Grains Research Update Driving Profit Through Research
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WAGGA WAGGA NSW TUESDAY 16 & WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2021 GRAINS RESEARCH UPDATE DRIVING PROFIT THROUGH RESEARCH grdc.com.au GRDC 2021 Grains Research Update Welcome If you are reading this, then chances are you are sitting in one of the GRDC’s first face-to-face events since COVID-19 changed our lives. Welcome. We at the GRDC understand how challenging the past year has been for all Australians, but we also appreciate how well positioned agriculture has been to respond to and work through the restrictions that have come with this global pandemic. Across many areas of Queensland and New South Wales, an improvement in seasonal conditions has also provided a much-needed reprieve for growers, advisers, agronomists, researchers and those associated with the grains industry. With that positive change in circumstances comes a thirst for the latest information and advice from grains research and development – we trust that these GRDC Grains Research Updates will help guide your on- farm decisions this season and into the future. While COVID-19 has forced temporary changes to our traditional Update locations and audience numbers, these events still offer the high quality, seasonally relevant research, development and extension information you have come to depend on. This year our Updates will also be live streamed to ensure the information is available to all who need it. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our many research partners, who, like growers and advisers, have gone over and above to continue to work in situations constricted by COVID-19 regulations. Challenging times reinforce the importance of rigorous, innovative research that delivers genuine gains on- farm. For more than a quarter of a century the GRDC has been driving grains research capability and capacity with the understanding that high quality, effective RD&E is vital to the continued viability of the industry. Sharing the results from this research is a key role of the annual Updates, which are the premier event on the northern grains industry calendar and bring together some of Australia’s leading grains research scientists and expert consultants. To ensure this research answers the most pressing profitability and productivity questions from the paddock, it is critical the GRDC is engaged with and listening to growers, agronomists and advisers. For the past five years we have been doing that from regional offices across the country. Through the northern region offices in Wagga Wagga and Toowoomba and a team of staff committed to connecting with industry, we are now more closely linked to industry than ever. This year we have less people on the ground – as a result of COVID-19 restrictions – but more than ever we are available to listen and engage with you. So if you have concerns, questions or feedback please contact our team directly (details on the back of these proceedings) or email [email protected]. Regards, Gillian Meppem Senior Regional Manager – North P PO Box 5367 Kingston, ACT 2604 Australia Page 1 T +61 2 6166 4500 F +61 2 6166 4599 E [email protected] GRAINS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ABN 55 611 223 291 GRDC Grains Research Update WAGGA WAGGA, Charles Sturt University Joyes Hall Agenda, Day 1 – Tuesday 16 February Time Topic Speaker (s) 10:00 AM Welcome Tony Williams (CEO, GRDC) Varieties and subsoil constraints 10:20 AM Getting phenology right, what’s next? Project learnings from 2017-20, comparing wheat and barley responses and tactical agronomy to increase Felicity Harris (NSW DPI) yield. 10:55 AM Amelioration of hostile subsoils to improve crop productivity • Techniques Ehsan Tavakkoli (NSW DPI) • Impact on crop water use and yield & Peter McInerney (3D • Soil water and crop physiological impacts Ag) • Financial implications. 11:30 AM Within-paddock variability of subsurface pH in southern NSW – its Eva Moffitt (EM Ag relationship to surface soil properties (pH, buffering capacity) and Consulting) implications for decision making 12:00 PM Lunch Q&A with GRDC CEO Tony Williams 12:15 - to 12:30 Canola establishment, rhizobia, Russian wheat aphid and grazing crops 12:40 PM Optimising canola establishment • Factors affecting establishment Col McMaster (NSW DPI) • Growing high vigour seed & Maurie Street (GOA) • Optimising P nutrition and placement • Seed testing. 1:20 PM What difference does rhizobia strain make on grain legume nodulation, nitrogen fixation and grain yield? Belinda Hackney o Strain performance in acid soils (NSW DPI) o Herbicide residue impacts. 1:50 PM Russian wheat aphid update • Thresholds Maarten van Helden • Yield impact (SARDI) • Decision making. 