulla, the best reduced tillage system to control rhizoctonia and increase yield was to cultivate, 5 to 10 cm below seed depth, in the week before sowing.

Key Messages Star of Bethlehem:

• Ally® (metsulfuron) and paraquat were the most effective post-emergent herbicides in the pot studies, which prevented formation of any bulbs by the Star of Bethlehem (SoB).
• Pre-emergent herbicides were largely ineffective in pot studies for controlling SoB with the only product showing efficacy being Glean® (chlorsulfuron).
• From field studies contact herbicides such as paraquat showed greatest visual efficacy.The impact on bulb set is yet to be assessed.
• As experienced by growers, glyphosate has limited activity against SoB.

Key Messages Rosinweed:

• Rosinweed is difficult to control due to its perennial nature, large, interconnected root system, and densely hairy leaves.
• Mixes containing glyphosate and 2,4-D ester provided best control which is the current best practice.
• There are limited options outside of what is currently viewed as best practice and as such this weed needs further investigation to identify alternative opportunities, particularly in sensitive spray areas.

• If crown rot is a concern, conduct a DNA test before sowing a susceptible cereal in 2007.
• Break crops and grass free fallows are still the best practice for reducing crown rot inoculum levels.
• If inoculum levels are high, it will take at least two years free from grass and volunteers, to reduce levels significantly.

• Crown rot has become an important disease to manage in Victorian wheat crops.
• A soil test can be used to identify paddocks most at risk of crown rot.
• In the presence of medium crown rot levels crop losses can be reduced by chosing tolerant crops.

• Snail management is a three phase operation, occurring post harvest, during the growing season and at harvest.
• Knowing how many snails of each type and size are present is critical if appropriate management is to be applied.
• Snail density - above 30/m2 bait should be applied.

Barley can be successfully grown on retained wheat stubble, but it is advisable to burn wheat stubble when growing wheat on wheat. If stubble is retained then Yellow Leaf Spot can be a devastating disease in a wet winter. The most important management practices when growing a cereal on cereal are as follows:

• Select paddocks with low numbers of grass weeds.
• Retain wheat stubble for barley, burn the stubble for wheat.
• Control summer weeds to ensure summer rainfall can be used by the crop.
• Use varieties with good disease resistance such as Silverstar or Krichauff.
• Disease - select paddocks with low disease pressure (monitor the previous crop) and DNA test the paddock prior to sowing.
•  Apply sufficient nitrogen for a good crop (soil test to know how much to apply).
• Barley on barley can lead to serious problems with leaf diseases such as net blotch.

Canola can be successfully grown on cereal stubble if the stubble is removed and nutritoin (especially N) is adequte.

• March to April sown winter wheats performed comparably to main season spring wheats. Optimal time of sowing for winter wheats was late March to mid April.
• Early sowing may present opportunities to increase overall farm profitability by spreading the sowing window without excessive risk of frost and heat.
• Longsword (RAC2341) failed to perform at both sites due to unexplained sterility.

• Winter wheats sown early can match but not exceed yields of locally adapted spring wheats sown in their optimal window (eg. Scepter sown late April-early May).
• It is only advantageous to sow winter wheats early if they are replacing paddocks that would otherwise be sown too late, or used for dual purpose.
• In a very dry growing season sowing earlier than late April reduced yields when stored soil water was present after a long fallow.

• Residual herbicides can restrict crop rotation options and is often more prominent following dry seasons.
• To minimise the potential impact on the following crop it is import to understand the product that has been used, the soil pH and the amount of rainfall received from application until the time of sowing the follow crop.
• It is also highly recommended to follow and adhere to the recommendations on the product label.

For further information please see the attached trial report.

Hostile subsoils can significantly constrain crop growth and water use in the Mallee and Wimmera. Although the subsoil constraints are effectively fixed, the impact they have on grain yields can vary markedly with crop type and seasonal conditions (particularly the pattern of rainfall). Electromagnetic survey (EM) techniques offer the potential to assess the distribution and extent of subsoil constraints within a paddock. Management options however are currently limited and the most financially viable strategy may be to ‘live with the problem’ where inputs such as N fertiliser are limited and crop selection restricted to more tolerant types and varieties.

