THE use of break crops has become more popular due to higher prices and the need for weed control.
That was one of the messages from the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Research Updates, Perth, last week.
Currently 58 per cent of WA’s crops are wheat, with 17pc barley and 14pc canola.
CSIRO Centre of Environment and Life Sciences representative Andrew Fletcher said there would never be a more widely-grown crop such as wheat, but more farmers were starting to appreciate the value that break crops offered.
“It might be a yield increase through weed control or nitrogen fixation if it’s a legume crop, regardless the rewards of break crops are beneficial for most programs,” Mr Fletcher said.
In comparison to wheat, break crop yields decreased faster in areas where low yield was common.
“This explains the reluctance of farmers to grow break crops, although despite low yields, many break crops were more profitable to grow compared to wheat, especially with the yield boost to following wheat crops,” he said.
In the 1990s there were 1.3 million hectares of lupins being grown, until the introduction of canola.
“When lupins started to decline, canola started to take off and the price of lupins has never been that great and there comes a more profitable option,” he said.
“We also used to grow a lot of chick peas then this thing call Ascochyta came along and very quickly they were gone also.”
Another person who weighed in on the benefits of break crops, in particular legumes, was Seed for Life award winner and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior research officer Mark Seymour.
“There are five million hectares of land in WA that we would class as OK for growing legumes, 500,000ha that we would say was good and a very small area that is excellent, which tends to be a small area around Merredin,” Mr Seymour said.
He said there appeared to be a renewed interest from growers and the agricultural community with legume break crops to complement canola and cereals in a rotation.
“PBA Bolt is the most widely grown lentil in WA, with alternative options PBA Hurricane XT and PBA Jumbo 2,” he said.
He found that in 2017 lentils produced profitable yields at majority of their test sites, with PBA Bolt found to produce equal highest yield with other PBA released cultivars.
In conclusion Mr Seymour said planting 100 to 110 plants per square metre, which is in line with the Eastern States, would be perfect for anyone considering planting a legume break crop in mid-April.
He said the success and rarity of break crops and legumes in WA made for an exciting future for growers.
