Stored soil moisture remains one of Central Queensland (CQ) grain growers' greatest allies in their quest to optimise profitability and capitalise on increasingly erratic rainfall and rising temperatures.
Fittingly, tips and techniques for effectively estimating soil plant available water capacity (PAWC) are top of the list of topics being presented at the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Grains Research Update next month.
The CQ updates will be streamed live into the offices of interested growers, agronomists and farm advisers through November as COVID-19 restrictions continue to restrict face-to-face events.
Farm-ready research and regionally-specific topics, such as managing fall armyworm, strategies for dealing with heat stress and nutrient approaches for CQ, have been selected by a local planning committee to ensure growers receive the information they need.
These free-of-charge webinars will start at 9am (Qld time) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from November 10 through until November 17.
Topics include:
Tuesday, November 10: Estimating soil plant available water capacity
- Using existing soil and landscape data sources to estimate PAWC for decision-making and crop resourcing. Presented by CSIRO researchers Kirsten Verburg and Brett Cocks.
- Commercial experience with soil maps. Presented by Brendan Griffiths from Precision Cropping Technologies, who will explain the value of a good soil map; using the information to make more informed decisions and the importance of accuracy.
Thursday, November 12: Fall armyworm
- Fall armyworm – what threat does it pose and what tools do we have to manage it? Presented by Melina Miles from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).
- Managing fall armyworm – North Queensland agronomist Brent Wilson from Nutrien Ag Solutions shares his experience in the Burdekin region.
Tuesday, November 17: Strategies to help crops deal with heat in CQ
- Wheat yield and quality at high temperatures – how do different current wheat cultivars handle temperature stress compared with elite developmental lines? Presented by Rebecca Thistlethwaite from the University of Sydney.
- Winter cereal varieties and sowing dates – sweet spots for flowering and sowing dates for different varieties. Presented by Darren Aisthorpe from DAF.
- Factors affecting coleoptile length in wheat – what can growers do now and what's coming? Presented by Greg Rebetzke from CSIRO.
- Winter sown sorghum – emergence in cold soil and optimising combinations of hybrids and agronomy. Presented by Darren Aisthorpe, DAF.
Thursday, November 19: Changing nutrition strategies for profit in CQ
- Strategies to improve efficiency from applied nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in CQ farming systems. Presented by Mike Bell from the University of Queensland with local data showing implications for chickpeas, cropping rotations, economics and application approaches.
- Agronomist experience with changing nutritional strategy. Presented by Anthony Lee (Nutrien Ag Solutions) and Stuart Olsson (AGnVET Rural).
- Panel discussion on the evolving nutrition strategies for CQ. Mike Bell (UQ), Darren Aisthorpe (DAF Qld), Doug Sands (DAF Qld), Anthony Lee (Nutrien Ag Solutions), Stuart Olsson (AGnVET Rural).
