DESPITE all the progress across the generations, the search continues for a better way to maximise the use of water and cereal yield potential in low and medium-rainfall zones, such as the Mallee, to help grain growers in these regions achieve new production frontiers.
A new project, bringing together researchers, farming systems groups, agronomists and communicators, has been set up to explore how tactical agronomic strategies, using more appropriate crop checkpoints throughout the season, can deliver.
Profitable Yield Frontiers in the southern low and medium-rainfall zones is expected to provide new insights into raising yield potential in environments where water is the limiting factor.
It follows the Hyper Yielding Crops project which successfully indicated new benchmarks for the productivity of cereals in the regions of Australia where water supply was not limited.
The new project aims to ensure wheat and barley growers in the zones better understand the role of tactical crop management in yield determination and its impacts on profit across a range of season types.
CSIRO farming systems researcher and project leader Dr Kenton Porker said the research would push yields and link to the decisions most likely to reliably and economically achieve that.
“Previous research in high rainfall zones lifted yield expectations, which meant growers in the medium and low zones were questioning what was possible in their own environments,” he said.
“So, the question becomes, how do we manage this seasonal variability where crop conditions transition between high and low water supply?
“Key tactical decisions that drive yield happen early, particularly at sowing, leaving less room to adjust crop management during the season.
“This demands a fresh approach to managing the yield-determining period before flowering.”
Dr Porker said the research would present some extension challenges, with the team proposing a new way of analysing and presenting results.
“We are seeking to push the boundaries of knowledge and practice by embracing the challenges and opportunities presented by poor predictability of outcomes earlier in the season,” he said.
