Technical Articles
Downloadable PDF documents
May 6, 2010
Early Prevention Best for Pea Disease Control
Farmers must remain vigilant to control pea diseases given large spore build up in spring 2009.
May 6, 2010
Nematode Tolerant Medics in the Pipeline
Following nearly 10 years of selection and breeding work, a number of medic lines with improved levels of tolerance to root lesion nematode is ready to be evaluated in the field.
May 6, 2010
New Tests for Disease Suppressive Microbes
Rhizoctonia root rot remains the most damaging soil borne disease of cereals for which there is no effective control. Suppression by naturally occurring organisms in the soil is a major hope, but the studies of these interactions are very complex.
May 6, 2010
SAGIT and GRDC Join Forces In Smart Technology
SAGIT and GRDC have been funding a new project by Dr Alan McKay of SARDI which could revolutionise how the below ground parts of plants are studied.
May 6, 2010
New user-friendly black-spot sowing guide
South Australian pea growers can now pick the best sowing time to lessen the risk of a blackspot outbreak by accessing a simple chart online.
May 14, 2009
Post Emergent Weed Management in Lentils
Field trials funded by SAGIT and done by Larn McMurray of SARDI have looked at safe management strategies for post-emergent metribuzin application.
November 18, 2008
New Pea Fungas Found
Research conducted by Jenny Davidson of SARDI and funded by the SA Garin Industry Trust has disovered a new fugal disease of peas.
June 17, 2008
Expanding Markets for SA Wheat Growers
Instead of wheat for bread, why aren't we also looking at wheat for Asian noodles? That is a question being investigated in SAGIT funded work by Associate Professor Daryl Mares of University of Adelaide.
May 20, 2008
New Tests for Pulse Diseases
New tests are being developed to better understand the key diseases of peas and beans so that they can be better managed.
February 12, 2008
Test for Cereal Root Diseases Now
Knowing the status of paddocks with regards to root diseases is an essential part of managing risk going into this season.
February 12, 2008
World First in Oat Breeding
A breakthrough of world significance in oat breeding has been achieved at the Waite Institute. The new technology, developed by SARDI researchers Dr Parminder Sidhu and Dr Phil Davies has been supported by the South Australian Grains Industry Trust (SAGIT).
December 11, 2007
Using Smart Fungi To Increase Fertiliser Impact
Research funded by SAGIT and the Australian Research Council and conducted by Prof Sally Smith of the University of Adelaide, is finding out whether or not the use of certain soil fungi can be used to increase the availability and uptake of phosphorus fertilizers.
November 28, 2007
Paddock Mapping Targets Weed Control
Smart technologies are being used by Dr John Heap of SARDI to map the weeds in a paddock to better target spraying.
July 27, 2007
SAGIT Funding Boosts Frost Tolerance Research
Frost-tolerant field peas are a step closer to reality thanks to SARDI research supported by SAGIT.
July 6, 2007
SA Leads in Barley Breeding Technology
Under research conducted by SARDI and funded by SAGIT, barley varieties can be bred 3 to 4 years more rapidly using a biotechnology known as isolated microspore culture, where plants are grown from immature pollen grains.
November 28, 2006
Symbiotic Fungi Aid in Phosphorus Uptake by Wheat
Researchers at the University of Adelaide and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), funded by South Australian Grains Industry Trust Fund (SAGIT), have confirmed an association between wheat grown on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia and beneficial, symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF).
August 17, 2006
SAGIT Fund Proves its Worth
The recent GRDC/SAFF Grower updates clearly demonstrated the value of the SAGIT fund to SA farmers.
August 3, 2006
SAGIT AND GRDC Join Forces In Smart Technology
SAGIT and GRDC are funding a new project which could revolutionise how the below ground parts of plants are studied.
July 13, 2006
SAGIT Backs Grower Updates
The South Australian Grain Industry Trust in conjunction with SA Farmers Federation and GRDC, is again supporting the Grower Updates across the State.
June 1, 2006
Research On Soil Borne Diseases Gets Support
SAGIT is funding research into the measurement of naturally occurring organisms which may suppress soil borne diseases of cereals and pastures.
May 17, 2006
SAGIT Backs Stem Rust Fight
SAGIT has joined the fight against stem rust in wheat by funding a major project on Yorke Peninsula and Eyre Peninsula.
April 19, 2006
EP tackles soil compaction
SAGIT
is making a substantial contribution to investigating the problems of soil compaction on Eyre Peninsula.
March 22, 2006
Getting the most out of fertilizers
Just
what happens to fertilizer when it is applied to the soil? Work by Mike McLaughlin and his team at the University of Adelaide and CSIRO Land and Water is investigating this very question.
March 8, 2006
Using smart fungi to increase fertiliser impact
Research
funded by SAGIT and conducted by Prof Sally Smith of the University of Adelaide, is finding out whether or not the use of certain soil fungi can be used to increase the availability and uptake of phosphorus fertilizers.
February 22, 2006
Acid test for research investment
Growers through SAGIT are funding annually approximately $1.3M in research per year. The types of research vary from modification of farming practices to "blue sky" research e.g. molecular biology. In this article we highlight the importance of SAGIT's investment in SA No Till Farming Association.
February 8, 2006
Sabre barley program shows the way
The SABRE Barley program funded in part by SAGIT has not only led to new varieties for mainstream and niche markets but has increased our understanding of the agronomic factors affecting yield.
