Project Outcomes

COGGO Research Fund project based at The University of Western Australia, 2019-2021.
Narrow-leafed lupin has been a valued component of crop rotations in Australian farming systems since the 1960’s. Over the past two decades, however, narrow-leafed lupin production has been decreasing as more competitive break crops (including canola and chickpea) gain favour. The transition away from lupins is particularly noticeable in WA, where land allocations for this crop have been contracting at an average rate of 43,500 ha per year since peak production in 1999/2000 (ABARE 2000 & 2018). Genetic improvement of crop adaptation traits and yield is necessary to address this decline.

COGGO Research Fund project based at The University of Western Australia, 2019-2021.
Narrow-leafed lupin has been a valued component of crop rotations in Australian farming systems since the 1960’s. Over the past two decades, however, narrow-leafed lupin production has been decreasing as more competitive break crops (including canola and chickpea) gain favour. The transition away from lupins is particularly noticeable in WA, where land allocations for this crop have been contracting at an average rate of 43,500 ha per year since peak production in 1999/2000 (ABARE 2000 & 2018). Genetic improvement of crop
adaptation traits and yield is necessary to address this decline.

Flowering time is one of the most important traits for adaptation of crops to diverse agricultural environments. Australian lupin breeders have heavily relied on a single gene, known as Ku, to adapt lupin crops to southern Australia for the past 50 years. Ku achieves this by ensuring crops consistently flower early because they do not require vernalization (cold temperatures which stimulate flowering). Recent genomic research by Dr Candy Taylor at The University of Western Australia (UWA) revealed that Ku is a mutation of the LanFTc1 flowering time gene, and identified two other new mutations (referred to as LanFTc1-Jul and LanFTc1-P22660) that may potentially enhance crop adaptation and production.

The aims of this COGGO project at UWA were to (i) determine the potential effect of these new LanFTc1 gene variations on narrow-leafed lupin flowering time adaption in WA field environments and (ii) design a molecular marker to assist efficient adoption of these genes in future lupin varieties.

We evaluated the two new LanFTc1 flowering time genes in representative high- and mid-rainfall environments at UWA Shenton Park Field Station (369 mm sowing to flowering) in 2019 and Mumberkine (137 mm sowing to flowering) in 2020. The two new LanFTc1 genes were characterized in Krasnolistny (a European variety with LanFTc1-Jul) and P22660 (a wild lupin with LanFTc1-P22660), in addition to the F2, F3 and F4 progeny derived from crosses between these two lupins with local varieties Tanjil (LanFTc1-Ku, early flowering) and Geebung
(LanFTc1-ku, late flowering). There was little evidence of flowering time variation in F2 and F3 progeny in the Krasnolistny x Tanjil population, which suggests that LanFTc1-Jul behaves similarly to LanFTc1-Ku in terms of producing early, vernalization-insensitive flowering times. Therefore, new European varieties with LanFTc1-Jul may be used as parents in Australian lupin breeding programs to introduce desirable traits without disrupting the early flowering phenotype. However, substantial diversity of mid-season flowering times was observed in the progeny of P22660, which consistently flowered about 12 days later than Tanjil and 12 days earlier than
Geebung. This delay in flowering time associated with LanFTc1-P22660 is estimated to increase average annual grain yields by 13% to 16% (390 to 480 kg/ha) in high-rainfall environments in southern Australia according to recent modelling (Chen et al. 2017). The mid-season flowering time of LanFTc1-P22660 would potentially also capture a yield benefit from early sowing, which is becoming a more prominent agronomic practice to accommodate the growing scale of WA farming systems and take advantage of increasingly frequent summer/autumn rainfall events. Both new genes will therefore help breeders to now develop future lupin varieties with greater adaptation to a range of environments in southern Australia.

A new “multiplex” molecular marker was successfully designed to identify all possible combinations of the four of the LanFTc1 gene variations within a single reaction. The molecular marker was designed by Dr Taylor and test conditions developed by UWA MSc student Mr Julian van der Zanden. The molecular marker was able to reliably identify homozygous (i.e. contain only one gene) and heterozygous (i.e. contain two genes) plants in the F2, F3
and F4 progeny. In addition, it enabled detection of rare cross-pollination events in 2019, which caused unexpected segregation of genotypes and flowering times among F4 siblings in 2020. The new multiplex marker will enable the LanFTc1-Jul and LanFTc1-P22660 genes to be efficiently incorporated during breeding and fasttrack the development of new valuable narrow-leafed lupin varieties that are better adapted to targeted environments.

COGGO funded a three-year South East Premium Wheat Growers' Association (SEPWA) project to investigate various mechanical methods currently available to WA grain growers. The machines were evaluated between January 2017 and December 2019 in the Esperance Port Zone region.
SEPWA growers who owned machinery provided in-kind time and resources by helping to install demonstration sites in key areas which consistently experienced high stubble burdens.
Between January 2017 and December 2019, SEPWA worked with six growers who installed the plots to demonstrate multiple machinery options for crop residue management and make an objective assessment of each machines' strengths and weaknesses.

COGGO funded a three-year South East Premium Wheat Growers' Association (SEPWA) project to investigate various mechanical methods currently available to WA grain growers. The machines were evaluated between January 2017 and December 2019 in the Esperance Port Zone region.
SEPWA growers who owned machinery provided in-kind time and resources by helping to install demonstration sites in key areas which consistently experienced high stubble burdens.
Between January 2017 and December 2019, SEPWA worked with six growers who installed the plots to demonstrate multiple machinery options for crop residue management and make an objective assessment of each machines' strengths and weaknesses.
These plots were then soil tested, had in-season growth assessments and were harvested by SEPWA staff to see if there was any variance between the different machines.
Some of the equipment owned by growers included: Twister, Trash Cutter, Swifta-disc, Speed Tiller, Joker, header fronts and various makes of slashers.
Infield assessments of the mechanical functionality and overall effect on trash flow in the sites unfortunately showed no conclusive evidence due to three years of either floods, droughts or frosts. Nonetheless, the ameliorated soils more often had higher yields than the controls.
The case studies have been of great benefit and the peer to peer learning achieved from field days at the sites has provided great interest among growers in the medium to high rainfall cropping zone of the South East farming region of WA.
Further research into the benefits of integrating stubbles is needed to better understand how this affects soil health, provide more sustainable yields and consequently more profitable farming businesses in the higher rainfall regions of WA

Aphids are the most economically important sap-sucking insect pests worldwide, causing yield and financial losses both from direct damage by feeding, as major vectors for plant viruses, and in insecticide resistance management. High levels of green peach aphid resistance across multiple insecticide types are widespread across Australia. This includes resistance to synthetic pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates. The last remaining effective chemistries are the Group 4 however, metabolic resistance to neonicotinoids has recently been identified. A lack of canola host resistance and rapid evolution of insecticide resistance necessitates alternate and viable aphid control solutions for WA growers. There is anecdotal evidence of a naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungus in the field that mummifies and as such kills aphids, and its presence has been identified by growers and agronomists as a vital tool for keeping aphid populations under control, reducing crop damage and reducing chemical insecticide costs. This project was a successful collaboration between CSIRO and Planfarm to survey entomopathogenic fungi towards aphids in WA broad acre cropping, and to gain knowledge and capability on the enhancement of these fungi for aphid control.

Aphids are the most economically important sap-sucking insect pests worldwide, causing yield and financial losses both from direct damage by feeding, as major vectors for plant viruses, and in insecticide resistance management. High levels of green peach aphid resistance across multiple insecticide types are widespread across Australia. This includes resistance to synthetic pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates. The last remaining effective chemistries are the Group 4 however, metabolic resistance to neonicotinoids has recently been identified. A lack of canola host resistance and rapid evolution of insecticide resistance necessitates alternate and viable aphid control solutions for WA growers. There is anecdotal evidence of a naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungus in the field that mummifies and as such kills aphids, and its presence has been identified by growers and agronomists as a vital tool for keeping aphid populations under control, reducing crop damage and reducing chemical insecticide costs. This project was a successful collaboration between CSIRO and Planfarm to survey entomopathogenic fungi towards aphids in WA broad acre cropping, and to gain knowledge and capability on the enhancement of these fungi for aphid control.
Candidate entomopathogenic fungi were identified across northern, mid and southern canola growing regions. Fungi were isolated from 60% of aphid samples, and 50% of these were positive for known or suggested entomopathogens. In general, aphid numbers were very low in the 2018 growing season, impacting the number of aphid samples collected. A dry start to the season also impacted on conditions favoring entomopathogenic fungi. The isolation and molecular validation of entomopathogenic fungi correlated with the presence of mummified aphids and the absence of insecticide and fungicide spraying in paddock management. Paddock fungicide treatment in the Northern growing region was associated with an inability to culture any fungi from aphid samples. The prevalence of mummified aphids was highest in samples obtained from mid and southern canola growing regions and paddocks that received neither insecticide or fungicide sprays, suggesting geographic location and chemical pest and disease management play a role in conditions favouring activity of entomopathogenic fungi. New entomopathogenic fungal candidates of two genera, Fusarium and Alternaria, were identified from green peach aphid in WA. A representative entomopathogenic fungus of the Fusarium genus was selected to determine conditions that enhance entomopathogenic fungal activity. Within controlled environments, foliar spore sprays were most effective with a clear deterrent effect (antixenosis). Similar effects were recorded against bluegreen and spotted alfalfa aphids. This scoping study lays the foundation for future research into the benefits and deployment of entomopathogenic fungi in WA cropping and aid to prolong the efficacy of the last remaining insecticide chemistry for green peach aphid control.

This project came about from local growers needing to see a better response from lime applications, as most growers practiced no-till seeding and have previously only used top dressing for lime application. There was a distinct lack of local sub-soil acidity research undertaken on clay/duplex soil types, as previous research has only focused on sand plain soils.

The trial commenced in 2015 and incorporates PA scale plots replicated three times, with five treatments including control (nil), top dressed lime, direct drilled Omya Calciprill, deep ripped (top dressed lime, deep ripped) and spaded (top dressed lime, deep ripped then spaded).

This trial demonstrates how using each tillage method moves the lime down the soil profile and how this effects production over the long term. Having this information for growers at a local level will allow them to integrate the results into their own farming systems.

The first year of the trial showed that the greater the level of soil disturbance, the more reduced the...

This project came about from local growers needing to see a better response from lime applications, as most growers practiced no-till seeding and have previously only used top dressing for lime application. There was a distinct lack of local sub-soil acidity research undertaken on clay/duplex soil types, as previous research has only focused on sand plain soils.

The trial commenced in 2015 and incorporates PA scale plots replicated three times, with five treatments including control (nil), top dressed lime, direct drilled Omya Calciprill, deep ripped (top dressed lime, deep ripped) and spaded (top dressed lime, deep ripped then spaded).

This trial demonstrates how using each tillage method moves the lime down the soil profile and how this effects production over the long term. Having this information for growers at a local level will allow them to integrate the results into their own farming systems.

The first year of the trial showed that the greater the level of soil disturbance, the more reduced the germination was. Yield and quality at harvest did not show any significant difference in 2015, as canola has the ability to compensate for bare areas by closing over the canopy. It is likely that if the trial area was planted to cereals, the variation between yields may have been greater in the first year.

In 2016 after a year of the soil firming, all treatments achieved consistent germination across the trial, which was sown to wheat in 2016. The spaded treatment yielded higher than other treatments, averaging 2.45 t/ha and control had the lowest yields with an average 1.7 t/ha. These results are likely due to the spaded treatment having a higher crop nitrogen utilisation, which is likely due to the mixing, aeration and breakdown of the soil organic matter which results in increased mineralisation of nitrogen; the possibility of improved root growth and access to nutrients due to the deeper tillage technique loosening the soil; as well as the mitigation of any water repellence through soil inversion. The spaded treatment also had the highest protein average and it also saw all plots grain quality assessments reach APW1 specifications. In the control treatment, there were large variations in the grade specifications, with one of the control plots even being graded to AGP1. 

The unseasonal conditions at seeding in 2017 saw staggered and patchy germination across the trial, this was not due to any of the treatments. The trial was sown to oaten hay, which is slightly more tolerant to acidic soils than other cereals. The results showed that the spaded treatment again had the highest average yield at 5.27t/ha and Calciprill the lowest average yield at 4.06t/ha. The fodder quality was fairly consistent across the trial, with half of the plots attaining export grade 1 quality. The Acid Detergent Fibre % was the only standard which caused almost half the plots to go to export grade 2 from only marginal amounts above the standard limits.

Over the three years the trial has run, the economic analysis shows that the calciprill treatment had the highest dollar return on investment (ROI), followed by deep ripping, spading, top dressing and control. This is due to the low cost of installing the calciprill treatment. 

The highest ROI percentage was calciprill followed by top dressing, deep ripping and then spading, which is likely due to the large upfront expense of implementing the treatment. The control was excluded from the ROI as it no implementation expense. 

Since the start of the trial, pH levels have shown that the incorporation treatments have had a greater and more consistent increase compared to the other treatments down the soil profile. It is expected that the full benefits of these deeper lime incorporation treatments are yet to be realised and the return on investment of these would increase over time.

A desk top analysis supported by COGGO funding has identified several climatic profiles that might explain the recent weak dough strength of WA wheat. Dr Richard Williams from groIQ collaborated with Dr Dean Diepeveen from DPIRD in conducting the research. He compiled a multi-season quality data set representing trials from across WA with the support of wheat breeding companies AGT, Edstar, Intergrain and LongReach, along with variety information from CSIRO. Cargill Australia helped by providing historical crop reports and climate data was sourced from SILO.
WA growers rely on the international market to sell their wheat. One advantage in the market place is Australia’s quality reputation. However, consecutive years of weaker than expected dough strength has placed a cloud on the consistency of WA wheat.

A desk top analysis supported by COGGO funding has identified several climatic profiles that might explain the recent weak dough strength of WA wheat. Dr Richard Williams from groIQ collaborated with Dr Dean Diepeveen from DPIRD in conducting the research. He compiled a multi-season quality data set representing trials from across WA with the support of wheat breeding companies AGT, Edstar, Intergrain and LongReach, along with variety information from CSIRO. Cargill Australia helped by providing historical crop reports and climate data was sourced from SILO.
WA growers rely on the international market to sell their wheat. One advantage in the market place is Australia’s quality reputation. However, consecutive years of weaker than expected dough strength has placed a cloud on the consistency of WA wheat.
Dr Williams identified that rainfall and temperature profiles after flowering can have an impact on dough strength. A negative relationship was observed for rainfall and two positive relationships with dough strength identified with respect to temperature. Before getting too worried further work is warranted to confirm these findings.
“Recycling of previously collected quality results is an efficient first step to investigating a problem”, said Dr Williams, “but it has limitations. In this case the data was unbalanced. This means not all trial locations were the same each season, nor did they have the same set of varieties, and different laboratories conducted the quality testing. Fortunately, the latest statistics can get around such challenges but for this research I also relied on predictions for plant development phases and climate records.”
Useful follow up research would include confirming if the climate profiles matched with other seasons when weak dough strength was observed – both in WA and nationally. There is also the option of building on existing DPIRD time of sowing trials with the capture of additional information around climate, plant development phases and quality during grain development through to harvest.
Dr Williams concluded with the comment, “This is an issue that needs to be checked as it is important to understand how changing climate conditions might interact with production timing decisions to impact the quality reputation of WA wheat.”

