Coomandook Agriculture Bureau Sticky Beak Tour & Saltland Pasture Redemption Tour REGISTRATIONS & further info; [email protected] or 8.30am - 6.00pm meals included text on 0427 750 050 Wednesday 2nd October Register by Thurs 26th of Sept What you will see & hear? -Deep ripping salinity affected ground -Rhizoctonia, soil nutrition & variety resistance -Shot gun pasture/crop mixes on saline ground -Pulse Check Legume Trial - varieties, inoculants, - Fourth year regenerating Messina high P response & effective grain storage - Salinity tolerance of crop & pasture seedlings in -MFMG/GRDC Sandy Soil Project comparing the Waite Plant Accelerator full program over the page Plozza Ploughing, Deep Ripping & Spading For further salinity project information please visit www.coorong.sa.gov.au/saltlandredemption Lucerne seedlings exposed to <low to high> salinity Pulse Check Trial Rhizoctonia Messina & Puccinellia Plozza Plough This project is supported by the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and the NRM Levies 1 Coomandook Agriculture Bureau Sticky Beak Tour Morning Tea and Lunch provided Saltland Pasture Redemption Tour BBQ Tea at the Coomandook Uniting Church Meeting Room Wednesday 2nd October 2019 COOMANDOOK AGRICULTURE BUREAU STICKY BEAK TOUR Time Topic and Location Speaker Time Page 8.30am Rhizoctonia and the relationship with soil nutrition Hansen Farms - end of Wilson Road, Coomandook Blake Gontar - SARDI 45 min 3 - 5 Commercial variety resistance to Rhizoctonia 9.15am Travel to Pulse Check Site – 1154 Werrimbrook Road, RHS past Hansen Farms Workshop 15 min 9.30am Pulse Check Legume Trial Site - Looking at pulse varieties, inoculants, & response to high P applications Brendan Wallis – Rural Directions 2 6 - 9 Effective Grain Storage SARDI Agronomy Clare hours MORNING TEA Chris Warrick – Grain Storage 11.30am Travel to Eckerts – ‘Mentara Park’ – Malinong Road (South) 30 min 12 noon Eckerts – Malinong Road (South) – MacKillop Farm Management Group / GRDC Sandy Soils Project Site, Dr Mel Fraser – PIRSA Rural 90 min 10 - 17 comparing Plozza Plough, Deep Ripper, and Spader treatments. Look at the Eckerts - Plozza Plough Solutions (may be joined by Meningie LUNCH East/Field Healthy Soils Group) 1.30pm Travel to Bradley Kleinig’s – ‘Barkulla’ – 171 Gypsum Road, Cooke Plains 30 min SALTLAND PASTURE REDEMPTION TOUR 18 - 20 2.00pm Bradley Kleinig’s – ‘Barkulla’ – 171 Gypsum Road, Cooke Plains Bradley Kleinig 40 min 20 Deep ripping on pasture mix site – wheat, canola, balansa clover, puccinellia Felicity Turner - Coorong Tatiara LAP 2.40pm Travel to Bluey Roberts – ‘Camden Park’ - Gypsum Road, Cooke Plains 10 min 2.50pm Bluey Roberts – ‘Camden Park’ - Year 3 Saltland Pasture Redemption Site Bluey Roberts 40 min 19 Good coverage, pasture mix of puccinellia, messina, and canola AFTERNOON TEA Felicity Turner - Coorong Tatiara LAP 3.30pm Travel to Mick Patterson’s– ‘Roby Downs’ cnr Goodale Road & Old Dukes Highway, Coomandook 15 min 3.45pm Mick Patterson – ‘Roby Downs’ – First year mix of puccinellia, messina, fescue and vetch 40 min 20 4.25pm Travel to Paul Simmon’s – Goodale Road 10 min 4.35pm Paul Simmons – Fourth year regenerating Messina Paul Simmons 25 min Felicity Turner - Coorong Tatiara LAP 5.00pm Travel to Coomandook Uniting Church REFRESHMENT BREAK 30 min 5.30pm PRESENTATION: Dr Rhiannon Schilling, Agricultural Scientist – University of Adelaide 30 min Results of exposing a range of crop and pasture seedlings to saline conditions in the Plant Accelerator at the Waite BBQ TEA – CATERING BY COOMANDOOK AG BUREAU EVALUATION 21 - 22 2019 COOMANDOOK DISEASE MANAGEMENT TRIALS – BLAKE GONTAR, SARDI Key Messages: Top growth is not an indicator of root health – inspect crop roots for signs of root disease Rhizoctonia has caused significant damage in crops all over South Australia in 2019, often without obvious above-ground symptoms In trials conducted 2018-2019, improving crop nutrition has demonstrated small improvements in foliar disease control, however there is no obvious effect on Rhizoctonia Introduction Disease is a significant cost issue for SA growers, causing yield loss and increasing management costs such as fungicides. At the same time, many crops grown in SA also have nutrient deficiencies, particularly phosphorus, potassium, copper and zinc. Previous research has demonstrated that these nutrient deficiencies not only reduce growth and yield directly, but can also affect the capacity of plants to resist or tolerate disease. While the benefits of addressing nutritional requirements are becoming better understood and adoption by growers has increased, most research is carried out under low disease conditions. A two-year project (2018-2019) has been funded by the South Australian Grains Industry Trust (SAGIT) to assess the disease management benefits of improving crop nutrition. 