Since January, rainfall at some locations in the north east of the Western Australian wheatbelt has exceeded 200mm (300mm in some places) with much of this falling in March. The bottom line: the soil was wet and it was only 1 April! Some were wondering "when do I start seeding? What if it doesn't rain again until June?"
The trial at Pindar was sown to compare the yield responses of six canola varieties sown at three sowing dates (9 April, 23 April and 12 May)
In theory, APSIM (and of course Yield Prophet) can model what will happen and quantify the risk of heat shock and/or frost. This trial will enable validation of Yield Prophet and support growers with variety decisions with early sowing opportunities.
This trial is one of a trial series conducted in 2015. In addition to this canola trial at Pindar there were wheat trials at Pindar and Yuna.
Trial details
| Sowing dates | 9 April into moist soil 23 April into moist soil with drying top soils 12 May into moist soil with drying top soil |
|---|---|
| Varieties | Bonito, Hyola 450TT, Hyola 559TT, Hyola 650TT, Stingray, Wahoo |
Preliminary Results
Establishment averaged 38, 37 and 28 plants/m2 for 9 April, 23 April and 12 May sowing (respectively).
Grain yield of canola varieties declined with delayed sowing and variety rankings differed at each sowing time (Table 2).
| Variety | 9 April sowing | 23 April sowing | 12 May sowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonito | 1.32 | 1.26 | 1.06 |
| Hyola 450TT | 1.69 | 1.52 | 1.16 |
| Hyola 559TT | 1.62 | 1.37 | 0.79 |
| Hyola 650TT | 1.95 | 1.57 | 1.01 |
| Stingray | 0.74 | 1.28 | 0.52 |
| Wahoo | 1.2 | 1.23 | 0.83 |
Bonito and Stingray were quicker developing varieties compared to Wahoo which was later developing (Table 3).
| Variety | 9 April sowing | 23 April sowing | 12 May sowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonito | 100 | 98 | 13 |
| Hyola 450TT | 100 | 90 | 8 |
| Hyola 559TT | 100 | 73 | 3 |
| Hyola 650TT | 95 | 53 | 3 |
| Stingray | 100 | 100 | 21 |
| Wahoo | 80 | 26 | 2 |
Acknowledgements
Financial support for this trial was provided by the Grains Research and Development Corporation's Regional Cropping Solutions Network in Western Australia. Yield Prophet reporting was managed by Richard Quinlan at PlanFarm. Steve Cosh, Trevor Bell and Larry Prosser from DAFWA's research support unit for trial managment and Melaine Kupsch for data management. Appreciation of the Mullewa Dryland Farming Initiative and the Thomas family for access to the trial site and hosting field day events.