The 2024 South Australian Crop Sowing Guide, which aims to help South Australian grain growers determine the best crop variety for their situation, has been published.

Every year GRDC collaborates with the South Australian Grain Industry Trust and the South Australian Research and Development Institute of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (SARDI-PIRSA) to develop and publish the sowing guide that details information on current varieties of the major winter cereal and pulse crops.

The guide uses updated results from the National Variety Trials (NVT) program and is a definitive source of all the information growers need to choose the most suitable variety for any given location and situation.

NVT trial results from individual sites are published as soon as the trials are harvested and the results released. When results from all trials are released, a multi environment trial (MET) analysis is conducted and the results published on NVT Long Term Yield Reporter.

GRDC manager, National Variety Trials (NVT) – south, Trevor Garnett explains that growers don’t have to wait to receive the guide in the mail anymore with results published online so quickly.

“Growers can subscribe to receive NVT results as soon as they are published on the NVT website,” says Mr Garnett.

“They can request results for the specific trials they are interested in, making it a perfectly tailored solution to access all year round, whenever growers or their advisers have time to start planning which crop variety to plant.

“All data is published postharvest, as soon as it is available, and the printed guide and pdf are released later – but both in time to ensure growers can access the past year’s results in time to make variety decisions for next season and source the seed they want.”

The NVT program is the largest independent co-ordinated trial network in the world. Across Australia each year, GRDC manages more than 650 trials, sown at over 300 locations for 10 crop species.

For the past two years, South Australian grain grower Andrew McLean has hosted an NVT canola trial site at Keith in the south-east of the state. He is also a member of the NVT for the Wimmera/Upper South East SA advisory committee, providing advice to ensure trial management closely reflects current grower practices.

“It’s good to be involved in the NVT and to have trial sites close to where you are and on similar country, so you can see how different varieties perform in your area,” says Mr McLean.

Mr McLean doesn’t wait for the publication of the sowing guide, instead he accesses trial results directly from the NVT website.

Grower Andrew McLean hosts the NVT canola trial in Keith, South Australia – one of 650 NVT trials, sown at over 300 locations for 10 crop species across Australia – producing data to help growers choose the best variety for their situation. Photo: Trevor Garnett, GRDC.

“I go to the NVT website to look at data from multiple sites locally and in our region and from across different years – to give me a spread between dry and wet seasons,” he says.

“By looking at the yields and other trait data, including disease resistance ratings, we can work out what varieties might go well for us.”

NVT results – published on the NVT website and in the sowing guide – include NVT yield, disease and pest resistance results for the past five years as well as information on crop quality attributes and other agronomic considerations.

The 2024 edition covers wheat, barley, oat, canola, field pea, lentil, faba bean, lupin, chickpea and vetch varieties.

SARDI-PIRSA research officer Melissa McCallum contributed to and edited the guide, and acknowledges the value of collaboration to deliver the guide for industry.

“With ongoing support from SAGIT and GRDC, we are able to continue to compile a comprehensive guide of new and current varieties from the full range of crop types tested under NVT in South Australia as well as an overview of vetch varieties,” says Ms McCallum.

“It is great that we can provide this ongoing and important independent resource direct to growers, as a printed guide as well as online, profiling a range of new and current varieties across many crop types and their relevance to South Australia.”

Download the 2024 South Australian Crop Sowing Guide or order a hard copy via 1800 110 044 or [email protected] (postage and handling charges apply).

SARDI-PIRSA is also inviting users of the 2024 South Australian Crop Sowing Guide to provide feedback on it via a survey to maximise the usefulness of future versions.