Northern Victoria and Gippsland

Territory Manager:
Mark Thompson

Excellent opening season rainfalls and warm conditions at the start of the season have really given canola crops an excellent start for the season.  Most crops sown early are at the 6-8 leaf stage and really powering on.  They should handle the winter frosts without too much trouble. 

This season is a remarkable turn around after our run of seasons over the previous 5-6 years.  Farmers should be assessing crops for optimum weed control, making decisions about topdressing nitrogen on crops, and to determine if chemical applied presowing is still giving them adequate weed control. 

A recent article from Felicity Pritchard (Oilseed Industry Development Officer), suggests that concentrations of simazine and atrazine are probably lower than when first applied, especially in paddocks relying on rainfall to incorporate chemical, and another spray maybe necessary.

This season, Pacific Seeds have undertaken another large scale R&D program with over 29 sites on the eastern seaboard.  Ten of these trial sites are located in Victoria: at Murchison, Ararat, NatteYallock, Warracknabeal, Renee, Mininera, Ouyen, Elmore and Rainbow. 

Pacific Seeds are also proud sponsors of the Birchip Cropping Group and Southern Farming Systems and we are undertaking trials in conjunction with the two groups.  The purpose of these sites is to trial commercial and pre commercial canola varieties over a wider geographical area than we have in the past.  With the current run of dry seasons, we will be able to gauge the suitability of varieties to more marginal areas when seasons swing back to normal. 

Of particularly interest to canola growers in more marginal areas, we now market a variety called “Dune – Juncea canola”.  Growers should look at this mustard variety with canola quality oil as a low cost brassica option for your rotation that doesn’t require windrowing.  Pacific Seeds R&D trials, in-conjunction with the National Variety Trial network, SFS and the BCG, will give farmers and their advisors accurate and timely information about canola varieties for there region.

To register to keep informed about Pacific Seeds’ varieties and to keep up to date with the canola industry, farmers should contact me to have your name included on my newsletter list.

Regards,

Mark Thompson

Last Updated: 17 July, 2007