Growers are set to get better variety recommendations faster through a new GRDC investment, INVITA, which is adding value to the National Variety Trial (NVT) program. The investment is led by Prof Scott Chapman from the University of Queensland (UQ) which is working in collaboration with Australian partner, CSIRO. The investment, INVITA, leverages off a major EU investment INVITE (Innovations in plant Variety Testing in Europe), a consortium led by INRA in France (INRA being the French equivalent of CSIRO). The main INVITE collaborator with INVITA is Prof Fred van Eeuwijk, a statistician from Wageningen University and Research (WUR), the world's number one agricultural university.

Until now, only limited information has been available about in-paddock summer weed distribution and abundance in Western Australia. However, a two-year survey, which will be completed in 2021, will provide hard numbers for the entire wheatbelt. The survey, completed with investment from the GRDC, has been coordinated by Albany-based agronomist Andrew Storrie, of AGRONOMO.

A new GRDC publication containing the latest research into canola production in Western Australia’s low rainfall zones is now available. This detailed GRDC publication also contains grower case studies outlining how growers manage their crops to get the best results in these challenging environments. In this podcast you’ll hear from one of those growers Tony Murfit, who farms near Merredin, about a three hour drive east of Perth. Debra Bishop travelled to the eastern grain belt to record this account of Tony Murfit’s experience as a canola grower.

Australia’s ongoing reliance on a limited range of chemicals has set a concerning trajectory for insecticide resistance. Integrated pest management (IPM) strategies play an important role in curbing future resistance cases, however there’s a strong social dynamic at play when it comes to growers and advisers adopting these strategies on-farm. In this podcast, Bruce Howie from C-Qual Agritelligence and Kelly Angel from Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) delve into the social dynamic of IPM and share how advisers can help drive positive long-term change. This podcast has been developed as part of the investment, "Supporting the sustainable use of insecticides and local on-farm implementation of IPM strategies in the GRDC southern region”. The investment aims to provide knowledge and skills to growers so they are equipped with a range of appropriate IPM strategies for their situations.

At the December 2020 Crop Protection Forum in Perth, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research scientist Ben Congdon spoke about the collaborative research effort underway to develop better proactive management strategies for Green Peach Aphid. GPA is a major vector for the transmission of Turnip yellows virus, a serious disease of canola crops which can result in yield losses of up to 46%.

Many decisions growers make are the result of trials undertaken to test any number of variables. These small plot trials are replicated and the results are reliable because they are small plots with little chance of spatial variability. However, the same analysis that is used to decide the results of small plot trials can not be transferred to large plot trials. On this podcast, Katia Stefanova and her colleagues from SAGI - West outline the problems with statistical analysis of large plot trials and the work being undertaken to solve the problem.

Calcareous soils are very common in the southern grain-growing region and cover 60% of the region’s cropping country. These soils are high in calcium carbonate, resulting in poor crop establishment and low grain yields compared to less hostile soils. But a new research initiative is set to improve the grain industry’s understanding of these soils and how they constrain crop yield and profitability. Behind the initiative is the Grains Research and Development Corporation in conjunction with the Co-operative Research Centre for high-performance soils, the Soil CRC. Also collaborating on this project are CSIRO, NSW DPI and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia. GRDC is investing 6.75 million dollars over 3 years in this initiative to build on previous research knowledge into calcareous soils.

The Kuhlmann family has been farming on the western side of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula for more than a hundred years. Peter Kuhlmann is the latest generation to farm the challenging calcareous soils in this part of the state. Like many growers, Peter has been keen to see more done to better understand these soils and has welcomed the new GRDC calcareous soils investment. The $6.75 million GRDC investment is an industry collaboration with the Soil CRC, CSIRO, Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, and the New South Wales DPI.

For grower James Heggaton who farms around Kojunup in Western Australia, stubble is a crucial part of his farming system but one that must be actively managed year on year. On this podcast, which is one of a limited series looking at how farmers are managing stubble across the western region, James explains the role of stubble in a climate where moisture retention is just one of the factors that guide his stubble system.

Stubble retention is practiced by farmers across the western cropping region for a variety of reasons. A special series of GRDC/West Australian No Tillage Farmers Association podcasts have been produced featuring growers and advisers who explain how stubble retention fits into their systems, the advantages it brings and how they manage the issues sometimes heavy stubble loads create. On this podcast we speak to Bill Crabtree, a well known champion of conservation agriculture, who talks to us about his experience farming in a low rainfall area and the role that stubble retention plays in his farming system.

For the past three years, researchers in Western Australia have been trialling innovative new pasture legume species suited to low to medium rainfall areas. The findings are clear - new species can overcome traditional barriers to use and deliver significant benefits to mixed farming enterprises. In this podcast, Professor John Howieson from Murdoch University discusses the research findings so far and shares how growers can use this insight to boost productivity and profitability on-farm. It’s all part significant $18 million-dollar dryland pasture legume research initiative being led by the GRDC.

The extraordinarily high winds experienced by growers around Geraldton in May 2020 emphasised the importance of retaining stubble as a means of protecting the soil. This podcast is one of a limited series looking at how farmers are managing stubble across the western region, brought to you by GRDC and the Wester Australian No Tillage Farmers Association. Farm consultant Craig Topham talks about the lessons learned from that wind event and about the importance of fitting stubble retention into your farming system and the benefits that can bring.

