April 26, 2017
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Burning a part of farming V
BY DEAN LAWSON
ictorian farmers leader David Jochinke is confident the benefits of widespread strategic paddock burn-offs across the region’s grain belt heavily outweigh costs.
Mr Jochinke, responding to community concern about the extent of the practice this autumn, said fire was playing a key role in sustainable and productive broadacre farm management. While acknowledging burning off was often far from ideal, Mr Jochinke said it had a critical place in dealing with serious pests such as mice and weeds as well as extensive stubble from last season’s heavy crops. “This practice, when done strategically, and I stress strategically, is necessary in ensuring farming communities can manage big seasons such as the one we have just had,” he said. “Farmers generally don’t like to burn because of the loss of ground cover and the potential for wind erosion, but circumstances are more acute this year than they have been in the past. “Burning off is a reality of the Wimmera and ironically having smoke around at this time of year is often reflective of above-average crops and yields.” Mr Jochinke said while burning off provided a cost-efficient way to clear the paddock landscape in preparation for the next season, it also had other
Picture: PAUL CARRACHER important crop-management roles. “Burning is a part of integrated farm management and while on the ground it might not look very strategic or scientific, it often reflects a great understanding of what’s needed,” he said. “There has been a lot of spilt grain in paddocks across the region and mouse numbers are building significantly. “Mice can completely wipe out a crop and other pests such as snails can drastically reduce a crop’s potential. “Cereal disease that can gain a foothold in residual straw can also knock a crop by up to 50 or 60 percent. “And then there are weeds – the most costly aspect of farm management through the use of chemicals. One burn can often solve a lot of these issues.”
Mr Jochinke said some farm machinery also was not suitable to deal with such high stubble loads. “In many cases, back in the 1970s, burning off was the only method farmers were using. This year there are even hard-core conservation farmers who are finding they have to include some burning purely to deal with the loading and the threat of crop disease and mice,” he said. “There are a lot of mice out there and removing stubble, cover and feed can mean the difference. “You only have to reflect back on the last mouse plague and how devastating it was. “I’m certainly not advocating that everyone burns every acre they have
– there has to be rationale behind the practice. “Agriculture is the main economic driver in our region and if we ignored burning as a management tool the costs and expense required for alternatives would seriously affect potential. “Many farmers were trying to complete their burns before last week’s rain and in many ways the inconvenience the burn-offs have created is an investment for the coming season and the economic viability of the region.” Some farmers across the region had already started sowing crops before a band of rain crossed the region last week. Others were waiting to see if the rain represented a seasonal break.
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National herbicide-sustainability organisation WeedSmart has alerted growers that the size of sown seed can be important in managing herbicide resistance. It has listed crop competition as an important strategy in its 10-point plan, adding it was not all about row width and seeding rate. Wagga Wagga-based NSW DPI research and development agronomist Rohan Brill, along with colleagues at Trangie and Tamworth, has been teasing apart whether the improved early performance of canola hybrids over open-pollinated cultivars came from the generally-larger seed size of hybrids or from hybrid vigour. “It seems that most of the improved early growth in hybrids lies in the larger seed size, with heterosis providing an additional benefit,” he said. “Our study showed that sowing large canola seed, regardless of the cultivar, was key to strong early crop growth and the crop’s ability to compete with weeds. “A 10 percent difference in seed diameter produces a 33 percent difference in seed volume.” For more information about managing herbicide resistance visit the Weedsmart website, www. weedsmart.org.au.
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Further data
Other work has focused on assessing sources of RWA plant resistance. A glasshouse experiment involving diverse germplasm from around the world was screened with RWA to determine potential sources of resistance that might be used in breeding new varieties. “Through assessing sources of resistance and the biotyping work, it appears we have access to germplasm with potential
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genetic resistance that could be developed through breeding to deliver Australian grain growers new resistant varieties, if that is considered to be an economically viable and sustainable approach to controlling RWA by commercial breeding companies,” Dr Du Fall said. “We are really getting on the front foot here to provide breeders and industry with all of the information necessary to make informed decisions on the most appropriate strategy to manage RWA as an endemic pest to south-eastern Australia.” Some of the germplasm screened exhibited higher levels of resistance than those of current commercial cultivars. Although the plant resistance research is generating encouraging insights, Dr Du Fall said it must be remembered while plant resistance had been deployed as a management strategy in areas of the world where RWA was a serious risk, the aphid had responded through the evolution of new biotypes attacking these resistant plants. While the introduction of RWA presents yet another pest for growers to control, experts supported by the GRDC believe it should be a manageable pest. More information on management of RWA and links to relevant resources are available on GRDC’s website at www. grdc.com.au.
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Now present in parts of Victoria, including the Wimmera, South Australia, Tasmania and southern New South Wales, the aphid, RWA, is the focus of an unprecedented level of GRDC-supported research aimed at helping the grains industry combat the pest. The GRDC has been investing in research to confirm susceptibility of commercial wheat and barley cultivars to RWA; assessing potential sources of plant resistance; determining aphid biotype; RWA biology, ecology and economic thresholds under Australian conditions; an investigation into alternate hosts for RWA; trials looking at insecticide efficacy; and development of practical resources for growers and advisers. GRDC disease traits manager Lauren Du Fall is overseeing key host resistance-related experiments – the first of their kind in Australia – being carried out by the South Australian Research and Development Institute and led by entomologists Greg Baker and Maarten van Helden.
