Australia
April 7, 2020

Diagnosis of pulse diseases, such as Ascochyta blight in chickpeas (pictured), was the theme of one of the pulse webinars. Photo: GRDC
 

Southern region pulse crop growers are being well resourced ahead of the 2020 season, with a series of webinar recordings now available through the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

The recordings, which enable growers to hear from leading industry experts at their convenience, have been made available following a recent series of short online webinars provided as part of the GRDC Southern Region Pulse Extension Project.

The Growing Pulses in 2020 webinars, co-ordinated and facilitated by Birchip Cropping Group (BCG), covered topics such as inoculation and nodulation, growing pulses on sand, pulse markets, disease diagnostics and pre-emergent herbicide use.

GRDC Grower Relations Manager – South, Tom Blake, says that through the latest webinar series, the GRDC is supporting new and established pulse growers with information and advice to underpin successful production. 

“This format allowed growers and other industry personnel to conveniently tune in from their homes or offices, and if they missed the live webinars they can now view and download the recordings on the GRDC YouTube channel," Mr Blake said.
 

The GRDC Southern Region Pulse Extension Project (‘Building capacity, skills and knowledge for the pulse industry in the southern region: Supporting expansion of high value pulses into new areas and ensuring sustained profitability of all key pulse crops’) began in 2017 and is delivered by a consortium of organisations involved in the pulse industry.

Its objective is to increase the knowledge of growers and advisers on sustainable pulse production, leading to improved farming systems and grower profitability.

The Southern Region Pulse Extension Project is being conducted in collaboration with the Southern Region Pulse Agronomy Project (‘Understanding the implications of new traits on adaptation, crop physiology and management of pulses in the southern region’), which is led by GRDC research partners Agriculture Victoria and the South Australian Research and Development Institute, the research division of Primary Industries and Regions SA. 

The webinar recordings are:

• Inoculation and nodulation of pulses – Ross Ballard, South Australian Research and Development Institute.
• Growing pulses on sand – Michael Moodie, Frontier Farming Systems.
• Pulse markets for Victoria and SA, pre-season 2020 – Francois Darcus, AgriOz Exports.
• Pulse disease diagnostics – Dominie Wright, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia.
• Pre-emergent herbicides in pulses – Tony Craddock, Rural Directions, and David Keetch, Nufarm.

For Interviews

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

Published: April 7, 2020