MOTHER nature has thrown just about everything at winter crops this year from rain, flood, waterlogging, minimum sunshine and disease, however, canola may well be a winner with a prediction of yields of around 1.5 tonnes a hectare from a 500,000ha crop area.
Word from just about every growing area within the state suggests results at each end of the spectrum for growers who have received the biggest winter and spring rains in 20 years, which have in some areas negatively affected crops.
NSW Primary Industries technical specialist (pulses and oilseeds), Don McCaffery, Orange, suggests up to 10 per cent of the crop will not be harvested due to flooding, inundation or severe waterlogging.
“Weather had not done crops justice,” he said.
“There had been an early finish to flowering of up to a fortnight, which possibly was due to the lack of energy in plants’ (due to) low solar radiation throughout the growing season.”
Mr McCaffery said an early finish to flowering was more often seen in a hot, dry spring where the topmost pods don’t fill.
“So on the one hand you might think the yield potential will be down and that would be from the waterlogging effects as much as anything. But the other issue of solar radiation may not have as noticeable an effect, as pod density appears to be good.”
He said that would not be known until the header goes into the crops. All canola growers would be anticipating the harvest of their crops as the price has been rising in past weeks with a delivered Newcastle price of $550 a tonne last Friday.
Quirindi Grain Trading Pty Ltd’s John Webster said Profarmer was quoting $541/t delivered Port Kembla last Tuesday, which had been an increase of $10/t on the previous week.
“There is more canola on the Liverpool Plains this year than previous years, but due to the season much has fallen over,” he said.
In the Wellington district, CRT agronomist Michael White of Michael White and Company, said canola was either a big crop or a disaster depending on where and how much water.
“It depends on whether plants were waterlogged and for how long,” he said.
“Some crops have sclerotinia and also black leg, there’s no real pattern.
“But anywhere there has been water or extremely waterlogged soils, plants are susceptible.”
Mr White said he had heard some crops in very wet areas had been totally written off, while even in the same paddocks there was potential of big yields. He added also said growers, mainly in the Central West who had opted for manola this year, would receive a bonus $105 per tonne.
Arthurville crop is in for a good yield
“ROSEWOOD’S” canola and manola crops in the Arthurville district are headed for a successful harvest for the Carney family.
Matt Carney said only a small percentage of the 440-hectare plantings had waterlogging from winter/spring rain, although possibly 10 per cent was affected by sclerotinia disease. Even so, he is quietly confident the paddocks would yield close to two-plus tonnes a hectare.
The Carneys sowed two thirds of the winter oilseed area with canola and one third manola, which Mr Carney is hoping will return a fair dividend.
Using a John Deere Conservapak, from April 20 to 27, Mr Carney sowed the crop at 2.7 kilograms/ha after an earlier application of 200kg/ha of sulphate of ammonia. The sowing in 30 centimetre spacings was with 100kg/ha of monoammonium phosphate in a 60/40 mix (60pc under seed). Germination began after the first rain in May.
He expects to begin windrowing possibly half of the crop within the next week, but will have to direct head the remainder because much of both crops have lodged from rain and windy weather, especially last weekend’s 33 to 40 millimetre blast.
Local CRT agronomist, Michael White of Michael White and Company, Wellington, said the continued wet and boggy or waterlogged conditions during the growing period were conducive to plant stressing and therefore susceptible to disease. This has resulted in some complete crop failures, however, better growing conditions have enhanced prospective higher yields.