Improving early crop establishment

Dry Season Resources

In this episode, we turn our attention to getting good crop establishment with early sowing.

Our guests are Glen Riethmuller, Research Scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), and Stuart Faulkner, a mixed farmer from Beacon, WA.

Good crop establishment and rapid, early growth can improve water efficiency, increase yields and help the crop to compete against weeds. However, early sowing comes with its risks. It can increase the risk of frost during critical growth stages and haying-off in a dry finish.

Glen and Stuart give their tips for getting good crop establishment when sowing early.

The Dry Season Resources podcast is produced by the South-West WA Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub and hosted by Shannon Beattie.

• Livestock management in 2023-2024 (PDF) - DPIRD
• Climate outlooks - Bureau of Meteorology
• Maximising sowing opportunities under dry soil conditions in the high-rainfall zone - GRDC
• $8.2M national project to boost canola establishment - CSIRO
• 2024 WA Crop Sowing Guide - DPIRD
• Ten tips for early sown wheat (PDF) - GRDC
• Crop establishment and precision planting (PDF) - GRDC
• Hub news - Drought Hub