Cereal phenology and yield responses to sowing time – Dirnaseer 2021

Abstract

Key findings • Mild temperatures, combined with unlimited soil moisture through the season provided optimal conditions for crop growth and development, resulting in very high grain yields in 2021. • There were significant differences in grain yield responses across sowing dates, with many newly released wheat and barley genotypes achieving higher grain yields compared with current industry benchmarks. • The barley genotypes flowering window was 15 days earlier compared with the wheat genotypes; barley had higher yields than wheat at comparable flowering dates. • Rain, combined with cool temperatures during the grain filling stages, had a significant effect on grain quality. There were significant genotype × sowing date interactions, with earlier sowing treatments recording lower falling numbers compared with the late May sowing.