Hyper yielding canola breaks 5 tonne yield target
Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia has produced canola yields in excess of 6 t/ha as part of the
Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) Hyper Yielding Crops research project.
The project, led by Field Applied Research (FAR) Australia is a four-year project spanning the high
productivity regions of five states, and aims to push what are believed to be the economically
attainable yield boundaries of wheat, barley and canola.
Over the term of the investment, the project team is focussing on supporting growers and advisers
by identifying high yielding potential cultivars which are best suited to individual environments, and
then recognising the most appropriate agronomic management strategies to assist with future
decision making.
Rohan Brill of Brill Ag who leads the HYC canola research programme said determining optimum
nitrogen nutrient management is key if growers are to produce hyper yielding canola crops.
“An element of the 2021 canola research programme was to establish a number of nitrogen
nutrition trials,” says Mr Brill.
“These trials not only assist with developing the most profitable N strategies for producing these
high yields, they are also helping us to understand the key differences between winter and spring
canola and determine the effects of N application on growth stages, yield, quality and profitability.”
Canola cv Pioneer 45Y28RR was sown at FAR Australia’s VIC and SA Crop Technology Centres located
in Gnarwarre (VIC) on 25th April and Millicent (SA) on 7th May.
The champion yield topped out at 6.49 t/ha in SA. This was sown into a neutral-slightly alkaline
Organosol (Peat soil) with high organic matter, following wheat in 2020. 225 kg N combined with the
application of 6.7 t/ha animal manure was applied to replicate high fertility soils in a mixed legume
rotation. VIC followed closely behind with yields reaching 5.89 t/ha on the same trial with a grey clay
loam soil type.
Grain yields of greater than 6 t/ha were also achieved at the SA site with N application rates of 150-
300 kg/ha. Yield responses to bagged N peaked at 150kg N/ha and similar yields were achieved
between 150, 225, and 300kg/ha of applied N (urea).
Also sown on 7th May in SA was a canola GxExM (genetics x environment x management) trial, a
protocol developed to determine the response to increased crop inputs (fungicide and nitrogen)
over a range of canola varieties. Six varieties were sown with cv 45Y95 CL averaging 6.26 t/ha across
three management levels (low, medium and high input).
FAR Australia’s Managing Director Nick Poole who leads the HYC research project is thrilled with this
year’s outcome.
“At the start of the season we set an aspirational goal of 5 t/ha. We are absolutely thrilled to have
surpassed this target by almost 1.5 t/ha and to be delivering on the project’s key objective of
producing hyper yielding crops. We are looking forward to building on these numbers and delivering
some significant results as part of the extension phase of the HYC project in 2022 in what we hope
will prove to be a less challenging year.”
A copy of FAR Australia’s ‘Harvest Yield Results’ for these trials can be downloaded at:
https://faraustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/211221-VIC-HYC-Express-Results-Spring-
Canola-Nutrition-Trial_Final.pdf
https://faraustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/211221-SA-HYC-Express-Results-Canola-
Nutrition-Trial_Final.pdf
https://faraustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/211221-sa-hyc-express-results-canolaspring-
gem-trial_Final.pdf
YouTube: Nitrogen rates for irrigated canola – how much N do we need to achieve 5 t/ha?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Dua3lzthQ
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