The very first trial in the ground for 2026 is already up and running and it’s an exciting one!

We’ve launched a time of sowing by seeding depth trial for faba beans at our Streatham site.

The first sowing took place on April 4, which is unusually early for faba beans, typically sown from late April to mid-May.

A second sowing will follow on May 7, giving us a full month between time-of-sowing treatments.

The trial includes four seeding depths:

3 – 4 cm (shallow)

5 – 6 cm (standard)

9 – 10 cm (deep)

Greater than 10 cm (very deep)

These depths were spaced approximately 2 cm apart to mimic practical seeding variability.

While soil conditions weren’t ideal, the uneven seedbed and moisture may have affected how deeply the tynes could penetrate the soil.

The trial is exploring whether deeper seeding could allow for earlier sowing, while still achieving emergence around the usual timeframe.

If successful, this could give growers more flexibility in their sowing program, letting them slot faba beans in earlier without compromising emergence or yield potential. As it stands, faba beans are often planted where they “fit” in the schedule, not always where they perform best.

Early observations of the first time of sowing is showing us the very deep treatment has been slower to emerge compared to the other depths. Emergence is ongoing across all treatments.

Unlike last year, where all depths emerged at a similar time, this season is already showing clear differences in emergence timing. This should provide a stronger comparison moving forward, and it will be interesting to see how the second time of sowing performs.

Check out the image for the TOS 1 depths, going from shallowest to the deepest.

This trial is funded by GRDC.

By Greta Duff, Research & Extension Coordinator