Three new faba beans, and a Roundup ready Canola on market

Fuller details of new varieties, as well as all current varieties grown for these crops, are in the 2019 edition of the NSW Department of Primary Industries publication Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide, available from NSW DPI or Local Land Services. Don McCaffery, oilseeds and pulses technical specialist, authored the pulses and oilseeds sections of the document.

Three new faba bean varieties were released for 2019 sowing. Nanu is a high yielding release for northern NSW, yielding higher than Warda and with similar disease resistance. Seed is slightly larger than Warda.

Bendoc is adapted to southern NSW, but with limited trial data. It is the first imidazolinone-tolerant faba bean variety that will provide increased weed control options.

Marne, the third new faba variety, is adapted to southern NSW shorter-season environments. In dryland testing it is slightly higher yielding than Samira and has a similar seed size.

There are no new field pea varieties for 2019 but increased knowledge about other recent releases. Butler, released in late 2017, is a Kaspa seed type that has performed similar or better than Oura in southern NSW. It is mid-late flowering with early-mid maturity. It performs best in medium to long-season climates.

Don McCaffery notes that bacterial blight outbreaks were widespread in 2018 because of severe frosts in some districts. Butler, Oura and Percy all have good resistance to blight.

Narrow-leaf lupin variety Bateman and albus lupin Murringo were released in late 2017.

Bateman overall has yielded higher than other varieties, particularly in the eastern NSW cropping zones where virus infection from CMV and BYMV can cause significant yield loss in susceptible varieties when seasonal conditions are conducive to high aphid levels.

Murringo, released by NSW DPI is early-mid flowering. It has moderate resistance to pleiochaeta root rot and phomopsis but like all current albus varieties is susceptible to anthracnose. It's yield is similar to Luxor.

Restrictions following anthracnose detection in southern NSW in 2016 have been lifted with no detections in 2018. Lupins are increasingly being used as a double-break grain crop in the year before canola in central and southern NSW. Mr McCaffery urges growers to be aware of the potential for lupin sclerotinia infection, providing an extra source of disease inoculum for a following canola crop.

Canola is regularly seeing a large number of new varieties releases each year with at least 10 more for 2019. Generally, releases add to choice of variety resistance to blackleg disease.

InVigor R 4020P is a new Roundup ready (RR) hybrid with the PodGuard trait (trait strengthens canola pods and reduces the risk of pod shatter).

Hyola 410XX is a new TruFlex RR technology hybrid (eg. more flexible use of herbicide). Hyola 580CT is a new dual herbicide-tolerant hybrid combining Clearfield and triazine tolerance. Hyola 530XT is a new dual herbicide-tolerant hybrid combining TruFlex RR technology and triazine tolerance.

An increasing range of canola varieties suited to dual purpose grazing and grain, or only grazing, is also occurring. Some have "winter habit" similar to these traits in cereals, and some are slow-maturing varieties but also for some areas suit early sowing and winter grazing before being locked up for grain.

A new addition this year to the variety growing guide is characterising the phenology of different varieties. This data is important for planning sowing date, as it relates to earliness or lateness to flowering when a variety is sown earlier than the traditional Anzac Day date.

Extensive detail on growing of these and other winter crops are also contained in the Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide.

These include variety rating against common disease threats, strategies for minimising disease risk and aspects such as sowing time, rate and much more.

Next week: Crop and pasture species with roots that better exploit limited soil water.