Western Australia
June 16, 2016
Renewed grower interest in lentils is expected to make herbicide tolerance trials a key point of interest at the upcoming Grass Patch field walk.
The 19 July event will be delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Food in conjunction with the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA) and the Pulse Association of the South-East (PASE).
DAFWA senior research officer Mark Seymour said a range of trials would be on display, but a feature would be the chance to have an early stage look at lentil herbicide tolerance trials.
“Farmers in the Mallee area of Western Australia are expressing renewed interest in lentils as a result of improved prices and the release of new varieties,” Mr Seymour said.
“Since they were last widely grown in the area in the late 1990s, we have now seen varieties with improved tolerance to herbicide.
“Trials at Grass Patch will assess and demonstrate to growers the current range of tolerance available in lentils to sulfonlyurea (SU) carryover, imidazolamine (IMI) herbicides and herbicides registered for use on lentil crops.”
The trials form part of the tactical break crop agronomy project funded by the Grains Research Development Corporation and DAFWA.
Also on display at the field walk are trials assessing low fertiliser inputs on canola, wheat and barley agronomy; vetch variety trials, and weather and soil moisture monitoring.
Agronomic options for managing oat varieties for hay and grain, the tolerance of chickpea varieties to registered herbicides and the use of retained hybrid and Open Pollinated (OP) seed compared to commercial seed will also be discussed.
The field walk at Grass Patch will be held on Tuesday 19 July, starting from Leon Bowman’s property (Grass Patch Road) at 1pm.
For more information, contact Mr Seymour on 9083 1143 or mark.seymour@agric.wa.gov.au
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