Wheat crop in Nundle
Wheat crop in Nundle
Crop management
Crops should be monitored to gauge early crop growth: emergence, seedling density, weed population, presence of insects and disease and general crop health. All these factors impinge on the potential grain yield. Records of rainfall received and soil water to maximum rooting depth at sowing and harvest will allow the farmer to assess the WUE (water use efficiency) of the crop.
WUE = kg grain/mm effective growing season rainfall/hectare.
Wheat has a potential WUE of approximately 20kg/mm/ha. A crop reaching 80 per cent or more of its potential WUE reflects good management.
Weeds growing in the wheat field.
Weeds growing in the wheat field.
Weed management
To achieve maximum potential yields, early planning for weed control is essential. Weed assessment of the paddock should commence the year prior to cropping. This will guide the farmer to choose the appropriate weed control strategy required: winter cleaning of pastures, control of grass weeds in broadleaf crops or chemical fallowing.
Weeds encourage the transfer of disease and pests and use nutrients and moisture that could be converted into grain by the crop.
Once a weed problem is encountered there is a wide range of herbicide options available to control them. Not only is the immediate removal of weeds important but there is a need to avoid developing resistance to a particular herbicide or group of herbicides.
Rotation of herbicide groups is an important consideration as well as any potential residual issues for subsequent crop choices.
Consulting cropping advisors and resellers is recommended for both the choice of a tactical option to control weeds and to develop longer term weed management strategies.
Marketing
An estimated 50 per cent or more of the wheat produced in Victoria is consumed locally, within the state. This is as milling wheat, stockfeed and other uses such as starch production. The rest is exported where prices are very dependent on the volatile world market.
In years of high yields a greater portion of the crop will be available for export.
Deregulation in 2008 has meant that the dynamics of the Australian Wheat Market is less certain. Growers now have four major options from which to plan a marketing strategy; sell for cash, warehouse and sell later, store on farm and sell later or pool.
Plant breeders are producing varieties which offer a range of traits, one of which is grain quality. Wheat growers are responsive to market demands and choose varieties which offer the best financial returns. It is important for growers to determine which varieties are best suited for their district and one factor in that choice is which market will that product be suitable for and will that market accept the grain produced.
