GRDC - Driving Agronomy Podcasts

GRDC has developed an extensive network of international collaboration on grains research. In this program we take a snapshot of one the research centres partly funded by GRDC – the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, CIMMYT in Mexico – from the perspective of the winners of the Way We Were Competition.

The ability of crops to withstand selective herbicide applications will vary according to the season. The National Herbicide Tolerance Program tests new and established cultivars for fertiliser sensitivity allowing growers to decide if they need to change their variety or change their herbicide. Further information can be found on the NVT website – www.nvtonline.com.au Contact: Rob Wheeler (08) 8303 9480 rob.wheeler@sa.gov.au

The system for collecting end point royalties, which are used to pay for plant breeding research, continues to evolve. GRDC has just released a new fact sheet on end point royalties and in this edition of GRDC Driving Agronomy the Chairman of the EPR Steering Group, Steve Jeffries, explains the current, much simplified, process and where he hopes the process will go in the near future. Contact: Steve Jeffries (08) 8303 6862

A new national working group has been formed to manage the more frequent occurrence of mouse plagues. On this program, the chair of the working group, Dr Simon Humphrys describes the role of the working group as well as offering advice to grain farmers facing a severe mouse plague this Spring. Contact: Simon Humphrys (08) 8357 1222 Email: simon.humphrys@invasiveanimals.com

There are many proven advantages to incorporating a break crop into a farming sequence. On this program we speak with Wayne Hawthorne from Pulse Australia and ask the question, what you grow, when you grow and importantly why you grow a break crop Contact: Wayne Hawthorne 0429 647 455 Email: pulse.wayne@bigpond.com

The winners of GRDC's The Way We Were competition have made their way to North America. We catch up with them in drought ravaged Texas

The winners of GRDC’s The Way We Were competition are currently visiting crop growing centres around the world. On this program, Northern Region winner, Anne Williams talks about her experiences during the European leg of the trip.

Cereal growers should understand their store of nitrogen reserves in the soil before applying in crop nitrogen. Nick Poole from the Foundation for Arable Research says nitrogen rates should vary from year to year both in their timing and rate, based on the previous season. He says growers should aim to grow a crop canopy that is an average of canopies over the previous 10 years. Contact: Nick Poole Email: poolen@far.org.au

A unique schools education program is helping scientists in Western Australia to map the spread of powdery mildew across the state. Students participating in Mildew Mania are providing valuable information to scientists at Curtin University that would otherwise prove expensive and time consuming to collect. Contact: Emma Donnelly (08) 9266 1021 Email: scienceoutreach@curtin.edu.au Website: http://science.curtin.edu.au/outreach/citizen-science.cfm

Spray application expert, Bill Gordon delivers some practical tips for more effective in-crop fungicide spraying in this edition of GRDC Driving Agronomy. Contact: Bill Gordon 0429 976 565 Email: bill.gordon@bigpond.com

New regional panels have been announced. On this program GRDC Chairman Keith Perrett outlines the role of panels and their importance to GRDC as a conduit of information to and from grain growers. Regional panels with the help of growers and agronomists identify research needs and translate those needs into research projects for consideration by GRDC. Contact: Keith Perrett (02) 6166 4500

Scientists have developed lines of wheat capable of reducing weed growth by up to 60 percent. The new wheats out compete weeds such as ryegrass and many broadleaf weeds because of their early vigour. Trials in weedy paddocks have seen them outperform existing varieties in yield response. There is strong interest amongst wheat breeders for these new lines of high early vigour wheats. Contact: Dr Gurjeet Gill (08) 8303 7744. Email: gurjeet.gill@adelaide.edu.au

A forum on variety selection will be held in August to discuss the role of science in making the step between agronomic performance in previous years to predicting profitability in future years. The forum, aimed at advisers, will be held in Adelaide, Birchip and Wagga Wagga. Further details are available from Belinda Cay on 0423 295 576 or email belindacay@baonline.com.au Contact: Jason Eglinton (08) 8303 6553 Email: jason.eglinton@adelaide.edu.au

New regional panels have been announced. On this program GRDC Chairman Keith Perrett outlines the role of panels and their importance to GRDC as a conduit of information to and from grain growers. Regional panels with the help of growers and agronomists identify research needs and translate those needs into research projects for consideration by GRDC. Contact: Keith Perrett (02) 6166 4500

While most farmers have moved to minimum or zero till and no longer plough their country, they are being urged to consider retaining occasional tillage as a means of overcoming some of the management issues associated with direct drill such as weed seed banks and deep placement of nutrients. Contact: Dr Mike Bell (07) 4160 0730 Email: mike.bell@dpi.qld.gov.au