The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development have announced the state’s latest Canola Sowing Guide will feature 13 new varieties set to bring new opportunities for canola growers.
The 2019 Canola Variety Sowing Guide, produced with the Grains Research and Development Corporation, will feature commercial and agronomic information, draw on national variety trials and look at the latest blackleg testing results.
The department’s development officer Jackie Bucat said the varieties would bring new opportunities for growers, particularly with the release of two lines that are the first of their kind.
“The guide details the first variety to be released with tolerance to a combination of Clearfield and Triazine Tolerant herbicides, which can be sown following Clearfield crops or to broaden the weed control spectrum,” he said.
“The first varieties that incorporate the new TruFlex trait, which have a combination of glyphosate and triazine tolerance, Hyola 410XX and the ‘stacked’ variety, Hyola 530XT, are also profiled.
“Growers should note seed availability for TruFlex varieties, which allow for higher glyphosate rates and a wider application window, is pending regulatory approvals.”
The latest 2017 sowing figures show 78 per cent of plantings were to OP Triazine Tolerant varieties, with three varieties, ATR Bonito, ATR Stingray and ATR Mako, making up 70 per cent of the area sown.
Hybrid Triazine Tolerant varieties made up 2 per cent, bringing the total proportion of Triazine Tolerant canola up to 80 per cent, while Roundup Ready varieties made up 18 per cent.
Ms Bucat said the guide would be useful to growers sowing hybrid Triazine Tolerant and Roundup Ready varieties, as it could be difficult to assess the benefits.
“The guide has valuable information on disease and maturity ratings that will assist growers to evaluate which variety is best suited to their location and the 2019 season,” she said.
The guide contains the summary of yield, oil and blackleg resistance for all varieties and an overview of trial data and an update on blackleg resistance ratings.
This year’s guide will also feature a new section on calculating seeding rates, including the optimum canola density and expected field establishment.
It is understood the 2019 Canola Variety Sowing Guide for WA will be mailed shortly.
The publication is available via the department’s website at www.agric.wa.gov.au
