Eastern Riverina grain grower Robert Trethowan got a pleasant surprise when he put the header into his triticale crop this week. The first paddock of a 142ha crop of Bogong triticale averaged 6.86 tonnes/ha. and peaked at 8.3 tonnes/ha on his Morven property, Morveena. The triticale had a test weight of 77.7kg/hectolitre, compared to the minimum industry standard of 65kg/hectolitre. “Going into harvest I thought the crop would yield around 5t/ha so it has been very surprising,’’ Mr Trethowan said.
This was achieved on a low input program using TM Agricultural, an organic registered bio-stimulant product produced by Best Environmental Technologies, and in a dry spring. Robert and his wife Gayle sold their property at Urana to downsize. And bought Morveena at Morven NSW in early 2014. The sandy loam soils at Morveena had been sown to both a clover based pasture and a cereal crop in 2013. The cereal crop had been frosted and cut for hay.
“I applied a pre-sowing spray of 250mls/ha of TM Ag in a tank mix with 1.5 litres/ha of Roundup in mid May for ryegrass and wild oat control.’’ Mr Trethowan said. “We direct drilled the triticale at 80kg/ha with 80kg/ha DAP into soil moisture with a John Deere 1590 single disc combine on an 18.75cm row spacing.’’ A second application of TM was applied as an in-crop spray with a herbicide for ryegrass, wild oats and broadleaf weeds. The crop was top dressed with 80kg/ha of urea in late August.
READ MORE