2013 Seasonal effects of stubble treatments on canola establishment and grain yield in CWFS districts
Canola is a very popular break crop, however there were issues regarding its establishment under a wheat stubble. This webpage reports on survey and trial results from Central West Farming Systems in 2013. The full trial report is located here.
Key points:
- Survey results: 47 farmers (covering 207,000 ha), 70% of producers regularly maintained stubble cover over the summer period, 20% maintained their fallows by cultivation alone.
- Trial location: Rankin Springs, Wirrinya and Tullamore.
- Aim: investigate the impact the different stubble treatments imposed towards the end of the fallow have on the establishment and yield of canola.
- Design:
- four ranges and four rows with four replicates.
- four treatments were standing, burnt, mulched and cultivated stubble.
- plot size was 10m wide by 40m long, running between the co-operators tram tracks.
- sown by the farmer as part of their commercial canola planting program.
- Key results:
- significant yield difference between the various stubble treatments.
- Wirrinya: burnt and cultivated treatments with yields of (2.55 t/ha) and (2.19 t/ha) respectively yielded significantly higher than the mulched 1.68 t/ha.
- Rankins Springs: burnt and cultivated treatments with yields of (1.23 t/ha) and (1.2 t/ha) respectively yielded significantly higher than the mulched treatment (1.02 t/ha) and standing (1.02 t/ha) treatments.
CWFS leaves the reader with the following take home messages:
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During 2013, The canola crops that were sown on time and met target plant populations it appeared that late burning and/or cultivation of the previous crops stubble improved yield.
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The cost of burning stubble’s needs to be considered when making the decision to burn. Burning stubbles may have a fit in paddocks  where windrows are being burnt for weed seed control or stubble’s are to heavy for seeders to get through.
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The cost of cultivation needs to account for both the cost of the operation as well as the risk of soil erosion. The risk of producing a drier seed bed at sowing time should also be considered.
