Wheat Murrumbidgee Valley Coleambally

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1 Variety specific agronomy for southern irrigated cropping systems Crop Irrigation area Location Wheat Murrumbidgee Valley Coleambally Key findings Variety choice is a key factor in producing high yielding irrigated wheat crops. LongReach Cobra A was a standout variety in these experiments being the highest yielding in 2015 and Other varieties that had consistent high yields include Suntop A, LongReach Lancer A, LongReach Trojan A, Corack A and Chara A. The durum varieties, breeding line and EGA Bellaroi A, had significantly higher grain protein concentration than all other varieties. Wallup A, LongReach Lancer A and Kiora A consistently had the highest protein concentration of the bread wheat varieties. Variety choice also significantly affected other grain quality measurements. Suntop A, Wallup A, EGA Gregory A, Chara A, LongReach Lancer A and LongReach Trojan A had the highest average test weight over the three seasons. Wallup A, line , Corack A and LongReach Trojan A consistently had lower than average screenings. The two durum varieties, line and EGA Bellaroi A, consistently had the largest average grain size while Corack A and LongReach Lancer A had the largest average grain size of the bread wheat varieties. Corack A and LongReach Cobra A demonstrated the highest resistance to lodging over multiple seasons while LongReach Lancer A, Chara A, Mace A and LongReach Trojan A also showed strong resistance to lodging. EGA Bellaroi A, EGA Gregory A and LongReach Impala A were the varieties most susceptible to lodging in these experiments. Plant population had a significant effect on grain yield, lodging and harvest index. In 2016, a plant population of 120 plants/m 2 produced the highest grain yield which decreased as the plant population increased. As plant population increased the incidence of lodging increased and harvest index decreased. Nitrogen timing had a significant effect on protein concentration with grain protein concentration increasing as nitrogen application was delayed. Introduction Variety selection and agronomic management practices suited to the geographical region are key factors for high yielding irrigated winter cereal crops. This has been highlighted by previous research and is confirmed here with outcomes of the Southern irrigated cereal and canola varieties achieving target yields project (DAN00198). Irrigated wheat experiments were conducted at Coleambally in the Murrumbidgee Valley of NSW in to test the regional suitability of current commercially available wheat varieties to high yielding irrigated conditions. Variety selection, plant population and nitrogen

2 management (timing of application) were evaluated for their effect on grain yield, grain quality and lodging. Seasonal reviews The 2014 season was characterised by low rainfall and hot dry conditions from late winter to crop maturity (late spring). Severe frosts during the first ten days of August caused damage in many crops although no damage was observed in the Coleambally experiment. Two irrigations were applied to the experiment in 2014 but a third irrigation would have increased average yields. In 2015, there were dry conditions in spring and hot temperatures in October. Again, two irrigations were applied to the experiment but the second irrigation was delayed past the optimal time causing some moisture stress. The 2016 season was characterised by very wet conditions from early May until the end of September (Table 1). No frost events were recorded and no irrigations were applied. Table 1 Growing season (April November) monthly rainfall (mm) at the Coleambally experiment site, Month Rainfall (mm) Long-term average April May June July August September October November Total Experiment site Table 2 Experiment site details at Coleambally, Location Coleambally, NSW Coleambally, NSW Coleambally, NSW Experiment design Variety x nitrogen management x plant population Variety x nitrogen management x plant population Variety x plant population Row spacing 6 rows x 18 cm 6 rows x 18 cm 6 rows x 20 cm Soil type Medium grey clay Medium grey clay Medium grey clay Soil nitrogen at sowing 174 kg N/ha (0 60 cm) 90 kg N/ha (0 60 cm) 114 kg N/ha (0 60 cm) Previous crop Barley 2013 Soybeans 2014/15 Soybeans 2015/16 Sowing date 14 May 13 May 4 May Starter fertiliser 150 kg/ha MAP 150 kg/ha MAP 200 kg/ha MAP In-crop irrigation Autumn (pre-irrigation): 1.2 ML/ha Spring: 2 spring irrigations: late August, early October (total 2.6 ML/ha) Autumn (pre-irrigation): 1.2 ML/ha Spring: 2 spring irrigations: late September, late October (total 2.2 ML/ha) No irrigation 2 NSW Department of Primary Industries