2019 Coomandook trial… so far The Coomandook trial site was sown 21st May to barley cv. Planet. The site is marginal for both phosphorous (P) (13-15 mg/kg (0-10cm) and potassium (K) (42-90 mg/kg). Three rates of P (0, 10, 20kg/ha) and 2 rates of K (0,40kg/ha) were applied as granular fertilisers below seed at seeding. Plots had either disease control (fungicides at seeding and throughout growing season) or were allowed to develop disease (with additional Rhizoctonia added at seeding). The site also contains two other trials as part of SAGIT and GRDC-funded research; one evaluating an improved method for artificially inoculating trials with Rhizoctonia to ensure low variability and allow accurate evaluation of future agronomic options (including fungicides) and the second evaluating current cultivars for resistance and tolerance to Rhizoctonia. Results Testing at GS22 indicated that both P and K treatments have created differences in leaf tissue nutrient concentrations, whilst disease also appears to be effecting a range of 3 nutrients. However, all treatments appear to have sufficient K and only the nil P are deficient for P. Treatments N (%) P (%) K (%) Zn (mg/kg) Critical Value 5.5 0.27- 0.37 1.5-2.3 16-25 P0K0+ 5.25 0.36 3.55 83 P0K0- 4.41 0.32 3.64 72 P0K40+ 4.55 0.37 4.13 90 P0K40- 4.46 0.32 3.88 77 P10K0+ 4.88 0.39 3.27 79 P10K0- 4.49 0.4 3.7 62 P10K40+ 4.64 0.4 3.66 72 P10K40- 4.52 0.4 3.95 68 P20K0+ 4.69 0.46 3.41 70 P20K0- 4.43 0.42 3.04 57 P20K40+ 4.66 0.48 3.83 67 P20K40- 4.55 0.44 3.92 74 Table 1 Unreplicated tissue testing results taken from whole plants sampled at approx. GS22 suggesting a P response is likely but that K is sufficient in all treatments. Note variation in Zn and N as a result of disease treatments (+/- fungicide) Root Disease At GS22 and GS59 roots were assessed by sampling approximately 20 plants from each plot and scoring plant roots on a 0-5 scale (0=no damage, 5=roots completely truncated and black). Figure 1 illustrates the effect of root disease compared with control. Figure 1 a) healthy root system of barley – note separate seminal and crown roots connected by healthy sub- crown internode and b) heavily Rhizoctonia-affected roots of barley 4 However, nutrition treatment does not appear to reduce root disease. This backs up the results from two trials on the Eyre Peninsula in 2018 where root disease was not reduced by additions of sulfur, potassium, phosphorous or copper. Treatment Seminal Roots Crown Roots P0K0 3.36 3.98 P0K40 3.35 3.65 P10K0 3.39 3.69 P10K40 3.20 3.67 P20K0 3.26 3.87 P20K40 3.12 3.66 Table 2 Average root disease score of non-fungicide treated plots at GS59 at Coomandook with very little difference evident between nutrient treatments. Foliar Disease Foliar disease was assessed at GS30 and GS59 by sampling 20 leaves from each plot (Flag leaf-3) and scoring disease as a percentage. Spot form net blotch was the most eveident disease present. Statistical analysis is yet to be conducted for this trial however treatment averages are presented in table 1 below. Treatment Ave Med P0K0 28.30 21.50 P0K40 28.05 19.00 P10K0 37.45 34.50 P10K40 35.80 30.50 P20K0 43.35 38.00 P20K40 24.85 18.50 Table 3 Percent leaf area infected with spot form net blotch at GS59 for non-fungicide treatments. Data have not been analysed statistically and are presented as a guide for presentation only. Average and median values of 20 leaves per plot are presented, averaged across replicates of the treatment. Summary The trials on Eyre Peninsula in 2018 suggested that addressing nutrient deficiencies can have some limited benefit on foliar disease, albeit under fairly low disease pressure. The Coomandook trial appears to show (data not analysed statistically at this stage) an increasing amount of disease with additional P. This may be due to increased canopy size and disease pressure, or the pathogen could be benefitting from a richer P source in leaves. However there also appears to be an effect of K in offsetting some of the increase due to P, despite the fact that K is ‘sufficient’ in all plots. Whilst nutrient addition did not reduce root disease in 2018, at one site there was a significant yield improvement from both P and Cu, which was larger in the presence of Rhizoctonia disease. This suggests that, while P and Cu did not reduce disease, their supply was more critical under disease pressure. The important message may be to increase nutrient supply above critical levels where root disease issues are suspected. 5 BRENDAN WALLIS – RURAL DIRECTIONS Coomandook Southern Pulse Agronomy Site 2019 Buffer 1 FIELD PEA Early Vigour + Nutrition 10 Buffer Buffer 1 VETCH Early Vigour + Nutrition 10 Buffer Buffer 1 LENTIL Early Vigour + Nutrition 10 Buffer Buffer 1 Lentil + Faba Bean Road Radish Control 12 Buffer Buffer 1 Faba Bean - K Nutrition 6 Buffer Buffer 1 Species X Variety 60 Buffer Buffer 1 Chickpea - Rhizobia Rate Trial 3 Buffer Buffer 1 Chickpea - N Fixation Demo Strips 4 Buffer gate Pipe line 6 Coomandook Southern Pulse Agronomy Site 2019 The current Southern Pulse Agronomy program has been undertaking field trials in SA and Victoria from 2015-2020 on a range of pulse crops including chickpea, faba bean, field pea, and lentil, more recently the focus has also included vetch and lupin.