May 15, 2002
The Grains Research & Development Corporation Crop Doctor

We¹ve said it before. Pulses ­ notably chickpeas and mungbeans ­ are "on a roll" across the northern grains region, driven by enthusiastic people from organisations like Pulse Australia.

It¹s now widely accepted in the grains industry that rotations of nitrogen fixing pulses with cereal crops like wheat and barley are one of the keys to reversing soil degradation and achieving long term sustainability.

In line with that, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) supports a wide range of pulse and farming systems research across Australia.

Many northern region grain farmers also grow cotton, so it was logical that winter growing chickpeas ­ with the vastly improved agronomy that has flowed from the research just mentioned ­ should find a place in cotton rotations.

According to Pulse Australia¹s program manager ­ crop support, John Slatter, this trend will result in Australia¹s largest ever planting of chickpeas on irrigation country in the coming 2002 season.

And, Mr Slatter says, even more cotton land is likely to go under chickpeas in the future because chickpeas:

• combine high yield potential with currently high prices ­ averaging more than $400/tonne for the past four years,
• are a suitable rotation for paddocks that would benefit from a rest from cotton,
• can make profitable use of irrigation water that otherwise might evaporate from on-farm storages; chickpeas are relatively water efficient and provide a good return per megalitre,
• can make effective use of soil moisture reserves and
• contribute to soil nitrogen, improve soil tilth and build up levels of VAM (vesicular arbuscular mycorhizae).

"Most cotton growers already take advice from professional advisers on crop management and we are encouraging those considering planting chickpeas to use the more than 200 agronomists who have taken the Accredited Chickpea Agronomy courses run by Pulse Australia, QDPI and NSW Agriculture between Emerald and Dubbo," Mr Slatter said.

"And the many growers who will attend the coming Cotton Trade Show in Moree on May 29-30 will be able to have chickpea questions answered at booths manned by Pulse Australia and several traders who supply the chickpea industry."

The Crop Doctor, Professor John Lovett, is managing director of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Canberra 02 6272 5525