13 September, 2018

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Riverine Research Centre Open Day showcases local research, cereal agronomy

Grain growers are invited to the Riverine Plains Inc and FAR Australia Open Day, to be held at the Riverine Research Centre, at Burramine near Yarrawonga, on Thursday 27 September, 2018.

Riverine Plains Inc Chairman, Ian Trevethan, said that the day was an opportunity to come together to discuss the current dry season and the significant impact that frost damage had caused to local crops, while also looking to the future of wheat and barley varieties adapted to this region, and their agronomy.

The Riverine Research Centre hosts a number of trials looking at sowing and flowering dates, frost risk, nitrogen timing and canopy structure.

FAR Australia Managing Director, Nick Poole said that some trials were specifically looking at the performance of winter wheats and spring wheats over a range of sowing dates.

“The effect of flowering date on frost risk is an important area for research and we are very fortunate to have Dr James Hunt, La Trobe University to talk about results from the project so far” said Nick.

“While the impact of the recent frost events is still being assessed, damage is looking to be significant and discussions around these sowing date trials will provide further information for growers on how to identify damage as well as how to manage frost risk in the future” he added.

Although the current season is a challenging one, the Riverine Plains region regularly produces high yielding and good quality crops.

“We can learn a lot about crop management from farmers that push their production boundaries to the limit and Eric Watson, from Canterbury New Zealand, will discuss the farming practices and systems that supported his recent world record irrigated wheat crop of 16.71 tonnes per hectare” said Nick.

Dr Maarten van Helden from SARDI will also provide the latest information of the monitoring taking place for Russian Wheat Aphid across south eastern Australia. Presentations will also be made on Riverine Plains Inc funded research into the early sowing of winter wheat cultivars and the potential for winter barley cultivars.

The Open Day will run from 9am – 12pm on 27 September at the Riverine Research Centre, corner Forges Road and Odeas Road (Beatties Road), Burramine, Victoria. Morning tea and lunch will be provided.

The Riverine Research Centre is a partnership between Riverine Plains Inc and FAR Australia.
For more information please contact Fiona Hart at info@riverineplains.com.au, or (03) 5744 1713.

Riverine Plains Inc is an independent farming systems group specialising in farmer driven research and extension across north-east Victoria and southern New South Wales. For more information, or to become a member, please visit www.riverineplains.org.au.
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More Information or Interview: Fiona Hart, Executive Officer, Riverine Plains 03 5744 1713.