DIVERSITY in research and development was a standout at this year’s 2018 Liebe Group Post Seeding Field Walk, which was held at the group’s Main Trial Site at Kalannie on Wednesday, July 18.
More than 50 people from the Kalannie and surrounding areas attended the day, with the opportunity to view a diverse range of research and to interact with researchers from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), CSIRO and Liebe trial partners.
The tag-along bus tour across the Liebe Group’s sites began at the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) legume demonstration site, where DPIRD senior research officer and legume guru Mark Seymour helped Liebe’s research co-ordinator Alana Hartley introduce the benefits of growing legume crops, such as field peas and chickpeas, in their rotations.
Moving onto the main trial site, the group of 50 growers and industry partners were split into smaller groups and rotated through 12 of the 14 trials at the site.
Trial partners introduced their work which ranged from crop variety trials, deep sowing wheat, nutrition management, summer spray plant back work, pre and post-emergent weed management, crop rotations for a low rainfall zone and soil borne diseases.
Another large scale GRDC-funded grower demonstration provided the group with a side-by-side comparison of different cultivation options to improve soil structure.
Local Kalannie grower and Liebe Group member Bob Nixon said it was great to see an extensive range of trials in the Kalannie area in a season that is looking so good.
The day finished with a facilitated R&D ideas session to establish what trials could be implemented across the wider Liebe region in the coming seasons.
The Liebe Group thank this year’s main trial site hosts, the McCreery family, for their hard work and dedication to the site, diamond partner Rabobank for sponsoring the event and all the trial partners for the support in making the day a success.