canola & its role in australia’s conservation farming...

54
Canola & its role in Australia’s conservation farming revolution John Kirkegaard CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra

Upload: others

Post on 26-Apr-2020

3 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Canola & its role in Australia’s conservation

farming revolution

John Kirkegaard

CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra

Why invite an Aussie?

An oilseed (canola) is most important non-cereal crop

(3rd most important overall)

Highest adoption of direct seeding worldwide

(72 - 96% area)

95% of canola is direct-seeded

Talk Outline

● Australian farming systems and the CA revolution

● Canola industry – history and current production

● Why grow canola? – selected R&D highlights

● Modern direct-seeded canola – trends and challenges

CLERMONT

120

0

DALBY

120

0

CONDOBOLIN

120

0

WAGGA WAGGA

120

0

MOOMBOOLDOOL

120

0

HORSHAM

120

0

ROSEWORTHY

120

0

ESPERANCE

120

0

MERREDIN

120

0

GERALDTON

120

0

Mixed farms (5000 acres)

1 crop/yr (May-Nov)

Mean yield 2000 lbs/ac

Australian environment, soils and system

Dry (12-20 inch), infertile soils, unsubsidised agriculture

Low and variable rainfall (risk management)

0

100

200

300

400

500

1889 1899 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1989 1999

Year

Gro

win

g s

ea

so

n r

ain

(m

m)`

10-year running mean 20

16

12

8

4

The cropping year...

Sowing rain?

Frost risk

Heat, drought

Climatic risks

Fall Winter Spring

April May June July Aug Sept Oct

Farming system evolution

● Up to 1980s

ley pastures grass/annual legumes (merino sheep for wool)

cereals (wheat and barley)

Pasture Wheat Barley

Burn or remove residues + Repeated cultivation for weeds and seedbed

Farming system evolution – the 1990s

● Since 1990 - Intensification of cropping

fewer, larger farms (5000 acres)

increased crop area per farm (3.6% pa)

less pasture, fewer sheep

more crop diversity

no-till, stubble retention

Pasture Wheat Canola Wheat Lupin Wheat

Farming systems evolution – the 2000’s

● 2002-2009 The “Millenium” drought

more cereals, less break crops

wider rows and stubble retention

= herbicide resistant weeds

Glyphosate-resistant

populations

of annual ryegrass

Typical farm in 2014: 5000 acres (70:30 crop/pasture)

Australian national wheat yield trends

Kirkegaard et al., (2013) Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment (online)

890

1780

450

1340

2200

No-till adoption and use in Australia

Year

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

% n

o-t

ill

ad

op

tio

n

0

20

40

60

80

100

year vs upper

year vs lower

year vs mean

GRDC 2010; Llewellyn et al 2011

Extent of Use (2009)

62 - 92% use No-till

73 - 96% crop area

WA, QLD

Mallee

The revolution begins....

Convergence of factors in 1970s to form potential for change

Natural resource management (political will)

Economic drivers (terms of trade)

Key enabling technologies

Item 1973-74 1982-83

Net wheat price per tonne $96 $119

Fuel (gallons) per tonne of wheat 600 84

Enabling technologies...

Herbicides for weed control

1971 Spray.Seed; 1977 Hoegrass; 1980 Glyphosate

Machinery development to reduce tillage/retain residue

Min-till – Direct drill – No-till – Zero till

Residue handling – harvest and seeding

Significant grower innovation

Broad-leaf rotation crops

Lupins in the 1980’s in Western Australia

Canola in the 1990s across Australia

Broadleaf rotation crops (legumes, canola)

Disease control

(root and stubble borne)

Weeds

(control of grass weeds)

Nitrogen

Legumes (+20 to 45 lb/acre N)

Residues easy for direct-seeding

20% yield benefit

Water and nutrient efficiency

Brief history of canola in Australia

● 1970s small areas of rapeseed (B napus, B campestris)

● 1976 decimated by Blackleg disease (Leptosphaeria maculans)

● 1990 resistant “double-low” varieties revive Industry

● 1999 area peaked at 5M acres, stabilised at ~3M acres

grown for system benefits rather than profit

80% triazine tolerant varieties, all open pollinated

● 2001 concern over “yield decline” in canola

● 2002-08 widespread drought limits yield and area sown

● 2008 new GM hybrid varieties first approved in 2008

● 2011 area grown and yield prospects best for a decade

● 2014 private breeding; 50% hybrid varieties, still 50% TT

Insert presentation title

Year

'70 '75 '80 '85 '90 '95 '00 '05 '10 '15

Area sown (million acres)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Yield(lb/acre)

0

250

500

750

1000

1250

1500

1750

Source: ABARE estimates, Australian Oilseeds Federation (AOF) industry estimates

Australian

varieties Canadian

varieties

TT

varieties Blackleg

Millenium

drought

GM hybrids Canola Check

Canola in Australia - area sown and yield

Current status

● 3rd most valuable grain crop in Australia

Gross value: Wheat ($7.8B), Barley ($1.9B), Canola ($1.1B)

Export value: Wheat ($5.0B); Barley ($1.5B); Canola ($ 0.8B)

● ~ 0.8 – 1.4 Mt (75%) exported annually

● 0.6 Mt canola crushed annually (Australian capacity 1.1 Mt)

● 25% of oil is exported, domestic use in food sector

● meal used in high protein feed in pig, poultry, dairy

Why grow canola?

