VOLUME
03
1
February
2014
QUARTERLY
COMMUNICATION
FOR AGRICULTURE
IN THE SA MALLEE
this issue:
P.
No
Pulse crops in the
northern Mallee
2
Mapping Brome grass
proves difficult
3
Soil moisture probes
already showing
interesting results
4
Sustainable Focus
Farms & Geosys
5
Coomandook water
security tour
6
Specific group I
chemical requirements
you need to know!
6
Bushfires; Biodiversity
& People
7
Upcoming events
8
Congratulations to
Jeff Evans, Wunkar,
for winning the Mallee
Matters competition
last year!
Mallee Matters
Betting on pulse crops in the
northern Mallee
Contributed by Michael Moodie, Nigel Wilhelm &
Todd McDonald
The value of break crops in cropping
rotations has been evident over the past
few seasons in the Northern Mallee.
However selecting which break crop to
grow, especially pulse crops, is challenging as there is very little trial information
on the performance of break crops and
varieties.
To address this, Mallee Sustainable
Farming (MSF) with funding from GRDC
implemented two ‘Best Bet Pulse Crop
Demonstration Trials’ in 2013 to provide
farmers with more information on the
productivity of legume break crops and
varieties in the northern Mallee region.
About the trial
Two trial sites were established in 2013
near Mildura and Ouyen. Each trial had
12 treatments which covered seven
different legume crop types (Table 1).
Varieties were selected after consultation with industry experts to determine
which varieties for each of the pulse
crops were likely to be best adapted to
the northern Mallee cropping region.
Both sites were on a sandy loam soil
although the Ouyen site had a small
amount of rubbly limestone on the surface. Due to a very dry summer, it is
assumed that there was very little plant
available soil water prior to sowing.
TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Pulse production was generally
much higher at the Mildura site
than the Ouyen site

