Lentil variety sowing guide 2012 - Seed Distributors

Lupin variety sowing guide 2012
By Andrew Ware, SARDI, Port Lincoln,
and Wayne Hawthorne, Pulse Australia,
Naracoorte
Narrow-leafed lupins (Lupinus
angustifolius) are well suited
to acid and sandy soils, and
continue to be grown in suitable areas as
a key component of the farming system.
A good season in the eastern states in
2010 has reduced domestic demand for
SA lupins.
Further to this, an anticipated good
Western Australian crop in 2011 will also
reduce the demand for lupins into the
export market. This is expected to result
in a significant carry-over of lupin stock
from the 2010 harvest within both the
South Australian storage and handling
system and in on farm storage.
For producers wanting to sell into
Victorian and NSW markets they must
satisfy anthracnose freedom, market
access and transporting protocols. The
rules have not changed for some years
now.
Anthracnose grain tests are the
most common means of identifying
anthracnose freedom for marketing.
Paddock inspection for anthracnose
freedom is usually the cheaper option
per tonne of grain produced, but
unfortunately this option is still not
available to Eyre Peninsula lupin growers.
To establish eligibility for paddock
inspection, sowing seed needs to have
been tested for anthracnose. This is also
a sound disease management strategy
elsewhere.
Seed quality and emergence issues
Wet conditions during the 2010 harvest
meant that much of the lupin grain
retained to be used as seed 2011 suffered
with extremely poor germination and
vigour.
This was particularly prevalent with
Mandelup, resulting in significant areas
having to be resown. Germination and
vigour tests can prove invaluable in
helping to identify potential
problems.
Germination and seed size
tests will allow growers to adjust
sowing rates for a target plant
density of 45 to 60 plants per m 2 .
Grazing of lupin stubbles
Lupin stubbles can provide
a high value feed source
to livestock, however in recent years a
number of growers have lost significant
stock numbers to lupinosis.
This livestock health problem occurs as
a result of toxins being produced from
the phomopsis fungus that develops in
the lupin stem as the plant matures.
All current varieties have a reasonable
level of resistance that slows the
development of the phomopsis fungus.
However, when significant rain occurs
while the crop matures and afterwards,
fungal development can still occur.
Care must be taken in grazing lupin
stubbles and it may advisable not to graze
some paddocks at all given wet conditions
at and after harvest.
Lupin paddocks should be grazed at the
first opportunity after harvest. Stock must
have access to a good quality water supply.
Older stock are less affected than young
stock.
Bulky crops and crop topping both aid
the development of the fungus and can
increase risk of lupinosis occurring.
Tight lupin rotations also increase the
risk.
Herbicide issues
Table 1. Narrow-leafed lupin variety sowing guide
2012.
Rainfall zone (average annual rainfall)
Low Medium High
< 375 mm 375-500 mm > 500 mm
MandelupA Mandelup A JenabillupA JenabillupA JenabillupA MandelupA WongaA Jindalee A JindaleeA Andrew Ware
A combination of metribuzin
and diflufenican post-emergence
herbicides is registered in WA
only, for use on specific varieties.
This provides growers with
useful options to control wild
radish and other post-emergent
weeds in lupin crops. In SA,
metribuzin is not registered for
either pre- or post-emergent
application. Trial work in being
conducted to obtain data to help any
permit applications to APVMA for its
potential use in SA.
Current varieties vary in there tolerance
to metribuzin with Mandelup listed in
WA as being more tolerant, as are the
next potential variety releases. Jenabillup,
Wonga, Jindalee and Moonah are
generally not rated as tolerant of post
emergent metribuzin.
Variety performance
The longer growing season in 2010
favoured Jenabillup and as such was
the highest yielding variety in breeding
and NVT trials across South Australia in
2010, eclipsing Mandelup yields by 7%.
Jenabillup has an extended flowering
period that was able to capitalise on the
longer growing season in 2010.
The growing season in 2010 was
thought to be ideal for late flowering
variety Jindalee, but harvest results
proved otherwise.
Jindalee averaged only 81% of the
site mean across all SA sites and was
consistently was the poorest performer of
all lines evaluated.
Notes on narrow-leafed lupin
varieties
New Variety
PBA Gunyidi A
PBA Gunyidi (tested as WALAN2289)
was released in WA in September 2011.
Seed is available to Western Australian
growers in 2012 and to eastern states
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