The need for GRDC to investigate the fit for early sown winter wheat varieties in the Albany and Esperance Port Zones has been raised at a number of NGN forums in both the Albany and Esperance Port Zones 2023. With the longer seasons experienced in the HRZ on the South Coast growers would like to investigate the opportunities that winter wheat could provide with late summer rainfall.
An opportunity exists with local growers in the Albany and Esperance Port Zones to investigate earlier sowing times for commercially available winter wheat varieties. With the trend towards earlier sowing dates to either satisfy large hectare programs or to take advantage of late summer rainfall utilising some winter wheat varieties as an addition to more common spring wheat varieties could allow growers to take advantage of the conditions when they can.
The recent GRDC Barley disease workshop held in Albany also highlighted the need for rotational diversity on the South Coast of WA to reduce economic reliance on tight barley rotations