With many seeders hitting the paddocks across regional South-West Victoria busily getting the next season’s crop in. Considerations of the soil conditions are paramount. Especially after the prolonged and delayed completion of the crop harvest from the late rainfall in 2023. Then conditions dried up from the start of the new year with March being the seventh driest on record, at 80% below average rainfall. Currently Agriculture Victoria’s soil moisture probes in South-West Victoria reflect the dry conditions with a soil moisture content of 30% Plant Available Water (PAW), while Hamilton and surrounds are sitting below 25% PAW.

There are some key considerations to maximise crop establishment throughout sowing:

• Sowing rate is an important factor in reaching high crop establishment and target plant densities. The key components in determining sowing rates are the seed germination percentage, estimated paddock losses due to conditions, and thousand seed weight.
• In drier conditions, sowing slightly deeper can help place seed closer to available moisture, however deep sowing can increase the risk of low establishment. Therefore, it is important not to exceed the coleoptile length in cereals when selecting depth.
• Sowing close to previous crop rows can help access moisture and avoid areas with soil constraints such as salinity and sodicity to reduce additional stresses to an establishing crop.
• If soil conditions become cloddy, increasing press-wheel pressure can improve soil-seed contact.
• Some further considerations to reduce the impact of low plant numbers include maintaining good soil fertility, particularly ensuring Nitrogen and Phosphorus levels are adequate and using long-season varieties that maximise the time for compensatory growth. It is important to remember that low establishment will not always reduce yield, as crops can compensate over the course of the year.

For a guide on successful crop establishment and to calculate an appropriate sowing rate for your operation, please read the GRDC’s Crop Establishment and Precision Planting – Southern and Western report from July 2023, https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/all-publications/publications/2023/crop-establishment-and-precision-planting

Happy sowing, for more crop updates and resources throughout the season visit sfs.org.au.