Hostile subsoils can significantly constrain crop growth and water use in the Mallee and Wimmera. Although the subsoil constraints are effectively fixed, the impact they have on grain yields can vary markedly with crop type and seasonal conditions (particularly the pattern of rainfall). Electromagnetic survey (EM) techniques offer the potential to assess the distribution and extent of subsoil constraints within a paddock. Management options however are currently limited and the most financially viable strategy may be to ‘live with the problem’ where inputs such as N fertiliser are limited and crop selection restricted to more tolerant types and varieties.

• Severe leaf rust infections can cause yield losses of up to 26%.
• Grain yield, straw strength, retention, screenings and test weight are all affected by leaf rust infection.
• Growing resistant barley varieties significantly reduced the amount of leaf area affected by leaf rust as well as the associated grain yield quality.

The greatest threat to the ecological function of remnants is uncontrolled livestock access. Livestock prevent regeneration of native plants, damage the biological soil crust and increase nutrient levels in a remnant.

• The Yield Prophet uses the APSIM model to estimate wheat yields based on seasonal growing conditions and inputs.
• The outcomes of the Yield Prophet allow farmers to make better pre-sowing and in-crop management decisions which reduce risk and optimise returns.
• The Yield Prophet reports on crop growth during the season; availability of soil water and soil N; likely responses to N fertiliser; and calculates probabilities for yield and protein.
• The Yield Prophet is a web based service and accessible to subscribers and visitors on www.yieldprophet.com.au/yieldprophet.

• The APSIM wheat model was adapted and tested for southern Mallee conditions and demonstrated to be a powerful tool to evaluate risk exposure of farmers to climate variability.
• The model was tested and found to be reasonably accurate in estimating soil water based on rainfall events and also in relation to being able to simulate historical wheat yields.
• From the analysis of historical climate, using data in years after an El Nino event, the model predicts that the chance of a good yields during 2003 is about 50% (this is higher than the 33% that would be expected from the long term average), while the chance for a poor season is about a 20% (this is lower than the 33% that would be expected from the long term average).
• Our results also highlight the importance of taking into account soil water at sowing to analyse climate risk exposure in the Birchip area.

Cultivation and variety selection affects the performance of a crop when root lesion nematode numbers are high. Removing medic fallow by cultivation in October increased wheat yields significantly. Lower disturbance methods such as short cultivation (February) and direct drill did not yield as high.

When preparing farm plans in 2005 the impact of poor seasons in 2004 and 2002 will require special planning to meet the particular circumstances of individuals.

• There were no significant differences between the varieties for yield with all yielding close to the district average for this season.
• The potential Schooner replacement variety WI 3408 had higher protein than all other varieties and was too high to make malt standards.
• This site was harvested late (January 6, 2004) and produced low test weights. Generally low test weights result from frost or moisture stress although in this instance, rainfall before harvest caused changes in grain size that may have contributed. Low test weights were also observed at the Minyip site, which was also harvested after rain (January 3, 2004).
• While all varieties had low retention and would not have made Malt 1 as a result of this measure alone, WI 3586 had significantly lower retention than all other varieties. This line was expected to be a replacement for Gairdner with improved grain size.
• All varieties had acceptable screenings levels despite low retention.

The FAST systems economic analysis has provided farmer participants with some useful guidelines to help identify their business potential.

• No barley varietal differences in tolerance to metribuzin applied either pre-sowing or post-emergent have been detected in 3 years of trials on sandy loam soils at Walpeup and Woomelang.
• Crop damage from metribuzin has been known to occur in some commercial situations so label advice should be adhered to.

• During the extremely dry 2006 season the addition of micronutrients had no significant effect on crop performance and there was no benefit, in terms of grain yield, from the application of nitrogen, regardless of product.
• There is no benefit to apply micronutrients when levels are adequate at GS30 and when there is a good history of applications.

• The repeated Gairdner control plots showed variation across the site and therefore it is difficult to draw conclusions from this data.
• All varieties yielded well – especially given the below average growing season rainfall.
• All varieties had low test weight. Low test weights were also observed at the Marnoo site. The Minyip and Marnoo sites both had lower growing season rainfall and had grain discolouration as a result of rain damage before harvest, compared to the Rupanyup sites. These factors may have contributed to low test weights at the Minyip & Marnoo sites (harvested January 3 and January 6, 2004 respectively). 
• All varieties had protein levels above the malt receival standards of 12%. The high protein coupled with high yields at this site suggests high soil nitrogen levels.