Now is the time of year to test your paddock for dispersive soil. Many soils in south-eastern Australia have naturally dispersive topsoils that are prone to compaction, temporary water-logging and reduced seedling emergence. In this podcast, NSW Department of Primary Industries research Dr Ehsan Tavakkoli shares a simple one-hour soil test that quickly tells growers if dispersion is an issue in their paddocks, allowing them to make informed gypsum application decisions.

Agricultural technology has a long way to go. That was the message mixed enterprise farmer and Nuffield scholar Andrew Slade delivered to those attending the 2020 Perth Grains Research Update. In this podcast, Andrew talks about what conclusions he came home with after his Nuffield study tour and what that means for the adoption of digital technology in the Australian farming sector.

When it comes calculating fertiliser toxicity risk in the paddock, the tools and resources available to growers haven’t really changed over the past 70 years. But exciting new research at the University of Adelaide is modernising our understanding and approach to this important industry issue. In this podcast, research lead Jacinta Dockerill shares the latest fertiliser toxicity research findings and insights.

“The next wave of productivity improvements will come from … the soil itself.” That’s a quotation from a valuable online resource for growers and their advisers – a series of E-books on improving the soils that make up Australia’s grains belt. The E-books are interactive and easy to digest and promise users a unique experience when it comes to learning and the application of the information for practical application of the knowledge. On this podcast we speak to one of the authors Associate Professor Fran Hoyle from The University of Western Australia.

Through the careful analysis of more than 18 years of paddock data, we now know that cropping weeds constantly evolve to evade all forms of weed control, including non-herbicide strategies. In this podcast, Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) research agronomist, Dr Mike Ashworth, discusses the evolution of annual ryegrass and wild radish in our cropping systems, and how this information can be used to make strategic weed management decisions.

Even though consultants haven’t traditionally seen discussions with growers about stress management and mental health as part of their role it actually makes good business sense. The ‘slow creep’ of drought-related stress is detrimental to growers if unaddressed, but supporting growers to understand and manage their stress helps to prevent developing mental health problems, while also supporting future relationships and business outcomes. Consultants are skilled to support grower’s decision-making, and this becomes crucial in adverse times to assist them to understand the facts, their options and ways of making informed decisions.

Rhizoctonia will cause yield losses especially where cereal crops have had a dry finish, but because this disease doesn’t like moist soils, those growers who have received late spring rains are unlikely to notice any impact. What this season does emphasise, however, is the need to monitor crops as what might appear completely healthy above ground could be significantly impacted below ground. One of the country’s leading authorities on rhizoctonia is Alan McKay, principal scientist soil biology and molecular diagnostics with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), which is the research division of the SA Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). In this podcast, Dr McKay discusses rhizoctonia identification and management.

An estimated 12.5 million hectares of sandy soils in southern and Western Australia are deemed at moderate and high risks of water repellence. In this podcast, researcher Dr Jack Desbiolles from the University of South Australia evaluates the effectiveness of available soil wetter chemistries and seeding tactics to improve crop productivity in non-wetting sandy soil. The research findings explored in this podcast are the result of two field trials that were run in 2018 and 2019, made possible through GRDC investment. The trials were conducted in a 270mm growing season rainfall zone at Murlong on the Eyre Peninsula, namely a soil wetter evaluation trial and a seeder strategy evaluation trial, aiming to compare a number of seeding strategies.

We all look for disease ratings when selecting a variety. Is it moderately resistant (MR) or moderately susceptible (MS)? What do MR and MS and all of the other designations actually mean? When it comes to pulses, in the past those ratings have meant different things to different people – but now a uniform description has been developed. Agriculture Victoria plant pathologist, John Fanning explains how it will work.

A key consideration when growing a cereal grain crop such as wheat is knowing a variety’s Optimal flowering period. With that knowledge sowing times can be planned to minimise risks such as frost damage and heat stress, and maximise crop productivity. But what happens when the Optimal Flowering Period moves, as a result of climate change.

Frost damage to Canola is a significant annual issue for the nation’s grains industry. Spring frosts in particular are the most economically damaging for growers as crop yields and quality are developing at this time. In this podcast NSW DPI crop physiologist and frost researcher Dr Rajneet Uppal discusses when and where to search within a canola crop for frost damage, how to identify pod damage and recommendation for minimising frost risk generally. Dr Uppal’s work is being conducted as part of the NSW DPI and GRDC Grains Agronomy and Pathology Partnership (GAPP). Her work is pioneering infield testing methodologies to help better understand the impacts; single and multiple frost events occurring at different growth stages in canola have on grain production.

Accessing the latest information on fungicide resistance has never been easier – thanks to the newly established Australian Fungicide Resistance Extension Network (AFREN). In this podcast, Dr Kylie Ireland from the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) discusses what the network has to offer, and the top five fungicide best management practices. AFREN has been established by the GRDC to develop and deliver a fungicide resistance management guide, workshops, information sessions and webinars, as well as crop-specific factsheets, updates and email alerts.