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NEWSLETTER No. 262 APRIL, 2010 EDITOR – Tony Rathjen, articles welcome; fax: (08) 8303 6735 Ph: (08) 8303 7216 email: [email protected] TREASURER – Subscriptions Sandy Kimber PO Box 761 Clare SA 5453 Ph: (08) 8842 1718 [email protected]

SECRETARY – Correspondence Larn McMurray PO Box 822 Clare 5453 Ph: (08) 8842 6265

Next Meeting

‘Can soil moisture data improve crop management decisions?’

Venue

Stefanson Theatre, Roseworthy Campus

Date

WEDNESDAY 28h April 2010

Time

7.30 pm

Speakers With prospects for a good opening to the season and full soil moisture profiles in many districts, grain growers will be seeking capitalise on the opportunities and maximize water use efficiency. Further knowledge of detailed soil moisture profiles during the season, offers prospects to help to maximize crop production and profitability through assisting decisions on inputs during crop growth. Mr Leighton Wilksch, Precision Farming Agronomist with Landmark together with Mr Greg Butler, SANTFA R& D Manager and Mr Kym I’Anson, Saddleworth Grain Grower have been working for some years with soil moisture probes to gather data on soil moisture profiles and their application in grain production. Together they will present technical and practical views on their experiences with this new and developing technology to assist in grain production.

Inciting passion in agriculture By Courtney Ramsey, Research Officer (Herbicide Tolerance), SARDI, Waite Precinct.

Experiencing a broad spectrum of agricultural practices is integral to the education of our agriculturally minded students. So much of a university education loses sight of the ‘bigger picture,’ the end use applications of technical expertise. Learning from a book isolated from experience, often resulting in a lack of understanding or loss of interest is a tremendous challenge this industry faces, particularly with diminishing resources available at locations such as Roseworthy. If we are to entice and retain young minds in the industry it is important to expose them to the possibilities and opportunities which exist in this vibrant industry. It is with this ethos in mind that Dr Tony Rathjen escorts third year agriculture and agricultural science students on a week long road trip across the country, visiting research institutes, farms and a Dorothea Mackellar statue along the way. Beginning at Loxton Research Institute with the predominantly familial topic of dryland agriculture sets a scene with which, most students, coming from broad acre farming backgrounds, are able to identify. A large and perhaps slightly gaudy map of the Murray River catchment adorns the conference room wall outlining our trip ahead, one both slightly daunting by sheer distance and yet filled with intrigue. From Loxton we travel onward through the Mallee scrub, and a decidedly viscous haze of locusts, to Mildura where a dependence on the river and irrigation becomes apparent. Locusts appeared in almost all locations visited and were particularly bad in the SA Mallee, a cause of concern with seeding just around the corner. Mildura offers her vines as a source of inspiration to the viticulturalist within. An emphasis on the topic of the year ‘climate change’ begins to emerge, with heat chambers set up to mimic potential future environments. As we cross the currently green Hay Plains a theme almost imperceptibly begins to seep into the students’ consciousness, one of shifting landscapes, rainfall patterns and associated land uses. Diversity of land use in broad acre farming systems is emphasised on reaching Wagga Wagga (Agricultural Institute) which sits on the line between winter and summer dominant rainfall, highlighting the constant challenges presented by such a unique mix of weather systems. The ever changing identity of weather systems took us next, to the dry Condobolin Research station and a nearby watermelon and pomegranate farm, this year sadly devoid of watermelons. The visit awakens an often dormant sense of curiosity in all students. Admittedly the French backpackers working on the farm offered a similar awakening of curiosity, but these unusual enterprises and stories of the pioneering of a new Australian pomegranate industry set minds ticking. Tamworth saw a return to a familiar style of research institute, with presentations on chickpea and durum breeding programs, the latter to which we happened to have brought our own expert. It was however, nearing sunset on day three on a farm owned by David and Judi Pearson at Thalgarrah, that a sense of the importance of understanding our environment really hit home. David, a former geologist, stood us on the edge of his gorgeous (to understate it mildly) property in the great dividing range and explained the formation of the valley, where his farm now exists, in geological terms, pointing out old volcanoes and explaining how its lava flows had formed the landscape. Using his knowledge of the landscape formation to determine his land use and management made so much more sense on seeing it in practice than any book may have described it so. As we ventured further North to Hermitage and Leslie Research Stations, the contrast of weather systems to our own and its impact on broad acre farming was again emphasised. The ability to produce summer crops particularly Maize and Sorghum, in tandem with winter wheat crops among others increased income stability in the area. Current crops of sorghum and the subsequent supply to the feed