2:15 PM Grazing cattle on dual purpose crops - managing health risks Jeff McCormick (CSU) & • Adaptation periods for cattle on canola and practices to mitigate risk Paul Cusack (Central • Managing rumen pH depression on cereals Veterinary Services) • Supplements. 3:00 PM Afternoon tea Diseases 3:30 PM Fungicide resistance in cereals - which pathogens and strategies to deal Nick Poole (FAR Australia) with it. 3:55 PM Wheat rust developments - a new stripe rust pathotype in bread wheat Robert Park and durum varieties; LR24 virulence in leaf rust. (University of Sydney) 4:20 PM Cereal pathology update - survey data; learnings from 2020; planning for Andrew Milgate (NSW DPI) 2021. 4:45 PM Are there economic benefits in control of foliar fungal disease in canola Maurie Street (GOA) crops in the low to medium rainfall zones of NSW? 5:10 PM Diseases in pulse's and canola - what happened where and why in 2020, Kurt Lindbeck (NSW DPI) and what are the implications for 2021? 5:35 PM Close Joyes Hall Agenda, Day 2 – Wednesday 17 February Time Topic Speaker (s) De-risking nitrogen - the case for change! 8:30 AM Nitrogen loss pathways. How much N is lost when urea is not Graeme Schwenke mechanically incorporated after application? (NSW DPI) 9:00 AM Managing water and nitrogen use efficiency across years and crop sequences to drive profit - crop legacies and learnings from regional John Kirkegaard (CSIRO) farming systems research and longer term farming systems studies. 9:35 AM Strategies for longer term management of the soil N bank across the James Hunt (La Trobe farming system. University) & John Kirkegaard (CSIRO) 10:05 AM Discussion on de-risking nitrogen. Led by John Kirkegaard • Agronomist advice to clients - what needs to change? (CSIRO), James Hunt (La • Managing risk and N decision making - optimising N decision making Trobe University) and for multiple seasonal outcomes Graeme Schwenke (NSW DPI) 10:25 AM Morning tea Pulses 10:55 AM Developing new hard seeded self-regenerating legume species for crop and pasture systems to fix more N for crops and feed livestock in medium Belinda Hackney (NSW DPI) and low rainfall zones. 11:25 AM Profitable pulses in lower rainfall farming systems Michael Moodie (Frontier Farming Systems) 12:00 PM Integrating pulses into the farming system - double breaks, fallow vs John Stevenson (Grower/ pulses and optimising crop sequence - a grower's perspective SNSW Manager, Warakirri) 12:25 PM Discussion 12:40 PM Lunch Weeds 1:20 PM Ryegrass - blowouts at seeding in 2020 and management for 2021 • Causes of poor results - resistance vs environment/dose rate Peter Boutsalis (Plant • Paraquat stewardship Science Consulting) & John • Optimising glyphosate performance (tank mixes, AMS, formulation, Broster (CSU) resistance, adjuvants, timing, application, stress) 1:55 PM Seed dormancy and emergence patterns in annual ryegrass populations from cropped fields - why a big flush was expected in 2020 and what's on Chris Preston the cards for 2021 in SNSW? (University of Adelaide) 2:15 PM Challenges in fitting new pre-emergent herbicides into farming systems Greg Condon (Grassroots and managing them for longevity. Agronomy/WeedSmart), Chris Preston (University of Adelaide) 2:55 PM Weeds discussion Peter Boutsalis (Plant • Managing ryegrass blowouts Science Consulting), John • Agronomist advice to clients - what needs to change? Broster (CSU), Greg Condon (Grassroots Agronomy/WeedSmart), Chris Preston (University of Adelaide) 3:20 PM Close Contents Day 1 – Tuesday 16 February, 2021 Varieties and subsoil constraints Phenology is FUNdamental – applying key project learnings to optimise grain yield ....................................... 8 Felicity Harris, Hugh Kanaley, Rick Graham, Stephen Morphett, Peter Matthews, Peter Roberts, David Burch, Nick Moody, Greg Brooke, Hongtao Xing and Michael Mumford Amelioration of hostile subsoils via incorporation of organic and inorganic amendments and subsequent changes in soil properties, crop water use and improved yield, in a medium rainfall zone of south-eastern Australia ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 Shihab Uddin, Wayne Pitt, David Armstrong, Shane Hildebrand, Naveed Aslam, Remy Dehaan, Graeme Poile, Albert Oates, Kelly Fiske, Russell Pumpa, Yunying Fang, Roger Armstrong, Graeme Sandral, Danial Newton, Yan Jia, Adam Lowrie, Richard Lowrie and Ehsan Tavakkoli On farm financial implications of research into varieties and deep soil amelioration .................................... 29 Peter and Hazel McInerney Within-paddock variability of subsurface pH in southern NSW – its relationship to surface soil properties (pH, buffering capacity) and implications for decision making ....................................................................... 36 Eva Moffitt Canola establishment, rhizobia,