3 Fungicides Orius 150 ml/ha Orius 150 ml/ha 18 Aug Prosaro 300 ml/ha Herbicides: Pre-sow or Pre-emergent Herbicides: Postemergent: Boxer Gold 2.5 L/ha Nil Nil MCPA 1.25 L/ha Lontrel 70 ml/ha MCPA 1.25 L/ha Lontrel 70 ml/ha MCPA 1.25 L/ha Lontrel 70 ml/ha Harvest date 10 December 30 November 2 December Treatments Sixteen wheat varieties were evaluated in the experiments 12 in 2014 and 2016, and 14 in 2015 (Table 3). Plant population was evaluated in all three years while nitrogen timing was evaluated in 2014 and 2015 only (tables 4 and 5). Table 3 Wheat varieties evaluated each year of the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, Bolac A - - LongReach Dart A - - LongReach Impala A LongReach Impala A - Merinda A Merinda A - Suntop A Suntop A Suntop A Corack A Corack A Corack A Mace A Mace A Mace A Kiora A Kiora A Kiora A Wallup A Wallup A Wallup A Chara A Chara A Chara A EGA Gregory A EGA Gregory A EGA Gregory A LongReach Lancer A LongReach Lancer A LongReach Lancer A - LongReach Cobra A LongReach Cobra A - LongReach Trojan A LongReach Trojan A - EGA Bellaroi A EGA Bellaroi A Table 4 Plant populations (plants/m 2 ) evaluated each year of the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, Year Plant populations (plants/m 2 ) Very low Low Medium High Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual Target Actual VARIETY SPECIFIC AGRONOMY FOR SOUTHERN IRRIGATED CROPPING SYSTEMS

4 Table 5 Nitrogen treatments (rate and application timing) evaluated in the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, 2014 and Year Treatment Nitrogen timing and rate (kg N/ha) At sowing First node Booting Total 2014 Early N Late N Early N Late N Measurements taken include grain yield, grain protein concentration, test weight, screenings, grain size, harvest index and lodging scores. Plant establishment, tiller counts, head counts and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) scores were also taken but are not reported here. Grain yields were obtained using a small plot harvester on whole plots including the buffer rows. The irrigated wheat experiment sown into soybean stubble at Coleambally in NSW Department of Primary Industries

5 Results and discussion Grain yield Variety had a significant effect on grain yield in all three years. In 2014, Suntop A was the highest yielding variety averaging 7.33 t/ha but was statistically similar to LongReach Lancer A, Chara A, Mace A and Kiora A (Table 6). LongReach Dart A was significantly lower yielding than all other varieties averaging 5.86 t/ha. In 2015, LongReach Cobra A was the highest yielding variety averaging 9.61 t/ha but was statistically similar to Corack A. LongReach Impala A was significantly lower yielding than all other varieties averaging 7.29 t/ha. In 2016, LongReach Cobra A was again the highest yielding variety with t/ha, significantly higher than all other varieties. The durum line yielded lower than all other varieties with 7.67 t/ha. LongReach Cobra A was the standout variety being the highest yielding in the 2015 and 2016 experiments (not sown in 2014). LongReach Lancer A and Suntop A also performed very well and were both high yielding across all three seasons. Chara A and Corack A yielded very well in two out of three seasons while LongReach Trojan A was high yielding in one of the two seasons it was sown. Table 6 Grain yield (t/ha) of 16 wheat varieties, averaged across all plant populations and nitrogen treatments, in the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, Variety Grain yield (t/ha) LongReach Cobra A a a LongReach Trojan A cde b LongReach Lancer A 7.32 a 9.12 bc c Suntop A 7.33 a 9.07 bcd cd Chara A 7.25 a 8.73 de 9.82 de Corack A 6.99 bc 9.34 ab 9.66 ef EGA Bellaroi A ef 9.57 f Mace A 7.11 