Field pea was the best yielding
pulse crop at both sites

Selecting the right crop was
more important than selecting
the best variety

Field pea, lupins and faba beans
had the greatest biomass
production
Table 1. The pulse crops and varieties for
each crop type included in the trial
Crop
Field Pea
Varieties
Twilight
Wharton
Pearl
Chickpea
Striker
Genesis 090
Genesis 079
Narrow Leaf Lupin
Mandelup
Albus Lupin
Luxor
Vetch
Rasina
Volga
Faba Bean
Farah
Lentil
Bolt
Continued page 2...
Volume 2, Issue 4
2
The Mildura site was sown dry on the 15th of
May and the Ouyen Site was dry sown on the
20th of May 2014. Both trials were sown into
standing cereal stubble with No-Till plot seeders
with tynes and press wheels. Glyphosate and
Trifluralin (1.5 L/ha each) and 700 (g/ha) of
Terbyne® were applied prior to sowing and 300
g/ha of Terbyne® was applied post sow preemergent. Fertiliser (19-13-0-9) was banded below the seed at 50 kg/ha. No in-crop fungicides
were required due to a dry growing season,
however 300 ml/ha of Alpha-Cypermethrin insecticide was applied on the 14th of September
to control Native Budworm.
Both sites received approximately 150 mm of
growing season rainfall with approximately
90mm of this rain falling in the early winter (May
-June-July) period. As a consequence of the early season rain, Bolt lentils were severely damaged by Terbyne® herbicide washing into the
seed row, therefore no results for lentils were
obtained.
Biomass was also measured for each treatment in both
trials at pod fill. The biomass of legumes such as pulse
crops is critical is it is a key determinant of nitrogen
fixation. As a general rule, 15 – 25 kilograms of nitrogen is fixed per tonne of above ground legume dry
matter produced. Twilight and Wharton field pea produced some of the highest biomass levels at both sites
at around 2500 kg/ha at Mildura and 1500 kg/ha at
Ouyen. Mandelup lupins produced high biomass at
Mildura but poor levels of biomass at Ouyen where
the soils were slightly heavier with some surface limestone. Luxor lupins and Farah faba beans are not normally grown in the Mallee, however both produced
reasonable levels of biomass compared to the rest at
both locations. Further assessment is required, but
both could be looked at as brown manure crop options
because early vigour of both crops was impressive due
to their very large seed size. Biomass production of
vetch (Rasina and Volga) was poor at both sites, however vetch is known to struggle in late breaks like the
one experienced in 2013.
Results
The productivity of most pulse crops was substantially better at the Mildura site than at the
Ouyen site. The three field pea varieties were
the highest yielders at each site with Twilight the
highest yielding treatment at both Mildura (1.3
t/ha) and Ouyen (0.6 t/ha). Mandelup lupins
and Striker and Genesis 090 chickpeas also performed well at Mildura (> 0.8 t/ha) and were
among the better yielders at Ouyen although
yields were still poor. As shown in Figure 1, selecting the best suited crop type had a greater
impact on yield than selecting the best variety
within a pulse crop type.
Figure 2. Biomass (kg dry-matter/ha) at pod fill of pulse
crops and varieties grown at Ouyen and Mildura in 2013
Figure 1. Grain yield (t/ha) of pulse crops and varieties grown at
Ouyen and Mildura in 2013
Further Information
These trials were conducted as part of the Mallee
Low Rainfall Crop Sequencing Project. These trials
will continue in 2014 so visit www.msfp.org.au to
keep informed on the location and progress of the
trials.
The Mallee Low Rainfall Crop Sequencing Project is a
collaboration between MSF and SARDI with funding
from the GRDC. For more information contact
Michael Moodie [email protected] or
0448612892.
Page 2
Page 2
3
Mapping
Brome grass proves difficult
in the Mallee
Last season mapping brome grass was done as part
of the SAGIT funded project called Managing brome
grass in Mallee no-till cropping systems.
The aim was to test if current NDVI scanners can be
used to pick up weed patches in crop. The potential
benefit of this being that brome patches could be
mapped and the maps used for more accurate patch
spraying of post emergent herbicides or expensive
pre-emergent herbicides.
If mapping weeds was successful, the effect of management practice and rotation on weed density
could be measured quickly and easily.
There has been some success in the past using this
method to map weed patches in break crops like
lentils, chickpeas and canola but less so in cereals.
How was the mapping done?
Five farmer paddocks were chosen across the Mallee
with sites at Loxton, Pinnaroo, Mindarie, Lameroo
and Younghusband.
A ute mounted sensor measured the NDVI across
all paddocks. Crop types were Scope barley, Kord
wheat and lupins, all at the 2-3 leaf stage.
These paddocks were scanned twice, first on the
28-29 May where much of the brome grass present was at the one leaf stage. Paddocks were
again mapped 14-15 June to measure later crop
growth and brome emergence.
Manual brome plant counts were also taken in
early July at all sites in order to help ground truth
the results.
Page 3
Take Home Messages

The current technology sensors are good at, yet limited to, detecting variability in green leaf area.

In circumstances where crop growth is uniform there
is opportunity to pick up weed patches, as these areas
would show a greater density (higher NDVI) on a map
indicating more growth.

However, Mallee crops are often highly variable due to
variable soil types within paddocks and in most
circumstances the variability in crop growth will be
too great and confound any variability observed in
changing weed density.

In many paddocks there is often a trend for the higher
weed populations to be growing where the crop is less
vigorous. This has been observed with both brome and
ryegrass, in the Mallee, Mid North and YP. This
suggests that the weeds proliferate more where there
is less crop competition. It also suggests that improved
crop vigour and competition with the weeds will aid in
reducing those numbers and eliminating the patches.

Improving crop vigour will depend on the constraint,
but options may include soil amelioration, increased
sowing rates, improved crop establishment and
improved crop nutrition.
Assessment
In summary the NDVI maps
site
did not help to build a good
Pt 1
picture of where weed patches may be found in Mallee
Pt 2
paddocks but new technoloPt 3
gy is on the horizon. Weed ID
Pt 4
sensors that can differentiPt 5
ate between plant species
Pt 6
are currently being develPt 7
oped in Germany.
Pt 8
Pt 9
Sam Trengove ready
Pt 10
to map the lupin
Pt 11
paddock using a ute
Pt 12
mounted sensor
Pt 13
Pt 14
Pt 15
Pt 16
Pt 17
Pt 18
Pt 19
Pt 20
Map and NDVI table from Robert Pocock’s lupin crop—the areas of low NDVI
Pt 21
tended to show up on the sandier soil rises where there was less crop growth.
Pt 22

