issue 172 september october 2024
This page shows the articles in issue 172 september october 2024 of GroundCover. As articles are developed and published online, the list below will grow until all articles are available.
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Healthy-looking crops point to a promising harvest
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 01 Nov 2024Growers across Australia report on how the season is shaping up in this fourth instalment for 2024. For most, the season is looking good with healthy crops pointing to what could be a healthy harvest.
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RiskWi$e headed west to talk through results and goals
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 31 Oct 2024The RiskWi$e team travelled to Western Australia in July, bringing together grower groups and researchers from across Australia to talk about goals for this new initiative. The WA grower groups partnering with GGA were excited about the participatory approach to RiskWise. Those groups are Stirlings to Coast Farmers, South-East Premium Wheat Growers Association, Facey Group, Corrigin Farm Improvement Group, Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association, Liebe Group, West Midlands Group and Mingenew Irwin Group. They have chosen to research nitrogen decisions, sowing decisions and machinery investment decisions.
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A clean approach to pest management
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 29 Oct 2024Non-chemical methods for protecting stored grain include good hygiene to prevent and control insects. GRDC Grain Storage Extension national coordinator Chris Warrick says research by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ post-harvest research team shows the most effective time to undertake a whole-of-site clean-up is in the winter months, when insect breeding and migration are lowest. He also recommends a structural treatment post-clean-up in silos and equipment using a product such as diatomaceous earth (DE) – a fossilised algae dust that dehydrates and kills insects without residue issues.
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New pulse investments aim to boost genetic diversity
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 28 Oct 2024GRDC is investing more than $17.9 million in five new pulse projects over the next six years. The aim is to enhance the genetic diversity of chickpea, lentil, faba bean, lupin, mungbean and field pea varieties to improve yield, nitrogen fixation, disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance in pulse crops. Dr Camilla Hill GRDC genetic technologies manager (pulses) is coordinating these investments.
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Grain storage keeps harvest operations on a roll
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 25 Oct 2024Andy Tucker has 5500-tonnes of on-farm storage. It helps maximise returns at his Maroona farm. He has a cone-based silo and shed storage system and can sell grain directly to the feed and export markets at a time and price that best suits.
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Generational shift supports gene editing
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 24 Oct 2024The increasing acceptance of gene editing for food crops is paving the way for broader use of advanced technologies to enhance agricultural production, according to Professor Barry Pogson, director of the ARC Training Centre for Future Crop Development. In his keynote address at the Australian Grains Industry Conference in Melbourne this August, Professor Pogson emphasized the importance of public support for genetic techniques that can boost crop performance. He noted that while regulatory barriers often slow the adoption of new crop varieties, rising consumer acceptance could accelerate approval processes, driving innovation in the agricultural sector.
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Mungbeans back with a bang
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 23 Oct 2024Central Queensland grain grower Mark Baker planted his biggest mungbean crop ever this year, a decision that paid off with a high-yielding crop.
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Project to unlock know-how for mungbean success
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 22 Oct 2024A new $3.6 million project aims to close the mungbean yield gap by providing growers and advisers with the agronomic and management practices needed to confidently grow mungbeans.The project is led by Censeo Field and Lab in collaboration with the Australian Mungbean Association (AMA), the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and CSIRO. Over four years, the project will be using more than 150 on-farm strip and paddock-scale trials at sites in Queensland and New South Wales
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New grains biosecurity officer for Queensland
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 21 Oct 2024The Grains Farm Biosecurity Program (GFBP) has welcomed Adam Jalaludin as the new grains biosecurity officer (GBO) for Queensland. He will based at the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Toowoomba. Adam Jalaludin will work to enhance biosecurity preparedness and management at farm and industry levels, contributing to the resilience of the state’s $2 billion grains industry
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Genetics boost for pulses
Issue 172, September-October 2024 - 18 Oct 2024GRDC is investing more than $17.9 million in five new pulse projects over the next six years. The aim is to enhance the genetic diversity of chickpea, lentil, faba bean, lupin, mungbean and field pea varieties to improve yield, nitrogen fixation, disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance in pulse crops. Dr Camilla Hill GRDC genetic technologies manager (pulses) is coordinating these investments.