Strategies for Growing Canola in Low Rainfall Environments of Australia

Abstract

Canola ('Brassica napus') production in Australia, although generally successful, is not well developed in the low rainfall environments of the eastern wheat belt. Whilst there are varieties being developed to allow increased canola production in these areas, there is limited understanding of the relationship between sowing time, variety, soil moisture and plant growth. The experiments detailed in this thesis set out to examine these issues and provide an understanding of which of these factors, or a combination of these, limit canola production in low rainfall environments. Two field experiments were conducted comparing plant growth, yield and yield components and water use of several canola varieties sown across a series of sowing times, under two water regimes, one involving the application of supplementary water using irrigation. These were conducted during 2002 and 2003 at Condobolin in the central western district of New South Wales. ... The results from this study illustrate that early sowing of canola in low rainfall environments of Australia could increase canola production and that correct varietal choice might further increase grain yields. However, caution must be extended when considering how much earlier canola should be sown than the current recommendations, as there may be other factors which could alter plant growth and yield that were unable to be investigated in this thesis.