• Hyola 60 was the highest yielding variety by a small margin.
• Pioneer45C05 and Pioneer 44C11. These are early maturing conventional varieties suited to the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee respectively. They may have a place for late sowing in medium to high rainfall districts.
• Within the top performing varieties at this site, there was a mix of varieties with conventional blackleg resistance and those containing resistance derived from Brassica sylvestris. This demonstrates that there are high yielding alternatives to B. sylvestris varieties, suited to this district, which carry a very much reduced risk of blackleg resistance breakdown. For example; ATRBeacon is an excellent early-mid season option with triazine tolerance, however it carries a blackleg rating of 6.5, so should be treated with Jockey if sowing in high rainfall areas.
• Although AVSapphire had significantly higher protein than other varieties tested, with 25.1%, all varieties had oil contents above 40% at this site.

Climate and production risk management can have a large impact on profit. We live in an area with highly variable rainfall from year to year and it is difficult to reliably predict winter and spring rainfall.

It is estimated that by sowing grazing oats the stocking rate can be increased from 5 DSE/ha to 8 DSE/ha, which has a financial benefit of $60/ha.

Management strategies at sowing essentially revolve around making the mice work harder to find seed.

Mulesing itself should not result in higher lamb death rates than marking alone, but there are several reasons why mulesing may cause death. The reason for significant numbers of lambs dying should be investigated, and the following list may help you identify the cause of lamb deaths. However, to accurately identify the cause of lamb deaths on a property a farm inspection and lamb post-mortem is generally required.

• There were no significant yield differences in this trial with all of the new chickpea lines producing equivalent yields to Kaniva under low disease pressure.
• Flip94-509C and Flip94-508C were very dark in colour compared to Flip94-090C and Kaniva.
• Improved ascochyta resistance will make management of these new varieties a lot easier than over the past five years, however quality and marketing will be the key to profitability with many of Australia’s markets for desi chickpeas now supplied by alternative sources.

Nitrous oxide losses from nitrogen fertiliser products compared in this trial were low: 1 g N/ha/day or less. Granular urea and granular urea plus inhibitor fertiliser provided the greatest yield benefit this season. Potential benefits from different fertiliser products will be realised if seasonal conditions and timing of plant growth are matched.

Narbon beans were evaluated at three sites in the Mallee in 1999, Birchip, Walpeup and Ultima. The new variety Tanami did not yield as well as expected. However, its lower GEC content is an important feature. Some other new accessions demonstrated that there is ample scope for further yield improvement.

Native grass pastures can be successfully established to provide grazing potential for stock.

• Native pastures can provide valuable forage for stock.
• Barley can be sown into native pasture and taken through to harvest.
• Native pasture cropping can be managed as a viable mixed farming system in the Wimmera and Mallee.

• Natrakelp applied to the foliage showed no yield advantage in any of the crop types.
• At this stage this product needs further evaluation before it is widely used.

Growing season lengths did not necessarily influence variety feed value; both early and late maturing varieties performed equally well in the 2012 dry season. Hindmarsh barley was one of the best varieties: it consistently produced valuable feed at both sites and had highest grain yield at Birchip (ungrazed 3.1t/ha). Keeping plants fresh through rotational grazing will ensure stock nutrition requirements are being met.

Growing season lengths did not necessarily influence variety feed value; both early and late maturing varieties performed equally well in the 2012 dry season. Hindmarsh barley was one of the best varieties: it consistently produced valuable feed at both sites and had highest grain yield at Birchip (ungrazed 3.1t/ha). Keeping plants fresh through rotational grazing will ensure stock nutrition requirements are being met.

See references below for further information:
Siddique, K.H.M and Sedgley, R.H. (1986). Aust. J. Agric. Res. 37:245-261.
Siddique, K.H.M., Walton, G.H. and Seymour, M. (1993). Aust. J. Exper. Agric.
Siddique, K.H.M, Sedgley, R.H., Davies, C.L. and Punyavirocha, S. (1994). Proceedings of the International Symposium on Pulses Research, 2-6 April 1994, pp.85.
van Rees, H., Siddique, K.H.M. and McClelland, I. (1995). Report on the Birchip Cropping Site visit to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, March 1995.
Walton, G.H. and Trent, T.R. (1988). Dept. of Agric. WA, Tech. Bull. No.79.