ab 8.27 fg 9.56 f Wallup A 6.98 bc 8.69 e 9.42 f Kiora A 7.09 ab 8.06 g 9.17 g EGA Gregory A 6.71 d 7.98 g 8.51 h b 7.67 i Merinda A 6.78 cd 7.98 g - LongReach Impala A 6.73 d 7.29 h - Bolac A 6.60 d - - LongReach Dart A 5.86 e - - l.s.d. (P<0.05) Experiment average Numbers in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different at l.s.d. (P = 0.05). Plant population significantly affected grain yield in 2016 but not 2014 and In 2016, the low plant population (120 plants/m 2 ) had the highest grain yield with 9.74 t/ha but was statistically similar to the very low (80 plants/m 2 ) and medium (160 plants/m 2 ) populations (Table 7C). The high plant population (200 plants/m 2 ) had the lowest average yield with 9.59 t/ha and was significantly lower yielding than the low plant population. VARIETY SPECIFIC AGRONOMY FOR SOUTHERN IRRIGATED CROPPING SYSTEMS

6 Table 7 Grain yield, grain quality, harvest index and lodging response to plant population, averaged across all varieties and nitrogen treatments, in the irrigated wheat experiment at Coleambally, A) 2014 Plant population Yield (t/ha) Protein Test weight (kg/hl) Screenings Grain size (g/1000 grains) Harvest index Lodging score (0 9*) Low High l.s.d. (P<0.05) n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. - n.s B) 2015 Plant population Yield (t/ha) Protein Test weight (kg/hl) Screenings Grain size (g/1000 grains) Harvest index Lodging score (0 9*) Low High l.s.d. (P<0.05) n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s C) 2016 Plant population Yield (t/ha) Protein Test weight (kg/hl) Screenings Grain size (g/1000 grains) Harvest index Lodging score (0 9*) Very low 9.71 ab a 1.71 a Low 9.74 a a 1.94 a Medium 9.61 ab ab 2.50 b High 9.59 b b 2.62 b l.s.d. (P<0.05) 0.14 n.s. n.s. n.s. n.s Numbers in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different at l.s.d. (P = 0.05). * Lodging was scored using a scale of 0 to 9 where 0 indicates no lodging and 9 indicates horizontal plots. Table 8 Grain yield, grain quality, harvest index and lodging response to nitrogen treatments, averaged across all varieties and plant populations, in the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, A) 2014 Nitrogen treatment Yield (t/ha) Protein Test weight (kg/hl) Screenings Grain size (g/1000 grains) Harvest index Lodging score (0 9*) Early N Late N l.s.d. (P<0.05) n.s n.s. n.s. n.s. - n.s. B) 2015 Nitrogen treatment Yield (t/ha) Protein Test weight (kg/hl) Screenings Grain size (g) Harvest index Lodging score (0 9*) Early N Late N l.s.d. (P<0.05) n.s n.s n.s. * Lodging was scored using a scale of 0 to 9 where 0 indicates no lodging and 9 indicates horizontal plots. 6 NSW Department of Primary Industries

7 There was also a significant interaction between variety and plant population in LongReach Cobra A, Corack A, EGA Bellaroi A, Mace A and EGA Gregory A all had significantly higher yields at the very low or low populations compared with the high population. LongReach Lancer A was the only variety that had a significantly lower yield from the very low population compared with the high population. Protein Variety selection significantly affected grain protein concentration in all three years. In 2014, LongReach Dart A had the highest protein concentration with 12.11% but was statistically similar to LongReach Lancer A and Bolac A (Table 9). EGA Gregory A had the lowest protein concentration with an average of 10.48% and was statistically similar to LongReach Impala A. In 2015, EGA Bellaroi A had a significantly higher grain protein concentration than all other varieties with 14.47%. Suntop A had the lowest protein concentration with 12.29% but was statistically similar to EGA Gregory A, LongReach Trojan A and LongReach Impala A. In 2016, line had a significantly higher grain protein concentration than all other varieties with an average of 13.50%. LongReach Trojan A had the lowest protein concentration with an average of 11.43% but was statistically similar to Suntop A. The durum varieties, line and EGA Bellaroi A, had significantly higher grain protein concentrations than other varieties in both years they were sown (Table 9). LongReach Dart A and Bolac A had high protein concentrations in the only year they