There has been considerable effort to demonstrate the extent and severity of subsoil acidity in WA, which is a widespread problem.  Having growers understand the magnitude of problem has facilitated management intervention. 

Most growers do now understand the impact of subsurface acidity on yield, and lime use across rural WA has been steadily increasing, but is still only about 40% the annual DPIRDA suggested requirement is applied in any given season.

Despite the better knowledge of growers, and the increased lime use, subsoil acidity is still costing farmers an average of...

There has been considerable effort to demonstrate the extent and severity of subsoil acidity in WA, which is a widespread problem.  Having growers understand the magnitude of problem has facilitated management intervention. 

Most growers do now understand the impact of subsurface acidity on yield, and lime use across rural WA has been steadily increasing, but is still only about 40% the annual DPIRDA suggested requirement is applied in any given season.

Despite the better knowledge of growers, and the increased lime use, subsoil acidity is still costing farmers an average of $141/ha/year in lost productivity at a total cost to the Western Australian grains sector of $1.6billion/year (Petersen 2015).  These annual losses are very significant in terms of grower profitability and the wider WA economy.  More lime use is required

This project build upon past research which has been very successful in proving soil acidity can be managed with adequate lime application.  In simple terms, the concept of a measure, manage- monitor regime is advocated as best practice.  First step is identifying the depth of the limiting soil depth in terms of pH, secondly, applying adequate lime to repair the process, and re measuring again to monitor progress and repeat as required.

In this project, we again demonstrated there is enormous value in ‘cost sharing’ between researcher and grower in this type of awareness project.  By co contributing, growers gain, funding organizations gain, and more data can be collected with available funds, which provide better evidence.

We have shown, in growers across the WA wheatbelt, that those with a with a better understanding of their soil pH profile, provided a detailed 10 year liming recommendation are applying 50% more lime to their farms than their counterparts that just measure surface soil pH. 

We have also demonstrated the value in geo locating soil sampling locations to monitor change over time is a valuable component of the farmer’s soil management regime. 

Our data suggests concerning trends within broadly designated zones of the WA wheatbelt (North, Central and Southern) in terms of growers maintaining soil pH above DPIRD recommendations.  We speculate the combination of growers sampling to depth and the proximity to high quality lime sources is having a measureable and profound impact.  There would seem to be significant value in trying to develop options to get growers in the southern and central regions to better accept the impact of subsoil acidity.  They have a great deal of work to get on top of the situation, with 70% and 50% of surface samples respectively still below DPIRD target.  Until the surface pH is dealt with, the chance to manage subsoil acidity is extremely limited.

The aim of this project was to assess the performance for Camelina as an alternative oilseed in the Mid West. 

Camelina has some very desirable traits that make it very attractive as it has the second highest level of omega 3 fatty acid. It is registered for human consumption in Europe, USA and Scandinavia but not in Australia. It is used extensively for feeding livestock.  In past trials in WA it hasn’t yielded as high as Canola.

Camelina performed...

The aim of this project was to assess the performance for Camelina as an alternative oilseed in the Mid West. 

Camelina has some very desirable traits that make it very attractive as it has the second highest level of omega 3 fatty acid. It is registered for human consumption in Europe, USA and Scandinavia but not in Australia. It is used extensively for feeding livestock.  In past trials in WA it hasn’t yielded as high as Canola.

Camelina performed poorly in the trial and yield was quite negligible across the trial.  The yield results from the nine different fertiliser treatments trialled were not statistically significant.  We cannot indicate whether nutrition influences the yield of Camelina in the Mid West.

A second aim of the project was to assess the influence of nutrition on the quality traits of the oil produced from the Camelina. The Camelina trial had nine nutritional treatments with 3 phosphate rates and 3 nitrogen rates.  The phosphate rate did not influence the oil quality but the amount of nitrogen did influence oil quality content.  The addition of nitrogen decreased the Erucic acid (omega 9) content and the Omega 3 content but increased the Omega 6 content.  This indicates that to get more of the desirable oils - Omega 3 and 9, less nitrogen is important.  Omega 6 is already available from numerous other sources and in fact the ratio to Omega 3 is disproportionate to ideal levels in current oil sources like sunflower, corn and vegetable oils.  Western diets require more Omega 3 sources so to maximise the true benefit of Camelina oil, less nitrogen will deliver the best oil quality result.

The aim of this project was to validate which pH Adjustment Products can improve acid soils by increasing the soil pH in Zone 2 with a rainfall of less than 325ml.

Focusing on the results below 10cm in the root zone of the plants in comparison to the Control:

• 10-20cm – Liquid Lime, KOH and Garden Lime/KOH/Gypsum had marginal improvements vs Control at 4.22 pH (+0.04, +0.03, +0.02 respectively)

• 20-30cm – KOH had a marginal improvement in pH at 4.49 vs Control at 4.40 (+0.09)

• 30-40cm – KOH had a marginal improvement in pH at 4.80 vs Control at 4.56 (+0.24)

• Lime Sand had negative results at all depths with 30-40cm pH at 4.35 vs Control at 4.56 (-0.21) but was effective in the 0-10cm topsoil with pH at 5.83 vs Control at 4.45 (+1.38).

The project achieved a statistical result in soil pH increases of...

The aim of this project was to validate which pH Adjustment Products can improve acid soils by increasing the soil pH in Zone 2 with a rainfall of less than 325ml.

Focusing on the results below 10cm in the root zone of the plants in comparison to the Control:

• 10-20cm – Liquid Lime, KOH and Garden Lime/KOH/Gypsum had marginal improvements vs Control at 4.22 pH (+0.04, +0.03, +0.02 respectively)

• 20-30cm – KOH had a marginal improvement in pH at 4.49 vs Control at 4.40 (+0.09)

• 30-40cm – KOH had a marginal improvement in pH at 4.80 vs Control at 4.56 (+0.24)

• Lime Sand had negative results at all depths with 30-40cm pH at 4.35 vs Control at 4.56 (-0.21) but was effective in the 0-10cm topsoil with pH at 5.83 vs Control at 4.45 (+1.38).

The project achieved a statistical result in soil pH increases of 31% at 0-10cm with Lime Sand and 5.3% at 30-40cm with Potassium Hydroxide. Potassium Hydroxide was the most cost-effective treatment at $10/Ha in comparison to the $52-$66 cost range of the other treatments. KOH improved soil pH at depth from 20cm and was the only treatment to do so.

There was no statistical difference in yield data but there appears to be a negative impact from Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). Seed placement with KOH may have caused caustic burning of the seed as banding effectively was not possible with the available machinery.

Further research into KOH delivery to alleviate negative yield effects may provide a basis for broadacre adoption of this product to address subsoil acidity and aluminium toxicity. Offsetting these negative effects with research and product development is an area of opportunity for Western Australian growers to increase pH efficiently and cost effectively.

This project aimed to provide a cost effective suit of devices & technologies focused into provide updated cereal crop nitrogen status for growers through a web based platform.

We have achieved the aim of providing a robust, accurate and efficient means for assessment of in-season nitrogen status in crops, allowing cereal growers to assess the need for any additional N application in relation to seasonal conditions. This assessment is based on a toolkit of selected remote sensing tools; sensor and UAV (drone technology), vegetation indices derived from the imagery and the web platform which facilitated data sharing. Use of these tools leads to updated data sets of the nitrogen crop status. Near-real time availability of these assessments as georeferenced maps results in the potential for more efficient, variable rate decisions on application of nitrogen fertilizers from early stages of plant growth.

The project aimed to provide a cost effective suit of devices & technologies focused into provide updated cereal crop nitrogen status for growers through a web based platform.

We have achieved the aim of providing a robust, accurate and efficient means for assessment of in-season nitrogen status in crops, allowing cereal growers to assess the need for any additional N application in relation to seasonal conditions. This assessment is based on a toolkit of selected remote sensing tools; sensor and UAV (drone technology), vegetation indices derived from the imagery and the web platform which facilitated data sharing. Use of these tools leads to updated data sets of the nitrogen crop status. Near-real time availability of these assessments as georeferenced maps results in the potential for more efficient, variable rate decisions on application of nitrogen fertilizers from early stages of plant growth.

The N status maps allow dosage adjustment and subsequently help reduce the environmental and economic impacts of over fertilizing, due to lower nutrient runoff and also improve cost savings for the growers.

Our proposed cost effective data acquisition components such as cameras (sensor) and platforms (drone) could be set up and operated by a range of users, from trained farmers that own and operate drones to regional businesses with the fly?over capacity.

The cost is estimated at between $2.50 and $12 per hectare depending on the scale of operation.

The Australian grains industry relies on growers and agronomists being able to identify and manage endemic diseases in their crops and being aware of the possible threat of high priority pests (HPPs) becoming established in their crops. However, there is insufficient evidence to judge whether growers and agronomists within the industry have the skills and capacity to meet this expectation.
A training needs analysis was undertaken to determine the ability of growers and agronomists to identify endemic diseases and to recognise the top four high priority pest (HPPs) threats in their crops. A benchmark of 70% for growers and 80% for agronomists was set: this corresponds to 70% of growers being able to identify endemic diseases in their crops and 80% of agronomists being able to identify the endemic diseases in crops. Both growers and agronomists met the benchmarks for identification of endemic diseases in crops. However, their knowledge of the top four HPPs was well below this benchmark. Thus, it would appear that providing information through knowledge transfer is insufficient to increase the knowledge of growers and agronomists and enable them to alert industry to a possible incursion of an HPP.

The Australian grains industry relies on growers and agronomists being able to identify and manage endemic diseases in their crops and being aware of the possible threat of high priority pests (HPPs) becoming established in their crops. However, there is insufficient evidence to judge whether growers and agronomists within the industry have the skills and capacity to meet this expectation.
A training needs analysis was undertaken to determine the ability of growers and agronomists to identify endemic diseases and to recognise the top four high priority pest (HPPs) threats in their crops. A benchmark of 70% for growers and 80% for agronomists was set: this corresponds to 70% of growers being able to identify endemic diseases in their crops and 80% of agronomists being able to identify the endemic diseases in crops. Both growers and agronomists met the benchmarks for identification of endemic diseases in crops. However, their knowledge of the top four HPPs was well below this benchmark. Thus, it would appear that providing information through knowledge transfer is insufficient to increase the knowledge of growers and agronomists and enable them to alert industry to a possible incursion of an HPP.
Therefore, surveys were conducted to examine growers’ and agronomists’ preferences regarding the types and sources of information they preferred to use. The types of general information used were community-, training- or technical-based. To solve specific pest and disease problems, growers either used an agronomist or sourced publicly available information. Agronomists’ preferences were based on content and whether the information had a general, regional or a local focus.
A survey was conducted with growers and agronomists to determine what types of training activities they liked to attend, why they liked to attend them, and what barriers prevented them from attending. Occupation, gender, location and education influenced the number of field days attended. Participants found field days to be informative, interactive, and visual and an important opportunity to network with other farmers, colleagues and professional research officers. Agronomists preferred to attend formal workshops on agronomy and crop production issues such as herbicide application, pests and diseases. Workshops were valued because they were informative, interactive and local. Growers liked belonging to grower groups because they were local, interactive and informative and supported networking. Participants’ age and location influenced their membership of grower groups.
Field days and workshops were evaluated to determine if knowledge levels increased after they had been attended. Participants’ knowledge levels increased after the events but demographic variables such as occupation and education level influenced knowledge levels before the event.
Because it is difficult for many participants from rural communities to attend training events, the use of information technology communication tools to provide timely information was evaluated by testing the use of webinars, YouTube videos, and podcasts during two growing seasons in Western Australia. Outcomes varied depending on the event evaluated and the participants involved. Agronomists preferred using the webinars and YouTube videos as the information was provided in a timely manner allowing management strategies to be implemented. Podcasts were developed during the second season following feedback from growers. These were well received by the industry and poor of these tools will be used in the future.
This research demonstrated that it is important to provide information and learning opportunities to rural communities, growers and agronomists in different formats. Effective training requires that there is time for participants to reflect, and interact at training events, and that post-event information is provided in different formats. Short webinars, and YouTube videos can be used to provide succinct and pertinent information to growers and agronomists.

There were four lime trials implemented across the Esperance port zone which can be assessed for results over a number of years into the future.  These lime trials were implemented using PA technology and farm scale equipment.  The ongoing assessment and monitoring of the trials will be via DAFWA and future SEPWA projects.

The lime trials have been laid out prior to seeding in 2016. These trials are located at Hopetoun, Condingup, Cascade and Ravensthorpe.

Each trial is composed of three treatment rates of lime; 0, 2 and 4 tonnes per hectare and replicated three times. This has been spatially captured by application map from the spreaders used to apply the various rates. 

Treatment widths are three times the header front width, and are 100-200m long. They will be analysed using yield data for the next three years. Soil samples were taken prior to liming and soil pH (CaCl₂) results for each site were obtained.

Although the project only covers the implementation of these trials, there is scope however to extend this type of work to a broader audience across SEPWA members, and the WA grower groups, and farmers through SEPWA newsletter articles and presentations. Results will be displayed at talks, if feasible and meaningful.

Importantly, trials such as these show the commercial implications of relevant alternative rates on different soil types, possibly showing economic strengths and weaknesses, which can lead to improved application strategies in the future.

There were four lime trials implemented across the Esperance port zone which can be assessed for results over a number of years into the future.  These lime trials were implemented using PA technology and farm scale equipment.  The ongoing assessment and monitoring of the trials will be via DAFWA and future SEPWA projects.

The lime trials have been laid out prior to seeding in 2016. These trials are located at Hopetoun, Condingup, Cascade and Ravensthorpe.

Each trial is composed of three treatment rates of lime; 0, 2 and 4 tonnes per hectare and replicated three times. This has been spatially captured by application map from the spreaders used to apply the various rates. 

Treatment widths are three times the header front width, and are 100-200m long. They will be analysed using yield data for the next three years. Soil samples were taken prior to liming and soil pH (CaCl₂) results for each site were obtained.

Although the project only covers the implementation of these trials, there is scope however to extend this type of work to a broader audience across SEPWA members, and the WA grower groups, and farmers through SEPWA newsletter articles and presentations. Results will be displayed at talks, if feasible and meaningful.

Importantly, trials such as these show the commercial implications of relevant alternative rates on different soil types, possibly showing economic strengths and weaknesses, which can lead to improved application strategies in the future.

Two trials were established as a part of this project. The first trial was established on the 14^th January at the property of John and Jill Holmes Coalseam Road Mingenew. The second trial was established on the 11^th February at the property of Des and Vicki Miguel Scotsman Road North Wialki.

The trial at Mingenew was sprayed on the 14^th January with the forecast of rain in the next five days shown by computer models to be significant. There had been no significant rain from the start of November to the start date of the trial. There were no weeds present at the time of spraying.

