Australia
April 11, 2008
This could be the year that
signals the beginning of sunflowers' return to crop rotations on
grain farms in the northern region northern New South Wales
and Queensland.
According to industry authorities Robert Macdougall and Pat
McKey, buoyant prices have a lot to do with the renewed grower
interest in 'sunnies', but better seasons in most growing areas
are also contributing.
Itąs good news for the
Australian Oilseeds
Federation (AOF) and its Better Oilseeds project, which is
working to lift the productivity of the Australian sunflower
industry.
The aim is to identify and provide best management practices,
support growers with demonstration sites and communication
activities, and ensure industry feedback and ownership of the
project.
Mr McKey, a Central Queensland grain accumulator for the oilseed
buyer company Cargill, is optimistic that better seasons will
lessen the impact of the disease tobacco streak virus (TSV),
which has seen many of that region's traditional sunflower
growers choose other crop options.
Mr Macdougall, chairman of the Australian Sunflower Association,
said the industry expects a total monounsaturated sunflower crop
of 45,900 tonnes in 2008, and a total 24000 tonnes of
polyunsaturated sunflowers
About half the national crop had been harvested by the first
week in April.
Total area planted to both sunflower types was 43,800 hectares,
25100 hectares in NSW and 18,700 hectares in Queensland.
A feature of the Queensland planting was the 6500 hectares put
to sunflowers around St George and Dirranbandi, after growers in
those districts missed the planting window for cotton.
The irrigation water allocations that became available following
good rain in December came too late to plant cotton.
"The early plant of late September on the Darling Downs has all
been harvested and yields were generally good," Mr Macdougall
said.
"Due to good domestic demand & price, nearly all the early plant
was of mono-unsaturated varieties.
"Growers switched to polyunsaturated varieties on the later
plant, as demand for monounsaturated sunflowers was filled and
an ideal opening occurred for polys.
"The market prefers polys planted later as they produce oil
which is a lot higher in linoleic acid and which is preferred by
manufactures of margarine."
Mr McKey said 7000 hectares of sunflowers had been planted in
Central Queensland, with growers driven by an attractive price
and an ideal opportunity planting window after sorghum.
"Still, many growers will be reluctant to plant sunflowers until
we can do something about TSV, which is not totally manageable
at the moment," Mr McKey said.
"It is not solely a disease of Central Queensland but is a big
problem here because it is host driven and, in widespread
parthenium weed, we have the ideal host for thrips and other
insects that spread the virus.
"Part of the solution to TSV will be in the areas of good farm
hygiene and husbandry and, if growers are a bit selective where
they plant, it shouldnąt be too much of a problem going forward.
"As well TSV will be less of a problem in crops that are not
under stress which is when they are susceptible to thrips and
other flying insects.
"Unfortunately in Central Qld we have had some pretty tough
years and the current season is shaping up much better so we are
hoping that crops will not be as susceptible to TSV."
Mr McKey believes success will breed success with sunflowers in
Central Queensland, with word spreading following a successful
season.
If prices continued as they were expected to do, he said he
could see a larger area of sunflowers in Central Queensland next
year. |
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