were sown (2014) but both were dropped from subsequent experiments due to low grain yields. Wallup A, LongReach Lancer A and Kiora A consistently had the highest protein concentration of the bread wheats. LongReach Impala A, LongReach Trojan A, EGA Gregory A and Suntop A had consistently lower protein concentrations. Table 9 Grain protein of 16 wheat varieties, averaged across all plant populations and nitrogen treatments, in the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, Variety Grain protein EGA Bellaroi A a b b a LongReach Dart A Bolac A a ab Wallup A bc c c LongReach Lancer A a d ef Kiora A bc e f Merinda A cd fg Corack A de fg de Chara A cde ef f Mace A f ef d LongReach Cobra A f f LongReach Impala A g fgh Suntop A ef h g EGA Gregory A g h f LongReach Trojan A gh g l.s.d. (P<0.05) Experiment average Numbers in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different at l.s.d. (P = 0.05). VARIETY SPECIFIC AGRONOMY FOR SOUTHERN IRRIGATED CROPPING SYSTEMS

8 In 2014 and 2015, nitrogen application timing significantly affected grain protein concentration. Grain protein concentration was significantly higher when nitrogen was applied later in the growing season compared with when the nitrogen was applied earlier in the season. In the 2014 experiment, there was a 5.5% increase in protein concentration (11.08% to 11.72%) when 40 kg N/ha was delayed from first node to booting (Table 8A). In the 2015 experiment, there was a 3.0% increase in protein concentration (12.90% to 13.30%) when 70 kg N/ha was delayed from sowing to booting (Table 8B). Test weight Variety had a significant effect on test weight in all three years. In 2014, Suntop A had the highest test weight with an average of kg/hl but was statistically similar to Corack A, Wallup A, EGA Gregory A, Chara A and LongReach Impala A. Bolac A had a test weight significantly lower than all other varieties with kg/hl. In 2015, EGA Gregory A had the highest test weight with an average of kg/hl but was statistically similar to LongReach Lancer A, LongReach Trojan A, Chara A and Merinda A. Mace A had the lowest average test weight of kg/hl but was statistically similar to LongReach Cobra A. In 2016, LongReach Lancer A had the highest test weight with an average of kg/hl but was statistically similar to LongReach Trojan A, Suntop A, Wallup A and LongReach Cobra A. The durum line had a test weight significantly lower than all other varieties with kg/hl. All varieties achieved the minimum Grain Traders Association (GTA) receival standard of 76.0 kg/hl every year with the exception of Bolac A in Screenings Variety had a significant effect on the percentage of screenings in all three years. In the 2014 experiment, Wallup A had the lowest screenings with an average of 1.88% but was statistically similar to all other varieties except Merinda A and Bolac A. Bolac A had the highest screenings with average of 4.65% but was statistically similar in screenings to Merinda A. In the 2015 experiment, line had the lowest screenings with an average of 2.44% but was statistically similar in screenings to EGA Bellaroi A. Kiora A had significantly higher screenings than all other varieties with an average of 6.25%. In the 2016 experiment, Wallup A had significantly lower screenings than all other varieties with 1.43%. Kiora A had the highest screenings with an average of 5.58% but was statistically similar in screenings to LongReach Lancer A and EGA Gregory A. In the 2015 experiment, the nitrogen treatments significantly affected screenings (Table 8B). The early N treatment had an average screenings of 3.98% which was significantly lower than the late N treatment with an average screenings of 4.25%. Grain size Variety had a significant effect on grain size in all three years. The two durum varieties, line and EGA Bellaroi A, consistently had the largest average grain size of all varieties evaluated. Corack A and LongReach Lancer A had the largest average grain size out of the bread wheats while Kiora A, Bolac A, LongReach Dart A, Chara A and LongReach Impala A had the smallest average grain size. Nitrogen application timing affected grain size in 2015 but not In the 2015-N experiment, the early-n treatment had an average grain size of g/1000 grains which was significantly smaller than the late-n treatment with an average grain size of g/1000 grains (Table 8B). Plant population did not affect grain size but the interaction between variety and plant population affected grain size in both years. In the 2014 experiment, LongReach Cobra A and LongReach Impala A both had a larger average grain size in the low plant population compared with the high plant population. In the 2015 experiment, Chara A had a larger average grain size 8 NSW Department of Primary Industries

