Early-sown crop options showcased at Millicent

Mr Poole, who is also Foundation for Arable Research Australia managing director, recently spoke at the SACTC field day near Millicent where attendees gained insight into the management of crops in the high rainfall zone.

He said the local trials were not looking at the benefits of early-sown crops but instead focused on "what to grow and how to grow it".

He said this was based on some years offering the opportunity to sow early with an early break.

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In its second year, the SACTC had sown 10 varieties of wheat - three spring and seven winter wheats - on April 16, earlier than last year's April 18 start date.

"The spring wheats develop too quickly and are at a disadvantage (for yields)," he said. "There are different rates of development but the sweet spot is the last 10 days of October for flowering."

He said the varieties used were based on the results at the Hyper Yielding Cereals project in Tas, as well as how they had performed at Millicent the year before.

The trial would allow growers to view the potential of international varieties in local conditions.

Mr Poole said European red winter feed wheat Annapurna, which last year reached yields of 10.61t/ha, was an example of a standout variety that was "just sitting on the shelf".

With high rainfall regions in the minority in Australia, he said there was less pressure for local breeders to cater for this market, but there were overseas varieties that could perform locally.

"Planet barley and Acrocc were never bred for Australian conditions, but they're performing very strongly," he said.

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Mr Poole said sowing early also provided the opportunity for mid-season grazing.

"Grazing can be part of system, but you need to recognise different between spring and winter (varieties)," he said.

He said last year some winter feed varieties yielded as much as 9 tonnes a hectare "even though we're taking 2000 kilograms of dry matter away early in spring" through grazing.

"Last year the most profitable was always the grazed option," he said.

But Mr Poole said a change in sowing time often needed a change in culture.

"There are different levers that can be pulled," he said.

"When looking at early-sown crops, the number of decision points become much more."

SELECTING the right variety can make a big difference when it comes to herbicide use and final yields, as last year's SACTC results showed.

Mr Poole said using three different management treatments demonstrated the impact of disease management in high rainfall and long season regions.

It compared three different management systems; a heavy emphasis on fungicide - including seed treatment and four fungicide applications; no fungicide use, and livestock grazing.

For spring wheat Trojan, the nil fungicide plot returned 4.84 tonnes a hectare, while the full fungicide treatment yielded 5.65t/ha.

Grazing helped eliminate some of the impact of frost on spring wheats, with a yield of 6.23t/ha.

Winter wheat Bennett yielded 6.96t/ha without fungicide, and 9.5t/ha when treated.

"There are high yields and high potential loss," Mr Poole said.

European red winter feed wheat variety Annapurna had some genetic resistance and returned 9.06t/ha without treatment, 9.12t/ha grazed, while the full fungicide led to 10.61t/ha.

Mr Poole said this proved the impact of germplasm.

"Whenever we can reduce inputs on-farm or herbicide products, it can extend the life of them," he said. "If we overuse them, we're going to lose them."