GRDC Podcast

Growers in the north could consider fungicide resistance less of a threat than growers in the south and west, however there is no room for complacency. As Professor Levente Kiss from the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Crop Health points out in this podcast, as long as there are fungal crop diseases there is a risk of fungal resistance.

Barley, wheat and pulses can all be affected. Northern growers need to appreciate the importance of rotating and mixing fungicides, including as seed treatments, in order not to encourage fungicide resistance in important diseases such as barley net blotches, mung bean powdery mildew, wheat powdery mildew and septoria tritici blotch.

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Some ground breaking research has resulted in a breakthrough for growers and agronomists wanting to measure the potential impact of disease on yield. A national network of trials over five years will result in a new ability to quickly and accurately assess potential disease impact on some of the more popular cereal varieties.

On this podcast we look at the results of that research and also how it all came about and salute the hard work of the many agronomists, scientists and biometricians involved.

Useful resources:

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/grains/prototype-yield-loss-disease-model-online-tool

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Farmers across the Western Region are using a variety of stubble strategies to protect soil moisture over summer and to protect those soils from harsh winds. Noel Keding has taken stubble strategies to the next level using a stripper front on his cereals.

Noel has some experience using stripper fronts in both low and higher rainfall environments, so his experience may help other growers who are wondering whether stripper fronts might be an option.

On this podcast Noel talks about the advantages of using stripper fronts in his experience including significantly greater harvest efficiency but also some of the challenges such as getting the crop germinated and out of the ground because of the extra shading from the straw.

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Losing just one millimetre of topsoil in a wind erosion event can result in significant changes to soil fertility and cause yield losses in subsequent crops of up to six per cent. But there are some measures growers can take to protect their topsoil and reduce the impact of severe wind.

In this podcast, Cropfacts consultant Harm van Rees, Agronomy Solutions director Sean Mason and South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions consultant Mary-Anne Young join in a discussion on dealing with the effects of wind erosion via ongoing soil management or tactics when multiple dry seasons have ruled out other options.

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The GRDC has for the first time committed to a multi-million-dollar global investment into dedicated research programs to address crop production constraints and the opportunities machine learning can provide, with the aim of driving profitability gains for Australian grain growers. Nine “use-cases” will form the core of the investment which will involve national and international research partners.

Contact:

Tom Giles Senior Manager, Enabling Technologies Grains Research and Development Corporation

T: 08 8198 8400

W: www.grdc.com.au

E: [email protected]

Useful resources:

GroundCover Supplement: https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/innovation/industry-insights/machine-learning-set-to-offer-new-solutions-to-grains-industrys-challenges

Update Paper 2021: https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2021/02/examples-of-using-machine-learning-for-mapping-soil-constraints-and-soil-moisture-to-support-improved-decision-making

Update Paper 2020: https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2020/02/lasers,-machine-learning,-weed-recognition-and-new-innovations-in-weed-management

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Online Farm Trials (OFT) is a website that contains a wealth of cropping data from the nation’s leading research organisations, and it’s proving to be an invaluable resource for both growers and researchers alike.

This podcast shares how growers can use the platform to make informed management decisions, and how research organisations can benefit from getting involved and contributing trial information.

This podcast features Federation University OFT project lead Nathan Robinson, GRDC emerging technologies officer John Rivers and Denielle Smith from Northern Growers Alliance. The OFT platform is a GRDC and Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation collaboration.

It hosts a range of past and present research trials undertaken and contributed by a range of grower and farming systems groups, government researchers, universities and private industry throughout Australia.

Contact:

John Rivers

[email protected]

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Changing rainfall patterns in the drier parts of the western region have prompted a rethink of strategies for grower Clint Della Bosca.

On this podcast focusing on stubble management in Western Australia, Clint talks about the vital importance of stubble in his system as weather patterns unfamiliar to his area begin to emerge.

Clint is undertaking a soil amelioration program while adjusting to less rainfall overall and during the growing season which makes conserving moisture and protecting topsoil from wind erosion top priorities.

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Plant Available Water, is key to determining potential crop yield. It’s also the basis for sowing decisions and fertiliser applications. Many things affect how much stored soil water is available, rainfall before and during the growing season, infiltration, evaporation and transpiration. And then there’s Plant Available Water Capacity, which is the total amount of water a soil can store and release to a crop which differs depending on the crop.

Contact:

Brett Cocks, CSIRO Agriculture and Food

07 4571 3280 / 0427 583 7564

[email protected]

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As many Western and Southern region grain growers start preparations for sowing this year’s winter crops, there are still a few areas in the eastern states northern region where late sown summer crops such as sorghum are still standing. In this podcast you’ll hear from a leading authority on Mouse behaviour and management, about the challenges facing growers yet to harvest and those needing to plan a mouse baiting strategy pre-sowing.

Contact:

Steve Henry

e: [email protected]

Resources:

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/mouse-control

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Foliar diseases are a major constraint to profitable barley production across Australia, affecting both yield and quality. In this podcast, senior plant pathologist Dr. Lisle Snyman from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland discusses the presence and spread of barley foliar pathogens across Australia's growing regions.

Dr Snyman was part of the barley foliar pathogen project. The four-year GRDC investment successfully characterised major barley pathogens in Australia and identified effective resistance genes from around the world.

Part two of this podcast focuses on a new three-year research initiative that is leveraging the findings from this completed research, by progressing the most promising NFNB, SFNB and scald resistance genes for use in Australian breeding programs.

Contact:

Lisle Snyman, DAF

[email protected]

More information:

Barley foliar pathogens – the global search for resistance video https://youtu.be/J06bS6sgqCQ

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