9 in the low plant population compared with the high plant population. Conversely, in the 2015 experiment, LongReach Lancer A had a larger average grain size in the high plant population compared with the low plant population. Harvest index Variety had a significant effect on harvest index in the 2015 and 2016 experiments (harvest index not measured in 2014). In 2015, Corack A had the highest average harvest index with 40.6%, significantly higher than all other varieties. Merinda A had the lowest average harvest index with 34.2% which was statistically similar to Suntop A (34.7%). In 2016, LongReach Lancer A had the highest average harvest index with 44.0% which was statistically similar to LongReach Trojan A (43.1%). The durum line had the lowest average harvest index of 33.0%, significantly lower than all other varieties. Corack A, LongReach Lancer A, LongReach Cobra A and LongReach Trojan A consistently achieved the highest harvest index while Kiora A, Suntop A and EGA Gregory A consistently achieved a lower harvest index. Plant population affected harvest index in 2015 and In 2015 the low plant population had a harvest index of 37.3% which was significantly higher than the high plant population (36.4%). In 2016 the very low plant population had the highest harvest index with 39.8% and was statistically similar to the low plant population (39.0%). The high plant population had the lowest harvest index (37.8%) but was statistically similar to the medium plant population (38.3%) (Table 7C). Nitrogen rate and application timing affected harvest index in The late N treatment had a harvest index of 37.1% which was significantly higher than the early N treatment (36.6%) (Table 8B). Lodging Variety had a significant effect on the severity of lodging in all three years. In 2014, there was very little lodging across the whole experiment. LongReach Impala A had a very low lodging score of 0.42 and was the only variety to have a lodging score significantly greater than zero (Table 10). In 2015, Corack A had the lowest lodging score of 0.92 but was statistically similar to LongReach Lancer A, Chara A, Mace A and LongReach Cobra A. EGA Bellaroi A had the highest lodging score of 4.71 but was statistically similar to LongReach Impala A. One of the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally. VARIETY SPECIFIC AGRONOMY FOR SOUTHERN IRRIGATED CROPPING SYSTEMS

10 Table 10 Lodging scores* of 16 wheat varieties, averaged across all plant populations and nitrogen treatments, in the irrigated wheat experiments at Coleambally, Variety Lodging score (0 9*) Bolac A 0.00 a - - LongReach Dart A 0.00 a - - Corack A 0.00 a 0.57 a 1.92 abc LongReach Cobra A abc 2.07 abc LongReach Lancer A 0.00 a 0.86 ab 2.33 bc Chara A 0.00 a 0.94 ab 2.18 bc Mace A 0.01 a 1.05 abc 2.31 bc LongReach Trojan A bc 1.47 a Wallup A 0.00 a 1.64 c 2.51 c Suntop A 0.00 a 1.87 cd 2.09 abc Kiora A 0.00 a 2.36 de 2.04 abc de 1.73 ab Merinda A 0.01 a 2.49 de - EGA Gregory A 0.09 a 2.89 e 3.24 d LongReach Impala A 0.42 b 4.52 f - EGA Bellaroi A f 2.43 c l.s.d. (P<0.05) Experiment average Numbers in the same column sharing a common letter are not significantly different at l.s.d. (P = 0.05). * Lodging was scored using a scale of 0 to 9 where 0 indicates no lodging and 9 indicates horizontal plots. In 2016, LongReach Trojan A had the lowest lodging score (1.47) but was statistically similar to line , Corack A, Kiora A, LongReach Cobra A and Suntop A. EGA Gregory A had the highest lodging score of 3.24, significantly higher than all other varieties Corack A and LongReach Cobra A demonstrated the most resistance to lodging with their scores in the top statistical grouping every year they were