Pulse Agronomy Trials
Collaborating with Brill Ag, Grain Orana Alliance and Frontier Farming systems, with funding from GRDC.
This is the second year of a 4-year project. The project aims to get a better understanding of the adaptability of pulse species to the local environments and how to improve production and close the yield gap of the best adapted pulses.
The project includes 2 major validation (hub) sites at Ganmain and Parkes, delivering a series of fully replicated trial designs to measure the yield gap, and 5 on farm demonstration (spoke) trial sites. Our site at Barellan is one of the 5 spoke sites for the project, along with sites at Gol Gol, Canowindra, Caragabal and Buraja focussing on on-farm paddock scale strip trials, and/or small demonstration plot trials driven by local grower D&E priorities.
The focus of the Barellan site is to:
- To evaluate the relative performance of major pulse crops (chickpeas, faba beans, field peas, lentils, lupins, vetch) in a variable rainfall environment.
- To compare the effectiveness of nitrogen fixation using existing commercial rhizobia strains and a new acid tolerant strain as well as the effect of nitrogen on nodulation in lentils and peas grown on acid soils in a variable rainfall environment.
- To determine best management practice for phosphorus (rate and placement) for lentils and lupins in a variable rainfall environment.
