Field Pea’s stand out in Northern
Mallee pulse crop comparison trials
Michael Moodie1 , Nigel Wilhelm2 , Todd McDonald1
1
Mallee Sustainable Farming Mildura; 2SARDI Waite campus Adelaide
Why was the trial done?
The value of break crops in cropping rotations has been evident overthe past
few seasons in the Northern Mallee. 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 fromGRDC
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.
How was the trial done?
Two trial sites were established in 2013 near Mildura and Ouyen. Both sites were on a sandy loam
soil although the Ouyen site had a small amount of rubbly limestone on the surface. Each trial had
the following crops and varieties:
• Field Pea (Twilight, Wharton and Pearl)
• Chickpea (Striker, Genesis 090 and Genesis 079)
• Lupin (Narrow leaf: Mandelup and Albus: Luxor)
• Vetch (Rasina and Volga)
• Faba Bean (Farah)
• Lentil (Bolt)
The Mildura site was sown dry on the 15th of May and the Ouyen site was dry sown on the 20th of
May 2013.
Key messages
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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.
Vetch biomass production was low due to the late break.
Acknowledgements
These trials were conducted as part of the Mallee Low Rainfall Crop Sequencing Project which is a
collaboration between MSF and SARDI with funding from the GRDC.
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Background
The aim of these trials was to provide farmers and advisors in the northern Mallee region with
information on the productivity of the different pulse crops and varieties. This information is vital as
farmers are increasingly looking to include legume break crops in their cropping rotations, however
there is a lack of formal evaluation information for most break crops as opposed to cereal crops,where
information is generated through the National Variety Trial (NVT) system. Without trialssuchasthese,
the suitability of pulse crops and varieties to the northern Mallee region will only occurthroughfarmer
trial and error or ad hoc inclusion in research trials such as the Low Rainfall Crop Sequencing Trials.
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 consultationwith
industry experts to determine which varieties for each of the pulse crops were likely to be best
adapted to the northern Mallee cropping region.
Table 1. The pulse crops and varieties for each crop type included in the trial
Crop
Varieties
Fi el d Pea
Twi l i ght
Wha rton
Pea rl
Stri ker
Genes i s 090
Genes i s 079
Ma ndel up
Luxor
Ra s i na
Vol ga
Fa ra h
Bol t
Chi ckpea
Na rrow Lea f Lupi n
Al bus Lupi n
Vetch
Fa ba Bea n
Lenti l
Both sites were on a sandy loam soil although the Ouyen site had a small amount of rubbly limestone
on the surface. The soil analysis results for both sites is provided in Table 2. Due to a very drysummer,
it is assumed that there was very little plant available soil water prior to sowing.
Table 2. Soil Analysis results for the Ouyen and Mildura trial sites prior to sowing
Soil Parameter
2
Site
Ouyen
Mildura
Depth (cm)
0-10
10-30
30-60
0-10
10-30
30-60
Ammonium Nitrogen
mg/Kg
5
4
2
0
1
0
Nitrate Nitrogen
mg/Kg
8
3
1
4
1
0
Phosphorus Colwell
mg/Kg
22
11
2
16
7
2
Potassium Colwell
mg/Kg
200
191
215
274
281
189
Sulphur
mg/Kg
8.0
5.3
2.4
5.2
3.5
6.6
Organic Carbon
%
0.42
0.21
0.08
0.25
0.19
0.14
Conductivity
dS/m
0.092
0.089
0.090
0.081
0.081
0.091
pH Level (CaCl2)
pH
7.4
7.9
8.3
8
8.2
8.1
The Mildura site was sown dry on the 15th of May and the Ouyen Site was dry sown on the 20th of
May 2013. 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 appliedprior
to sowing and 300 g/ha of Terbyne® was applied post sow pre-emergent. Fertiliser (19-13-0-9) was
banded below the seed at 50 kg/ha. No in-crop fungicides were required due to a dry growingseason,
however 300 ml/ha of Alpha-Cypermethrin insecticide was applied on the 14th of Septembertocontrol
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 seasonrain,
Bolt lentils were severely damaged by Terbyne® herbicide washing into the seed row, therefore no
results for lentils were obtained.
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 1. Grain yield (t/ha) of pulse crops and varieties grown at Ouyen and Mildura in 2013
Biomass was also measured for each treatment in both trials at pod fill. The biomass of legumes such
as pulse crops is critical as 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.
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Figure 2. Biomass (kg dry-matter/ha) at pod fill of pulse crops and varieties grown at Ouyen and
Mildura in 2013
Implications for commercial practice
These trials were conducted as part of the Mallee Low Rainfall Crop Sequencing Project which has
shown big productivity benefits by including break crops in low rainfall cropping rotations. The aimof
these trials was to provide farmers with local relevant data about selecting pulse crops for their
farming systems. The key messages resulting from the 2013 trials were:
• 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
• Vetch biomass production was low due to the late break
These trials will continue in 2014 so visit www.msfp.org.au to keep informed on the location and
progress of the trials.
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