To kick start the spring season, YP AG held their first annual Farmer Technology Day, showcasing agronomic trials to clients and suppliers.
This year saw the trial site located near Thomas Plains within the dune-swale environment of the northern Yorke Peninsula.
Although windy with the occasional shower, Bri Schaefer – YP AG graduate agronomist based in Kadina said the weather worked in their favour, with growers lured by the appeal of a barbeque and bonfire and unable to spend the day on the sprayer.
Following the release of new chemistry in recent years, the 2022 trial site had a focus on pre-emergent herbicide use in wheat and lentils for control of annual ryegrass and broadleaf weeds.
Ms Schaefer said a trial comparing the efficacy and safety of new and commonly used pre-emergent herbicides for annual ryegrass control in wheat was a particular highlight, where treatments were replicated with both a tyne and disc seeder in recognition of the increasing adoption of and interest in disc seeders locally.
The trial demonstrated the reduced safety of many herbicides in disc seeding systems and created an opportunity for YP AG agronomists to discuss with attendees the impact of sowing conditions, herbicide placement, and solubility, on crop safety and weed control.
The trials featured at the Farmer Technology Day were:
- Disc and tyne – wheat pre-emergents
- Broadleaf weed control in XT lentils
- Annual ryegrass control in XT Lentils
- Lentil nutrition and disease
- Lentil variety and time of sowing trial
- Cereal demo block.
Other trials viewed during the day included a lentil variety and time of sowing trial, and demonstration plots of the latest wheat and barley varieties.
New powdery mildew-resistant Intergrain wheat variety, Brumby, was of significant interest to those in attendance, as were new high-yielding lentil varieties, GIA Thunder and GIA Lightning.
Overall, the day was another success, with more than 100 people in attendance, including representatives from the likes of Adama, Nufarm, Conquest, Sipcam and BASF.