January 25, 2006
Innovative cereal breeding pays off
One of the responsibilities of SAGIT is to invest wisely in long-term research to provide benefits to the grain growers of South Australia. The development of Double Haploid techniques is a good example.
January 11, 2006
Breakthrough in snail control
An integrated research program led by SARDI and part funded by SAGIT over the past six years to develop control of white and conical snails in cereals, pulses and canola has led to some important advances.
December 14, 2005
Breeding Wheats to meet the noodle market
New research at the Waite Institute conducted by Associate Professor Daryl Mares, Cereal Grain Biochemistry, aims to develop wheat varieties which will better meet the emerging demands of world markets for Asian noodles.
December 7, 2005
Wheats to be more drought tolerant
The ability to yield under our low rainfall conditions will be one of the features of the next generation of wheat varieties to be released soon.
November 23, 2005
Breeding medics to beat root disease
Root Lesion nematode is widespread in the cereal growing areas of the state and reduces wheat yield from between 0 and 20% depending on the tolerance of the variety being grown.
November 9, 2005
Beating barley leaf rust
Barley leaf rust, a frequent problem on Yorke and Lower Eyre Peninsulas, South East and the Lower North, has been the subject of South Grain Industry Trust funded research for the past two years.
October 26, 2005
Understanding why varieties perform differently
Novel approaches are being used across South Australia to better understand why varieties perform differently, and to improve the location of trials and interpretation of the results.
October 19, 2005
Suppressing rhizoctonia
Soil microbes can suppress rhizoctonia and other root diseases to some degree.
The number, type and activity of microbes determine this level of disease suppression in the soil, which in turn are determined by management.
October, 2005
Dealing with a sticky issue
Trials on the sticky clay soils near Wolseley in the South East, have highlighted a range of seeding issues in not only improving germination but in being able to retain stubble and control ryegrass.
July 8, 2004
Talks to highlight profiting from precision agriculture
Making money through precision agriculture will be the hot topic at tomorrow's Adelaide conference of the Southern Precision Agriculture Association.
July 1, 2004
SA producers urged to jump on bean bandwagon
How Australian faba beans perform compared to their international competitors will be the focus of a major bean production and marketing conference in September.
June 17, 2004
Further tests on suspension fertilisers
Ground-breaking research work with suspension fertilisers is about to enter a new phase.
May 20, 2004
Shielded sprayer use on the increase
The use of shielded sprayers is increasing as is research into their operations and effectiveness.
May 13, 2004
Move to boost plant breeding ranks
An investment of more than $150,000 over the next four years is planned by the SA Grain Industry Trust in a move to supplement Australia's rapidly-thinning plant breeding ranks.
May 6, 2004
More than $1.2m. for SA crops research
Information critical to the effective and economic control of leaf rust, which is regarded a serious threat to barley production in SA, is to be gathered in a research project supported by the SA Grain Industry Trust.
April 29, 2004
New work on barley leaf rust
While specific fungicides effective against leaf rust have been shown to increase barley yields by up to 30 per cent, and improve grain quality, their use in SA remains limited.
April 22, 2004
South-east snail control
Studies of the small conical snail, Cochlicella barbara, in the lower south-east of SA have indicated that the lifecycle of the snail in the lower south-east matches that of populations elsewhere in SA.
April 15, 2004
Ripping results in the mallee
Yield increases of up to 43 per cent have occurred when sand hills in the mallee have been ripped to overcome soil compaction.
April 8, 2004
Re-think urged on spraying strategy
Farmers who employ the 'double knockdown' system of killing annual ryegrass may need to revise the time interval between 'knocks'.
April 1, 2004
High pH soils a problem for durums
In an effort to increase durum yields and extend the range where this crop can be grown varieties with better tolerances to salinity and boron toxicities are being produced.
March 25, 2004
Some soils may not suit durums
Grain growers outside of the major durum producing areas who are keen to try this cereal have been urged to study their soils before embarking on this addition to their enterprise mix.
March 18, 2004
Farmers urged to test their soils
As can be seen from the table below the amount of lime spread by SA landowners to counter soil acidity has increased significantly since the late 1990s.
March 11, 2004
Worrying stats on lime usage
While the amount of lime spread on SA farms more than doubled in the four years to 2001/02, there was a decrease in sales last financial year.
February 26, 2004
Change in row spacing advocated
A case for wider row spacing to be used when sowing winter pulses, and other crops, has been put by WA agronomist, Wayne Smith.
February 19, 2004
Big yield differences recorded in trials
Standard MAP or DAP granular fertiliser mixed in water with micronutrients and held in suspension by clay has again produced impressive crop yield performances in Eyre Peninsula trials.
February 12, 2004
Suspension fertilisers producing high yields
Suspension fertilisers under trial on Eyre Peninsula continue to perform well on soils with a high capacity to fix phosphorus.
February 5, 2004
Prat-proof medics
While medics can reduce the number of crop-damaging root lesion nematodes present in cropping soils, they may suffer damage in the process.
January 29, 2004
Medics knockout the 'prats' in the first round
Several medic cultivars have reduced Pratylenchus (root lesion nematode) numbers in the first of a series field trials seeking to unravel what effect pastures have on the root pest.
January 22, 2004
Plans for Blackspot prediction service
A laboratory-developed computer model aimed at forecasting the potential blackspot disease outbreaks in field peas is being validated in the field.
January 15, 2004
Combating the lentil disease threat
Lentil growers now in paddock-planning mode for 2004 will need to take into account the risk posed by the virulent disease, botrytis grey mould.