NDVI
0.106
0.105
0.112
0.111
0.113
0.117
0.117
0.116
0.123
0.122
0.123
0.129
0.128
0.127
0.133
0.13
0.133
0.136
0.137
0.147
0.149
0.169
Brome
(plants/m2)
17
37
0
7
30
0
3
7
3
0
120
0
20
0
190
83
203
67
173
153
193
67
4
Soil moisture probes already showing interesting resultsMallee challenge update
While it has been a very hot and dry summer across the Mallee, soil moisture probes installed at a number of
Mallee Challenge paddock sites last November are already showing some interesting results.
For instance, in one paddock sown to vetch in 2013 near Alawoona, there are 2 probes, one in the sand and one on
the flat. Just under 20mm fell about 3rd-4th December.
20mm rainfall early Dec penetrated to 30cm in sand, and was preserved
through summer weed control
70cm
30cm
50cm
10cm
The graph above shows the effect on soil profile of the sandy site, with moisture clearly passing through the topsoil
through to the 30cm sensor, with a delayed slight rise in the 50cm moisture level. The moisture gain at 10cm
lasted about 35 days before being lost to evaporation, while the levels at 30cm and 50cm have essentially
remained constant.
20mm rainfall early Dec only registered in the 10cm sensor in the
loamy flat, and was all lost to evaporation after about 40 days.
30cm
10cm
50cm
On the heavier soil of the flat the vast majority of the moisture is captured in the first sensor (10cm) with only a
very slight and delayed change to the 30cm sensor reading. This surface moisture rise appears to have lasted
approximately 40 days.
This suggests that moisture stored below 30cm on this sand can be safely stored here, even with the extreme heat
waves experienced in mid Jan. Heavier soils that have a greater potential for capillary rise may tell a different
story. Interestingly, another unsprayed site which had grazed skeleton weed present was losing moisture that had
penetrated to 50cm.
While summer weeds at this site have been controlled, (the moisture from the single 20mm ran event was still
eventually lost), there is still an argument for keeping the surface soil wetter for longer by spraying summer weeds
and stubble retention. This allows for soil microbes to be active for longer mineralizing more nitrogen and more so
on the heavier soils. The majority of Mallee Challenge sites and treatments will be tested for available N and
moisture prior to seeding.
In the early days of MSF trials at Waikerie, uncontrolled potato weed on some plots drew the soil moisture profile
down about 30mm lower that the wheat crop lower limit. This essentially means that unless the following season
was exceptionally wet, that soil had already lost about 0.6t/ha in yield potential, and the ability for plants to access
deeper moisture in Sept/Oct when it is really needed to finish off.
Page 4
5
These site results also suggest that in some years where rain events only penetrate to 30cm depth, summer weed control
may only be conserving useful moisture on sandy soils rather than the flats. However, when there are larger rainfall
events, heavier soil types are able to hold much more usable moisture at depth, unless they have high levels of subsoil
constraints.
When fully set up, there will be 9 Mallee Challenge sites with about 18 probes across various soil types and treatments.
Some of these are with the NRM paddock Weather Stations which automatically feed data to accessible Websites.
As this project progresses (in conjunction with the SAMDB NRM Weather Station and Moisture Probe project managed
by Jeremy Nelson) it is hoped that more farmers will be able to utilize this data in practical ways that relate to their own
farms, and therefore make more informed management decisions, such as sowing and variety decisions, fertilizer
applications, weed control strategies and the risks or certainties involved.
For example, if you know that a certain soil type has 30mm of plant available moisture in mid-August, and it is being used
at 0.8mm/day, are you more likely to target a required N application here, rather than other areas that may not be as
favorable.
It’s early days yet, and there is much more to uncover, so watch this space!
Mallee Challenge is a collaboration of projects funded through
MSF, Caring for our Country and the SA MDB NRM.
It aims to give farmers the opportunity to conduct paddock
demos relevant to them, their local farmer groups and the
wider region. The aim is to better understand systems and new
technologies by testing how they can most practically apply to
their situations.
There will be a total of 12 Mallee Challenge sites across the
Mallee, dealing with issues such as the value of different break
crops, no-till seeding into pastures, variable rate farming, nonwetting sands, nutrition strategies and decision support.
Mallee Challenge is being managed by Chris McDonough,
Rural Solutions SA at Loxton who can be contacted on
0408085393 for more information.
Probe installer Geoff Flight shows Alawoona farmer Dean
Wormald how to download data from moisture probe.
