THE Department of Agriculture and Food’s (DAFWA) 103rd annual Merredin Research Facility field day on September 21 will highlight a selection of field trials and discussions around the theme of pushing the envelope.
Development officer Greg Shea said visitors would be able to absorb the latest grains research information, which continued to challenge conventions and optimise yields and profit margins.
Mr Shea said one of the highlights would be a presentation by Dr Lee Hickey, from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, on the potential for new lines of deep rooting barley.
Mr Shea said Dr Hickey’s research team had discovered key genes in wheat and barley that direct root growth downwards to access nutrients and moisture deep in the soil profile.
“Department senior research officer Blakely Paynter is working on a scoping study with Dr Hickey to explore the potential for the deep rooting trait to be included in future varieties suited to the WA environment,” Mr Shea said.
“The study includes a small sample of 22 lines of germplasm from Queensland planted in plots at the Muresk Institute, Wongan Hills and Merredin, alongside control lines including La Trobe, Baudin and Compass.
“While it is early days, Dr Hickey’s talk will provide an insight into how the inclusion of the deep rooting trait could result in plants being able to extract more moisture from depth, extending the grain filling period and thereby increasing grain yield potential.”
Field day visitors will also be able to see first-hand what the deep rooting trait looks like in seedlings potted in transparent garden pots to measure the direction of root growth in seedlings. A bus tour will include visits to research plots, including early sown wheat and canola trials and an in furrow fungicide to suppress soil borne diseases by Syngenta.
“A time of sowing trial will be very instructive, showing very early sown canola and wheat, as most of the district had April sowing opportunities,” Mr Shea said.
“Research officer Shahab Pathan will also discuss a trial that examines the benefits of deep ripping for canola and the use of inclusion plates on the ripper.
“Break crops will be another interesting topic, including the latest agronomic information for chickpea and field pea varieties.
“Participants will visit the department’s Managed Environment Facility to hear from the CSIRO about a pre-breeding trial using plant material that has a longer coleoptile length.”
Mr Shea said the trials reflected the department’s strong relationship with local grower groups and agribusinesses in the eastern grainbelt, including the Merredin and Districts Farm Improvement Group (MADFIG).
“The field day provides a unique opportunity for local growers and those from further afield to discover the cutting edge research undertaken at Merredin by the department and its partners, including the CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation,” he said.
To register: email vince.lambert@agric.wa.gov.au, text to 0428 916 918 or call 9081 3111.
In other farming news national canola production is expected to rise nine per cent year on year, based on Australian Oilseed Federation (AOF) forecasts, but industry experts are concerned about high levels of the fungal disease blackleg.
The AOF has forecast a crop of 3.44 million tonnes, up from 3.1mt last year, but the threat of blackleg is a major concern.
Trent Potter, AOF vice president, said the crop in fantastic condition over much of the country, but added blackleg infections were at unprecedented levels through South Australia, Victoria and southern NSW in particular.
“I’ve been involved in the canola industry for around 40 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.” He said there were reports of stem and flower infection.