DURUM -
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planning/paddock preparation pre-planting planting
plant growth and physiology nutrition and fertiliser weed control
insect control nematode control diseases plant growth
regulators and canopy management harvest storage
environmental issues marketing current research
March 2014
March 2014
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The GRDC GrowNotes are an entirely new initiative for GRDC and for the first time provide
a one-stop shop for northern region trial results and best practice recommendations.
Having said that, the GrowNotes build on extension media of past and present from crop
notes to YouTube.
The GrowNotes are digital documents, available online, so they are able to use the very
best e-publishing technology available to make the information easy to find and navigate.
The GrowNotes constantly link to further information. In the wheat GrowNotes alone there
are 900 hypertext links.
We hope ready access to information will help growers adopt best practices and increase
production and profit.
The notes are a dynamic document that will be regularly updated as new research and
agronomic information come to light and growers and agronomists provide feedback.
The three modules, wheat, barley and durum, are effectively pilot
projects for the entire 17 crops grown in the northern region.
We urge you to test them and give us your feedback. There is a
feedback button on every page that sends your comments, good
or bad, directly back to GRDC.
Access the GRDC GrowNotes via www.grdc.com.au/grownotes.
James Clark GRDC Northern Panel Chair
Know more. Grow more.
Know more. Grow more.
March 2014
Know more. Grow more.
FeedbackDURUM - Foreword
Foreword
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the GRDC GrowNotes, a new and exciting information
product range providing you with regional trial results and best practice recommendations on
the crops you grow. A good example of your levy at work!
The GRDC has been investing in grains RD&E for more than 20 years. During this time, together
with our partners, we have generated a mass of information from research outputs and findings,
most of which remains relevant today.
Typically, this research has been communicated to industry through GRDC Grower Updates,
GRDC Adviser Updates, Ground Cover, fact sheets, media releases, communication
campaigns and the GRDC website. While these remain important communication channels,
new information technologies such as digital publishing and mobile device applications provide
an opportunity to communicate the results of GRDC-funded research more effectively.
The Regional Grower Services business group was established within GRDC to actively listen,
service and deliver results to growers. Through Regional Grower Services we have heard your
feedback loud and clear. Our Regional Cropping Solutions networks and Grower Solutions
Groups have told us that growers now need more specific information, tailored to their
environment and in a format they can access when they need it most. Having this all in one
location so they dont have to go trawling through the internet is another critical feature.
So whats special about GRDC GrowNotes? It really comes down to actively listening to
growers and the intense collaboration between our Regional Grower Services group and our
science writers. Comments and observations from growers about GRDC publications and
products and what theyd like to see improved and the feedback received from the growers and
advisers who first tested GrowNotes, have come together in a very unique blend.
The GRDCs GrowNotes are a direct result of your GRDC listening to what you need and
presenting it in a way that best informs the cropping decisions you make.
Youll see a feedback button at the top of every page. I encourage you to use this to provide us
with any comments or feedback so we can continue to improve and extend the
GRDC GrowNotes. I want to thank all of those who have already provided
input and feedback on the various beta versions. Theyve given us insights
that have allowed us to develop GrowNotes to a whole new level.
We will continue to make improvements to GrowNotes so stay tuned as
other crop modules are progressively rolled out.
I hope you find the GRDC GrowNotes useful.
Stuart Kearns GRDC Executive Manager Regional Grower Services
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SECTION A
Introduction
A.1 Crop overview
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) or pasta wheat (Photo 1) is known for its
hardness, protein, intense yellow colour, nutty flavour and excellent cooking qualities. In
200506, production was ~500,000 tonnes (t), with New South Wales (NSW) accounting
for around 56% and South Australia (SA) 41% of current production. The balance is
produced in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia (WA). 1
Durum wheat should only be grown on highly fertile soils where high-protein grain can be
produced, as protein levels >13% are required to meet premium market grades. Protein
levels below 10% can be marketed only as feed. 2
A.2 Keywords
Durum, northern grains region, winter cereals, crop rotation, fallow weed control, cereal
diseases, root-lesion nematodes, water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency, soil testing,
crown rot, Fusarium head blight, protein, pasta, crop nutrition and fertiliser.
Photo 1: Durum wheat.
1 J Kneipp (2008) Durum wheat production. NSW Department of Primary Industries, http://www.nvtonline.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Crop-Guide-NSW-Durum-Wheat-Production.pdf
2 DAFF (2012) Durum wheat in Queensland. Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/plants/field-crops-and-pastures/broadacre-field-crops/wheat/durum-wheat
Section A DURUM - Introduction
Section 1 DURUM - Planning and paddock preparation
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SECTION 1
Planning and paddock preparation
For more information, see the GRDC GrowNotes WHEAT (Northern region), Section 1:
Planning and paddock preparation.
1.1 Paddock selection
Select paddocks that are fertile, and store good levels of stored water or receive reliable in-
crop rainfall or have access to supplementary irrigation. Durum wheat must only be grown
where a reliable harvest of high protein (13%+), plump hard vitreous grain can be produced.
The highest grade of durum (ADR1) must have a minimum protein level of 13% and ADR2
>11.5%. Careful management of soil nitrogen (N) is essential to achieve this. 1
Durum wheats and bread wheats should not be sown into paddocks known to carry high
levels of crown rot inoculum. Ground preparation is the same as that for bread wheat.
Adequate weed control should eliminate all weeds and volunteer plants of bread wheat,
barley or other crop species. 2
1.2 Paddock rotation and history
Photo 1: Rotations with non-cereal species, including canola are important for durum paddocks.
1 R Hare (2006) Agronomy of the durum wheats Kamilaroi, Yallaroi, Wollaroi and EGA Bellaroi. Primefacts 140, NSW Department of Primary Industries, http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/63646/Agronomy-of-the-durum-wheats---Primefact-140-final.pdf
2 DAFF (2012) Durum wheat in Queensland, Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/plants/field-crops-and-pastures/broadacre-field-crops/wheat/durum-wheat
Section 1 DURUM - Planning and paddock preparation
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Crop rotations using pulses, canola, sorghum, sunflower and pasture legumes are essential
to control disease, and also to provide opportunities for weed control. A robust crop
rotation must be planned over a number of seasons if successful crops of durum wheat are
to be produced. 3
Rotations with non-cereal species, including pulses, canola, sorghum, pasture legumes
(especially lucerne) and sunflowers, are essential in order to:
control root disease, especially crown rot
provide for the biological fixation of N2 through legumes
control weeds and contaminant crop species, and aid in herbicide group rotation
Durum should be the first cereal crop after a non-cereal species. Avoid successive durum
crops. 4
1.3 Benefits of crop as a rotation crop
Generally, durums are relatively resistant to the root lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei,
compared with other winter cereal crops.
1.4 Disadvantages of crop as a rotation crop
Durum will more rapidly build up crown rot inoculum that can negatively affect subsequent
winter cereal crops.
1.5 Fallow weed control
Good weed control can be achieved effectively by controlling weeds in preceding crops
and fallow, rotating crops, growing competitive durum crops, and the judicious use of
herbicides. It is important to control weeds such as New Zealand spinach, climbing
buckwheat (black bindweed
