A NEW crop sowing guide has been released to help South Australian grain growers determine the best crop varieties for their situation.

Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) released the 2023 South Australian Crop Sowing Guide late last year.

GRDC collaborates with the South Australian Grain Industry Trust and the South Australian Research and Development Institute of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (SARDI-PIRSA) every year to develop the sowing guide.

The guide details information on current varieties of the major winter cereal and pulse crops, as well as National Variety Trials (NVT) yield, disease and pest resistance results for the past five years, plus information on crop quality attributes and other agronomic considerations.

The 2023 edition covers wheat, barley, oat, canola, field pea, lentil, faba bean, lupin, chickpea and vetch varieties.

South Australian agronomy consultant Craig Davis said the independent results in the sowing guide help growers decide what varieties to plant and how to manage them to maximise potential.

“The sowing guides are a critical decision-making tool to differentiate between varieties in terms of their yield performance, disease rating and grain quality,” he said.

“Growers would not have the same level of confidence to switch varieties if it wasn’t for the information available in the guides – it really helps generate better outcomes for growers.”

GRDC manager NVT (south) Trevor Garnett explained the guide draws on results from the NVT program, which is updated annually and draws on data from the previous year.

“We release the sowing guide in spring to ensure growers can access the past year’s results in time to make variety decisions for next season and in time to source the seed they want,” said Mr Garnett.

“The sowing guide really is the definitive source of all the information growers need to choose the most suitable variety for any given location and situation.”

The NVT program is the largest independent co-ordinated trial network in the world. Across Australia each year, GRDC manages more than 650 trials sown at over 300 locations for 10 crop species.

SARDI-PIRSA research officer Melissa McCallum contributed to and edited the guide, on which the SARDI-PIRSA pathology and agronomy research teams collaborated.

“SARDI-PIRSA values the opportunity to provide a comprehensive overview of the new varieties across all crop types relevant to growers in SA,” she said.

“It is wonderful that SARDI-PIRSA continues to contribute to the guide and provide growers with an independent view on how the new and current varieties are suited to SA.”

The 2023 crop sowing guide can be downloaded or a hard copy can be ordered by calling (1800 110 044) or emailing.