Planting slow maturing varieties to take advantage of early rain can potentially improve wheat yields in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

That’s what a CSIRO trial is hoping to demonstrate for WA grain growers as it expands its trials in the West.

Project manager James Hunt said he was excited to see how the trial will progress in Cunderdin on September 2 at the WANTFA Spring Field Day.

“There aren’t many trials in WA on this so we are excited to see how they go,” Dr Hunt said.

“At the WANTFA Spring Field Day we expect to see a diverse range of growth stages in the trial, some are out in head now, some will be flowering in spring and some will be getting cooked by the end of the season.”

“It will be good to look at flowering dates and at the field day the varieties that are booting will be good to look at trialling further in WA.

The GRDC funded research in NSW has shown that slow maturing varieties sown early, into wet soil, tend to yield more than mid-fast season varieties sown later, even when they flower at the same time due to better root depth and water use efficiency of early sowing.

“I’m hoping to see the slow maturing varieties sown early doing better than the fast maturing varieties like Mace sown in May, which is what we have found in NSW,” Dr Hunt said.

In WA as farm sizes expand, getting cropping programs in the ground and established at the right time can be difficult. While direct drilling and dry sowing has improved sowing efficiency in WA, Dr Hunt said there were still opportunities to boost yield if rain falls in March and April.

Farmers in WA already sowing early with slow maturing wheat varieties like Wedgetail generally are doing so for grazing, however Dr Hunt said more research on slow maturing varieties in WA was necessary to determine which varieties work best.

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An early sown fast maturing wheat variety at anthesis in July. For early sowing, slow maturing varieties should be used. A CSIRO trial at the WANTFA site in Cunderdin is investigating the potential risks and rewards of early sowing of slow maturing varieties. Photo: Lauren Celenza

Contact WANTFA Media

Lauren Celenza

0419 908 793

lauren.celenza@wantfa.com.au

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