No significant rainfall was received for the months of January, February and March on this site. A total of 23mm was received for these months. There were no germinations of summer weeds within the trial site or the surrounding paddock at this location. There was no significant differences throughout the year in crop growth or plant numbers establishment numbers throughout the growing season. The trial was not harvested.

The aim of the trial was to...

Two trials were established as a part of this project. The first trial was established on the 14^th January at the property of John and Jill Holmes Coalseam Road Mingenew. The second trial was established on the 11^th February at the property of Des and Vicki Miguel Scotsman Road North Wialki.

The trial at Mingenew was sprayed on the 14^th January with the forecast of rain in the next five days shown by computer models to be significant. There had been no significant rain from the start of November to the start date of the trial. There were no weeds present at the time of spraying.

No significant rainfall was received for the months of January, February and March on this site. A total of 23mm was received for these months. There were no germinations of summer weeds within the trial site or the surrounding paddock at this location. There was no significant differences throughout the year in crop growth or plant numbers establishment numbers throughout the growing season. The trial was not harvested.

The aim of the trial was to assess summer weed control therefore this trial did not achieve its aims due to the lack of rainfall in the months from January to April.

The trial at North Wialki had received 54mm of rainfall before the 11^th February. The trial was sprayed with the forecast of rainfall over the next 4 days with thunderstorms present in the area on the day of spraying. The trial had summer weeds present. The weeds present were Small Burr Grass, Pigweed, Caltrope, Tarvine and Afghan Melons.

All treatments controlled the weeds that were present. The trial received for the rest of February, March and until the 25^th April received 18mm of rainfall. Although not a significant amount of rain it stimulated another germination of summer weeds.

The trial was harvested 21/11/14. There was no significant difference between herbicide treatments.

Due to only one trial giving any meaningful results it is difficult to conclude that the use of residual herbicides during summer spraying for residual weed control is beneficial. The variability of rainfall will impact on the effectiveness of these herbicides. Although the results at Wialki suggest that there could be a benefit the lack of follow up rain gives inconclusive evidence to suggest that this could be used as standard farming practices.

A trial concept was developed with local farmers and industry experts to develop experimental techniques to incorporate lime that can easily be adopted by farmers that have a deep ripper currently and are cheaper than current methods e.g. spading.

The final trial concepts for the first trial in 2014 that the group decided on were the Shallow Leading Tyne Ripper (SLTR) supplied by DAFWA, Deep Digger a new deep tillage implement supplied by McIntosh & Son, and three experimental attachments to bolt on the back of tynes of the SLTR. These attachments were: (1) Angle iron attachment from Peter Horwood a farmer at Mingenew; (2) Railway line joining plates or Fish plates; and (3) peanut cutter sweeps. The experimental attachments are very cheap and easily modified to attach onto a deep ripping tyne.

The trial was established at Peter Negus’s Dandaragan property. The site was spread with 3t/ha of lime and incorporated with the different methods. Initial results of the incorporation of lime from the trial were taken by Stephen Davies (DAFWA) using a universal pH indicator. Results below:

The new Nitrogen app called N-Broadacre is the highest selling nitrogen decision tool in Western Australia. The iPad based tool was produced by consultancy company Planfarm Pty Ltd. with funding from the Council of Grain Growers Organisations (COGGO).

Currently 260 apps have been sold to agronomists and consultants who are using it to simplify their nitrogen decisions. This is well above expectation and the comments below from farmers using N-Broadacre may indicate why.

Another factor contributing to the high uptake of the new tool is that this year growers needed to be on their A-Game when deciding on N rates for various paddocks. Richard Quinlan from Planfarm said a clear understanding of N requirements was needed this year for the following reasons...

The new Nitrogen app called N-Broadacre is the highest selling nitrogen decision tool in Western Australia. The iPad based tool was produced by consultancy company Planfarm Pty Ltd. with funding from the Council of Grain Growers Organisations (COGGO).

Currently 260 apps have been sold to agronomists and consultants who are using it to simplify their nitrogen decisions. This is well above expectation and the comments below from farmers using N-Broadacre may indicate why.

Another factor contributing to the high uptake of the new tool is that this year growers needed to be on their A-Game when deciding on N rates for various paddocks. Richard Quinlan from Planfarm said a clear understanding of N requirements was needed this year for the following reasons:

• “There was a wide range of soil test nitrate levels in paddocks this year.  I have seen nitrate levels varying from 5ppm to 49ppm.  This is equivalent to spreading from 14kg/ha to 149kg/ha of urea on the paddock!  Clearly there are considerable savings to be had by taking this into account.”

• “Rainfall has varied considerably across the state.  The Rainfall Yield Potential calculator in N-Broadacre helps keep yield expectations entered into N-Broadacre ‘realistic’ therefore keeping N recommendations realistic.”

• “There are many factors that need to be taken into account when deciding on the optimum N rate for your various paddocks.  N Broadacre has enough levers to do this effectively.”

• “There may well be more incentive than ever at harvest for hitting the right protein target for the wheat segregation you are delivering to.  N-Broadacre takes protein target into account when determining N rate.”

COGGO chairman Chis Wilkins said “It was very pleasing to see another project successfully delivered with the effective use of COGGO Research and Development funds”. He pointed out that the project helps deliver on the Board’s key focus of providing clear benefits to Western Australian grain growers.

Mr Wilkins said that “Planfarm delivered a project which provides a simple and accurate iPad app for determining in-season nitrogen applications.”

Some of the key reasons why are:

• N-Broadacre is simple to use.

It has been designed for growers to use without instruction other than that contained in the App.

• N-Broadacre allows users to quickly determine how much nitrogen crops require to achieve a target yield and grain protein content.

• N-Broadacre is calibrated for Wheat, Barley and Canola and helps growers avoid over and under use of fertiliser nitrogen.

• N Broadacre calculates how much crop available nitrogen is in the soil profile and what crop yield this nitrogen will support.

• N Broadacre also calculates the yield potential of the paddock from the rainfall it has received.  Using these two results growers can use n-Broadacre to calculate how much extra N the crop will require to reach the target yield potential.

• N Broadacre can use soil tests from any lab.

• Once downloaded N Broadacre doesn’t need internet connection and can be used in the field while looking at the crop which will help growers and agronomists better estimate yield potential.

• N Broadacre has been calibrated to Western Australian conditions over the last 5 years.  Funding by the Council of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO) enabled Planfarm Pty Ltd to turn desk-bound information into a mobile App. 

• N-Broadacre is now available from the Apple Store for $20.  Search for “N-Broadacre”.

Richard Quinlan concluded by pointing out that growers should contact their preferred agronomist for more information on N Broadacre or for a demonstration of the N Broadacre App.

Media Contacts:

Project aim: To determine thresholds for spraying for aphid feeding damage on canola and include the impact that beneficial organisms are having on suppressing aphid numbers.

One glasshouse trial has been completed to test existing aphid thresholds on unstressed canola. This led to a field trial, funded by GRDC project DAW0027, Tactical Break Agronomy, to test the findings from the glasshouse trial.

One glasshouse trial was completed to determine if prophylactic sprays affect colonisation of canola by cabbage aphids and one glasshouse trial was completed to determine if predators can suppress the development of cabbage aphid colonies on the flowering spikes of canola.

Results from the field and glasshouse trials found...

Project aim: To determine thresholds for spraying for aphid feeding damage on canola and include the impact that beneficial organisms are having on suppressing aphid numbers.

One glasshouse trial has been completed to test existing aphid thresholds on unstressed canola. This led to a field trial, funded by GRDC project DAW0027, Tactical Break Agronomy, to test the findings from the glasshouse trial.

One glasshouse trial was completed to determine if prophylactic sprays affect colonisation of canola by cabbage aphids and one glasshouse trial was completed to determine if predators can suppress the development of cabbage aphid colonies on the flowering spikes of canola.

Results from the field and glasshouse trials found that cabbage aphids caused yield loss to canola if aphids colonised the flowering spike. This caused flower drop and a decrease in the number of pods the plant formed. Assessment of the oil content was also found to have been significantly decreased. It was also found that the longer the aphid colony length was, the more yield loss occurred. From these trials a ‘rule of thumb’ was produced: for every 1 cm of aphid colony there was a 10% yield loss on that plant.

The presence of parasitic wasps did not cause a decrease in the length of the aphid colony. Wasps did however, decrease the rate of colonization of aphids onto new plants.
The application of prophylactic synthetic pyrethroids sprays at the big bud stage did not stop cabbage aphids from colonising canola at the same rate as plants sprayed with water.

The aim of the project was to help growers answer the questions “are the crops in this paddock performing up to potential?” and “if not, why not” specifically with respect to crop nutrition.

Direct diagnosis of soil nutrient problems did not catch the imagination of growers in the West Midlands Area.

Despite the resultant lack of participation in the diagnostic project considerable value was gained from opportunistic sampling and diagnostics associated with observed growth variations in paddocks from crops across windrows and from better growth patches.  There is widespread K deficiency in crops as well as some manganese (Mn) deficiency as indicated by paired samplings. 

Of the crop monitoring equipment purchased for this project, the most useful was the hand held green seeker which could be used by growers to readily establish relative crop growth differences and, with calibration, could be used for determining absolute biomass levels.  The heat sensitive temperature probes also helped determine the relative stress levels in crops but the results could be misleading without careful interpretation

While the use of the protocol developed in the first year of this project and the uptake of self-diagnostics of crop problems by growers was almost zero, there is no denying the fact that when major yield variations in paddocks are followed up with diagnostic sampling, the implications for management and economic returns are large.  However, despite consistent urgings, growers recognise these facts either because they are already aware of the reasons for the problems, or they have too little time to follow up with diagnostic sampling.

On a personal level, because of the magnitude of some of the responses and the economic implications of those, I thought that this project would be a winner and would have a major impact on crop nutritional management in WA. I am disappointed and wrong.  Casual enquiries about non-participation led to foot shuffling and mutterings about the lack of time and timeliness of such investigations.  So my assertions that the two major questions facing growers (“Is this paddock performing up to potential?” and “If not, why not?”) were wrong.  Certainly, offering free sampling and interpretations of major growth differences in crops was not a motivation for answering such farmer specific questions.

The aim of the project was to help growers answer the questions “are the crops in this paddock performing up to potential?” and “if not, why not” specifically with respect to crop nutrition.

Direct diagnosis of soil nutrient problems did not catch the imagination of growers in the West Midlands Area.

Despite the resultant lack of participation in the diagnostic project considerable value was gained from opportunistic sampling and diagnostics associated with observed growth variations in paddocks from crops across windrows and from better growth patches.  There is widespread K deficiency in crops as well as some manganese (Mn) deficiency as indicated by paired samplings. 

Of the crop monitoring equipment purchased for this project, the most useful was the hand held green seeker which could be used by growers to readily establish relative crop growth differences and, with calibration, could be used for determining absolute biomass levels.  The heat sensitive temperature probes also helped determine the relative stress levels in crops but the results could be misleading without careful interpretation

While the use of the protocol developed in the first year of this project and the uptake of self-diagnostics of crop problems by growers was almost zero, there is no denying the fact that when major yield variations in paddocks are followed up with diagnostic sampling, the implications for management and economic returns are large.  However, despite consistent urgings, growers recognise these facts either because they are already aware of the reasons for the problems, or they have too little time to follow up with diagnostic sampling.

On a personal level, because of the magnitude of some of the responses and the economic implications of those, I thought that this project would be a winner and would have a major impact on crop nutritional management in WA. I am disappointed and wrong.  Casual enquiries about non-participation led to foot shuffling and mutterings about the lack of time and timeliness of such investigations.  So my assertions that the two major questions facing growers (“Is this paddock performing up to potential?” and “If not, why not?”) were wrong.  Certainly, offering free sampling and interpretations of major growth differences in crops was not a motivation for answering such farmer specific questions.

Aims

• To motivate growers to carry out direct problem diagnostics in their crops using:
  • nutrient and deep cultivation strips in crops, to compare with standard management;
  • follow-up work to find out why they have observable crop growth variations in a paddock and answer the “Why is it so?” questions.
• To develop a protocol for setting up strip tests and interpretation procedures for growers with different levels of commitment and time.

Background

Two of the most common questions asked by growers are “Is this paddock performing up to potential, and if not, why not?”

These projects aimed to address these questions by persuading interested growers to apply test strips of various management practices (windrows, fertilisers, lime, wetting agents, cultivation) across their paddocks and soil types.  The presence or absence of visual responses to these strips should stimulate further plant, tissue and soil sampling for analyses and the total results would be interpreted by experts.  The project would also encourage the opportunistic use of observed better growth patches (such as windrows, old ash heaps and tree clearing) in paddocks to investigate why they are there and whether they can give insights into why the rest of the crop is performing at a lower level.

This paper reports the results of two small projects funded by COGGO and GRDC/RCSN, which looked at some of the things growers can do to see if their crops have constraints to growth, how to work out what some of those constraints might be and where they occur in a paddock and around the farm.

The result of this project is to enhance growers agronomic strategy for their barley crop management. 

This “Headless Barley” project was designed to utilise data from the SEPWA barley variety trials to quantify yield losses on farm due to head loss characteristics of barley in the south coast region. Headloss data has been compiled and analysed between 2010-2016, therefore offering an up-to-date look at current varieties, and their susceptibility to head loss. Using this information, all results are in graph format available to all growers online at...

The result of this project is to enhance growers agronomic strategy for their barley crop management. 

This “Headless Barley” project was designed to utilise data from the SEPWA barley variety trials to quantify yield losses on farm due to head loss characteristics of barley in the south coast region. Headloss data has been compiled and analysed between 2010-2016, therefore offering an up-to-date look at current varieties, and their susceptibility to head loss. Using this information, all results are in graph format available to all growers online at:

http://www.sepwa.org.au/projects/headloss-barley-project

The average yield loss due to head loss across all sites for the years 2010-216 are shown in the graph below with barley varieties placed in the order of DAFWA head retention rankings.

Many growers find selling grain a stressful job, primarily stemming from the emotions involved with selling into a fast moving market and the information overload that many are faced with.

SalesMate® aims to simplify the decision making process into three core considerations; price, production and the farmer’s propensity to sell.

The SalesMate® app has been created by a collaboration between Planfarm Marketing and Profarmer Australia, with funding from the Council of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO).

The app uses a live feed of current prices and decile values based on 5 years of historical price information. Each user enters their estimated or actual production, and selects their propensity to sell from very conservative to very aggressive.

Using this core information the SalesMate® algorithm calculates a target sales result in tonnes for the farmer. Not only is the process simple and effective, it is free from the perils and pitfalls of emotion and price forecasting.

The SalesMate app is now available and free to download on the iPhone App Store and can be run by iPhones with up to date software. Simply search “SalesMate – A COGGO funded App” in your iPhone App Store.

Many growers find selling grain a stressful job, primarily stemming from the emotions involved with selling into a fast moving market and the information overload that many are faced with.

SalesMate® aims to simplify the decision making process into three core considerations; price, production and the farmer’s propensity to sell.

The SalesMate® app has been created by a collaboration between Planfarm Marketing and Profarmer Australia, with funding from the Council of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO).

The app uses a live feed of current prices and decile values based on 5 years of historical price information. Each user enters their estimated or actual production, and selects their propensity to sell from very conservative to very aggressive.

