Annual Crop Sowing Guide provides comprehensive advice and information
The 2024 WA Crop Variety Sowing Guide is an annual publication, produced by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
It’s a jam-packed compendium providing information to support variety and other crop management decisions for growers this coming season.
Each year the guide draws upon data from the Grains Research and Development Corporation's (GRDC) National Variety Trials (NVT) supported by results from independent DPIRD trials and specialised interpretation by DPIRD experts in each crop.
This edition includes the major crops grown in Western Australia (WA), being wheat, barley, canola, oats, lupins and pulses.
The lupin and pulse sections also include detailed agronomy information and expanded herbicide information for each crop to support management decisions for these high value crops.
The publication of the guide at this time of year aims to give growers timely access to the results and make informed variety decisions for the upcoming 2024 season, as well as procure their desired seed.
The guide provides variety characteristics, disease ratings, and agronomic information for the major crops as well as comparative yield information in key WA production environments.
The wheat and barley sections both discuss how yield rankings of varieties change with yield potential.
The wheat section also contains information on how different varieties respond to sowing time, and the barley section a warning for growers, particularly on the south coast, to be watchful forthe Oxford virulent Net Form Net Blotch pathotype and Ramularia leaf spot and potential changes in the virulence of Powdery Mildew.
The oat section compares varieties for both grain and hay production.
The pulse section, as mentioned above, has detailed agronomic guidelines for lupin, chickpea, field pea, faba bean, lentil and vetch to help growers decide which pulse is most suitable for their circumstances and any special management requirements.
There is a comprehensive treatment of weed control for each pulse crop, including information on suitable herbicides, as weed management is very important for pulses.
The release of the 2024 publication comes as China removed anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures, which have been imposed on Australian barley since 2020.
The guide explains the implications of this for WA growers and alternative markets that have developed in the intervening period.
To help with these decisions, the Grains Industry Association of Western Australia (GIWA) provides insights into market feedback on malt barley varieties.
Several factors need to be considered when making a choice on which barley variety to use, such as: considering market demand, pricing signals, location and segregation sites and risk associated with delivering malt-grade barley.
More information
To download the guide or order your hard copy straight to your door, click here:
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/grains-research-development/2024-wa-crop-sowing-guide
Please note a correction has been made to Table 3 of the canola section on page 108 (correct version is available from the 22/11/2023). If you downloaded the guide prior to this date, please download the updated version.
Contact
Bob French
Crop Science and Grain Production Manager
E: Bob.French@dpird.wa.gov.au
P: (08) 9081 3126