GRDC - Driving Agronomy Podcasts

A new pre-emergent herbicide – Sakura – has been released for the control of ryegrass in wheat crops. Professor Stephen Powles from the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative talks about how Sakura came about and the caution that grain growers must exercise when they introduce it into their chemical arsenal. Contact: Stephen Powles (08) 6488 7833

According to research out of Western Australia, farmers are only spreading about 40 percent of the lime that’s necessary to manage soil acidity, at an estimated annual lost production cost to growers of around $1.5 billion nationally. On this program, Chris Gazey from DAFWA talks about the importance of managing sub-soil acidity. Contact: Chris Gazey (08) 9690 2000. Email: chris.gazey@agric.wa.gov.au

Making sure snails don’t get into our grain supplies is important for all growers. Summer and Autumn are the perfect time to control snails if you have large populations. On this program, emtomologist, Dr Geoff Baker talks about seasonal control methods. Contact: Dr Geoff Baker (02) 6246 4406. Email: geoff.baker@csiro.au

In what could be a documented world first, an insect strongly resistant to phosphine has been eradicated from a farm in Western Australia. On this program Chris Newman from DAFWA explains how it was done. Contact: Chris Newman (08) 9366 2309. Email: chris.newman@agric.wa.gov.au

GRDC has developed a weed identification application for Iphones. On this program we find out what you can discover on the free GRDC weed app. Contact: Tom McCue (02) 6166 4500. Email: t.mccue@grdc.com.au

A new strategic plan is being developed and the first round of consultation is taking place now with R&D agencies. Consultation with growers will begin in February. The plan incorporates six key themes which will help focus research, development and extension to deliver the best outcomes for growers Contact: Stephen Thomas (02) 6155 4500 s.thomas@grdc.com.au

Grain and Graze 2 has been underway for around a year and the results of the first twelve months work are about to be compiled. On this program we find out about the Grain and Graze project and how farmers can become involved at a local level. Contact: Tanya Robinson (02) 6166 4500. Email: t.robinson@grdc.com.au

Brome grass has joined the list of weeds resistant to glyphosate. Resistant brome grass has been found on a farm in South Australia. On this program, Chris Preston reminds us of the need to adopt weed control measures that don’t only rely on glyphosate. Contact: Associate Professor Chris Preston (08) 8303 7237. Email: Christopher.preston@adelaide.edu.au

New varieties of vetch are being developed with improved grain and dry matter production making them more attractive as a dual purpose break crop. On this program, scientist Rade Matic outlines the benefits of vetch in terms of nitrogen production, increasing yield in following cereal crops and as a grazing option for livestock producers. Contact: Rade Matic 0408 826 550. Email: rade.matic@sa.gov.au

A team of scientists around Australia is working on a genetic answer to yellow spot disease which causes so much damage to Australian wheat crops. The team has uncovered 5 genes in Australian international germplasm which show resistance to yellow spot. While commercialisation is a long way off, considerable progress is being made in the pre-breeding phase funded by GRDC. Contact: Dr Manisha Shankar (08) 9368 3533. Email: mshankar@agric.wa.gov.au

A range of new pulse varieties have been released for next season. On this program we get an overview of what’s new for next year from Pulse Australia’s Gordon Cumming Contact: Gordon Cumming 0408 923 474. Email: pulse.gordon@bigpond.com

In Grant Beard’s words, he is trying to bridge the gap between weather forecasts and climate outlooks. His work on a new forecasting model will in time allow aggregated rainfall forecasts out to about four weeks – a big improvement on the current one week forecasts. Find out where things are up to on GRDC Driving Agronomy. Contact: Grant Beard (03) 9669 4527. Email: g.beard@bom.gov.au

As every Australian school child knows (or should know) William Farrer revolutionised Australia’s wheat industry by making European wheat grow in Australian conditions. What Farrar did was adjust the flowering time of wheat. His work continues to this day and on this program we speak with a modern day equivalent of William Farrar about the discovery of the flowering gene and what that will soon mean to Australian wheat growers. Contact: Ben Trevaskis (02) 6246 5045. Email: ben.trevaskis@csiro.au

It’s John Harvey’s mission to make the levy every grain grower pays the best investment they make year on year – better than shares, banks or property. Just how he will do that is the subject of this edition of GRDC Driving Agronomy. A key says John is adoption. Making sure that growers are able to translate the results of research into real and practical changes on farm. Contact: John Harvey (02) 61664500. Email: j.harvey@grdc.com.au

Conservation agriculture has been widely adopted for its capacity to store moisture in the soil. However, in years of surplus water conservation farming can aid the build up of disease inoculums. On this program, Richard Heath argues there’s a need for greater research in this area to help farmers make more science based management decisions, Contact: Richard Heath 0427 447 872