Using this core information the SalesMate® algorithm calculates a target sales result in tonnes for the farmer. Not only is the process simple and effective, it is free from the perils and pitfalls of emotion and price forecasting.

The SalesMate app is now available and free to download on the iPhone App Store and can be run by iPhones with up to date software. Simply search “SalesMate – A COGGO funded App” in your iPhone App Store.

Aim: To increase grower profitability by better matching variety and species to soil type and soil pH in Western Australia

Summary:
An in depth spatial analysis study was performed on 3 sandplain sites (Yuna, Mingenew and Three Springs) in the NAR of Western Australia looking at better matching soil pH to variety. The project compared how the relative yield of 5 varieties (Hindmarsh, Scope, Litmus, Wyalkatchem, Calingiri, Mace ) changed their relative yield as the soil pH changed.

The project sites had wide ranging soil pH levels both in the surface (0-10cm) and at depth (20-30cm). All three sites have had lime applications over the past 10 years and therefore the topsoil pH was significantly higher than the subsoil pH. The soil pH across the study paddocks was highly variable spatially even across small distances (30m) in the grid surveys conducted. This variability was most pronounced at the Yuna site. The soil pH was also correlated with position in the landscape and was the opposite for the Yuna and Mingenew sites. At the Mingenew site the lowest subsoil pH occurred in the high yielding hollows compared to the Yuna site where the lowest subsoil pH occurred on the low yielding ridges.

The Three Springs site had significant rhizoctonia bare patch infection throughout the paddock which made the correlation with soil pH impossible. For this reason this site was abandoned and extra sampling was done at the other two sites.

Visually the soils at the two sites looked similar however the relative yields of the varieties tested changed significantly between sites. This highlights the need for growers understand the soils they are dealing with to better match soil pH and variety/species.

Litmus Performance:
All three sites showed Litmus to have a higher numerical reading for NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetative Index) compared to all other wheat and barley varieties in the trial. However final yields were lower than the best performing variety at both sites.

At the Yuna site a soil profile study was carried out under the Hindmarsh and Litmus treatments. This study tested soil pH and moisture content down the profile during (21st August) the 2014 season. This showed the profile to be acidic at depth and at its lowest at the 20-30cm depth. Litmus was able to extract significantly more soil moisture at depth compared to Hindmarsh up to this time. It was concluded that this difference in moisture extraction was due to the improved pH tolerance of Litmus.

The above 2 observations suggest that although Litmus is better suited to acidic profiles than other varieties in the project, there must be other yield limiting traits of the variety that inhibit it from converting this advantage into grain yield.

Correlations between pH and variety performance:
Two methods were used to compare varietal performance with soil pH. This showed that although soil pH is important and limiting yield it is still not the most important driver of yield. Soil qualities such as water holding capacity and nutrition are still the main drivers of yield.

Method 1: Varietal analysis along a transect comparing two different soil types:

• ? At Yuna the highest yielding variety was Hindmarsh. This variety also resulted in the highest gross margin compared to other varieties tested. Litmus failed to outyield Hindmarsh even on the more acidic section of the paddock. Calingiri was the lowest yielding variety which was opposite to the Mingenew site. Wheat performed relatively better on the stronger soil types in the paddock.
• ? At Mingenew, Calingiri was the highest yielding variety and produced the highest gross margin. The highest yielding barley variety was litmus which outyielded Hindmarsh by 390kg/ha. There were no stark differences in how varieties yielded relative to each other along the transect as pH and soil type changed.

Method 2: Varietal analysis around each soil test site:

• ? There was a poor correlation between soil pH and varietal yield at both trial sites. This suggests that factors such as water holding capacity and nutrition are driving yield even though the pH of these better quality soils is low.

Richard Quinlan (B. Agr. Sc)

Agronomist

Planfarm PTY LTD

rquinlan@planfarm.com.au

0428648828

Aim: To increase grower profitability by better matching variety and species to soil type and soil pH in Western Australia

Summary:
An in depth spatial analysis study was performed on 3 sandplain sites (Yuna, Mingenew and Three Springs) in the NAR of Western Australia looking at better matching soil pH to variety. The project compared how the relative yield of 5 varieties (Hindmarsh, Scope, Litmus, Wyalkatchem, Calingiri, Mace ) changed their relative yield as the soil pH changed.

The project sites had wide ranging soil pH levels both in the surface (0-10cm) and at depth (20-30cm). All three sites have had lime applications over the past 10 years and therefore the topsoil pH was significantly higher than the subsoil pH. The soil pH across the study paddocks was highly variable spatially even across small distances (30m) in the grid surveys conducted. This variability was most pronounced at the Yuna site. The soil pH was also correlated with position in the landscape and was the opposite for the Yuna and Mingenew sites. At the Mingenew site the lowest subsoil pH occurred in the high yielding hollows compared to the Yuna site where the lowest subsoil pH occurred on the low yielding ridges.

The Three Springs site had significant rhizoctonia bare patch infection throughout the paddock which made the correlation with soil pH impossible. For this reason this site was abandoned and extra sampling was done at the other two sites.

Visually the soils at the two sites looked similar however the relative yields of the varieties tested changed significantly between sites. This highlights the need for growers understand the soils they are dealing with to better match soil pH and variety/species.

Litmus Performance:
All three sites showed Litmus to have a higher numerical reading for NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetative Index) compared to all other wheat and barley varieties in the trial. However final yields were lower than the best performing variety at both sites.

At the Yuna site a soil profile study was carried out under the Hindmarsh and Litmus treatments. This study tested soil pH and moisture content down the profile during (21st August) the 2014 season. This showed the profile to be acidic at depth and at its lowest at the 20-30cm depth. Litmus was able to extract significantly more soil moisture at depth compared to Hindmarsh up to this time. It was concluded that this difference in moisture extraction was due to the improved pH tolerance of Litmus.

The above 2 observations suggest that although Litmus is better suited to acidic profiles than other varieties in the project, there must be other yield limiting traits of the variety that inhibit it from converting this advantage into grain yield.

Correlations between pH and variety performance:
Two methods were used to compare varietal performance with soil pH. This showed that although soil pH is important and limiting yield it is still not the most important driver of yield. Soil qualities such as water holding capacity and nutrition are still the main drivers of yield.

Method 1: Varietal analysis along a transect comparing two different soil types:

• ? At Yuna the highest yielding variety was Hindmarsh. This variety also resulted in the highest gross margin compared to other varieties tested. Litmus failed to outyield Hindmarsh even on the more acidic section of the paddock. Calingiri was the lowest yielding variety which was opposite to the Mingenew site. Wheat performed relatively better on the stronger soil types in the paddock.
• ? At Mingenew, Calingiri was the highest yielding variety and produced the highest gross margin. The highest yielding barley variety was litmus which outyielded Hindmarsh by 390kg/ha. There were no stark differences in how varieties yielded relative to each other along the transect as pH and soil type changed.

Method 2: Varietal analysis around each soil test site:

• ? There was a poor correlation between soil pH and varietal yield at both trial sites. This suggests that factors such as water holding capacity and nutrition are driving yield even though the pH of these better quality soils is low.

Richard Quinlan (B. Agr. Sc)

Agronomist

Planfarm PTY LTD

rquinlan@planfarm.com.au

0428648828

The key aspect of this project was to examine the various connection methods possible for on farm data connection. 

As a basic background of data connection there a few things to consider. Firstly, the connection type.  A direction connection via a cable or optic fiber is generally the best option always, provided you are close to the phone exchange!  This is why ADSL internet connection packages are only available within several kilometers of the phone exchange.  Generally, this is due to the old copper line servicing your land line telephone not being able to carry the data required by a modern internet connection once you go beyond a cable length of around 5km.  For on-farm connection, this option quickly disappears from choice for WA grain growers.

The next connection option is to go wireless.  Wireless data connection can be multiple types and various radio frequencies.  This ranges from mobile phone network connections, NBN fixed wireless and satellite connections. 

In extreme basic terms, a wireless transmission puts data into packets and transmits them between devices via radio waves.  From time to time, for a number of reasons (local topography or atmospheric conditions) data packets are lost or corrupted and then need to be resent.  If packets are continually resent over a set time, the connection ‘times out” and is lost. 

The key variation of types of wireless connections is the signal frequency and strength (volume).    High frequency wireless connections traditionally are suitable for excellent data through put over short distances and can pass through objects, e.g. Wi-Fi.  Low frequencies transmissions traditionally travel long distances but only with limited data capacity and can be easily interfered by objects.  While these basic rules mostly apply, the new 4 and 5G technology is re-writing some of these rules as wireless technology rapidly evolves. 

A wireless connection’s reach and reliability is also affected by the transmission strength.  Certain frequencies are “licensed” by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).  An example of this is a mobile phone network where essentially they can ‘turn up the volume’ and allow signals to reach much further with less error rates.  The ACMA also has certain frequencies set aside for free to air data connection equipment, however this signal strength is limited below a certain level.

Given the geographical isolation of rural Australia the wireless connection options can be summarized as follows:

The key aspect of this project was to examine the various connection methods possible for on farm data connection. 

As a basic background of data connection there a few things to consider. Firstly, the connection type.  A direction connection via a cable or optic fiber is generally the best option always, provided you are close to the phone exchange!  This is why ADSL internet connection packages are only available within several kilometers of the phone exchange.  Generally, this is due to the old copper line servicing your land line telephone not being able to carry the data required by a modern internet connection once you go beyond a cable length of around 5km.  For on-farm connection, this option quickly disappears from choice for WA grain growers.

The next connection option is to go wireless.  Wireless data connection can be multiple types and various radio frequencies.  This ranges from mobile phone network connections, NBN fixed wireless and satellite connections. 

In extreme basic terms, a wireless transmission puts data into packets and transmits them between devices via radio waves.  From time to time, for a number of reasons (local topography or atmospheric conditions) data packets are lost or corrupted and then need to be resent.  If packets are continually resent over a set time, the connection ‘times out” and is lost. 

The key variation of types of wireless connections is the signal frequency and strength (volume).    High frequency wireless connections traditionally are suitable for excellent data through put over short distances and can pass through objects, e.g. Wi-Fi.  Low frequencies transmissions traditionally travel long distances but only with limited data capacity and can be easily interfered by objects.  While these basic rules mostly apply, the new 4 and 5G technology is re-writing some of these rules as wireless technology rapidly evolves. 

A wireless connection’s reach and reliability is also affected by the transmission strength.  Certain frequencies are “licensed” by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).  An example of this is a mobile phone network where essentially they can ‘turn up the volume’ and allow signals to reach much further with less error rates.  The ACMA also has certain frequencies set aside for free to air data connection equipment, however this signal strength is limited below a certain level.

Given the geographical isolation of rural Australia the wireless connection options can be summarized as follows:

NBN Interim Satellite - The current NBN interim satellite technology is adapted technology which was not necessarily designed for a data service.  This highlights a key problem with Satellite technology.  Once launched, its hardware technology is set, physical upgrades are simply not possible.   

The current NBN interim service is also symptomatic of other classic satellite issues.  Firstly, it is slow, this is simply due to the time taken for data packets from your computer to travel up to the satellite then back to the grounding station and into the internet connection.  Being a reasonably long way up in the atmosphere means the time taken for the signal to travel up and back causes delay, or “latency” in the connection.  Compounding this slowness is the congestion caused when an excessive number of users draw on the satellite at once.  This is called “contention” and the oversubscription to the NBN interim satellite service has been an ongoing demonstration of this problem.  To add to this; cloud cover also will also effects satellite signal performance.

Uncontended Satellite service

This is a satellite service where a dedicated band width is set aside for a prescribed user. Optus in particular offers services like this to mine sites in isolated locations where no land line connection is in place.  While this service still has the latency issues of satellite the dedicated band width controls the likely contention amongst users. 

While still a reasonably slow service, this option may offer the potential to bulk buy data connections and then reselling to a dedicated number of individual farms to limit contention.  Optus has working examples of this in NZ as well as the mining industry.  The new NBN service launched in 2015 will more than likely be an improvement on this type of service due to it being newer technology hardware on the Satellite…. however, the NBN service may quickly fill up slowing it with increased contention rates.

Sky Muster NBN satellite service

This is the new technology NBN satellite launched in late 2015.  This satellite has some specialist dedicated data transmission technology which will make it far better than previous satellite connections.

The satellite system will employ some ten satellite grounding stations acting as gateways to then access the connection back to optic fiber.  Combined with this, the data transmission beams will have focused on geographical areas to spread the connection over multiple transmitters.  Ultimately this combination of technology is aimed at limiting the congestion currently associated with satellite services and basically the whole NBN release outside the city and larger towns sits with Sky Muster.  Long term, as traffic increases on the Sky Muster service, more than likely we will start to experience some form of contention.  According to NBN this is won’t be any time soon, however in the Eastern states where you have higher user density some people are expecting this to be experienced within the first 2 years of start date. 

3/4G Mobile network connections

Mobile phone networks have some key advantages in terms of data connection.  Being a land based terrestrial design, means low latency rates of signal and au upgradable network design.

The ease of connection of mobile devices as well as mobile network data routers has supported strong growth in this method of connection.  From this project’s work, SEPWA found that in early 2015, 60% of farm businesses currently use the 3/4G data network as their business internet connection.  Anecdotal evidence from the wider wheat belt region is that this is by far the most popular method of on farm data connection.

The key aspects of this type of connection is signal reliability and monthly data restrictions. 

The data restrictions are an ongoing cause of agitation for farm offices as data requirements ramp up beyond the allocated 20GB per month.  As an outcome of this project, SEPWA has been able to start discussions with Telstra about developing specialist products for farm connections beyond this data amount.  This is a work in progress.

Signal strength affects error rates of data packets and this is a key driver of connection performance. Most farms are now using the Telstra boosters in houses or sheds with directional Yagi antenna to improve connection.  Conversely, the use of illegal phone repeater units are common in regional WA, and they significantly adversely affect network performance.

While the State and Federal mobile phone black spot funding has been a game changer for regional phone and data connection, it does not represent a long term fix for the spiraling data needs of regional Australia.  The current business model of Telco’s (Telecommunication Companies) delivery along with subsidies by Government is neither sustainable nor viable for expansion over the sparsely populated agricultural regions of WA.  This is a pending issue which government is slowing realizing, largely due to the agitation of this project.

There are also rapid advancements in 3,4 and 5 G wireless data technology by multiple mobile phone network manufactures around the world. New technology is allowing greater segregation of frequency to facilitate multiple channel transmissions and increased data throughput.  To choose a best bet for data connection, 3,4 and 5 G technology offer the greatest potential and genuine landscape reach.

The reason mobile phone signal has landscape reach is because the signal volume is in a licensed spectrum range and it can be transmitted at higher power levels.  Mobile phone spectrum allocations are highly contested under an auction system with the ACMA.  The big Telco’s fight it out to buy geographical footprints of phone frequency allocation worth millions of dollars to the federal government. 

