CONSIDERING the lack of late winter and spring rainfall, judges were impressed with the quality of the entries presented in the Murray Plains Crop competition.
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It was the 80th year the competition had run – one of the oldest in SA – with 20 wheat, 17 barley, six canola and nine pulse entries.
Wheat judge Stuart Milde said he was impressed with the yields and quality considering most crops only received 150 to 180 millimetres of growing season rainfall.
“It highlights constant improvement in grower practices, sowing technologies, time of sowing and improved varieties,” he said.
Mr Milde said time of sowing was critical in 2015.
“I had heard all sorts of horror stories of drought stress and frost affecting crops east of the ranges, I was expecting the worst,” he said.
“But what I saw was quite the opposite – high yielding crops of excellent quality from the Murray Plains.
“I didn’t see any frost damage. I observed good grain size, and I think most crops will have minimal screenings. Some crops with high biomass, or late tillers, may produce some screenings.”
Adrian Bormann, Mannum, won champion wheat on 94 points from a possible 100 with a Mace crop estimated to yield 3.9 tonnes a hectare.
Mr Bormann also won champion canola with Clearfield hybrid variety 44Y89.
Judge Paul Jenke, Dupont, said the “impressive” crop had excellent lower plant population, leading to extensive branching and good water use efficiency.
“There were some aphids, DBM, and isolated annual ryegrass, but otherwise the crop was very clean,” he said.
Mr Jenke said the top two crops – Geoff Simons’ 44Y89 crop was in second – were hard to separate.
“They were planted relatively early and had lower plant populations with lots of lateral branches contributing to an excellent yield,” he said.
Best quality wheat went to Grant Wagenknecht, Murray Bridge, on 99 points for a Grenade CL Plus crop, while Colin Wachtel and Robert Wagenknecht, Palmer, took out champion barley and quality barley for their Scope crop, est yield 4.4t/ha.
In the pulses, Steen Paech, Palmer, won with a Wharton field pea variety, est yield 2.6-2.8t/ha. It was direct-drilled into barley stubble on May 15 and had perfect scores for purity, maturity, weed and pest control, disease management and workmanship.
![TOP CROPS: Grant Wagenknecht, Murray Bridge, Steen Paech, Palmer, and Adrian Bormann, Mannum, with Coopers Farm Supplies' Craig John. TOP CROPS: Grant Wagenknecht, Murray Bridge, Steen Paech, Palmer, and Adrian Bormann, Mannum, with Coopers Farm Supplies' Craig John.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/3AVQXXVxehY6aUCkmGUt6Z2/0e311b52-5c44-468b-ba42-fe9cb3fcb61c.jpg/r269_831_2969_2316_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
![BEST BARLEY: Colin Wachtel and Robert Wagenknecht, Palmer, with their champion and quality barley trophies and Platinum Ag Services' Steve Hein. Photos: ZOE STARKEY BEST BARLEY: Colin Wachtel and Robert Wagenknecht, Palmer, with their champion and quality barley trophies and Platinum Ag Services' Steve Hein. Photos: ZOE STARKEY](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/3AVQXXVxehY6aUCkmGUt6Z2/25facfe0-8e9f-4b0a-987d-a81835d6a4e2.jpg/r178_676_2411_1771_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)