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Irrigation Discussion Groups

Introduction

The irrigation discussion groups are part of the GRDC investment in the Optimising Irrigated Grains projects. Using a facilitated group approach, farming systems groups have been created so that growers learn from each other and discuss research results relevant to their region.  The topics and discussion are designed to provide support to manage the risk of implementing change in irrigated farming business through:

  • Identifying agronomy and soil improvement techniques that have potential to increase returns of irrigated durum wheat, barley, canola, faba beans, chickpeas and maize
  • Determine how irrigation water may be best allocated for a given cropping season and how to maximise $/ML returns across the whole farm
  • Experimenting with new techniques on your property through focus paddock projects

Project Details

The discussion groups provide a participatory learning experience, where groups design their own focus paddocks and activity plans to suit their location, irrigation infrastructure, access to water and farming systems. Facilitators will utilise the good management guides created under the optimising irrigated grains project, Water-Can Profit and other existing research and financial tools to support group decision making on focus paddock design, implementation and assessment.

Focus Paddocks

Each group has developed a focus paddock to investigate key learnings from the good management guides at a paddock scale. Each group chose a topic that was relevant to them.

Maize Fertiliser Inputs

The Optimising Irrigated Grains project found that there was little grain yield response to nitrogen (N) at rates higher than 240kg N/ha over three years of trials at two sites in Northern Victoria.

The demonstration was set up by a long-term maize grower that wanted to test the rates of N he was using, the method of application and testing if higher rates of P fertiliser were warranted.

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Impacts of various rotation on maize

The aim of the demonstration is to quantify the nitrogen supplied by a vetch brown manure crop, vetch silage, adzuki bean fallow and poultry manure for the following maize crop. This project concept arose from previous Riverine Plains Irrigation Discussion Group nitrogen discussions and aims to quantify the amount of nitrogen that could be supplied by legume crops.

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Utrisha N in Maize

This trial was conducted in a farmer’s maize paddock to determine the effectiveness of using Utrisha N, a bio stimulant product. Utrisha N is an alternative to using synthetic fertilisers such as urea, which will increase the sustainability of growing maize in the region. 

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Spring Barley

The trial was designed to investigate the interaction between plant densities sown in spring barley and the time of sowing of them.

There was a difference in the total mm of water each time of sowing treatment received which may have impacted yield results.

Despite different sowing rates, establishment counts showed consistent plant numbers across all plant density treatments.

The plant density treatments showed no significant differences in yield or grain quality results.

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Decreasing mycotoxin in maize

The aim of this demonstration was to determine if  growers could do an early hand sample and test to see if their crop was suitable for markets that had strict limits on Aflatoxin and Fumonisin. 

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Impact of potassium and sulfur on maize yields

This demonstration was established to measure the effect of different nutrient treatments, particularly Potassium and Sulfur on maize yields.

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Resources

Pre Irrigation

Pre-irrigation is the first decision of the season and is not without its own risks. Get it right means timely sowing, excellent establishment and enough soil moisture to build sufficient crop biomass through winter until the irrigation system is able to supply water in the spring.

With surface irrigation, it is an ‘all or nothing’ decision and timing depends on your level of risk you want to take – too early and you risk losing surface moisture that delays establishment, too late and additional rainfall delays sowing, waterlogging may occur, or autumn rainfall was sufficient meaning the pre-irrigation was an unnecessary expense.

Overhead irrigators have more options in that the amount of water applied can be tuned to the autumn or water price, but still have to decide on the level of soil moisture they want to have going into the winter where not enough will impact on crop growth if they cannot access irrigation water through the winter.

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Rethinking N for Grain Maize

GRDC Podcast 
"Helping growers to work smarter not harder with their inputs to increase profitability is the focus of many GRDC investments. Recently, Australian maize growers have found there's a peak in the nitrogen response curve, beyond which there is no measurable effect on yield. Meanwhile, irrigation discussion groups have expanded into a paddock scale demonstration, where growers have further investigated key management options. This podcast explores the outcomes of those recent trials into irrigated grains, specifically maize"
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Testing time for maize fertilisers to optimise yields

GRDC Groundcover
Ray is a member of the Irrigation Farmers Network (IFN), the farmer-based research group that conducted the Kerang trials. In his own on-farm trial, he is testing this year’s fertiliser regime with three nitrogen application rates similar to those of the IFN trials: 140kg/ha, 265kg/ha and 290kg/ha, each applied to several rows of maize.
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Top Agronomy Tips for Canola Podcast

Research Manager from Irrigation Farmers network Damian Jones shares insights about the key messages from this work that growers can use to optimise their Canola crops.

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Top Agronomy Tips for High Yielding Faba Beans Podcast

The optimising irrigated grains research was a 3 year investment by GRDC. Irrigation Farmers Network in collaboration with FAR Australia developed a research program to evaluate crop specific agronomic management practices in irrigated environments in order to determine their effects on system productivity and profitability.

The research focused on maximising system profitability through:

  1. Understanding the yield potential of irrigated crops
  2. Understanding how to consistently optimise yield for the crops.
  3. Optimising the return on nitrogen through improved nitrogen use efficiency

 

Today we are speaking with Research Manager from Irrigation Farmers network Damian Jones to learn more about the key messages from this work that growers can use to optimise their Faba Bean crops.

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Growth Regulator Performance Podcast

This podcast presents insights adopted from an article published in the Irrigation Research Extension Committee’s Farmers’ Newsletter, 209, Autumn 2023, titled: Growth Regulator Performance Dampened in Season 2022 by Sam O’Rafferty and Hayden Petty from Summit Ag Agricultural Consulting.
In 2022, two trials were conducted to investigate canopy and lodging management in irrigated barley at Whitton and irrigated durum wheat at Darlington Point as part of the Optimising Irrigated Grains project, funded by the Grain Research and Development Corporation.
Focus paddocks provided an opportunity to run these trials to investigate crop production issues raised by local growers.
The trials looked at the influence of fertiliser, variety and plant growth regulators, or PGRs, on cereal crops and the influence these had on yield and standability.

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Chickpeas disease and inoculation Podcast

This podcast features Damian Jones Trial Manager with IFN. As part of the Optimising Irrigated Grains a number of trials were undertaken in region. In 2020 a trial in the Whitton area looked at the impact of disease and inoculation in irrigated chickpeas.

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Project Investment

This project is supported by funding from Grains Research and Development Corporation.

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