Only in remote locations (such as mine sites) is there no phone company who has already purchased that 3/4G frequency range for that location.  In the agricultural regions however frequencies are generally already all sold to Telcos and 3/4G release would require the incumbent Telco.  This means it would be virtually impossible for rural people to set up alternative data networks using 3/4G technology without having Telco buy in.  Combined with this, any network needs a backhaul connection of the consolidated subscriber traffic, once again implicating a buy in from a Telco.

When considering the agricultural region of WA, Telstra has the main frequency allocation while Optus and Vodafone have a mixed allocation of geographical footprints. 

3/4G network towers are prone to natural disasters such as bush fires and power cuts.  The November 2015 fires in Esperance highlighted the limited battery life of towers and venerability of the 3/4G networks, particularly when managed from afar.

Fixed wireless

Fixed wireless was chosen by NBN as a method to distribute data connection in smaller towns and the outer proximity regional centers.  Fixed wireless uses a focused antenna to directly transmit the radio frequency between the subscriber user and the hub tower.  The hub NBN tower will either be connected direct to the optic fiber or have a microwave link to another tower which will be on optic fiber.  Once consolidated at the main tower, data connects via the NBN fiber network.  The microwave backhaul technology is a dedicated wireless link between 2 fixed points that allows high data through put.  These can be licensed or free to air radio frequencies depending on the location and application. (Mobile networks also use this technology in specific locations)

Fixed wireless is by far the most ‘independent’ type of data connection type as much of this type of equipment is available off the shelf in the free to air frequency range.  All you need is good backhaul connection and in theory you could build your own fixed wireless network across the landscape.  In populated areas the free to air frequency range may be prone to interference, however in a rural setting more than likely this would be minimal and users would experience a good connection. 

There are several examples of startup companies across Australia who use a dedicated fiber connection (NBN or other) to purchase bulk data access and then re-sell this as service to subscriber users via a fixed wireless delivery. 

SEPWA did test fixed wireless equipment in the course of the COGGO project and found some key aspects:

• There needs to be trained personnel on the ground to install, tune and maintain the fixed wireless network.
• Both subscriber and base station units must be stationary and finely tuned to ensure proper connection.
• The equipment could reliably reach around 10km for data transmission and possibly much further with specialist installation and tuning.  With this distance reach you would need a network of hop towers linked by microwave backhaul to provide any sort of reasonable coverage footprint.

Accessing a reasonable data wholesale package for consolidated backhaul in regional locations is a key factor of any fixed wireless network.  While technically feasible, (i.e. there’s optic fiber junction at many mobile phone towers) a limited number of service providers means wholesale prices are rarely competitive.

Of a technology delivery type, fixed wireless is by far the most empowering for users to take charge of their data connection and economically co-contribute to deployment.  The DIY style that has sprung up in many other parts of the world could start to improve many regional businesses connections, as long as you can find backhaul.

Backhaul, the elephant in the room

Access to optic fiber (OF) for backhaul is the ideal solution for any terrestrial based wireless network.   In the case of the 3/4G networks this is generally sorted by the presence of optic fiber at the base of the mobile phone tower or a microwave backhaul link from one tower to another with OF connection.

Despite OF transecting much of the wheatbelt there is only limited access to OF infrastructure in regional centers and mobile phone towers.  Generally speaking, the regional mobile phone tower OF junctions has been courtesy of the State and Federal Black spot funding.  While NBN is set to provide this type of connection in the future SEPWA could only seem to provide 2 “points of Interconnect” in the vicinity of WA grain growers.  These are Geraldton and Katanning.

During the course of this project, SEPWA has become aware of several local businesses that have developed in servicing regional telecommunications from these OF connection points of Geraldton and Katanning.

Going Forward

Although the budget of this COGGO project is completely exhausted, SEPWA has continued to work on this topic.  SEPWA sees telecommunications as a key aspect of building successful grain growing businesses for the future and recognizes there is no simple or quick fix to the spiraling data needs of modern agriculture.

Currently there is significant buzz around smart agriculture and on farm data streamlining.  While these gadgets and technology may bring productivity gains to WA grain growers, the single biggest immediate gain for WA grain grower’s technology adoption is fast and reliable internet connection.  The built in connection assumption level of even the most conservative applications struggle in a rural environment.

Going forward a decade, more than likely robotic applications will offer efficiency gains as well as new methodologies in crop management.  Under no circumstance can this technology be utilised unless there is fast reliable connection to the machines while operating in the paddock.  Already we are seeing backhaul data connections restricting the potential development of driverless machinery in the mining industry.

Combined with the pending data connection need, this project has highlighted a significant skills vacuum in information and communications technology (ICT).  During the data testing phase of this project SEPWA was able to access remote support over the phone to test basic functionality of the fixed wireless equipment.  Going forward there will need to be people on the ground in regional locations that can provide in field service for ICT equipment.

It is with some regret that we conclude this COGGO project acknowledging we have still a long way to go in solving the telecommunication’s issue in rural and regional Australia.  As a high labor cost economy, WA grain farmers are tied to technology for efficiency gains into the future.  Going forward technology will not be stand-alone machinery, but interactive and connected information flows, the data connection is imperative

In 2015 the Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG) conducted a frost trial at Needilup, Western Australia. The project aimed to assess the suitability of stubble management options for minimising frost damage in cereal crops in a medium production environment, with consideration of secondary effects such as soil erosion. Stubble management options included retained stubble, reduced stubble and removed stubble. The impact of each treatment was measured extensively to identify any benefits of stubble management of frost mitigation.

Key Frost Observations

• The site experienced 20 frost events at canopy level (temperature dropped below 0°C) between August and November. The severest event reached -3.5°C in a retained stubble during September. Of the 20 recorded frost events, there was no event that showed significant differences between the three stubble treatments for either severity or duration.
• Photo monitoring showed no negative impact of stubble removal on soil erosion. This was likely caused by the mild climate experienced in the early stages of crop development. Additionally, stubble removal was held off until immediately prior to seeding to minimise wind erosion.
• Frost induced sterility/FIS (frost damage) varied from 5% to 14% across the site and no significant difference was found between stubble treatments. Previous studies suggest that the lack of significant variation could be due to the small difference in stubble loads and a difference may be observed in high production environments where stubble loads are greater.
• All stubble treatments exhibited similar harvest index components, suggesting minimal difference in frost damage which corresponds with the other data collected.
• Yields were low across the site and statistical analysis of the yield map data showed no differences between stubble treatments. This is expected as there were no temperature, FIS or harvest index differences between the treatments.

Implications for industry

In 2015 the Fitzgerald Biosphere Group (FBG) conducted a frost trial at Needilup, Western Australia. The project aimed to assess the suitability of stubble management options for minimising frost damage in cereal crops in a medium production environment, with consideration of secondary effects such as soil erosion. Stubble management options included retained stubble, reduced stubble and removed stubble. The impact of each treatment was measured extensively to identify any benefits of stubble management of frost mitigation.

Key Frost Observations

• The site experienced 20 frost events at canopy level (temperature dropped below 0°C) between August and November. The severest event reached -3.5°C in a retained stubble during September. Of the 20 recorded frost events, there was no event that showed significant differences between the three stubble treatments for either severity or duration.
• Photo monitoring showed no negative impact of stubble removal on soil erosion. This was likely caused by the mild climate experienced in the early stages of crop development. Additionally, stubble removal was held off until immediately prior to seeding to minimise wind erosion.
• Frost induced sterility/FIS (frost damage) varied from 5% to 14% across the site and no significant difference was found between stubble treatments. Previous studies suggest that the lack of significant variation could be due to the small difference in stubble loads and a difference may be observed in high production environments where stubble loads are greater.
• All stubble treatments exhibited similar harvest index components, suggesting minimal difference in frost damage which corresponds with the other data collected.
• Yields were low across the site and statistical analysis of the yield map data showed no differences between stubble treatments. This is expected as there were no temperature, FIS or harvest index differences between the treatments.

Implications for industry

The results of the trial were inconclusive in supporting the use of stubble management as an effective frost management tool in medium production environments. Stubble management is a well-known practice, which has been increasing in recent years, particularly along the south coast of Western Australia. Results from this may result in a decline in unnecessary stubble management in these regions. This will lead to a financial benefit growers and will alleviate erosion, which is already a major issue in Western Australia.

Breeding practices and genetic studies in major crops often require the production of pure line populations. Conventionally, this process takes three to five years depending on the growing conditions and flowering times of the cross parents. This long generation time is a bottleneck limiting the efficiency of marker development and trait recombination for both pre-breeding and breeding. Our research team developed a fast generation system (FGS) for the single seed descent (SSD) approach that achieved up to eight/nine generations of wheat/barley per year. The system involves in vitro culture of young embryos and plant growth in a managed environment to shorten the generation cycles of the crops. In this COOGO project, we implemented the FGS to Australian cereal breeding programs and also tested its applicability in other crops including canola, oat and triticale.

In the first project year, we utilized FGS to develop pure lines (namely, recombinant inbred lines, RILs) from more than nine cross populations, with 100-200 lines for each population, including two wheat populations from SuperSeed Technologies Pty Ltd segregating in chlorophyll contents, one wheat population from DAFWA (Department of Agriculture and Food, WA) segregating in frost tolerance, and six wheat populations and three barley populations from InterGrain segregating on different agro-economic traits. Started from F1 or F2 at the beginning of the project, we handed most of the RILs to industry for field trials within a one-year timeframe.

In the second project year, we tested the applicability of FGS on other major crops including canola, oat and triticale. Up to seven generations per annum was achieved in these crops and the successful application of FGS on canola was published in Euphytica. We also developed several near isogenic lines (NILs) using FGS and marker assisted selection. NILs are a pair of lines that have identical genetic background except at one or a few genetic loci. NIL-derived populations, segregating primarily for a targeted locus, allow the conversion of a quantitative trait into a Mendelian factor and therefore enable the accurate location of a gene. NIL population is derived from the cross between two inbred lines and then a progeny with target heterozygous gene is chosen in F2 population to self. From F3 onward, the progenies that are heterozygous at the target gene are selected in each generation. Through these processes, the genetic background, except the target gene or locus, becomes homozygous by selfing. In F8 generation, the heterozygotes are selfed to produce two NILs that are homozygous (either positive or negative) at the target gene. NILs are valuable materials for genetic studies such as fine mapping and gene cloning.

By refining and applying FGS in Australian wheat/barley breeding, this project further proved that FGS has several advantages over doubled haploid (DH) technique for production of pure lines. Firstly, it is less genotype-dependent than DH as most of the genotypes tested had a high embryo germination rate; Secondly, unlike DH which is to achieve pure line by reducing the number of generations required, FGS does not cut the number of generations but only shortens each generation cycle, which would allow more recombination events to occur resulting in more diversity in the produced pure lines; Finally, and more importantly, phenotypic and/or marker selection can be incorporated as desired at different generations in FGS which is critical for breeding practices and NIL development in genetic studies.

FGS is cost effective because it is time- and space- saving. Operating labour cost is also low, as plants require less management during growth period. The system can significantly speed up breeding and has great potential to be used in wider cereal breeding communities.

Breeding practices and genetic studies in major crops often require the production of pure line populations. Conventionally, this process takes three to five years depending on the growing conditions and flowering times of the cross parents. This long generation time is a bottleneck limiting the efficiency of marker development and trait recombination for both pre-breeding and breeding. Our research team developed a fast generation system (FGS) for the single seed descent (SSD) approach that achieved up to eight/nine generations of wheat/barley per year. The system involves in vitro culture of young embryos and plant growth in a managed environment to shorten the generation cycles of the crops. In this COOGO project, we implemented the FGS to Australian cereal breeding programs and also tested its applicability in other crops including canola, oat and triticale.

In the first project year, we utilized FGS to develop pure lines (namely, recombinant inbred lines, RILs) from more than nine cross populations, with 100-200 lines for each population, including two wheat populations from SuperSeed Technologies Pty Ltd segregating in chlorophyll contents, one wheat population from DAFWA (Department of Agriculture and Food, WA) segregating in frost tolerance, and six wheat populations and three barley populations from InterGrain segregating on different agro-economic traits. Started from F1 or F2 at the beginning of the project, we handed most of the RILs to industry for field trials within a one-year timeframe.

In the second project year, we tested the applicability of FGS on other major crops including canola, oat and triticale. Up to seven generations per annum was achieved in these crops and the successful application of FGS on canola was published in Euphytica. We also developed several near isogenic lines (NILs) using FGS and marker assisted selection. NILs are a pair of lines that have identical genetic background except at one or a few genetic loci. NIL-derived populations, segregating primarily for a targeted locus, allow the conversion of a quantitative trait into a Mendelian factor and therefore enable the accurate location of a gene. NIL population is derived from the cross between two inbred lines and then a progeny with target heterozygous gene is chosen in F2 population to self. From F3 onward, the progenies that are heterozygous at the target gene are selected in each generation. Through these processes, the genetic background, except the target gene or locus, becomes homozygous by selfing. In F8 generation, the heterozygotes are selfed to produce two NILs that are homozygous (either positive or negative) at the target gene. NILs are valuable materials for genetic studies such as fine mapping and gene cloning.

By refining and applying FGS in Australian wheat/barley breeding, this project further proved that FGS has several advantages over doubled haploid (DH) technique for production of pure lines. Firstly, it is less genotype-dependent than DH as most of the genotypes tested had a high embryo germination rate; Secondly, unlike DH which is to achieve pure line by reducing the number of generations required, FGS does not cut the number of generations but only shortens each generation cycle, which would allow more recombination events to occur resulting in more diversity in the produced pure lines; Finally, and more importantly, phenotypic and/or marker selection can be incorporated as desired at different generations in FGS which is critical for breeding practices and NIL development in genetic studies.

FGS is cost effective because it is time- and space- saving. Operating labour cost is also low, as plants require less management during growth period. The system can significantly speed up breeding and has great potential to be used in wider cereal breeding communities.

The project aimed to reduce the impact of acidic soils on plant growth and test the most practical and economical methods of incorporation of lime on duplex soils in the Central Southern Wheatbelt in comparison with the standard practice of top-dressing lime.

In 2015, preliminary results showed plants in treatments of an incorporation method took up a high percentage of organic nitrogen, in comparison to those treatments top dressed or those with no treatment. Soil samples will be completed pre seeding of 2016, to compare soil pH and other nutrients within the profile and to baseline soil samples taken in 2015 prior to treatments being applied. The yield of the treatments was not statistically different in the first year.

An economic analysis was conducted at the end of 2015 harvest, outlining the cost and gross margin for each of the treatments in the initial year of the trial.

Through extension and hosting a demonstration of incorporation methods, we have informed members of the Facey Group and growers within the local region; of the lime incorporation methods used and initial findings of the trial. Extension in 2016 will incorporate the delivery of 2015 results to growers and industry through Facey Groups Trials Presentation Event, a field walk after seeding and Spring Field Day.

The project aimed to reduce the impact of acidic soils on plant growth and test the most practical and economical methods of incorporation of lime on duplex soils in the Central Southern Wheatbelt in comparison with the standard practice of top-dressing lime.

In 2015, preliminary results showed plants in treatments of an incorporation method took up a high percentage of organic nitrogen, in comparison to those treatments top dressed or those with no treatment. Soil samples will be completed pre seeding of 2016, to compare soil pH and other nutrients within the profile and to baseline soil samples taken in 2015 prior to treatments being applied. The yield of the treatments was not statistically different in the first year.