Sustainable Focus Farms & Geosys
The SA Murray Darling Basin NRM Board is funding a new
project, Sustainable Focus Farms 2014. This 12 month
project aims to increase the confidence of growers in the
SA Mallee to use precision agriculture in managing their
land resource.
The project will use historical biomass imagery to improve
natural resource management on 12 focus farms in the
region. This will occur by piloting a remote sensing NDVI
(Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) platform called
Geosys, run by Rural Directions Pty Ltd.
Management zones will be identified on each of the focus
farms which may reflect differences in soil type, clayed or
delved ground, weed patches, salinity or nutritional issues.
The project will then involve soil testing and conducting
variable rate trial strips to improve production of the
different zones.
Keep an eye out for local
workshops which will be held
in the Mallee region during
2014.
These workshops will
discuss the different focus
paddocks, the issues in
different management zones, and what approaches are
being used to overcome them.
For more information or to get involved please contact
Claire Gutsche from Rural Directions Pty Ltd on
08 8841 4500 or email [email protected]
Page 5
6
Coomandook water security tour
The Coorong-Tatiara Local Action Planning (LAP) and Coomandook Ag Bureau, hosted a Water Security Tour on 5
February. The tour proved to be very popular with 100
farmers in attendance.
Due to the saline ground water in the area, over one
million hectares of agricultural land in the Coomandook
area is reliant on SA Water to supply stock and domestic
water needs.
As a result, there is much concern over the rising cost of
mains water with many farmers quoting annual water
costs of $60,000 to $80,000. These costs have nearly
doubled over the past four years, adding extra pressure to
the farming operation.
Coorong-Tatiara LAP Project Officer Tracey Strugnell said,
there isn’t much landholders can do about the cost of
water, but they can make changes on farm to improve
their water use efficiency.
The aim of the day was to demonstrate how different
options for managing their farm water could ultimately
reduce the cost of their water bills.
“The water security day allows farmers to see the
technology in practice, and consider applying these
techniques on their farms, improving their long-term
water security,” Tracey said.
Some of the options demonstrated on the day included;
leak detection units, solar pumps, desalination units and
discussions on sheeted water catchments.
Leak detection units are able to greatly reduce the amount
of water wastage on farm. The units are attached to the
water meter which allows water usage to be easily monitored from one point, rather than having to physically visit
each meter.
The units are set to alert the farmer, through text message
or email, of any abnormal water output which may
indicate damaged water infrastructure. This allows the
fault to be located and rectified before there is excessive
water wastage, saving the farmer on his water bill.
The Water Security Tour has been a huge
success. If you would like to see a similar
workshop in your area, please contact Natural Resources South Australian MurrayDarling Basin Regional Landcare Facilitator,
Rachel May on mobile phone 0408 416 684.
Specific Group I chemical requirements
you need to know!
There are now new Group I (eye) herbicide regulations in
place, introduced in September 2013, that need to be followed. It’s important not to assume Group I herbicides are
like any other chemicals. These herbicides require the user
(person operating the boom spray) to have a Prescribed
Chemical Users (PCU) training accreditation.
Most producers will already have completed this training or
a refresher course from one of the seven current SA training providers. (See link on PIRSA Website training).
It is also necessary for the user to keep specific records as
described in the table over the page.
This is not a requirement for any other chemical group except for Schedule 7 chemicals which also require a PCU
training accreditation.
Page 6
Audits in the coming months will specifically target
Group I herbicide users and producers need to be
able to produce evidence that the user has a PCU
training accreditation and that the records are accurate and complete.
At this stage, there have been few reports of chemical trespass (spray drift) from across the state
largely due to dry conditions and minimal spraying.
With a few months to go before the end of the
summer weed control period, produces need to
remain vigilant and follow best practice. A copy of
the Code of Practice for Summer Weed Spraying
can be downloaded along with other useful information from the PIRSA Web site.
Continued p7...
Specific Group I chemical requirements you need to know!
7
Required records for Group I chemicals
Users and property
User name
Equipment
Equipment type
User address
