High input production

Transcription

1 High input production High input production offers the industry long-term production stability. Growers want more information about high input peanut production to improve farm profitability and the sustainability of other crops grown in rotation with, such as sugarcane. Planning for Like all other crops, require significant planning before the crop is planted. Some peanut machinery is specialised so it is important to know that you will be able to find the necessary equipment or contractors when you need them. Before planting you must check that your soil is clear of contaminants. Peanuts are a food crop, so growers need to check that pesticide contaminants, such as DDT and Dieldrin, are not present at dangerous levels in the soil. Peanut plants can absorb these products either through the roots or pods. Previous fertiliser applications can sometimes lead to high levels of the heavy metal cadmium, particularly in sandy soils. Peanuts are best grown in rotation with other crops, so your planning needs to include the full crop rotation, not just the immediate crop. Your rotation will influence decisions such as which herbicide you use in your peanut crop, how you will manage the volunteer in the next crop, nutrition aspects for each crop, and many others. BMP is: doing everything, both little and big things, as right as possible. Lionel Wieck (PCA) If you plan for your crop and apply all your agronomic practices at the right time in the crop cycle then you will get a magic crop out of it. Jim Barnes (DPI&F)

2 BMP production checklist There are 14 production phases for growing high input. Each phase requires specific actions. Getting the timing right is the key to successful production. From the list below, select the production phase you are about to enter to check the essential actions: Planning Pre-season Ground preparation Planting Planting to cracking Early post-crop emergence (1-2 weeks after emergence) Early crop growth (3-4 weeks after emergence) Flowering to pegging (4-7 weeks after emergence) Pegging (8-9 weeks after emergence) Pegging to podfill (9-16 weeks after emergence) Podfill to maturity (16-22 weeks after emergence) Digging Harvest Post-harvest Don t plant more than you can water adequately. Don t leave the harvesting to someone else. Be on-site at all times during the digging and threshing operations, and ask questions. Don t plant if you are not prepared to spray the crop with fungicide. Peter Hatfield (Consultant)

3 Planning 1. Decide if fit in with your whole farming system. Check if the chemicals used in peanut production fit in with your farming system. Check if there is sufficient irrigation water and infrastructure available to grow. Peanuts require mm/week in peak times. Check for chemical residues that could affect the peanut crop. Set up a record keeping system to track costs, inputs, yields and returns. Success comes from planning up to 12 months ahead, coordination and a good awareness of what influences price and quality. Peter Hatfield (Consultant) Pre-season 1. Test at-risk soil for organochlorine insecticide residues and cadmium Test for soil nutrients. Seek advice on nutrient requirements. Decide on a planting date. Seek advice if necessary. Work out an irrigation schedule. Investigate using an irrigation-scheduling computer program such as AQUAMAN. Prepare and calibrate equipment e.g. planter, boomspray, etc. Obtain a contract for marketing the crop. Choose varieties suited to your location, soils and market. If contracting, get in touch with contractors. Tell them your planting date and expected harvest time. Purchase suitable pre-emergent herbicide. 10. Check if knockdown herbicide is available, in case of rain soon after planting. DPI&F s AQUAMAN irrigation scheduler is an in-season webbased model specifically for. DPI&F have developed two whole farm economic analysis spreadsheet tools, one for sugarcane and other crop rotations (FEAT) and one specifically for (Smart Peanut). To access these tools call the DPI&F on

4 Ground preparation 1. Apply lime and/or dolomite, if necessary. Incorporate previous crop residues. Form beds, if necessary, before planting. Prepare the seed bed. Check if there is sufficient moisture to plant. Pre-irrigate if necessary. Planting 1. Check that the seed and inoculum are ready. Prepare the seed and inoculum for planting. Use an esky to protect the inoculum from high temperatures. Calibrate the planter and monitor that the seed is being planted at the correct rate. Apply pre-emergent herbicide after planting, if necessary. Planting to cracking 1. Check for soil surface crusting. Apply a light irrigation to assist emergence, if necessary. Check for weeds germinating before the. Apply a knockdown herbicide, if necessary. Try no-till practices even though they are not wellestablished in. Many other crops are grown well using no-till technology. Patrick Jones (PCA) I am a firm believer that in hard times you have got to spend money to make money. If you spend it the correct way you can change the direction you are going dramatically. Neville Loeskow (Farmer)