An economic analysis was conducted at the end of 2015 harvest, outlining the cost and gross margin for each of the treatments in the initial year of the trial.

Through extension and hosting a demonstration of incorporation methods, we have informed members of the Facey Group and growers within the local region; of the lime incorporation methods used and initial findings of the trial. Extension in 2016 will incorporate the delivery of 2015 results to growers and industry through Facey Groups Trials Presentation Event, a field walk after seeding and Spring Field Day.

The aim of the project is to develop a concept that growers can easily implement and access during the growing season. Throughout the year the development of the data interpretation platform Crop Manager has progressed to a stage where growers can login online or through an app on their phone and see how full their soil moisture bucket is and how the soil water is dispersed throughout the soil profile. This is real time data and growers can then allocate nutritional inputs and market their grain based on informed knowledge.

This project will develop the ability to characterize the soil water holding properties of 3 soil types. This has been completed. Crop Lower limit (CLL) (maximum amount of soil water that can be extracted by a particular crop) and Drained Upper limit (DUL) (maximum amount of water that a soil can hold) parameters for each of the soils for wheat have been calculated and are included in the full trial report. Further funding will be required for a second season to test the figures from the first season and enable an accurate data base of CLL and DUL figures to be developed for the 3 soil types.

The data generated from this project is able to be used for developing a better understanding of the ability of wheat to extract soil water as well as take into account the change in CLL values, or increased soil water extraction over time with the implementation of soil remediation practices such as liming. This work will be included in future project proposals....

The aim of the project is to develop a concept that growers can easily implement and access during the growing season. Throughout the year the development of the data interpretation platform Crop Manager has progressed to a stage where growers can login online or through an app on their phone and see how full their soil moisture bucket is and how the soil water is dispersed throughout the soil profile. This is real time data and growers can then allocate nutritional inputs and market their grain based on informed knowledge.

This project will develop the ability to characterize the soil water holding properties of 3 soil types. This has been completed. Crop Lower limit (CLL) (maximum amount of soil water that can be extracted by a particular crop) and Drained Upper limit (DUL) (maximum amount of water that a soil can hold) parameters for each of the soils for wheat have been calculated and are included in the full trial report. Further funding will be required for a second season to test the figures from the first season and enable an accurate data base of CLL and DUL figures to be developed for the 3 soil types.

The data generated from this project is able to be used for developing a better understanding of the ability of wheat to extract soil water as well as take into account the change in CLL values, or increased soil water extraction over time with the implementation of soil remediation practices such as liming. This work will be included in future project proposals.  

The introduction of lower cost soil moisture probes, data transfer systems and live web based data hosting platforms, has enabled real time crop monitoring to become a reality. This project has further developed the platform to deliver critical crop monitoring information direct to growers and improve the ability of growers to react to seasonal conditions on a real time basis.

The next peace of the jigsaw is to know what the likely final yield will be. Yield Estimation tools such as Yield Prophet, iPaddock Yield and the old water use efficiency calculators such as French & Shultz equations are all useful tools in predicting final yield. As part of this research an evaluation of these tools has been conducted.

In the evaluation the models were run retrospectively based on the previous 10 years of rainfall and paddock yield data for each research paddock in the project. A yield estimate was produced from each model as at the 31^st July, for each of the 10 years in the historical data. Yield estimate accuracy was calculated and below are estimate accuracy figures from the Duane site.

1. Yield Prophet (APSIM)                                                    58% accuracy
2. French & Shultz (Brocken Stick)                                   62% accuracy                                      
3. iPaddock Yield                                                                    72% Accuracy

The more accuracy / confidence we have in the final yield estimate, the greater the ability to play the season with Nitrogen applications and maximize grain yield and profitability in any given season. Each season is different so an understanding of soil water holding capacity and plant available moisture in the soil throughout the season is essential to be able to estimate yield and tailor nitrogen applications. The knowledge and accuracy, thus confidence, that we have in this area is increasing rapidly.

Key Message

Through classical plant breeding methods five plants from the oat variety Williams were found that have tolerance to 1/8 the recommended rate of Intervix, an imidazolinone herbicide.

Summary of Project

The use of the Clearfield production system for imidazolinone tolerant wheat, barley, and canola varieties poses a potential soil residue issue for following crop rotations, especially in acid soils. Oat is an important crop in WA for human consumption, hay production, and feed as well as an important break crop in rotations. The aim of this project was to produce an ‘imi’ tolerant Williams that could follow Clearfield varieties in rotation without concern for potential soil residues.

Williams was treated with a chemical, EMS, to produce genetic variation in the oat variety Williams for ‘imi’ tolerance. A two ha paddock was sprayed with the recommended rate of Intervix and five plants survived. Seed from the five plants was sprayed with 0, 1/8, ¼, ½, 1, 2, 4 times the recommended rate of Intervix. All plants tolerated 1/8 the recommended rate of Intervix. Seedlings from 1 plant also survived the ¼ rate.

Seed will be increased from the tolerant plants and further evaluation for plant type, grain yield, grain quality, and disease resistance will proceed to determine the potential for release of an ‘imi’ tolerant Williams.

Key Message

Through classical plant breeding methods five plants from the oat variety Williams were found that have tolerance to 1/8 the recommended rate of Intervix, an imidazolinone herbicide.

Summary of Project

The use of the Clearfield production system for imidazolinone tolerant wheat, barley, and canola varieties poses a potential soil residue issue for following crop rotations, especially in acid soils. Oat is an important crop in WA for human consumption, hay production, and feed as well as an important break crop in rotations. The aim of this project was to produce an ‘imi’ tolerant Williams that could follow Clearfield varieties in rotation without concern for potential soil residues.

Williams was treated with a chemical, EMS, to produce genetic variation in the oat variety Williams for ‘imi’ tolerance. A two ha paddock was sprayed with the recommended rate of Intervix and five plants survived. Seed from the five plants was sprayed with 0, 1/8, ¼, ½, 1, 2, 4 times the recommended rate of Intervix. All plants tolerated 1/8 the recommended rate of Intervix. Seedlings from 1 plant also survived the ¼ rate.

Seed will be increased from the tolerant plants and further evaluation for plant type, grain yield, grain quality, and disease resistance will proceed to determine the potential for release of an ‘imi’ tolerant Williams.

Executive Summary

Gravel soils (soils with > 20% gravel in the topsoil) make up about 3 million hectares of the 18 million hectares of alienated land in the agricultural areas of south western WA. They are ubiquitous, and occur at high frequency in the increasingly cropped, high rainfall zone of WA. They are all lateritic but fall into two natural classes according to location. Those to the west in the forest country are dominated by iron and aluminum oxides while those in the wheatbelt to the east contain a lot more silica. Why study the gravel content of soils?

Executive Summary

Gravel soils (soils with > 20% gravel in the topsoil) make up about 3 million hectares of the 18 million hectares of alienated land in the agricultural areas of south western WA. They are ubiquitous, and occur at high frequency in the increasingly cropped, high rainfall zone of WA. They are all lateritic but fall into two natural classes according to location. Those to the west in the forest country are dominated by iron and aluminum oxides while those in the wheatbelt to the east contain a lot more silica. Why study the gravel content of soils? If a soil depth contains 50% inert gravel then:- * The supply of nutrients in a given depth would be halved * Half the rate of fertiliser would give the same concentration. * Lime rates could be halved to raise pH by one unit. * Acidification rates would double for the same acid input. * At a given organic carbon (OC) %, carbon sequestration would be halved. * The soil would store half as much water for crops to get through dry periods. * 5mm of rainfall would effectively be 10mm and allow germination on the gravelly soil. * Water would drain more readily to twice the depth and leach more chemicals * There would be half the buffering (e.g. Phosphorous Buffering Index (PBI) and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)) to hold nutrients. All of these points can impact on input decision making and/or management choices. The question arises as to whether we can assume gravel is inert or whether it interacts with and adsorbs/absorbs agricultural chemicals and water? The study was carried out in three sections:- 1. Gravel and agricultural inputs. Is the gravel content of soils taken into account in the most appropriate way for recommendation systems on the use of agricultural inputs? 2. Gravel and soil water. How does the gravel content of soils impact on soil water relations and through that, what are the implications for agricultural management practices? 3. Gravel and root exploration. Does the gravel content of soils affect root growth dynamics and soil exploration and does this interact with nutrient and water uptake by crops? Findings 1. Gravel and agricultural inputs An email survey of growers, agronomists, researchers, consultants, showed that these stakeholders were more interested in how agronomic practices should be adjusted on gravelly soil types than in the effect of soil gravel content (gv%) per se on recommendation systems: 1.1 Even though it is often used as a quantitative input for fertiliser and liming decision making, the gv% is not often sampled or estimated correctly. 1.2 In soil test based fertilizer recommendations, gv% is used by fertilizer companies to adjust the supply of available soil P and K downwards (and fertilizer rates upwards) even though the unadjusted figure is what was used to determine the soil test calibration curves. This is double accounting and would require further work to show that it is justifiable. 1.3 If nutrient buffering capacity is used to adjust recommendations for soil type effects then it too should take account of the gv%. 1.4 The gv% adjustments are probably appropriate for N fertilizer advice. 1.5 Lime recommendations are appropriately adjusted for gv%. 1.6 Granular pesticides are concentrated by gravel in soils but gv% is not used to adjust recommended rates. 1.7 The gv% is considered to be irrelevant in the use of liquid herbicides and pesticides because it is assumed that the gravels immobilize the chemicals (i.e. does not concentrate them) and that the response curves of weeds and pests to these inputs are so flat that any adjustment would have a minor, if any, effect at all. 1.8 The sequestration of soil carbon is calculated on analyses carried out on the fines. To express the answers in tonnes carbon/hectare it is necessary to adjust the analyses for soil bulk density (BD) and for gv%. While care is taken to adjust for BD, very little effort is taken to measure gv% which in fact can vary more widely than BD. The issues raised above need to be addressed by the relevant stakeholders. 2. Gravel and soil water If gravel is inert to water in soils then it simply acts as a diluent – there will be only (1- gv%/100) of soil fines to interact with inputs such as water. It will reduce water held at field capacity (drained upper limit – DUL) which means a given input of infiltrating rain will wet deeper and faster and this will impact on nutrient and chemical availability through leaching and water drainage from the rooting profile. The water held at wilting point (crop lower limit – CLL) would also be reduced by inert gravel. Most importantly, the plant available water capacity (PAWC = DUL-CLL) would be reduced with consequences for the amounts of stored soil water which allows crops and pastures to survive spells of no rainfall, the most common of which is the end of season or terminal drought. Gravel can act as a mulch and reduce soil water evaporative losses. It can also cause less infiltrating surface and result in more run-off. However, if gravel causes puddling then you may get increased infiltration and less run-off. The main question to answer here is whether gravel does or does not absorb water (i.e. is it inert)? If it does hold water, then how large is the DUL and PAWC of any given gravel? Obviously there will be a range of values depending on the nature of the gravel. Unfortunately this study was reduced to a regression investigation because there was neither time nor resources to carry out direct measurements on gravels. A data base was constructed which consisted of 87 sites with soil water content (DUL, CLL and PAWC) and gv% measures taken in 10cm intervals to one metre depth. The data were investigated statistically in several ways. The main study fitted water content profiles as a function of gv% averaged across sites grouped into three soil types or two regions. An index of “inertness” of the gravel in these groups of sites was calculated by comparing the fitted (actual mean) water content profiles at gv% = 20, with those calculated from the fitted values at gv% = 0 reduced by 20%, assuming the gravel was inert. The results for surface soil and soil at 50 cm depth, are summarised in the table below. As expected, the inertness of the gravel to water varies markedly. Gravel inertness percentage water content DUL DUL PAWC PAWC groupdepth 0 cm 50 cm 0 cm 50 cm 37 duplex 90.1 61.3 11.8 52.4 18 uniform 71.1 55.3 74.4 54.2 32 gradational 2.2 11.7 36.7 -7.8 25 west/forest 74.6 68.5 58.8 50.8 62 east/wheatbelt 74.1 39.6 -3.7 0.0 In most circumstances, gravel does have the property of reducing soil water contents but not to the extent expected if gravel was inert. This suggests that gravel can not only hold water but can hold significant quantities of plant available water in some circumstances. The fitted surface for DUL says that soils with higher gv% hold less water against drainage. This implies that soil mobile nutrients and agricultural chemicals will be moved deeper and faster on gravelly soils with any given amount of infiltrating rain. Also having gravel in a soil could well provide preferred pathways for water infiltration and drainage across the more vertical gravel surfaces in the soil. Direct measurements of infiltration rates with a rainfall simulator would help resolve these issues. The variability of the effect of gv% on PAWC makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the impact of gravel on plant growth, soil water storage and the ability for crops to survive non rainfall periods particularly during the terminal drought at the end of the season in a Mediterranean environment. Some of the DUL and CLL curves from this analysis could be fed into a simulation model to be run over a range of seasons to see how the variability in crop yields is affected by gv%. Gravel could have an indirect effect on soil water relations via its effect on soil wettability. Nonwetting soils often have high OC% and low clay contents in the fines. For the same dry matter production, or net organic carbon input into the soil a soil with high gv% will have an increased measured OC% in the fines. This can cause more water repellency with implications for run off and drainage. If anything, this section has raised more questions than it has resolved. At the moment, direct measurements of things like soil water profiles, infiltration and run off will be better than trying to adjust theoretical moisture properties/profiles according to measured gravel contents. 3. Gravel and root exploration The presence of objects in a soil which cannot be penetrated by roots obviously has a major effect on root growth, root architecture and root length densities through time and space. This in turn will affect nutrient and water uptake with implications for crop growth and nutrient management decisions. Obvious questions to answer are: 1. Will the presence of gravel increase the uptake of soil immobile nutrients (copper, zinc, manganese and phosphorus on high fixing soils) by increasing root exploration of the fertile zones of the soil? 2. Will the presence of gravel cause the root depth penetration rate to increase enough for the crop to better take up soil mobile (leachable nitrate and sulphate) nutrients and water? 3. Will increased and earlier root competition caused by gravel content force roots to explore new soil laterally more rapidly? That is, will roots explore the inter row more rapidly in gravelly soils? Resources did not allow the direct investigation questions about the impact of gravel on root growth dynamics using observations and/or experiments. Some of the issues were investigated using the root growth model, Rootmap (Dunbabin, Diggle el al). Findings from Rootmap study: At 8% gravel greater root length and root length densities were induced in the gravel zone. At the 29% gravel level total root length is not increased, but root length density was increased by 30%. The amount of P at the same initial concentration is also reduced by 30% but P uptake remains the same. Which means that uptake efficiency as measured by the fraction of available P depleted, has risen by about 30 to 40% in the presence of 29% gravel. How these nutrient uptake efficiencies change with level and distribution of gravel, level and placement of the nutrients, mobility and buffering capacity of the nutrient, the wetting and drying patterns of the soil, as well as the genetics of the cropping species and how this affects root architecture responses to gravel. With more resources to contract programmers, all of these and other issues could and should be studied further, initially with the Rootmap model and then perhaps with direct observational and experimental work. This study addressed the question “do plants grown in the presence of gravel, send roots sideways and deeper more rapidly than plants grown in the same soil without gravel”? The findings were ambiguous. The roots did appear to go sideways (into the inter-row faster but the deeper, faster, question depends on the conditions and so is yet to be resolved.- Project conclusions * If nutrition or carbon budgeting is carried out on a unit area basis, then gv%, like bulk density should be taken into account when chemical analyses of the non-gravel (fines) component of soils are adjusted to a whole soil basis. * Some fertilizer recommendation systems (e.g. for P and K) should NOT adjust the analyses to a whole soil basis, particularly if soil test calibration curves are the backbone of the system. * If adjustments for gv% are appropriate then care must be taken in sampling for and/or estimating gv%. * Gravel is not always inert to water absorption and/or interactions with nutrients so care must be taken when adjustments to recommendations and management are made. * The question of whether roots go sideways (into the inter-row) and/or deeper, faster, on gravelly soils has not been resolved. * Advisers, consultants and research workers are interested in how or whether gravelly soils should be managed differently, but are less sure about whether they should make quantitative adjustments for the gv% of soils. * This project has raised more questions than it has answered. Future work * Direct measurement of the water contents (DUL and CLL) of a range of gravels from a range of soils should be carried out in the field. * A new database containing the water content parameters as well as OC% and clay% for all depths should be constructed. * The Rootmap model could be used to further study the effects of a range of factors which interact with gv% and affect nutrient uptake and water relations. * The APSIM model could be used to characterise the impact of gravels of different water holding capacities on nutrient leaching, crop growth and yield under different management and seasonal conditions. To read the full report click the link below.

