Print This PageFirst Victorian GM canola grower delivers — harvest off to a flying start
(Friday 21 November, 2008) — Graham Dawson a Roundup Ready® canola grower from Bacchus Marsh is the first Victorian grower to deliver his GM canola into a silo at Tatyoon in Victoria's south west.
Although it was a dry season, Mr Dawson said the Roundup Ready canola performed better than his TT varieties especially when it came to weed control.
"We only sprayed the crop once; we used a pre-emergent spray before we sowed then only one spray with Roundup Ready. The crop was clear with no weeds whatsoever." "Using Roundup Ready herbicide means less impact on the environment through fewer sprays. It is much more environmentally friendly."
His crop yielded approximately 1 tonne to the hectare and 70 tonnes overall. In a somewhat unconventional manner, Graham delivered his seed for testing via light plane to Tatyoon. "It's the quickest way to get the results, every minute counts when the weather is so unpredictable."
Despite the driest season experienced in his area for years, rainfall in September was just 4.5mm and 6mm in October, the GM canola stood up better than the TT varieties and Graham says, "It's the way to go!"
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