Confident of ten tonnes
From the November 2008 edition of Agriculture Today.
Farmers who had never seen crops with 10 tonne yield potential got their first look this month at a Yanco Agricultural Institute field day.
With climate change irrigation allocations likely to be variable, NSW Department of Primary Industries is promoting varieties adapted to both irrigated and dryland conditions.
At the Yanco field day, farmers viewed the largest cereal variety evaluation ever conducted under irrigation, according to NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) rice farming systems industry leader, John Lacy.
"Last season we aimed for 10 tonne yields thinking we could not really achieve them - but we did, so we are a little more confident we can do it again this season," Mr Lacy said.
"We are using the Eight Tonne Club management package and adding some extra nitrogen for 10 tonnes."
Bread and durum wheat, barley and triticale varieties are being evaluated for adaption to high yielding irrigated management conditions.
This season the varieties are also being evaluated under dryland conditions in spring to see if the yield ranking with just a pre-irrigation is the same as fully irrigated trials.
Mr Lacy said the 30 predominantly local visitors to the Yanco field day were extremely impressed at the yield potential.
Field days were also scheduled at the duplicated trial site at Coleambally demonstration farm and smaller site at Griffith.
With smaller sites also at Hillston, Kerang and Jerilderie, the complete trial carries a total of 4000 plots.
The project is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
Project leader, NSW DPI senior plant pathologist Andrew Milgate, said the trials were evaluating lines submitted by plant breeding companies including Enterprise Grains Australia, Australian Grain Technologies, High Rainfall Zone, Longreach and Barley Breeding Australia.
Representatives from the companies attended and spoke at the field day.
Field day participants also viewed an irrigated wheat variety specific management trial, investigating the effect of row width and plant population on yield.
"Farmers are tending to widen sowing rows to make it easier to sow stubbles, so we want to see if this affects yields," Mr Lacy said.
"A Barley Breeding Australia variety trial was also inspected."
Contact John Lacy, (02) 6951 2738, Andrew Milgate, (02) 6938 1990, or Aaron Hutchison, 0427 672 350.