industry are likely to continue undercutting the feed barley industry in Australia in the near future, keeping prices low. The minds of all involved were captured on seeing tropical horticultural crop species at the Maroochy research station and I dare say a few are enticed to stay and never return. Grasping for the common analogy the vibe is that of a kid in a lolly shop. Custard apples, Macadamias, Pineapples, Jack Fruit, everything your tropical adventure could dream of. The landscape, the climate, the crops are all by now somewhat alien to us all, excepting Jan, the student from Malaysia, who patiently explains how such delicacies are best consumed. Following Maroochy a visit to Bethonga Pines pineapple farm gave me a sense of relief… relief that I am not a pineapple farmer. For those who think there are inherent problems in wheat, barley, pulse research programs whether by lack of funding or otherwise, spare a thought for pineapple farmers whom due to the clonal propagation of pineapples have almost no formal breeding program or from what it appears agronomic research. The last stop Brisbane CSIRO, exposes students to molecular work on a vast array of crop species, and some interesting facts about macadamias. A passionate and engaging address on macadamia quality assured us most of us have never before tasted a non- rancid nut due to the currently used, rather inaccurate methods of predicting shelf life. From all avenues experienced on the agricultural pilgrimage there were those, it seemed, who came expecting a decidedly beer flavoured holiday and walked away with a greater understanding of the term ‘Australian agriculture’ and perhaps one or two who were lucky enough to snag a career or life plan. Although the landscape and its uses change, many farming concepts remain the same across various industries. One figure thrown around was that on average the broad acre family farm produces enough food to feed 4000 families and yet receives an income just enough to survive, a problem we can probably agree is inherent throughout all agricultural practices. If we are to overcome such constraints we need entice university students to fuel our research sector, and ultimately increase farm profit margins and feed an exponentially increasing population. Even as research scientists, it is easy for us to focus too specifically on our own areas of expertise and forget about the bigger picture, but it is by embracing the system as a whole that we start to change our perspective and nut out solutions.

L to R: View over ‘Sugarloaf’ the property owned by David and Judi Pearson, Pomegranate farm Condobolin and glasshouse facilities at NSW Agricultural Research Station, Tamworth.

Left: Sorghum breeding program (Ergot resistance breeding) Hermitage Research Station, QLD.

No-Till on Stony Soils Michael Bennet SARDI/SANTFA, Minnipa Agricultural Centre

What happened? The crop established well with excellent moisture at sowing. The conditions were moist enough after sowing that seed which was scattered on the surface when the tines were breaking out was able to germinate, establish a root system and a viable plant. Most sowing systems maintained sowing depth greater than 20 mm in the stony soil. The Agpoint + Agmor system was shallower due to incorrect setup of the Agmor boot, which was rectified in the subsequent treatments. The Agmaster wing point + Agmor boot, Agmaster point + Agmor boot, Agmaster point + Agmaster Flexi-boot, and Atom-Jet Mallee point all had shallower seed placement in the stony soil. All other systems were able to maintain similar seed placement in both soil types. There were no significant differences in crop emergence measured on the deeper soil. On the stony soil, however there were some differences observed. The Agpoint + Agmor boot system was one of the poorer emerging treatments, most likely due to shallow seed placement from incorrect boot setup. K-Hart discs at 10 km/h, Agmaster points + Agmor boots at 10 km/h, Rock Hopper + Agmor boots, Agmaster points + Agmor boots, Agmaster wing points + Agmor boots, Agmaster points + Agmor Boots + snake chains, Agmaster points + Agmor boots working shallow, sweeps + harrows, Atom-Jet and DBS had higher levels of crop emergence on the stony soil than the remaining treatments (Table1). Increasing sowing speed from 6 to 10 km/h with the K-Hart disc and Agmaster and Agmor systems did not have any impact on seed placement or crop emergence, however the faster sowing speed resulted in a much more violent breaking out of tines over stone. This would have a significant impact on machinery maintenance. The disc system yielded the same with both sowing speeds, however the Agmaster + Agmor system suffered a yield penalty for faster sowing speed on the deep soil, but not on the stony soil. In terms of grain yield achieved on the stony soil, the DBS system performed better than the Conservapak, Agmaster points + Agmor boots, Agmaster points + Agmor boots @ 10 km/h, Agmaster points + Agmaster Flexi Boot, Atom-Jet Mallee point and sweeps + harrows treatments (Table 1). The DBS system and Agmaster point + Agmor boot working deep treatments yielded more than the Atom-Jet Mallee point system and the sweeps + Agmor boot systems. Shallower working of the Agmaster + Agmor system (i.e. lifting machine out over stony reefs) resulted in seed placement on the stony soil reducing from 30 mm to 17.8 mm. There were no differences in crop emergence for the shallower seed placement or final grain yield. There were no benefits or penalties for working the points deeper in either soil type. The addition of snake chains did not increase seed depth or contribute to any difference in crop emergence. Using snake chains, however did result in a yield reduction on the deep soil, however there was no differences on the stony soil. The K-Hart discs performed as well as the tine treatments for crop establishment on both soil types. The slower sowing speed resulted in a lower grain yield than the best tine systems on the deep soil, but the discs performed as well as the best tine systems on the stony soil. At the faster (more typical) travel speed, the discs grew as much grain as the best tine systems on the deep soil type.

