Growing pulses on variable soil types, new lentil varieties, disease ratings, frost tolerance, yields, the new field pea release APB Bondi — pulse expert Jason Brand will cover it all at the BCG Trials Review Day.
Of particular interest to attendees will be the research undertaken by AgVic and BCG on variable soils.
“I’ll reflect on some of the results from Gerang and Pyramid Hill,” Dr Brand said.
“The results from Gerang really highlighted the yield stability that crops like faba beans compared with all other pulses in this west Wimmera zone have on the variable sand and duplex soil types, but there is hope for other pulses as constraints are addressed through agronomic and breeding solutions.
“Similar observations were made at Pyramid Hill with constrained clay soil [sodic, saline at depth], highlighting future opportunities for lentils and peas in this region.
“BCG’s Trials Review Day is a favourite event as I enjoy talking with growers about the results they are achieving from their pulses and the new challenges they are facing,” he said.
“It’s great to be able to share results from agronomic trials and how new varieties have performed.
“In lentils, it has been exciting to see that barrier between the yield leading conventionals like PBA Jumbo2 and imi-tolerant varieties broken, with GIA Thunder, consistently producing high yield alongside GIA Lightning and the new ALB Terrier.”
This project received funding from the Federal Government’s Future Drought Fund