Nozzle type & flow rate
User contact number
Property owner
(if different to user)
Address
Contact number
Spray pressure
Spray volume (L/Ha)
Travel speed
Date applied (retain records 2 years from this
date)
Product
Paddock location or
identification
Product name
(including adjuvants)
Product rate / ha
Crop or situation
Weather
Spray time A or P M
Wind speed km/hr
Wind direction
Temp (°C)
Area treated (ha)
Further information is available at PIRSA Biosecurity Rural Chemical Operations Web site
http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/biosecuritysa/ruralchem
To report chemical misuse contact the Chemical Misuse Hotline: 1300 799 684
Bushfires, biodiversity & people
Recent fires have burnt large areas across the MurrayDarling Basin Region. These fires have impacted on
large reserves as well as many rural properties.
Billiatt District includes some of the largest remnant
stands of pristine Mallee heath and shrub land habitat
in South Australia. In the Billiatt Wilderness Protection
Area, more than 98% of the area was burnt.
This is significant because it is a very large reserve
(~66,000ha) in a fragmented landscape and together
with neighbouring reserves and private land provides a
linking corridor. Large reserves such as these generally
support a higher diversity and abundance of less common species and are particularly important for species
who have large home ranges or are not well equipped
to move through fragmented landscapes. It is hoped
that such species will survive in unburnt patches within
or surrounding the park and return to the greater reserve when it recovers naturally from fire.
Every bushfire has an influence on fauna and flora depending on the intensity and frequency and fire
interval, resulting in localised changes to habitat. Some
vegetation communities are well adapted and benefit
from fire.
Recovery will be driven by the following rainfall, grazing
management programs to control rabbits and goats and
successful soil stabilisation.
what was already there. However, some species such
as the Mallee Emu-wren may require additional support to re-establish.
Bushfires will affect people in many ways, from those
who’s homes were damaged or destroyed to those
who lost property, stock, crops, water supplies, soils or
pastures.
If you have been affected by bush fires, support is
available not just immediately but also during the long
recovery process.
Land management support and advice is available at
your local Natural Resources Management Centre,
through a number of organisations including, Natural
Resources Murray-Darling Basin, Primary Industries
and Regions SA, and Local Action Planning groups.
For further information please contact the Murray
Bridge Natural Resources Centre on 85329100.
Recovery by plants that re-sprout will begin in
weeks. Plants that need to grow from seed will mostly
germinate in spring following winter rain. Others will
take several years before their habitat fully recovers.
For many of the threatened species at risk in these
landscapes, fire is both a threat and a requirement for
them. When these habitats recover they will likely provide quality habitat, and possibly an improvement on
Page 7
Upcoming Events
8
FEBRUARY
Wednesday 19th —MSF Annual Tri-State Research, Development & Extension Forum at the Tooleybuc
Club, NSW. Free event followed by dinner at 6pm, cost of dinner is $30pp. RSVP to Steph Haw 03 5021
9100
Friday 21st— 16th Annual SANTFA Conference, Barossa Arts & Convention Centre, Tanunda.
Registrations from 8.15-8.45am.
Tues 25th/ Wed 26th—GRDC Advisers Update, Adelaide Convention Centre. Starts 8.55am Tuesday.
Friday 28th—SPAA Precision Ag Expo, McCormick Centre, Renmark. Registrations from 9am
MARCH
MSF grower group meetings facilitated by Dodgshun & Medlin. For more info and confirmation of time &
venue contact Richard Saunders, 0419 853 089 or [email protected]
Tuesday 11th— Lowbank, 1- 4.30pm
Wednesday 12th—Lameroo, 1- 4.30pm
Thurs 13th or Tues 18th—Brown’s Well, 1—4.30pm
Wednesday 19th—Loxton, 1– 4.30pm
Friday 21st—Geranium, 1-4.30pm
Friday 28th—Coomandook Sustainable Ag Forum put on by the Mallee-Coorong NRM Group,
1.30-5.30pm followed by tea and sponsored by the Coorong Tatiara LAP.
Presentations on Sandy Soils, PA and soils, Herbicide Resistance, Biosecurity, Harvest Code of
Practice (GPSA) and burning permits. Informative and interactive.
RSVP to Helane Norman, 8578 1493.
This edition of Mallee Matters proudly sponsored by
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Although PIRSA has taken all reasonable care
in compiling this publication neither PIRSA
nor its officers accept any liability resulting
from the interpretation or use of the
information set out in this document.
Information contained in this document is
subject to change without notice.
Page 8
COPIES ON THE
WEB!
www.msfp.org.au
Mallee Matters Volume 3
Mallee Matters is edited and compiled by
Tanja Morgan Project Services
P : 0429 395 918
E: [email protected]
Summer 2014