Agronomy Thoughts Moving from 2024-2025

As harvest is in full swing, it is time to reflect on what the 2024 season has done and what we can learn from the season that was. Here are some thoughts from Sam and Chloe.

A late break for all the Eyre Peninsula shone light on our ability to dry sow, mainly canola and wheat. Legumes dry sown was a lesson around controlling our broadleaf weeds, with many crops being very dirty where it was sown to early and the pre-emergent degrading before the opening rains. Those legumes sown within a week or after the rainfall events were some of the cleanest crops with good yields despite the later start.

Wheat grew well this season with most being dry sown. Mateno Complete was a standout in areas that were sown early, giving great control of ryegrass and broadleaf’s early in the crop and following most of the season with good control. Disease levels were relatively low this season due to the environmental conditions. Septoria was around but levels were low.

Canola was a good learning curve this season. The later germination of crops meant that canola was growing primarily in the coldest part of the season. This meant that despite good application of sulphur, crops still showed levels of deficiency, highlighting our need for a foliar application in the cold parts of the season. Pre-emergent applications of Propyzamide this season was extremely variable in ryegrass control which put increased pressure on our in-crop control. The GM canola was a standout for weed control with crop timings on conventional canola causing some issues early on with staggered germinations.

Summer weed control has proven to be vital across the EP this season. Paddocks that weren’t controlled in summer ran out of moisture in spring quicker than those that had a spray. This resulted in reduced yield and lower quality grain. In seasons that are dryer than normal it is pivotal to conserve as much moisture as possible for crops in spring to finish off.

Moving into 2025 we need to consider what chemicals we have used on paddocks this year, with lower rainfall since applications, chemical carryover will be of real concern. Reflex is one chemical in particular which may be of concern to you if you are planning on following your legume phase with canola. It has a 9 month with 250ml of rainfall requirement, however, some soil types with lower organic matter may be at greater risk. Summer rainfall will be key, and a bioassay within a month of seeding may be required to rule out the risk of damage.

Also, Imidazolinone herbicides that were used in crop are likely to be carrying over into next season. For rates greater than 600ml of Intervix the requirement to plant conventional wheat is 10 months and 250ml of rain. Great care should be taken where Onduty or Sentry have been used on acid soils as herbicide breakdown will be impacted and they tend to carry over for longer.

Sakura carryover is a potential issue going into next season for lentils, especially if Mateno Complete was used over the top of Sakura pre-emergent. The label states 9 months and 250mls of rain as a requirement for Sakura alone. More information on this will be out in December once Bayer release some data.

If you wish to discuss any potential herbicide residue issues please contact Sam or Chloe who will be happy to help.

We hope that your harvest runs smoothly, and you find time to wind down and reflect on what worked well

(and didn’t) from the 2024 season before the next one begins.