One of those projects has involved assessing RWA susceptibility of current commercial varieties. “A total of 85 Australian commercial lines have been screened for RWA susceptibility at the seedling to tillering stage,” Dr Du Fall said. “A range of symptom expression was observed in a preliminary screen of a selection of current commercial bread wheat, barley and durum wheat varieties, indicating there might be a level of tolerance or resistance present in current commercial cultivars that could be further developed. “However, susceptibility to RWA is a complex assessment and further data will be required to confirm these results, assess the impact on yield and determine whether it will be valuable to provide resistance ratings of varieties.”
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Longerenong College has announced students Thomas Brady from Great Western and Brooke Saligari, Campbelltown, as its Driscoll AG Scholarship winners for 2017. The college announced the winners after a lengthy interview process involving 19 applications.
both receive $1500 this year and another $1500 at the start of next year to help pay their tuition fees at the college. College business development officer Donna Winfield said all applicants interviewed well and the college offered opportunities to pursue further support and work experience.
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Crop trials to provide insight BY CIARA CULLEN BIRCHIP CROPPING GROUP
B
irchip Cropping Group’s sowing program started in mid-March and wheat and canola trial crops are now well established at the Longerenong research site as a result of irrigation.
Wheat trials have been sown as part of a GRDC-funded project investigating the development of crop-management packages for early-sown, long-season wheat varieties. Each of the eight varieties, which are current and breeding lines, will be sown at four different times, and be subject to assessment during the season. Each variety is sown at the four timings and irrigated to ensure it gets established as required to determine the optimum time for sowing to avoid frost and heat events later in the season. Once the optimum sowing time has been determined, the roll-on benefits include improved logistics at sowing and harvest and a more balanced risk profile for the farm business. While sowing is about to get underway for Wimmera growers, the heavy stubble loads as a result of last year will be a challenge. There has been more burning this season as it is perceived to be the easiest way
to manage the heavy stubbles effectively. Another key strategy is to sow at a 15 to 19-degree angle to last year’s sowing rows, which improve seeder efficacy. More information on managing heavy stubble loads can be found on the GRDCfunded stubble initiative website – thestubbleproject.wordpress.com. The heavy stubble loads might also affect pre-emergent herbicide efficacy. BCG manages the heavy stubble loads by sowing perpendicular to the previous year and increases water rates to ensure there is good penetration to weeds. Farmers are encouraged to do the same this year. It is also the cheapest input to improve efficacy. CSIRO monitoring has reported an increase in mouse activity in Hopetoun and Horsham areas. BCG trials are replicated four times to allow statistics to be carried out, so if mice damage trials it jeopardises the results and the research can soon become redundant for one season, particularly time of sowing trials. As a result, BCG staff members are being vigilant with mice baiting, as should growers. Stubble and fence lines are great for harboring mice, so control of areas where there is known activity is critical.
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Bait snails now before they multiply CALL 03 5391 2106
Researchers are encouraging grain growers across southern Australia to bait for snails with the onset of moist autumn conditions before the pests start reproducing. Research suggests snails might be a significant problem in some areas this year as a result of above-average rain, high-yielding crops and subsequent large stubble load, in many parts of the southern cropping region in 2016. Well-timed baiting is essential to ensure an effective kill while snails are feeding and before they start breeding and laying eggs. South Australian Research and Development Institute researcher Helen DeGraaf, with work supported by Grains Research and Development Corporation, said now was an opportune time to apply snail baits. “The cool, damp evenings are activating the snails and there are fewer food sources available,” she said. Ms DeGraaf has been monitoring snail activity on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. She said she had observed in the mornings both round and conical snails moving up from the ground and attaching to stub-
Researcher Helen DeGraaf ble and weeds and hunkering down to wait out the warm day before reactivating at night. “We observed conical snails mating near Warooka, however no egg-laying was observed,” she said. “Surface soil appeared too dry to support egg laying, but we would expect eggs to appear soon after the next fall of rain.” Ms DeGraaf reminded growers to be mindful mice could interfere with snail baiting and vice versa – snails also eat mouse bait. Each bait was only effective on the target pest. “Dead snails, often in clusters, close to baits indicate that snail bait has reached its target. “If bait is disappearing but no
dead snails are evident, it’s likely that mice have taken the snail bait.” Ms DeGraaf said growers must ensure they applied a sufficient amount of snail bait. “About 25 to 30 baits a square metre improves your control by increasing the chance a snail will encounter a bait, while also accounting for the high populations of hungry snails,” she said. She said snails needed to feed and rehydrate before laying eggs. She said when snails were trying to lay eggs, they were less interested in eating the baits, so bait effectiveness was reduced. Research by Ms DeGraaf, undertaken as part of a new GRDCsupported project across the southern and western cropping regions, has found snail albumen glands, their reproductive organs, were increasing in size in late March and early April, which corresponded with higher moisture and dewier conditions. More information on snail control is available on a GRDC snail management fact sheet online at www.grdc.com.au/GRDCFS-SnailManagement and the GRDC snail identification and control back packet guide at www.grdc.com.au/BPG-SnailIdentificationAndControl.
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