A NEW hybrid canola variety trialled on-farm at Northampton this season is showing growers that there's still room for new varieties to deliver higher yields.
The new variety under the spotlight this season was Nuseed's GT-53, a mid-season Roundup Ready hybrid canola, adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions.
The Stanich family was selected to trial GT-53 as part of Nuseed's nation-wide Crop Agronomy Trial program, giving them an early insight into its performance before its commercial release.
At harvest in Northampton, it out-yielded the comparison Roundup Ready hybrid on the farm by 200 kilograms per hectare.
"At 2.14 tonnes per hectare, I was very happy with the yield result for the GT-53," Tristan Stanich said.
"It's true that yield is king, especially when it comes to picking canola varieties, so this was the key trial result for us."
The Stanich family is growing wheat, canola and lupins and running a small cattle breeding operation and trading livestock.
It has been growing Roundup Ready canola for the past three years.
When choosing a canola variety Mr Stanich said they considered yield potential, hybrid vigour for its ability to compete with weeds and the seed size.
"A small seed size reduces the upfront costs, because you can plant at a lower seeding rate and still achieve the right density of plants per square metre," he said.
The seeding rate for Nuseed GT-53 was 1.4 kilograms per hecatare 400 grams per hectare less than the comparison crop, saving them $14.80/ha.
Taking into consideration the yield, oil level, bonification and the cost of seed, Nuseed GT-53 delivered a $103/ha higher gross margin than the comparison hybrid variety in the on-farm trial.
Mr Stanich said it all added up to a great result from what was a good looking crop all season.
The crop was sown on May 1, but was quickly under threat as a deluge of rain washed out some of the emerging plants.
"We had 30 millimetres of rain in 10 minutes and lost a few plants per square metre across all our canola because of that," he said.
"We also had some downy mildew early, but with a bit of sunlight and nitrogen it was soon up and away.
"The canopy closed up nicely and it grew a nice green colour, with GT-53 developing more biomass than the canola next to it.
"It flowered a bit later, but it developed quite quickly after that."
Mr Stanich said the extra biomass made direct heading Nuseed GT-53 a little slower than the rest of the paddock.
Nuseed GT-53 will be his preferred option next season if he gets an early break.
"We have quite a short season up here and I bet it would do really well with the extra time," Mr Stanich said.
Nuseed northern WA area sales manager Hugh Trenorden said Nuseed GT-53 was a variety that could take full advantage of good seasons, while still being highly competitive if the going gets tough.
He has seen a lot of the crop in on-farm trials this year and has been impressed by how well it responded to early sowing.
"It's a good looking hybrid with good early vigour and a dark green leaf colour that lets you know it's healthy and growing at a glance," he said.
Nuseed GT-53 is rated R for blackleg resistance, the highest possible resistance level.
"I'd recommend Nuseed GT-53 for its performance and potential profitability across all regions in anything from an average to a favourable season, while I wouldn't write it off if conditions were tough in spring," he said.
"Our canola varieties, such as Nuseed GT-53, are bred in Australia for Australian conditions and we are continuing to develop new, improved varieties to meet the needs of local growers in the years to come."
