Riverine Research Centre

Riverine Plains partnering with FAR Australia.

Riverine Research Centre

The Riverine Research Centre (RRC) is a partnership between Riverine Plains Inc and FAR Australia. During 2019 the centre was located at Yarrawonga in Victoria and was established to provide a focal point for local and national research in the Victorian/NSW border region.

As a dedicated crop research site, the RRC has hosted a number of small plot research trials annually since its establishment in 2016. This has included germplasm evaluations, fungicide trials, early sown wheat management trials, time of sowing, nutrition and row spacing trials, as well as commercial trial work.

Unfortunately, with the recent end to a number of funded projects that were hosted at the Riverine Research Centre (RRC), we have been unable to continue with Centre during 2020.

Whilst there is no Riverine Research Centre for this season, there remains the potential to restablish a local research site again in the future, and we will see what opportunities may arise over the course of the next season or two.

We sincerely thank FAR Australia, particularly Nick Poole and Michael Straight, for the exceptional quality of trial results generated from the site. We also thank the Cummins family for hosting the site for the past 3 years

Spring Field Day

On Tuesday 24 September, 2019, over 130 people attended the Riverine Plains Inc and FAR Australia field day at the Riverine Research Centre (RRC) at Yarrawonga.

Kat Fuhrmann (FAR Australia) spoke on fungal diseases and management, including Ramularia Leaf Spot, an emerging barley disease.

Barley variety and management trials are a feature of the RRC this year, and Kenton Porker (SARDI) spoke on potential barley varieties, including longer season and dual-purpose types, for the Riverine Plains region.

Michael Straight (FAR Australia) also spoke on the Riverine Plains Inc funded time of sowing trials sown from late March – early May. The trials, now in their second year, are providing valuable data for the Riverine Plains region about optimum sowing dates for spring and winter wheat varieties and management. Working in

collaboration with FAR Australia, the trials will again form the basis of a rapid results service to Riverine Plains Inc members on variety performance in the region, with results available within 10 days of harvest.

Michael and Kenton also spoke on Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Managing Early Sown Wheat project trials, which have featured at the RRC site for the past 3 years.

The day finished with a panel session with Michael Straight, Kenton Porker, Jamie Cummins (Yarrawonga) and Matt Coffey (Elders), addressing a range of issues relevant to the season.