Print This PageA word from Brad Johnson, Nufarm's Esperance Territory Manager
With harvesting of the first commercial crops of Roundup Ready canola under way in WA, we thought it would be timely to get an overview from Esperance Territory Manager for Nufarm, Brad Johnson, for their perspective on how the system performed in 2010 and their expectations for 2011.
“We got off to a flying start with Roundup Ready canola in 2010 with most regions receiving a pretty good break to the season and allowing for over 70,000ha to be planted. This was a great result and definitely exceeded all of our expectations.”
Brad believes the key features of Roundup Ready canola, including the ability to get excellent control of Annual ryegrass, rotate away from A and B chemical groups and use the yield advantage of Roundup Ready varieties to get more profitable canola crops, are the main reasons for the rapid adoption of the technology. “Talking to farmers this year, it’s been great to hear the different reasons for using it and the different benefits they realised”.
After the promising start though, the season turned quite dramatically. As Brad highlights; “from there things started to get tough, with dry and frosty conditions in the central and northern parts of the state in pretty stark contrast to the extremely wet and waterlogged conditions in most parts of the Esperance region”.
“Speaking from experience in the Esperance region, the feedback from growers has been really positive (with the exception of where things got too wet and water logging occurred) and has even surprised some by how well they were able to control not only grasses but broadleaf weeds such as wild radish, mustard and turnip as well”.
To get the best out of Roundup Ready canola, Brad identifies some key considerations for growers when planning where and how they will use the technology. “Firstly, crop competition is a crucial component of achieving excellent weed control, so choosing a vigorous, well adapted variety for the region and ensuring that the sowing rate matches the sowing conditions is vital. Two sprays of Roundup Ready herbicide over the top of the growing canola crop are also essential to maximise weed control and set the crop up for the highest possible yield. And thirdly, we strongly recommend growers use a robust rate of Triflur X to ensure good early season grass control and take some of the pressure off glyphosate”.
Whilst drought conditions have had a severe impact on crop yields and grain quality across the majority of WA, Brad believes growers are looking forward to better conditions next year and will continue to adopt Roundup Ready canola in greater numbers.
“Growers and Technology Service Providers are telling us that their area of Roundup Ready canola will increase next year because they have seen both what the technology offers from a weed control perspective, and the yield potential of some of the current and new varieties available in 2011.”