Executive Summary

This project was funded by COGGO to assess the agronomic and economic factors involved in the chemical fallowing of paddocks in the medium to low rain fall regions of the Esperance port zone. This aim was to provide local grain growers information in helping them choose break crop and/or fallow options for their crop rotations

From implementing fallow treatments in four break crop paddocks across the Esperance port zone the overall economic and agronomic implications of fallow versus break crops were compared from the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons. From analysis of the two year net margin off all paddocks fallow was shown as a less profitable option in the trial paddocks when compared to the peas or canola break crops. This was primarily due to the break crops all achieving cash flow positive results in their own season. At all sites four chemical applications were required during the 2013 season to ensure a bare fallow situation with an average cost of $62.89/ha.

In one of the two paddocks sown to field peas in 2013 there was a noted yield increase of 230kg/ha of the pea area compared to the fallow treatment. This corresponds to the anecdotal evidence of pea growers in the Esperance region of some yield advantage in wheat crops when following a pea break crop. At the Mt Madden site there was noted to be a yield advantage of the fallow treatment over the canola area of 290 kg/ha. This 10% yield advantage of the 2014 wheat crop was more than likely was due to either more soil water stored from the 2013 season fallow or greater nitrogen availability when comparing the fallow areas to the canola. This was also supported by higher grain protein in the fallow area compared to the canola treatment.

The agronomic factors of only two seasons do not necessarily correspond to the long term sustainability of a farming system. From the crop diaries of the host farmers an excessive use of glyphosate was noted in regard to non-selective weed control. This is of concern to pending herbicide resistance issues across the WA wheat belt and the long term sustainability of the WA no till farming system. So despite fallow being shown as less profitable in this project, it may need to be occasionally considered as part of an overall integrated weed management approach.

The projects work did reveal that in some soil type’s peas and canola will not generate yields sufficient to cover the costs of their cropping costs. In this situation farmers would be better off to utilize the fallow option to control weeds in the cereal based cropping rotation. For farmers to see if they have paddocks that fall into this category they may wish to assess their long term yield performance of their rotation using yield data collected from the harvester data card.

This project did achieve in its aim of exposing a simple PA style trial to many growers across the Esperance port zone region. It also upskilled some of the RAIN staff to further use PA type tools in their future project work. What was highlighted by the loss of the Salmon Gums yield data is that farmers still have long way to go in utilising their existing PA equipment for farm scale trial work. SEPWA has been funded by GRDC to address this issues via the DIY PA Project which started at the beginning of the 2014 season. 4 SEPWA – Following Fallows Report - COGGO

1.0 Methodology

This project deployed 4 trail sites across the Esperance port zone using precision agriculture technologies as a means to assess the agronomic and economic consequences of a fallow option versus a break crop option. In a paddock which was sown to a break crop of either peas or canola in 2013, selected strips of 36m widths were left as fallow treatments amongst the control of the pea/canola break crop. The fallow strips locations were selected from previous years yield data as well as farmer soil type knowledge to ensure they were representative of the paddock.

At the commencement of the 2013 season host sites were selected at Mt Madden, Cascade and Salmon Gums. With help from the RAIN group, the 2 sites at Mt Madden were at the Frosts’ property with pea’s and canola being the paddock break crops. At the Cascade site the host farmers Vermeersch sowed the paddock to peas while Longmire’s at Salmon Gums used Canola as their break crop option.

A soil moisture probe was also installed at the Salmon Gums site at part of the local groups in season tracking information feedback mechanism. This information was hosted on the SEPWA website for farmer reference. This can be viewed at:

http://www.sepwa.org.au/index.php/2011-11-15-05-40-21/soil-moisture-probes

The trial sites were monitored during 2013 season for weed control and as well as mapping the precise location of the fallow strip amongst the break crop.

In the 2014 season, all hosts paddocks were sown to wheat. The design of the fallow strips were then used as cut-outs from the 2014 yield data to define the yield effects of the fallow versus control break crop. Of the 4 sites, only 3 were able to be assessed for yield results due to the Salmon Gums site having a contract harvester which did not understand their yield data recording mechanism and the data was lost for the host paddock. (They had not emptied their data card in 3 years).

The relative variable costs of each site were then assembled from the farmer actual applications for comparison to the 2014 yield effects between the fallow and break crop treatments.

Executive Summary

This project was funded by COGGO to assess the agronomic and economic factors involved in the chemical fallowing of paddocks in the medium to low rain fall regions of the Esperance port zone. This aim was to provide local grain growers information in helping them choose break crop and/or fallow options for their crop rotations

From implementing fallow treatments in four break crop paddocks across the Esperance port zone the overall economic and agronomic implications of fallow versus break crops were compared from the 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons. From analysis of the two year net margin off all paddocks fallow was shown as a less profitable option in the trial paddocks when compared to the peas or canola break crops. This was primarily due to the break crops all achieving cash flow positive results in their own season. At all sites four chemical applications were required during the 2013 season to ensure a bare fallow situation with an average cost of $62.89/ha.

In one of the two paddocks sown to field peas in 2013 there was a noted yield increase of 230kg/ha of the pea area compared to the fallow treatment. This corresponds to the anecdotal evidence of pea growers in the Esperance region of some yield advantage in wheat crops when following a pea break crop. At the Mt Madden site there was noted to be a yield advantage of the fallow treatment over the canola area of 290 kg/ha. This 10% yield advantage of the 2014 wheat crop was more than likely was due to either more soil water stored from the 2013 season fallow or greater nitrogen availability when comparing the fallow areas to the canola. This was also supported by higher grain protein in the fallow area compared to the canola treatment.

The agronomic factors of only two seasons do not necessarily correspond to the long term sustainability of a farming system. From the crop diaries of the host farmers an excessive use of glyphosate was noted in regard to non-selective weed control. This is of concern to pending herbicide resistance issues across the WA wheat belt and the long term sustainability of the WA no till farming system. So despite fallow being shown as less profitable in this project, it may need to be occasionally considered as part of an overall integrated weed management approach.

The projects work did reveal that in some soil type’s peas and canola will not generate yields sufficient to cover the costs of their cropping costs. In this situation farmers would be better off to utilize the fallow option to control weeds in the cereal based cropping rotation. For farmers to see if they have paddocks that fall into this category they may wish to assess their long term yield performance of their rotation using yield data collected from the harvester data card.

This project did achieve in its aim of exposing a simple PA style trial to many growers across the Esperance port zone region. It also upskilled some of the RAIN staff to further use PA type tools in their future project work. What was highlighted by the loss of the Salmon Gums yield data is that farmers still have long way to go in utilising their existing PA equipment for farm scale trial work. SEPWA has been funded by GRDC to address this issues via the DIY PA Project which started at the beginning of the 2014 season. 4 SEPWA – Following Fallows Report - COGGO

1.0 Methodology

This project deployed 4 trail sites across the Esperance port zone using precision agriculture technologies as a means to assess the agronomic and economic consequences of a fallow option versus a break crop option. In a paddock which was sown to a break crop of either peas or canola in 2013, selected strips of 36m widths were left as fallow treatments amongst the control of the pea/canola break crop. The fallow strips locations were selected from previous years yield data as well as farmer soil type knowledge to ensure they were representative of the paddock.

At the commencement of the 2013 season host sites were selected at Mt Madden, Cascade and Salmon Gums. With help from the RAIN group, the 2 sites at Mt Madden were at the Frosts’ property with pea’s and canola being the paddock break crops. At the Cascade site the host farmers Vermeersch sowed the paddock to peas while Longmire’s at Salmon Gums used Canola as their break crop option.

A soil moisture probe was also installed at the Salmon Gums site at part of the local groups in season tracking information feedback mechanism. This information was hosted on the SEPWA website for farmer reference. This can be viewed at:

http://www.sepwa.org.au/index.php/2011-11-15-05-40-21/soil-moisture-probes

The trial sites were monitored during 2013 season for weed control and as well as mapping the precise location of the fallow strip amongst the break crop.

In the 2014 season, all hosts paddocks were sown to wheat. The design of the fallow strips were then used as cut-outs from the 2014 yield data to define the yield effects of the fallow versus control break crop. Of the 4 sites, only 3 were able to be assessed for yield results due to the Salmon Gums site having a contract harvester which did not understand their yield data recording mechanism and the data was lost for the host paddock. (They had not emptied their data card in 3 years).

The relative variable costs of each site were then assembled from the farmer actual applications for comparison to the 2014 yield effects between the fallow and break crop treatments.

The chickpea industry, which in late 1990s rose rapidly from almost no chickpeas to over 75,000 ha in a short time, was halted due to the devastating epidemic of Ascochyta blight disease for which there was no genetic resistance in varieties at the time. Although, the problem has been addressed and resistant varieties have become available in recent years, there has not been any marked resurgence in the area sown to chickpeas in Western Australia. This project focused on demonstrating the new Ascochyta resistant chickpea varieties to the WA growers during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. Demonstration (demo) trials involving three new varieties and one old variety were conducted in 2013 at Mullewa, Mingenew, Wubin, Merredin, Doodlakine and Corrigin and in 2014 demos were conducted at Mullewa, Mingenew, East Buntine and Corrigin. Replicated yield trials with additional germplasm were conducted at Mingenew and Merredin. At all sites project personnel attended and addressed the field day participants and distributed a specially prepared two pager on new varieties. In this way, over 270 growers and agri-business personnel have been directly engaged. Demo and yield trial results were shared with the grower groups for greater dissemination of the information. In addition, a survey of the chickpea industry was conducted and feedback received from this survey and direct interaction at the field days/field walks enabled to understand the issues that need addressing to further promote the chickpea industry in WA. During the two years, almost all major field events in the potential chickpea growing regions and some other regions were exploited through demo trials and other trials to spread the message first hand to hundreds of growers and Agro-Industry personnel. Both demo and replicated trials showed that the new Ascochyta resistant chickpea varieties perform better than the older variety and disease risk is now minimal. Valuable first hand feedback and survey results have provided information on the growers concerns and if targeted efforts are made to address these issues, there is every possibility that the chickpea industry will expand in WA. Grain legumes are generally the missing link in WA cropping systems despite their known role in improving soil nitrogen status, providing disease break and opportunity for grass weed control. This two year small project on chickpeas can work as a model for developing an adequately funded project that includes all major grain legumes (e.g. chickpea, field pea and faba bean) for the fine textured soils targeting relevant cropping regions in WA. Such a project should work in collaboration with the Grower Groups, Pulse Australia and DAFWA and funds should be available to compensate Grower Groups for their input to ensure priority for the project activities. The grain industry will directly benefit from greater adoption of chickpea and associated benefits of grain legume in crop rotation. The results will also help judicious selection of variety. With greater chickpea production, economic and health benefits will flow to the broader community.

Enhancing WA chickpea industry through targeted demonstration and extension of new ascochyta resistant improved varieties and lines in partnership with growers groups The chickpea industry, which in late 1990s rose rapidly from almost no chickpea to over 75,000 ha in a short time, was halted due to the devastating epidemics of ascochyta blight disease for which there was no genetic resistance in varieties at the time. Although, the problem has been addressed and resistant varieties have become available in recent years, there has not been any marked resurgence in the area sown to chickpea in Western Australia. This project focused on demonstrating the new ascochyta resistant chickpea varieties to the WA growers during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. Demonstration (demo) trials involving three new varieties and one old variety were conducted in 2013 at Mullewa, Mingenew, Wubin, Merredin, Doodlakine and Corrigin and in 2014 demos were conducted at Mullewa, Mingenew, East Buntine and Corrigin. Replicated yield trials with additional germplasm were conducted at Mingenew and Merredin. At all sites project personnel attended and addressed the field day participants and distributed specially prepared two pager on new varieties. In this way, over 270 growers and agri-business personnel have been directly engaged. Demo and yield trial results were shared with the grower groups for greater dissemination of the information. In addition, a survey of the chickpea industry was conducted and feedback received from this survey and direct interaction at the field days/field walks enabled to understand the issues that need addressing to further promote the chickpea industry in WA. During the two years, almost all major field events in the potential chickpea growing regions and some other regions were exploited through demo trials and other trials to spread the message first hand to hundreds of growers and agro-industry personnel. Both demo and replicated trials showed that the new ascochyta resistant chickpea varieties perform better than the older variety and disease risk is now minimal. Valuable first hand feedback and survey results have provided information on the growers concerns and if targeted efforts are made to address these issues, there is every possibility that the chickpea industry will expand in WA. Grain legumes are generally missing link in WA cropping system despite their known role in improving soil nitrogen status, providing disease break and opportunity for grass weed control. This two year small project on chickpea can work as a model for developing an adequately funded project that includes all major grain legumes (e.g. chickpea, field pea and faba bean) for the fine textured soils targeting relevant cropping regions in WA. Such a project should work in collaboration with the Grower Groups, Pulse Australia and DAFWA and funds should be available to compensate Grower Groups for their input to ensure priority for the project activities. The grain industry will directly benefit from greater adoption of chickpea and associated benefits of grain legume in crop rotation. The results will also help judicious selection of variety. With greater chickpea production, economic and health benefits will flow to the broader community.

