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PROJECT NO. |
214 |
Project Title
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Refinement
of best management practices for chickpea and mungbean in north-western
farming systems |
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Project Leader
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Paul Castor |
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Organisation |
Michael Castor & Associates |
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APSRU
Representative |
Peter Carberry |
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Funding
Body |
GRDC |
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Administration
Contact |
Mike Castor Michael Castor & Associates 48 Winton Street Goondiwindi Qld 4390 Ph: 07
4671 2045 Fax: 07 4671 2736 Email: MCAGoondi@bigpond.com |
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Commencement
Date |
1 July 2002 |
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Completion
Date |
30 June 2005 |
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Research
Proposal Summary |
The area grown to chickpea, and to a lesser extent
mungbean, has dramatically increased in the northern NSW and southern Qld
grain belt in the last few years. Chickpea crops supervised by MCA have
increased from 4,000 ha up to 24,000 ha in the last four years. With higher
then expected prices, the returns have been excellent to growers. However,
commercial yields of chickpea and mungbean in the western regions of the
northern grains belt have rarely attained the yields benchmarked either
against crops grown on the eastern Darling Downs or against simulated yields
based on current understanding of pulse physiology and agronomy. There is
clearly a gap between commercial yields and physiological expectations for
chickpea and mungbean crops in these western regions even for crops grown
using current best management recommendations. Unfulfilled yields for pulses,
in particular mungbean, is the major issue holding back the greater adoption
of pulses in the farming system - farmers and agronomists keenly want to grow
pulses to diversify income, control weeds, provide disease breaks and improve
soil fertility but are hesitant due to their variable or low yields. A
further dramatic increase in areas grown, up to 20% of the cropping area, could
occur if yields were higher and more consistent. There
has been considerable agronomic research undertaken on pulses, but much of
this research has addressed single components (eg. row configuration,
planting date, disease and insect control, and fertility), they have been
conducted on the better soils and without addressing the highly variable
climate and soil types encountered within the western regions. There has been
much less attention to researching the management of pulses in commercial farming
systems of the western grains region. The present gap between farmer yields
and commercially attractive yields is likely not to be due to deficiencies in
any of these single agronomic components but rather due to lack of adaptive
management systems that deal with the varied environmental and management
regimes encountered on farms in the western regions. Management systems need
to be adaptive to issues such as soil water availability (as affected by
subsoil sodicity and salinity), nutrient balance (especially of N, P, S and
micronutrients), harvest management and early insect management (in the case
of mungbean). This
proposal is initiated by MCA on behalf of commercial agronomists who see the
need for successful incorporation of pulses in the farming systems of the
western regions in Qld and NSW. MCA has a track-record for successful
development and promotion of innovative management practices (eg. skip row
sorghum and maize, fungicide use and disease management in chickpea and
wheat, and rotational zone management) and are a leading commercial provider
of agronomic advice in the northern grains region. In this proposal MCA has
gained committed support from research and extension collaborators in QDPI,
NSWAg, APSRU/CSIRO, Pulse Australia and the Australian Mungbean Association
to join them in pursuing increased yields, reliability and adoption of pulses
within western cropping rotations. This proposal is submitted in response to
the GRDC research priority for development and extension of best management packages
for pulses for the Northern Region. The approach to
be taken will incorporate on-farm trials, in the first year identifying major
issues in crop production and in later years exploring management options
that either elievate constraints or promote improved agronomy. Results and
insights from these commercial-scale trials will be used to update current
best management practices for chickpea and mungbean agronomy and will be
extended via accredited agronomy courses. |
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Aims |
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Potential
Outcomes |
The outcome of this
project will be improved yields, reliability and adoption of chickpeas and
mungbean implemented via best management practices developed and delivered to
commercial agronomists, agribusiness and farmers via accredited agronomist
courses. |
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Milestones |
§
Baseline
evaluation of farmers, consultants, agribusiness, marketers and researchers
on current constraints and opportunities for pulses undertaken. Evaluation
will consist of interviews and mail survey. §
On-farm
trials on chickpea designed and implemented. Year 1 trials will consist of
monitoring 10-20 commercial crops. Trials in later two years will address
identified issues with targeted treatments. §
On-farm
mungbean trials designed and implemented. Year 1 trials will consist of
monitoring 5-10 commercial crops. Trials in later two years will address
identified issues with targeted treatments. §
Updated
BMP manual drafted and available for evaluation by industry stakeholders. The
updated BMP will likely include specification of the soil and environmental
conditions suitable for pulse production. §
Updated
BMP incorporated into accredited agronomy courses. In addition to such
courses, learnings from the project will be presented at other industry
communication events (GRDC updates, field days etc.) §
A
final evaluation of the project and resulting BMP information will be
conducted via interview and survey of industry stakeholders. An estimate of
impact from altered BMP will be quantified. § A final project report submitted
to GRDC |
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Budget |
2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 Total GRDC $ Salaries 68 472 72 664 77 976 219 112 Travel 5 000 5 000 5 000 15 000 Operating 39 750 35 380 35 950 111 080 Capital TOTAL 113 222 113 044 118 926 345 192 Non
GRDC Budget Additional
from host agency 38 780 40 460 42 140 121 380 Additional
from other source 56 898 59 440 62 114 178 452 Total
Non GRDC $ for duration of project 95 678 99 900 104 254 299 832 |
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Resource
Requirements &
Contributions |
Staff Agency % /
year Paul Castor MCA 30 Paul Gardoll MCA 10 Michael Castor MCA 10 Jeremy Whish CSIRO 10 Shayne Cawthray CSIRO 40 Peter Carberry CSIRO 10 Mike Robertson CSIRO 10 |
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Prior
Provision of IP & Rights of Ownership |
APSIM is 100% IP of APSRU. |
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Ownership,
equity in and use of IP to be developed |
The updated BMP manuals for chickpea and mungbean will
represent IP developed within this project. |
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Rights of Publication |
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Strategic Plan KRA Area |
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Relevance to Strategic Plan |
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