WITH favourable prices, low disease pressure and a fantastic start to the season, there's been a significant increase in WA growers planting field peas this season.
Field pea plantings have jumped by 30 per cent in the Kwinana and Albany zones and are up by 20pc in the Esperance zone from 2015.
This takes the total to 31,000 hectares planted this year as growers capitalise on a good start to the season.
Disease pressure is also low this year, according to Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) field research manager Ian Pritchard.
"About 70-90pc of spores have now been released from last year's stubble, so there is now a low level of disease that can get going in the crop," he said
"If growers have stuck to the key disease management of not seeding too early or too close to last year's field pea stubble and checking the time of sowing with DAFWA's blackspot alert service, then there will be very low pressure this year."
Eastern Districts Seed Cleaning Company (EDSCCo) manager Shane Starling said so far there hadn't been any disease pressure on field peas in the Wheatbelt area.
Mr Starling said EDSCCo worked with Australian Seed and Grain in Moora and Multiseed Production in Esperance to grow bulk seed for planting.
He said the company was working with four farmers in the Kellerberrin area and two in Meckering.
"Field peas are a good fit for growers due to their nitrogen fixing,'' Mr Starling said.
"Plus, the price is making them more attractive to grow."
This year, kaspa-type field pea variety PBA Wharton has been in strong demand due to its resistance to powdery mildew, Pea Seed-borne Mosaic Virus (PSbMV) and Bean leafroll virus (BLRV).
For Rick Innes, field peas are a great break crop due to their nitrogen fixation and root system.
Mr Innes and his brother Phillip, with their wives Julie and Jan and son Mitchell and his wife Leanne, farm Wichatopping, between Kellerberrin and Doodlakine.
The family cropped 7300 hectares this year, with 160ha dedicated to peas, 590ha to Bonito canola, 320ha to PBA Jurien and PBA Barlop lupins, 1400ha to Latrobe and Compass barley and 4800 of Mace, Magenta, Scepter and noodle wheat.
They also run a 4500-head Merino flock on a further 3500ha which are used in the rotation to keep ryegrass and wild radish under control.
Mr Innes, who sells the field peas through EDSCCo, said the crop played an important role in their rotation and the results were evident in paddocks where cereal crops had been planted over pea stubble.
"For example, where we have planted barley on the pea stubble from last year, you can really see it in the barley's vigour and performance," he said.
The family held off seeding until April 20 due to the wet start, with the peas planted last on May 27 at 100 kilograms/ha seed rates with 30kg/ha of Impact-treated AgStar.
"We try and go as late as we can with the field peas due to problems with front," Mr Innes said.
"Last year, a bad frost completely smashed them so we only yielded 400-500kg/ha, where normally we would expect about 1 tonne/ha."
This year the family was also trying two new pieces of machinery.
New AgMaster twin-row seeder boots place the seed off centre in the furrow, allowing the Innes family to bulk up its seed on 12-inch row spacings.
The second item is a new FlexiCoil seeder with hydraulic tines, which has made seeding faster, with less breakdowns.
"With the new machine we're able to cover more ground without needing to stop to fill and we had no problems with breakdowns.
"We have quite a bit of rocky country as well as the flat and it performed really well across the board."
The wet conditions did mean there was a "stop-start" approach to seeding that finished in early June.
So far the farm has received 340 millimetres for the year.
A pre-emergent application of propyzamide and paraquat was used in the pea crop, with a follow up post-emergent application of metribuzin and Brodal (diflufenican).
While field peas are known to be difficult during harvest, the Innes family has invested in a custom-made roller to help reduce the amount of soil and dry matter entering the harvester.
The roller is used early in the season to smooth off the peak, making it easier when picking up low or lodged peas.
"We try and harvest the peas as early as possible to get them when they are still sitting up, which also helps reduce the potential damage to the harvester," he said.
Mr Innes said they were very happy with how the season was shaping up.
"This time last year we wanted to be as far away as possible from the farm,'' he said.
"Now we have a full soil moisture profile, excellent germination and a good outlook.
"One concern we do have is that due to the great start, that the crops are pretty soft, so a dry spell might be needed to give them a shock."
