Australia
December 13, 2013

With harvest well underway across WA, now is a good time to think about managing on-farm seed retention and grain storage.

Grain storage

A GRDC-funded trial at Mingenew this summer will shed more light on the effects of on-farm grain storage on wheat seed grain quality, vigour, viability and germination rates in WA.

It is monitoring storage insect pests, ambient conditions and moisture levels in 20 gas-tight, sealed steel silos - each 70 tonne capacity – spread over four farms belonging to Mingenew Irwin Group (MIG) members.

This research is part of a new national partnership supported by the GRDC and Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre (PBCRC).

It is the first comprehensive study in WA of the relationships between grain quality going into storage, susceptibility to and incidence of stored grain insect pests, use of aeration and phosphine fumigations and seed viability for sowing.
It will also boost knowledge about minimising the risks surrounding stored grain pest resistance to phosphine.

University of Western Australia (UWA) Associate Professor of Applied Entomology, Christian Nansen, is carrying out seed viability tests every month from each silo in the four treatments.

Seed is put into germination chambers to see how it grows and if germination variability is high as the summer progresses, he will also test for early plant vigour.

If the pilot trial at Mingenew indicates some storage options are better than others at maintaining seed viability, it may lead to more widespread trials across other areas of the WA wheatbelt.

Field days are planned for the MIG trials to showcase the four storage treatment options. For further information see: www.mingenew-irwin.asn.au

Ben White, of the Kondinin Group, will also be conducting workshops across WA in March and April to highlight the importance of hygiene practices when storing wheat seed, especially to minimise exposure to pest damage. For dates and registration email: ben@kondinin.com.au

GRDC’s top tips for storing grain on-farm:

1. Keep it clean
Have excellent grain hygiene. Clean up any grain spills and spray out or remove any weeds around the storage area. Ensure all harvesting and storage equipment is clean and given a structural treatment.

2. Maintain quality
High moisture and temperature can affect grain in many ways — insect activity increases, spoilage can occur due to moulds and fungi and seed viability can be affected. Aim to store grain with moisture content below 12 per cent and at a temperature of 25^o C or less.

Harvest and summer temperatures often exceed 30^o C and this makes keeping grain cool a challenge. Installing an aeration system can help.

3. Keep the market in mind
Work with grain end users to ensure delivered grain meets receival expectations. A system that allows easy grain storage while maintaining quality will ensure delivery of grain that meets market expectations.

For more information about grain storage – including economics, aeration and identifying and controlling stored grain pests – see the GRDC grain storage extension website: www.storedgrain.com.au

Seed quality and germination

Paying attention to seed quality through grading and regular testing for germination and vigour is an easy way to get the next season off to a good start.

Knowing the germination percentage of seed at harvest will help determine how much extra seed may be required at the subsequent seeding. A second germination test for retained grain is recommended one to two months after storage to reassess its viability.

Plant Science Consulting (PSC) in South Australia conducts grain quality seed testing, germination, vigour and thousand seed weight (TSW) testing.

Generally, higher than 80 per cent germination at harvest is recommended for retained seed and any low germination seed should be discarded.

Ideally, retained seed is best harvested at low moisture and before any rain events. 

Weather damaged grain is more susceptible to poor germination, low vigour and degradation during storage and handling - requiring extra care at seeding.

Testing stored grain for seed-borne diseases is recommended, especially with saved pulse seed.

Due to the vulnerability of canola’s small seed it is recommended that unless it is harvested before any weather damage it should not be retained for sowing. Irrespective of availability, hybrid canola seed should never be retained for seed.

Weed seed testing for herbicide resistance

Levels of weed seed contamination in retained grain, even after cleaning operations, are often under-estimated.

GRDC-supported research conducted by the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative shows that many of these weed seed populations are resistant to a range of commonly used post-emergent herbicides.

This risks further spread of herbicide resistant weeds in cropping paddocks during the next season and highlights the importance of effective seed cleaning and herbicide resistance testing.

Weed seed testing for resistance to a wide range of herbicides is offered by Plant Science Consulting and Charles Sturt University (CSU) in NSW.

A single herbicide test starts at about $125 and it costs about $350-400 for cross resistance tests (usually four to five herbicides and/or the addition of glyphosate).

Further information:

Ben White, Kondinin Group, 0407 941 923, ben@kondinin.com.au

Christian Nansen, UWA, 08 6488 8672, Christian.nansen@uwa.edu.au

John Broster, Charles Sturt University, 02 6933 4001, jbroster@csu.edu.au

Peter Boutsalis, Plant Science Consulting, 0400 664 460, info@plantscienceconsulting.com.au


Useful resources:

Stored grain

Mingenew Irwin Group: www.mingenew-irwin.asn.au

GRDC grain storage extension project: www.storedgrain.com.au

AHRI weed resistance surveys: http://www.ahri.uwa.edu.au/Research/Surveys

To send weed seed samples for testing to CSU: Herbicide Resistance Testing, School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW, 2678. Website: www.csu.edu.au

To send weed seed samples for testing to Plant Science Consulting: Log in via the website: www.plantscienceconsulting.com.au and send to PSC, 22 Linley Avenue, Prospect, SA, 5082.


Disclaimer
Any recommendations, suggestions or opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
No person should act on the basis of the contents of this publication without first obtaining specific, independent, professional advice.
The Corporation and contributors to this publication may identify products by proprietary or trade names to help readers identify particular types of products.
We do not endorse or recommend the products of any manufacturer referred to. Other products may perform as well as or better than those specifically referred to.
The GRDC will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising by reason of any person using or relying on the information in this publication.
CAUTION: RESEARCH ON UNREGISTERED PESTICIDE USE
Any research with unregistered pesticides or of unregistered products reported in this document does not constitute a recommendation for that particular use by the authors or the
authors’ organisations.
All pesticide applications must accord with the currently registered label for that particular pesticide, crop, pest and region.

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

Published: December 13, 2013