evaluated. Bolac A, LongReach Dart A, LongReach Lancer A, Chara A, Mace A and LongReach Trojan A also demonstrated strong resistance to lodging. EGA Bellaroi A, EGA Gregory A and LongReach Impala A demonstrated their susceptibility to lodging in every year they were evaluated. Plant population significantly affected lodging in 2015 and In 2015 the low plant population had an average lodging score of 1.72 which was significantly lower than the high population that had an average lodging score of 2.38 (Table 7B). In 2016, the very low and low populations had lodging scores of 1.71 and 1.94 respectively which were significantly lower than the medium and high populations which had lodging scores of 2.50 and 2.62 respectively (Table 7C). Summary These experiments demonstrated that varietal selection is a key driver for achieving maximum wheat yields under irrigation. LongReach Cobra A was the highest yielding variety in 2015 and 2016 with an experiment average of t/ha. Other high yielding varieties were Suntop A, LongReach Lancer A, LongReach Trojan A, Corack A and Chara A. In 2016, plant population demonstrated a significant effect on grain yield. The low population (120 plants/m 2 ) gave the highest grain yield and the trend was for grain yield to decrease as 10 NSW Department of Primary Industries

11 population increased from 120 plants/m 2 to 200 plants/m 2. There was also a significant variety and plant population interaction with EGA Gregory A, Mace A, EGA Bellaroi A, Corack A and LongReach Cobra A yielding higher at the lower plant populations while LongReach Lancer A yielded higher at the higher plant populations. Variety selection also affected grain protein content with line and EGA Bellaroi A both achieving a grain protein concentration greater than 13.0% in every experiment they were evaluated. LongReach Dart A, Bolac A, Wallup A, LongReach Lancer A and Kiora A also had consistently high protein concentrations, all achieving a grain protein concentration greater than 11.5% in every experiment they were evaluated. Nitrogen application timing significantly affected grain protein concentration. As more of the nitrogen was delayed to the booting stage the grain protein concentration increased. Lodging was affected by variety and plant population. EGA Gregory A, EGA Bellaroi A and LongReach Impala A all demonstrated their susceptibility to lodging while Corack A, LongReach Cobra A, Bolac A, LongReach Dart A, LongReach Lancer A, Chara A, Mace A and LongReach Trojan A all demonstrated their resistance to lodging. The population treatments demonstrated that lodging severity increases as plant population increases. Test weight was significantly affected by variety selection but not by plant population or nitrogen treatments. LongReach Lancer A, EGA Gregory A, Suntop A, Chara A and LongReach Trojan A had the highest test weights averaged across the three years while Bolac A, LongReach Dart A, and Mace A all had the lowest average test weights. Harvest index was significantly affected by variety selection, plant population and nitrogen timing. LongReach Lancer A, Corack A and LongReach Trojan A demonstrated a higher than average harvest index while Merinda A, Suntop A and line demonstrated a lower than average harvest index. The plant population treatments showed that harvest index decreases as plant population increases. Delaying some nitrogen from sowing until booting increased harvest index. Deferring nitrogen application reduces the number of tillers, by which total biomass is reduced thus increasing harvest index. Screenings percentage and grain size were significantly affected by variety selection and nitrogen timing. Wallup A had the lowest screenings when averaged across the three years with line , EGA Bellaroi A, Corack A and LongReach Trojan A also having low screenings. In 2015, there were higher levels of screenings when nitrogen application was delayed to the booting stage. The two durum varieties, line and EGA Bellaroi A, had the largest average grain size of all the wheat varieties evaluated while Corack A and LongReach Lancer A had the largest average grain size of the bread wheats. Delaying nitrogen application from sowing until booting increased average grain size. The