- too drought sensitive

- too difficult to grow

- too variable in yield

- too costly

- too risky

- too susceptible to disease

- too many weeds

- but is canola profitable?

Canola reduces root/foliar diseases in cereals

Wheat after Wheat Wheat after Canola

Wheat yield response to previous canola

(26 on-farm experiments from 1989 – 1998)

1780

3560

5340

7120

Productivity benefits and economics

Economics of response

● 27% increase in 2 - year gross margin

● 27% due to canola, 63% due to better wheat

● C - W higher if canola price was 60% > wheat

JK

00

02

14

.PP

T

Other systems benefits

● Yield benefits may persist (2 - 3 years)

● Weed management benefits

● Conservation cropping, input efficiencies

Productivity benefit

● 20% increase in wheat yield

Kirkegaard et al (2008) Field Crops Research

Yield benefit (mean) is constant not proportional

Yield of wheat after wheat (t/ha)

0 2 4 6 8 10

Yie

ld o

f w

heat

aft

er

can

ola

(t/

ha)

0

2

4

6

8

10

Yield of wheat after wheat (t/ha)

0 2 4 6 8 10Y

ield

of

wh

eat

aft

er

Ind

ian

mu

sta

rd (

t/h

a)

0

2

4

6

8

10

1:1 line1:1 line

(a) (b)

1:1.2 line1:1.2 line

180 experiments

● Mean benefit 720 lbs/acre

● Independent of wheat yield

● underestimated when dry

(Angus et al 2011)

1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

0

1

2

3

Pasture legume N Better rotations Mechanisation

Superphosphate New wheat cultivars Fallowing

Nutrient exhaustion

N fertiliser in Sthn. Aust.

Canola in Sthn. Aust.

Lupin in rotations in WA

Semidwarf wheat cultivars Selective grass herbicides

Wheat

Yield

(lbs/acre)

Wagga WaggaJunee

Cootamundra

Condobolin

Goondiwindi

Rutherglen

Melbourne

Horsham

VICTORIA

Narrabri

Gunnedah

Trangie

Walgett

Moree

Canberra

NEW SOUTH WALES

QUEENSLAND

0 50 100 200 Km

Sydney

Regional advantage in canola impacts

890

1780

3100

Canola area, lime use and N-fertiliser use

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

Can

ola

are

a (

millio

n h

a)

0

1

2F

ert

ilis

er

N u

se (

millio

n t

on

nes)

0.0

0.5

1.0

Lim

e in

NS

W (

millio

n t

on

nes)

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Canola area

Fertiliser N use

NSW lime use

Canola intensification in NSW, lime and N use

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

Ca

no

la a

rea (

millio

n h

a)

0

1

2F

ert

ilis

er

N u

se (

millio

n t

on

nes)

0.0

0.5

1.0

Lim

e in

NS

W (

millio

n t

on

nes)

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Canola area

Fertiliser N use

NSW lime use

Canola intensification and yield decline?

Concerned since 1999, poor yields in good seasons

Paddock Survey (2000 paddocks 1991 - 2000)

10% reduction in yield

Census and survey data (high rainfall east)

JK

00

02

14

.PP

T

● Simple rules of thumb

e.g. yield should be 50% of wheat

● Water-limited yield based on seasonal rainfall

Simple, accessible but less precise

● Prediction based on crop simulation models

Accounts for daily weather, soil, management

Requires more data and interpretation

Benchmarking yield performance in canola

What should my canola have yielded?

JK

00

02

14

.PP

T

● Farmers often expect yield to be 50% of wheat?

Robertson et al (1999)

0 .0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

1 .0

1 .2

0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000

W h eat g ra in y ie ld (kg /h a )

Ra

tio

ca

no

la:w

he

at

yie

ld

Benchmarking yield in canola

1780 3560 5300

Wheat grain yield (lbs/acre)

7080 8860

(b)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

In-crop rain (mm)

(f)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Simulated transpiration (mm)

(d)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Seasonal water supply (mm)

240 lbs/acre/inch

330 lbs/acre/inch

175 lbs/acre/inch

Yield (lbs/acre)

[in-crop rainfall + stored water – water left]

Robertson and Kirkegaard (2005)

R2=0.68

Water-limited yield concept (French and Shultz)

5300

890

1780

2670

3560

4450

Seasonal water supply (inches)

24 20 16 12 8 4 28 32

0

100

200

300

400

500

0 100 200 300 400 500

Observed grain yield (g/m2)

Sim

ula

ted g

rain

yie

ld (g

/m2

)

Simulation models online - Yield Prophet

● Based on APSIM canola model - well validated in NSW

R2 = 0.86

Error + 270 lbs/acre

890

1780

890 1780

2670

2670

3560

3560

4450

4450

Observed grain yield (lbs/acre)

Simulated yield vs district yields

b)

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Canola

yie

ld (

t/ha)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

simulated yield

canola yield

Kirkegaard et al. (2006) Aust. J. Ag. Res. 57, 201-12.