Table 1 Opener

Seeding system impact on wheat performance on stony and deep soil at Lock, 2009 Technology

Other sowing treatments

Emergence Depth (mm)

Emergence (Plants/m2)

Grain Yield (t/ha)

Soil

Stone

Soil

Stone

Soil

Stone

K-Hart

6 km/h

30

28

155

121

1.85

1.12

K-Hart

10 km/h

26

30

172

157

1.91

1.14

Rock Hopper

Agmor

19

23

143

147

1.89

1.13

Agpoint

Agmor

23

19

137

90

1.62

1.09

Agmaster

Agmor

44

29

150

142

1.96

1.11

Agmaster

Agmor

48

30

148

144

2.08

1.04

Agmaster

Agmor

10 km/h

42

34

157

149

1.52

1.01

Agmaster

Agmor

10 mm Snake Chains

43

39

169

141

1.79

1.19

Agmaster

Agmor

Work Deep

39

28

176

115

1.73

1.23

Sweeps

Agmor Agmaster Flexi-Boot

Star Harrows

53

54

140

138

1.68

0.98

48

32

118

122

1.60

1.01

Agmaster

Agmor

Work Shallow

31

17

152

141

1.89

1.16

Atom-Jet Atom-Jet Mallee

Front delivery boot

46

35

165

126

2.05

1.17

Front delivery boot

43

29

165

109

1.60

0.99

Bourgault

Front delivery boot

54

43

172

114.

1.92

1.10

Conservapak

54

49

129

105

1.62

1.05

DBS

29

34

156

123

2.10

1.28

ns

39

Agmaster

LSD P≤0.05

Wing Point

13

0.22

What does this mean? All of the no-till treatments yielded at least as well as the full cut treatment, which by default guarantees some soil on the top of seed in stony soil which can be an advantage. The Atom-Jet concept of a front delivery point system has the most merit on stony soils. The shallower working depth is ideally situated for sowing in to stony soils, as less steel is in the ground. The standard Atom-Jet point and the similar Bourgault design yielded similarly to the highest yielding treatments in the trial on stony soil. The K-Hart disc performed well in 2009, which is a viable option for growers to reduce their downtime at seeding, increase their overall work rate with faster travel speed, as well as reduce the amount of stone brought to the surface by tines. Hydraulic tines are an obvious choice for growers looking to optimise their seeding success in stony soils. The DBS system utilises hydraulic tines, which was one of the higher yielding treatments sown. Growers have overcome serious delays at seeding time through downtime with the use of hydraulic tines. Whilst searching for a suitable site for the stony soils trials, the author saw some rocky country which is sown with knife points and hydraulic tines (with minimal breakdowns) which must have been a horrible nightmare with spring tines. Breakout characteristics of tines can have a significant impact on how well they perform in stone. The tip of the knifepoint needs to be behind the pivot point of the tine. If this is not the case, when the point strikes an obstacle like a rock, it will dig deeper before it begins lifting out to jump over the barrier. This places greater force at the point of impact as well as a greater recoil speed upon re-entry. The breakout pressure works best if it increases to a maximum (to keep the tine in the ground while sowing), however reduces as the tine lifts out over an obstacle, such as a rock.

Regardless of seeding system chosen for stony soil, it is critical to optimise seed placement on deep soil as well as provide adequate backfill on shallow ground to maintain seed depth so that an acceptable result can be achieved on all soil types. The seeding system also needs to be robust enough to take the wear of sowing into stone. This can be a challenge and is where the advantage of a hydraulic tine or disc system is greatest.

Time of Sowing Cereals for Grazing at MAC 2009 Cathy Paterson and Roy Latta SARDI, Minnipa Agricultural Centre Table 1 Cereal sown and sowing rate (kg/ha) calculated to achieve 180 plants/m2

Sowing rate (kg/ha) 54 100 46 46 49 51 60 65

Wyalkatchem Barque HSR Naperoo Axe Gladius Winteroo Barque Maritime

What happened? Rainfall in March initiated germination and establishment of TOS 1, resulting in available forage for grazing in May. Both TOS 1 and 2 (Table 2) provided a further grazing in June prior to an average Zadoks growth stage of 31 whereby potential grain yield would be compromised. TOS 3 presented less grazing opportunities but the same average grain yield as TOS 2. Table 3 presents the estimated gross margins from sowing cereals for grazing, cutting hay or grain recovery in good seasonal conditions. Table 2 Dry matter production (t/ha) on 27 May, 29 June and 18 November, and grain yield (t/ha) in 2009 TOS 1

TOS 2

TOS 3

Wyalkatchem Barque HSR Naperoo Axe Gladius Winteroo Barque Maritime Wyalkatchem Barque HSR Naperoo Axe Gladius Winteroo Barque Maritime Wyalkatchem Barque HSR Naperoo Axe Gladius Winteroo Barque Maritime LSD (P≤0.05)

27 May 0.22 0.22 0.15 0.33 0.36 0.28 0.27 0.45