5 Early post-crop emergence (1-2 weeks after emergence) 1. Check soil for foliar insects heliothis (Helicoverpa) and/or cutworms. Check for weed seedlings. Apply herbicide as early as possible if weeds are a problem. Decide if a light irrigation is required. If you are using AQUAMAN, check the soil moisture situation. Early crop growth (3-4 weeks after emergence) 1. Apply the first fungicide protectant spray. If the field had last season, apply the fungicide three weeks after emergence. If not, apply four weeks after emergence. Varieties that have resistance to leaf diseases must be treated differently seek advice. 6. Check for weeds. Hand chip or apply herbicide if weeds are getting out of control. Follow your irrigation schedule as planned. Use AQUAMAN. Check the nutrient status of the crop. Apply foliar fertilisers as needed. Apply gypsum over the podding zone. Check again for insects and diseases. The most important thing is timing. The timing of things like weed management in the first three weeks and fungicide applications later in the crop cycle. Jim Barnes (DPI&F)

6 Flowering to pegging (4-7 weeks after emergence) 1. Check for weeds. Hand chip or apply herbicide if weeds are getting out of control. Monitor fungal diseases. If your farm is in a high disease area, apply fungicides according to recommended schedule. Follow your irrigation schedule as planned. Use AQUAMAN. Moisture deficiency at this stage will reduce crop yield, so try to maintain a full profile. This may require irrigation applications in quick succession. Check if zinc sprays are needed for cadmium management. Pegging (8-9 weeks after emergence) 1. Follow your irrigation schedule as planned. Use AQUAMAN. Moisture deficiency at this stage will reduce crop yield. Pull up some plants to see if pegging is occurring normally. To assist the pegs entering the ground, irrigation may be needed on crusting soils. Monitor fungal diseases. Maintain fungicide application according to your schedule. Check for other diseases, particularly white mould. Check the nutrient status of the crop. Apply foliar fertilisers as needed. If you have a paddock with lots of grass weeds then that means more dirt when you turn over. It s hard to get the dirt out so if you can get your paddock clean, you go a long way to cleaning up your. Ian Coventry (Farmer)

7 Pegging to podfill (9-16 weeks after emergence) 1. Follow your planned irrigation schedule. Use AQUAMAN. Moisture deficiency at this stage will reduce crop yield. Crop water use is similar to pan evaporation at weather stations. 6. Monitor fungal diseases. Maintain fungicide application according to your schedule. Check for insect damage and diseases, particularly white mould. Check nutrient status of the crop. Apply foliar fertilisers as needed. Pull up some plants and check for normal development. Check for pod maturity. Check if zinc sprays are needed for cadmium management. Podfill to maturity (16-22 weeks after emergence) 1. Follow your planned irrigation schedule. Water use will drop off slightly from the previous growth stage. AQUAMAN will do this automatically for you. Keep the crop moist to prevent the development of aflatoxin in the kernels. Check for diseases and insect damage. Maintain your fungicide schedule during the early stages of this period. Check if zinc sprays are needed for cadmium management. Check for pod maturity. AQUAMAN provides a rough guide to maturity, depending on the season. Check for maturity using the hull scrape method (see Harvesting section). Prepare your digger for harvesting or contact your contractor prior to your expected digging date. The golden rule is timing. Being there to ensure that the paddocks are weedfree, irrigation is on time, and being spot-on with your disease identification and a fungicide management strategy; that has been the key for people who have done well. Neil Halpin (DPI&F)

8 Digging 1. Check for maturity using the hull scrape method. Dig some test strips with the digger and look under the windrow to check for losses. Check the operation and loss from the digger regularly. Keep digging speeds slow to ensure that inversion of the plants is as good as possible. If digging under wet conditions, check losses and consider waiting for drier digging conditions. Digging under wet conditions results in the largest harvesting losses. Consider digging an area that matches what the thresher can harvest in a day. With large contracting harvesters this is not a problem, but it can be with smaller ones. Aflatoxin can develop if lie in windrows for several days. Harvest 1. Moisture test samples from the windrows. Harvest when moisture is about 18 per cent. Higher moisture content can lead to additional drying charges. Check that the pickup head of the thresher matches the ground speed of the machine, to minimise losses. Check harvester losses regularly, as conditions in the windrow can change during the day. Pre-clean as the crop comes off the harvester. Deliver your crop to the receival depot. Yield and quality can vary for many reasons. Weed and disease management are important causes of variability and are generally manageable. Graeme Wright (DPI&F)

9 Post-harvest 1. Leave peanut residue in the field to maintain the nutrient status and organic matter content of the field. Compare weighbridge dockets from this year and from previous years to identify major problems. After receiving pay weights, work out the gross margins for the crop to compare the costs and returns from different paddocks. Work out profitability of your whole farm enterprise, taking into account your overheads, machinery ownership costs and your time. Plan for next season based on the profitability of your whole farm enterprise. Marketing can be risky. PCA offers growers a good marketing service. Peter Mayne (Farmer) Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only. For application to specific circumstances, please seek professional advice. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the information in this publication is accurate at the time of publication. Readers should ensure that they make appropriate enquiries to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter. The State of Queensland, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (2007). Address enquiries to copyright@dpi.qld.gov.au or phone