● Yield “gap” worse in better seasons

890

1780

2670

3560

Establishing canola in wheat stubble

• Poor emergence

• Poor vigour

• 25% yield loss

• Causes

(allelopathy?)

Burn Retain

The “plastic straw” experiment

Trial designed to separate

physical and chemical effects:

Plastic straws and stubble = same effect!

Treatment

Bare Bare+N Fallow Stubble Stubble+N Plastic

Dry

Weig

ht

(g/m

2)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

LSD

I did it without straw – just shade seedlings!

A grower solved the problem – without burning!

3100 lbs/acre

3030 lbs/acre

2225 lbs/acre

Burn

Stubble inter-row

Stubble spread

Increased diseases in wet seasons!

Premature death

Root rot

Sclerotinia stem rot

Blackleg

Response to fungicides at 7 sites from 2001-2005

JK

00

02

14

.PP

T

Year Sclerotinia control

(extra lbs/acre)

Blackleg control

(extra lbs/acre)

2001 980 800

2002 90 712

2003 90 180

2004 ns 90

2005 ns 270

If disease was controlled or absent crops yielded to potential

Summary of response to disease control

Kirkegaard et al. (2006) Aust. J. Ag. Res. 57, 201-12.

Wider survey of 132 fields (2004 – 2006)

● Dry years, low disease - 75% of crops yielded to potential

● Under-performing crops had:

- late season heat and water stress on bulky crops

- range of subsoil constraints, south of Wagga

● No evidence of widespread micronutrient or N deficiency

60% of fields

had root distortions >3.0

Lisson et al (2007) AJEA

Subsoil constraints in canola (2007 – 2009)

● Experiments on hard, acid or saline/sodic subsoils

● Effect of ripping (12 inches with lime or gypsum injected

● No yield responses at 10 of 14 sites

● Canola relatively (and surprisingly) insensitive (cf barley)

● No support for expensive interventions

Impacts of soil salinity - variable site

CSIRO. Potential impacts of subsoil constraints on canola productivity in southern NSW

Sampling Positions

20 each 12 m2

with 16 plants/m2

EM Survey

Area: 45m x 600m

EM38: every 5m x 1m

Reducing the risk with canola

● Dual-purpose (grazing canola)

making money from the vegetative biomass to offset risk

● Canola suitability index (CSI)

improved decisions on when not to sow canola

● Yield prophet (web-based simulation)

in-season risk management

● Legume brown-manure “cover crops”

herbicide resistant weeds, water and N

Dual-purpose canola – graze and grain

● Canola crops grazed without yield penalty

● Increase flexibility, profitability and reduce risk

● Increase animal and crop production from mixed farms

Defoliation experiments Grazing experiments Simulation

The twist test

Sow early, stop grazing on time!

Monitor bud elongation

OK to start

Getting late

28 July 2008

13 November 2008

Grazed Ungrazed

Both yielded 3.2 t/ha

Grazing intensity

Dual-purpose canola – it works!

Site Sow Variety Grazing

(sheep.day/acre)

Flower

Delay (d)

Yield (t/ha)

G UG

Canberra

2008

3 April Winter 440 2 3.1 3.0

23 April Spring 70 4 2.8 2.2*

Young

2008

7 April Winter 630 1 5.0 4.6

16 April Spring 283 7 4.7 4.9

Kirkegaard et al (2012) Crop and Pasture Science 63, 429-443

Profitability, risk and systems benefits

“A decade ago we only grew fine wool……

Now we produce a range of crops and

pastures for forage, silage, hay and grain

as well as meat from sheep and cattle”

● If yield penalty is avoided, feed is added value

$GM/ha increase of $100 - $400/ha; whole-farm $100/ha

● Indirect benefits include

Canola is a grass weed and cereal disease control option

Winter pasture spelling provides lambing feed in late winter

Wider sowing and grazing windows for crops

Reduced crop height to facilitate swathing and harvest

Graze, hay and grain option = increased flexibility, lower risk

Modern canola systems evolution - 1

late cool burn

direct seeded

narrow tine

press-wheels

Modern canola systems evolution - 2

stubble retained

direct seeded

narrow tines

press-wheels

Modern canola systems evolution - 3

stubble retained

direct seeded

stubble clearance

disc-seeder

press-wheels

Modern canola system evolution - 4

stubble retained

direct seeded

inter-row sowing

disc-seeder

press wheels

controlled traffic

Modern canola system evolution – 4b

.......and red ones can do it as well!

New opportunities and challenges...

● New cropping areas, varieties and systems

High rainfall zone; raised beds, dual-purpose, long-season hybrids

Low rainfall zone; Juncea canola, early-season DH, precision systems

Existing areas; New GM herbicide tolerance gives flexibility

Herbicide resistant weeds Precision on wide rows

Thank you Email:

[email protected]

Contact Us

Phone: 1300 363 400 or +61 3 9545 2176

Email: [email protected] Web: www.csiro.au

Many colleagues, farmers and friends.....