project This variety specific agronomy package (VSAP) is an output of the Southern irrigated cereal and canola varieties achieving target yields project (DAN00198; ). It summarises the research outcomes from experiments that were conducted in this research node on this crop type. The objective of the project was to demonstrate an increase in irrigated cereal and canola production, and ultimately water use efficiency, through improvement of grower and adviser knowledge of high yielding cereal and canola varieties and specific agronomy management that will increase production and improve profitability under irrigation. The project area extended from the Lachlan Valley in NSW to Victoria, Tasmania and across to south-eastern South Australia. The project comprised a series of research experiments to identify the optimum cereal and canola varieties and agronomic management practices for irrigated cereal and canola production in south-eastern Australia. Specific research questions were tailored to the geographic area, or research node. VARIETY SPECIFIC AGRONOMY FOR SOUTHERN IRRIGATED CROPPING SYSTEMS

12 Organisations that have contributed to the project by conducting research experiments and the location of their research node are NSW DPI (Murrumbidgee Valley, NSW; Murray Valley, NSW), Victorian Irrigated Cropping Council (Northern Victoria), Southern Farming Systems (Tasmania), MacKillop Farm Management Group (south-east South Australia), Central West Farming Systems (Lachlan Valley, NSW) and AgGrow Agronomy & Research (Lachlan Valley, NSW). In addition to the VSAPs, the project also produced an irrigated wheat production manual and an irrigated canola production manual (available by contacting the author) and an extensive database of experiment results. The project has joint investment by NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Acknowledgements This research is part of the Southern irrigated cereal and canola varieties achieving target yields project (DAN00198; ) which has joint investment by NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). We would like to thank experiment co-operators Paul and David Bellato at Coleambally for hosting the wheat experiments from 2014 to We would also like to thank Daniel Johnston, Glenn Morris, Gabby Napier and Michael Hately for providing assistance with sowing, harvest, data collection and experiment management. Further information Tony Napier NSW Department of Primary Industries Yanco Agricultural Institute ISBN: State of New South Wales through Department of Industry You may copy, distribute, display, download and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute the Department of Industry as the owner. However, you must obtain permission if you wish to: charge others for access to the publication (other than at cost) include the publication in advertising or a product for sale modify the publication republish the publication on a website. You may freely link to the publication on a departmental website. Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (June 2017) and may not be accurate, current or complete. The State of New South Wales (including the NSW Department of Industry), the author and the publisher take no responsibility, and will accept no liability, for the accuracy, currency, reliability or correctness of any information included in the document (including material provided by third parties). Readers should make their own inquiries and rely on their own advice when making decisions related to material contained in this publication. Always read the label Users of agricultural or veterinary chemical products must always read the label and any permit, before using the product, and strictly comply with the directions on the label and the conditions of any permit. Users are not absolved from compliance with the directions on the label or the conditions of the permit by reason of any statement made or not made in this publication. The product trade names in this publication are supplied on the understanding that no preference between equivalent products is intended and that the inclusion of a product name does not imply endorsement by the department over any equivalent product from another manufacturer