Australia
May 8, 2016

With the current mungbean market remaining dizzyingly upbeat, industry experts are encouraging growers to stringently manage agronomic practices in a bid to maximise gross margins.

Mungbean agronomy and disease management will be among the key topics addressed at a Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Grains Research Update being held at Chinchilla on Wednesday June 22.

Leading Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) researchers Kerry McKenzie and Nikki Seymour will discuss plant population, row spacing, time of sowing, water use, varieties, optimising nitrogen fixation and key yield drivers while DAF plant pathologist Lisa Kelly will provide industry best-practice recommendations for the management of major mungbean diseases halo blight, fusarium wilt, tan spot and powdery mildew.

Australian Mungbean Association president Rob Anderson said mungbeans had become a more consistent component of irrigated and dryland cropping rotations across a broad range of growing regions.

This resulted in Australia producing a record crop of mungbeans in the 2015/16 season, with growers taking advantage of record high prices and timely rainfall events.

With such a large number of new growers entering the industry in recent years, Mr Anderson said events such as the GRDC Updates offered growers and agronomists an invaluable opportunity to keep up-to-date with the latest agronomic and general production best practices to maximise returns on mungbean crops.

“Growers will obviously be keen to take advantage of an upbeat market but maximising that opportunity will require vigilance with agronomic management right throughout the season, from pre-plant planning to crop and soil nutrition and disease management,” he said.

“It’s also important to recognise that Australia has an enviable reputation for producing high quality, clean and safe product for markets around the world.

“Food safety & traceability are key areas of focus for the industry and growers can have a positive impact on their product through careful handling of desiccation, harvest, storage and delivery.

“In addition, careful monitoring of chemical applications within label rates, coupled with accurate grower declarations will help ensure these markets are not jeopardised.”

Other topics being covered as part of the one-day Update include minimising nitrogen loss to improve use efficiency in summer crops, compost as a nutrient source, fallow management of grass weeds, high performance crop sequences for western Queensland, practical applications of digital imaging, grain storage fumigation, the use of insect traps and grain storage aeration as well as a chickpea and faba bean disease update.

Speakers include DAF grain storage specialists Andrew Ridley, Greg Daglish and Philip Burrill, Peter Birch from B&W Rural/Satamap, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries’ senior plant pathologist Kevin Moore, CSIRO senior farming systems scientist Lindsay Bell, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) principal research fellow Professor Mike Bell, Northern Grower Alliance chief executive officer Richard Daniel and DAF’s Duncan Weir.

The one-day GRDC Updates have become firm fixtures on the calendars of growers, advisors and industry representatives and regularly attract more than 100 participants.

For more information, an agenda or to register for the Chinchilla GRDC Update visit the GRDC website www.grdc.com.au/updatedates or contact ICAN on 02 9482 4930 or e-mail northernupdates@icanrural.com.au.

Website: http://www.grdc.com.au

Published: June 8, 2016