Increasing pulse crop profitability will be a key focus at the Southern Pulse Agronomy Field Day being held at Nhill on Tuesday, 12 October.
Hosted by Frontier Farming Systems on behalf of Agriculture Victoria and the Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC), farmers, agronomists and industry are invited to attend the day to hear how the latest lentil, chickpea, field pea, faba beans and vetch varieties have performed this year.
Agriculture Victoria Research Scientist Dr Jason Brand said the event was part of the Southern Pulse Agronomy project geared at improving the profitability of pulse growers.
Field research being conducted at the site is comparing the performance of pulse varieties grown in variable soil types. Also being examined is the impact of different management strategies including stubble management, inoculation and row spacing.
Researchers, pulse breeders, industry specialists and grain marketers will be on hand at the event to discuss the research and its practical application, and to answer any questions from attendees.
Several new lentil and pea varieties will also be released at the field day and discussed in the context of this season, and how the new varieties could fit into Wimmera and Mallee rotations.
Dr Brand said the Southern Pulse Agronomy Project has a number of trial sites across Victoria, as well as similar projects in South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, so it is bringing together a lot of information that is going to be really useful to growers in helping them tackle problems they are facing with their pulse crops.
“The key thing growers are going to get out of this field day is access to the latest, locally-validated research that will help them maximise every dollar earned through their pulse crops,” he said.
“This is real, in-the-field, practical research that will directly benefit local growers.”
GRDC Grower Relations Manager, Courtney Ramsey said the project trial objectives are driven by local grower needs with the field day providing a great opportunity for two-way communication around growers pulse growing experiences.
“The project has been designed to respond to growers’ challenges in pulse production as they are evolving in the paddock,” she said.
The Nhill Pulse Field Day will be held 1.2 kilometres west from the junction of Propodollah from Proodollah Ext Road, Nhill, from 9am to 1pm. This field day is a COVIDsafe event and people must register to attend.
