The Department of Agriculture, Western Australia has kicked off its campaign to guide new field pea growers on the back of a massive expansion in field pea plantings this season.

Pulse agronomist Mark Seymour said many Western Australian growers had invested in the crop for the first time and were looking to get the best results from field peas.

Researcher Mark Seymour looks at one of the State’s biggest steel rollers, suited to paddocks with limestone rock.

Mr Seymour said rolling was a vital step to flatten and clean field pea paddocks to ensure an efficient harvest.

“Most field peas are sown with knife points and press wheels and this leaves the paddock with well defined ridges,” he said. 

“All field peas will lodge at harvest, and it is best to harvest across the lay of the lodged plants. This is virtually impossible if the paddock still has noticeable seeding ridges.”  

“It is possible to flatten the ridges with harrows at seeding, but this may not be adequate on many soils, and it does not push in sticks and stones.  For a better result, all field pea paddocks should be rolled with either a rubber-tyred or steel roller,” he said.

Rolling can occur either before plants have emerged (directly after seeding) or once the plants reach the three node stage through to the 10-12 node stage. 

“Rolling immediately after seeding improves the safety of most soil-applied herbicides and allows growers to apply post emergent herbicides when required without waiting for the crop to recover from being rolled,” Mr Seymour said. 

“Rolling between emergence and the three node stage is not recommended as the plants are small and prone to damage. Growers should roll plants in the afternoon when they are more flexible and avoid rolling early in the morning or on very cold days.”

Mr Seymour said there was no difference between the impact of rolling trailing types like Dundale and Parafield and the semi-leafless lines of Kaspa and Snowpeak, although the semi-leafless lines seemed to be stiffer plants later in the season.

The Department is currently conducting a trial at Katanning to determine the effect of rolling Kaspa at various stages – from emergence to just before flowering.