South Perth, Western Australia
February 13, 2008
Canola growers considering
adopting new varieties will be encouraged by recent trials that
evaluated the influence of sowing time on each new cultivar.
The results of the trial will be presented at the
Western Australian
Department of Agriculture and Food’s Agribusiness Crop
Updates next week.
They suggest growers should consider a mix of two or three new
canola varieties with different maturity to help spread their
exposure to climatic and production risks.
The plot trial was undertaken by the department in association
with the Western Australia No Till Farming Association (WANTFA)
at the association’s Meckering research site.
It specifically evaluated the influence of the time of sowing on
the performance of 12 new varieties: ATR Barra, ATR Signal, ATR
Stubby (the control variety), ATR Summitt, Banjo TT, Bravo TT,
CB Boomer, CB Tanami, Flinders TTC, Rottnest TTC, Thunder TT and
Tornado TT.
The medium rainfall site received 236 millimetres during the
growing season, with significant spring falls in October that
boosted yields and oil concentration.
Department research officer Mohammad Amjad said the varieties
differed in their adaptation to early and late sowing, with
Flinders TTC being the best adapted for the May sowing and CB
Tanami being better adapted to June sowing.
The profit margin decreased the later all varieties were sown.
“The new canola varieties all benefited from sowing, producing a
gross margin of more than $600 per hectare, with the highest
being Flinders of $873/ha sown in early May,” Dr Amjad said.
“All achieved a gross margin of more than $600/ha when sown in
late May but it dropped significantly and became more variable
among the varieties when sown in early and late June.
“June sowings were significantly lower in yield and oil content,
with CB Tanami appearing the better variety adapted to June
sowing.
“The results show these new varieties are more capable of
adjusting for grain and oil content with the changing climate
and weather conditions throughout the growing season.”
All the new varieties were more disease resistant than existing
varieties.
“It is important to remember the gross margins have been boosted
by the high world price for canola at the moment,” Dr Amjad
said.
“But the results of this trial will still give growers some
direction in making management decisions about replacing their
existing canola variety with new varieties.” |
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