By Simon Wallwork, Agronomist. In these trials Corrigin Farm Improvement Group aimed to test the benefits of growing crops on chemical fallowed soil. The trials specifically compared which crop species were most profitable under a chemical fallowing regime. In season 2013 barley was most profitable and in 2014 albus lupins were the most profitable crop grown on chemical fallow. 2013 Results Barley was the highest yielding crop in this trial, with the Bass barley chemical fallow strip the highest yielding strip at 4882 kg/ha. This strip also produced the highest gross return ($1165/ha). The highest yielding pulse in the trial was the PBA Striker Chickpeas on chemical fallow. This also produced the highest gross return ($595/ha) of the pulse species. The three strips suitable for chemical fallow comparison with continuous crop were Genesis 836 Chickpea, PBA Striker Chickpeas and Bass Barley. The effect of chemical fallow versus continuous crop for each of these was -36kg, +304kg and +481kg respectively (Table 1). These yield gains equate to -4%, 30% and 11% yield differences relative to continuous cropping, respectively (Table 1). For the PBA Striker Chickpea this is an income benefit of $167/ha and the Bass Barley is $122/ha from chemical fallow over continuous cropping. This demonstrates that higher value crops such as Chickpeas may produce a higher relative benefit from a chemical fallow regime. Table 1. Yield gain or loss for chemical fallow treatments for each crop respectively. Crop Yield gain/loss (kg) % yield gain/loss Genesis 836 Chickpeas chemical fallow -36 -4% Striker Chickpeas chemical fallow 303 30% Bass Barley chemical fallow 481 11% 2014 Results Wheat was the highest yielding crop in this trial, with the wheat chemical fallow plot the highest yielding treatment; 1955 kg/ha. This strip that produced the highest gross return was albus lupins on chemical fallow at $721 per hectare. The albus lupins on chemical fallow were also the highest yielding pulse in the trial; 1425kg/ha. The chemical fallow treatments for canola, wheat and barley were clearly outperforming their respective continuous crop treatments from very early in the season in terms of vigour and biomass. The barley and canola were 50% higher yielding than the respective continuous crop treatments while the wheat was only 3% higher yielding (Table 2). The broadleaf crops, albus lupins and canola may be well suited to chemical fallow regimes as they are options to continue the weed and disease break between cereal crops. Also they are longer season crops and chemical fallow offers early sowing opportunities with higher stored soil moisture. Also, given their higher value, these crops can potentially offer higher returns than cereals in the chemical fallow year; in this trial albus lupins demonstrated that this is possible. Table 2. Yield gain or loss for chemical fallow treatments for each crop respectively. Crop Yield gain/loss (kg) % yield gain/loss Albus Lupins 360 34% Canola 141 50% Barley 584 50% Wheat 56 3% Striker Chickpeas -140 -20% Genesis 836 Chickpeas -22 -7%

Growing More Profitable Crops on Chemical Fallow – 2013 and 2014 By Simon Wallwork, Agronomist. In these trials Corrigin Farm Improvement Group aimed to test the benefits of growing crops on chemical fallowed soil. The trials specifically compared which crop species were most profitable under a chemical fallowing regime. In season 2013 barley was most profitable and in 2014 albus lupins were the most profitable crop grown on chemical fallow. 2013 Results Barley was the highest yielding crop in this trial, with the Bass barley chemical fallow strip the highest yielding strip at 4882 kg/ha. This strip also produced the highest gross return ($1165/ha). The highest yielding pulse in the trial was the PBA Striker Chickpeas on chemical fallow. This also produced the highest gross return ($595/ha) of the pulse species. The three strips suitable for chemical fallow comparison with continuous crop were Genesis 836 Chickpea, PBA Striker Chickpeas and Bass Barley. The effect of chemical fallow versus continuous crop for each of these was -36kg, +304kg and +481kg respectively (Table 1). These yield gains equate to -4%, 30% and 11% yield differences relative to continuous cropping, respectively (Table 1). For the PBA Striker Chickpea this is an income benefit of $167/ha and the Bass Barley is $122/ha from chemical fallow over continuous cropping. This demonstrates that higher value crops such as Chickpeas may produce a higher relative benefit from a chemical fallow regime. Table 1. Yield gain or loss for chemical fallow treatments for each crop respectively. Crop Yield gain/loss (kg) % yield gain/loss Genesis 836 Chickpeas chemical fallow -36 -4% Striker Chickpeas chemical fallow 303 30% Bass Barley chemical fallow 481 11% 2014 Results Wheat was the highest yielding crop in this trial, with the wheat chemical fallow plot the highest yielding treatment; 1955 kg/ha. This strip that produced the highest gross return was albus lupins on chemical fallow at $721 per hectare. The albus lupins on chemical fallow were also the highest yielding pulse in the trial; 1425kg/ha. The chemical fallow treatments for canola, wheat and barley were clearly outperforming their respective continuous crop treatments from very early in the season in terms of vigour and biomass. The barley and canola were 50% higher yielding than the respective continuous crop treatments while the wheat was only 3% higher yielding (Table 2). The broadleaf crops, albus lupins and canola may be well suited to chemical fallow regimes as they are options to continue the weed and disease break between cereal crops. Also they are longer season crops and chemical fallow offers early sowing opportunities with higher stored soil moisture. Also, given their higher value, these crops can potentially offer higher returns than cereals in the chemical fallow year; in this trial albus lupins demonstrated that this is possible. Table 2. Yield gain or loss for chemical fallow treatments for each crop respectively. Crop Yield gain/loss (kg) % yield gain/loss Albus Lupins 360 34% Canola 141 50% Barley 584 50% Wheat 56 3% Striker Chickpeas -140 -20% Genesis 836 Chickpeas -22 -7%

The product of this project is now named SnapCard, which is a decision support tool for farmers and agricultural consultants to predict quality and performance of spray applications based on weather conditions and spray settings. Over three growing seasons at three locations in Western Australia, the project quantified spray coverage based on 1,796 water sensitive spray cards, measured weather conditions, and recorded spray settings, including: sprayer forward speed, nozzle type and flow rate, spray application volume rate, and spray pressure). The project demonstrated that spray coverage obtained during pesticide spray applications can be predicted based on a combination of spray settings [nozzle flow rates, sprayer speed (km per hour), spray application volume rate (liters per ha), and a commonly used adjuvant (yes = 1, no = 0)] and readily available weather variables [barometric pressure (mm Hg), relative humidity (%), temperature (oC), and wind speed (km per hour) at ground level].

SnapCard http://agspsrap31.agric.wa.gov.au/snapcard/

Project: Development of web based tool to interpret and quantify spray coverage obtained from commercial pesticide applications SnapCard is a decision support tool for farmers and agricultural consultants to predict quality and performance of spray applications based on weather conditions and spray settings. Over three growing seasons at three locations in Western Australia, the project quantified spray coverage based on 1,796 water sensitive spray cards, measured weather conditions, and recorded spray settings, including: sprayer forward speed, nozzle type and flow rate, spray application volume rate, and spray pressure). The project demonstrated that spray coverage obtained during pesticide spray applications can be predicted based on a combination of spray settings [nozzle flow rates, sprayer speed (km per hour), spray application volume rate (liters per ha), and a commonly used adjuvant (yes = 1, no = 0)] and readily available weather variables [barometric pressure (mm Hg), relative humidity (%), temperature (oC), and wind speed (km per hour) at ground level].

SnapCard http://agspsrap31.agric.wa.gov.au/snapcard/

Dealing with a difficult harvest – a guide for Western Australian Grain growers

The stresses of everyday farming are further exacerbated at peak times – and harvest would be undoubtedly one of the most stressful periods in a calendar year for most Western Australian grain growers. The Council of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO) funded SEPWA to put together a manual that encapsulates all that can go wrong at harvest. SEPWA did this with the help of many growers and industry representatives from throughout the State along with technical support from the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA). The book is broken up into chapters: Managing Yourself; Managing Your Staff; Managing your Business; Managing your Crop at Harvest; Managing your Harvest; and Managing Disaster. Around 2000 copies were printed and distributed throughout Western Australia in 2014. We as an industry need to make our business, our family and ourselves individually more resilient so that we can deal with the pressures that we can’t change immediately. We cannot afford to let those pressures get us down to the point where damage is being done to our productivity, our family life or our enjoyment of life. Easier said than done sometimes. This book is about recognising the things we can’t change at harvest (of which there are many) – and doing an audit of the things that can go wrong from one year to the next. We can arm ourselves with information so that when we do get hit by the problem, we can then do something about it. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. – John Maxwell I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. – Stephen Covey

Dealing with a difficult harvest – a guide for Western Australian Grain growers

The stresses of everyday farming are further exacerbated at peak times – and harvest would be undoubtedly one of the most stressful periods in a calendar year for most Western Australian grain growers. The Council of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO) funded SEPWA to put together a manual that encapsulates all that can go wrong at harvest. SEPWA did this with the help of many growers and industry representatives from throughout the State along with technical support from the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA). The book is broken up into chapters: Managing Yourself; Managing Your Staff; Managing your Business; Managing your Crop at Harvest; Managing your Harvest; and Managing Disaster. Around 2000 copies were printed and distributed throughout Western Australia in 2014. We as an industry need to make our business, our family and ourselves individually more resilient so that we can deal with the pressures that we can’t change immediately. We cannot afford to let those pressures get us down to the point where damage is being done to our productivity, our family life or our enjoyment of life. Easier said than done sometimes. This book as about recognising the things we can’t change at harvest (of which there are many) – and doing an audit of the things that can go wrong from one year to the next. We can arm ourselves with information so that when we do get hit by the problem, we can then do something about it. Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. – John Maxwell I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. – Stephen Covey

Executive Summary

This project began in January 2013 with the aim of investigating options to increase yield and quality of grain grown on red loam soil types in the Mingenew / Irwin region and testing the hypothesis that cropping returns on red loam soils increase through the use of chemical Fallow

Background:

A large scale replicated trial was established in 2013 to test for an increase in yield and quality of grain grown on red loam soil following the implementation of chemical Fallow.  Two paddocks were used in this evaluation trial.  The first went into chemical Fallow in 2012 while the second was sown to wheat in 2012.  Most growers on red loam soil types agree that fallow increases crop yield in the following year but have not measured the output.  The trial was established to quantify if the increases in grain yield and quality are significant and justify the financial cost of leaving a paddock to fallow, with the grower essentially only receiving one crop in two years.

Recent dry seasons have highlighted the importance of stored soil moisture in the early establishment of crops.  Red loam soils have a high water holding capacity and the purpose of fallow is to increase the amount of soil water in the profile at seeding.  Stored soil water in the profile is very important when only small rainfall events are received at seeding for crop establishment.  MIG measured soil water during the season.

‘Does chemical fallow increase cropping returns significantly?’  In this trial the answer is no.  Returns were actually higher in the paddock that did not have fallow in the rotation but seasonal effects have played a role in this result

Executive Summary

This project began in January 2013 with the aim of investigating options to increase yield and quality of grain grown on red loam soil types in the Mingenew / Irwin region and testing the hypothesis that cropping returns on red loam soils increase through the use of chemical Fallow

Background:

A large scale replicated trial was established in 2013 to test for an increase in yield and quality of grain grown on red loam soil following the implementation of chemical Fallow.  Two paddocks were used in this evaluation trial.  The first went into chemical Fallow in 2012 while the second was sown to wheat in 2012.  Most growers on red loam soil types agree that fallow increases crop yield in the following year but have not measured the output.  The trial was established to quantify if the increases in grain yield and quality are significant and justify the financial cost of leaving a paddock to fallow, with the grower essentially only receiving one crop in two years.

Recent dry seasons have highlighted the importance of stored soil moisture in the early establishment of crops.  Red loam soils have a high water holding capacity and the purpose of fallow is to increase the amount of soil water in the profile at seeding.  Stored soil water in the profile is very important when only small rainfall events are received at seeding for crop establishment.  MIG measured soil water during the season.

‘Does chemical fallow increase cropping returns significantly?’  In this trial the answer is no.  Returns were actually higher in the paddock that did not have fallow in the rotation but seasonal effects have played a role in this result

The objective of this project was to use new technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), to maximise financial benefits to Western Australia’s growers. Through the use of UAVs, and processing the available data, the project aimed to provide grain growers with a tool for making confident and cost-effective crop management decisions, based upon the provision of location specific information, eg the location of weeds in a paddock. A MIG long-term trial site of 60 ha was chosen for the project and the process focused on summer weeds. By using the data obtained from the UAVs and interpreting it through a web based platform: Crop Manager, the exact position of the weeds in the paddock were identified and the grower was able to conduct a selective spray (as opposed to spraying the whole paddock) and saved $563.10 (or $9.39/hectare). Key findings: 1- UAVs can be used to minimise costs associated with summer spraying and constitute another tool in weed management. 2- The project established that utilising UAVs to collect aerial imagery was a very viable option and that the type of UAV and camera combination needed would depend on the specific requirements of the grower, in particular, the area being flown and the data being analysed. 3- It was also concluded that the time taken to deliver a benefit was crucial to success. The delivery time needs to be confirmed at the start of the process with the decision made on the data that needs to be collected. Most data collected from the flights could be used and interpreted through Crop Manger to identify weeds but the processing time varied considerably and affected the quality of the final outcome. 4- The project produced accurate data that delivered benefits to the grower and in a format that could be imported into and read by all major agriculture and technology suppliers. 5- This project also demonstrated that growers want real-time and easy to understand information. Following this trial, CropManager has now an app available on both phones and tablets to allow the user to remotely check real time paddock information. The main conclusion is that the technology to detect weeds using UAVs exists and in the future, it will be a profitable farming practice for farmers when the correct legislation is in place and UAV technology has advanced further regarding the area that can be covered in a day. The main recommendation from this project would be to wait for these improvements to be implemented before developing further projects.

The objective of this project was to use new technology, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), to maximise financial benefits to Western Australia’s growers. Through the use of UAVs, and processing the available data, the project aimed to provide grain growers with a tool for making confident and cost-effective crop management decisions, based upon the provision of location specific information, eg the location of weeds in a paddock.

A MIG long-term trial site of 60 ha was chosen for the project and the process focused on summer weeds. By using the data obtained from the UAVs and interpreting it through a web based platfarm: Crop Manager, the exact position of the weeds in the paddock were identified and the grower was able to conduct a selective spray (as opposed to spraying the whole paddock) and saved $563.10 (or $9.39/hectare).

Key findings:

1. UAVs can be used to minimise costs associated with summer spraying and constitute another tool in weed management.
2. The project established that utilising UAVs to collect aerial imagery was a very viable option and that the type of UAV and camera combination needed would depend on the specific requirements of the grower, in particular, the area being flown and the data being analysed.
3. It was also concluded that the time taken to deliver a benefit was crucial to success. The delivery time needs to be confirmed at the start of the process with the decision made on the data that needs to be collected. Most data collected from the flights could be used and interpreted through Crop Manger to identify weeds but the processing time varied considerably and affected the quality of the final outcome.
4.  The project produced accurate data that delivered benefits to the grower and in a format that could be imported into and read by all major agriculture and technology suppliers.
5. This project also demonstrated that growers want real-time and easy to understand information. Following this trial, CropManager has now an app available on both phones and tablets to allow the user to remotely check real time paddock information.

The main conclusion is that the technology to detect weeds using UAVs exists and in the future, it will be a profitable farming practice for farmers when the correct legislation is in place and UAV technology has advanced further regarding the area that can be covered in a day. The main recommendation from this project would be to wait for these improvements to be implemented before developing further projects.