Consulting Panel

2026-11-03

Description Faba beans are an important rotation crop in farming systems for the Northern region, with over 50,000 Ha planted during 2025 in the Northwest NSW subregion alone. The leguminous plant provides benefits to soil health and stability, while the roots build nodules containing bacteria which fixate nitrogen. The fixation of significant amounts of nitrogen reduces the reliance of nitrogen fertiliser demands. However, to ensure economic viability, growers require consistent grain yields, poor performing fields can significantly impact farm gross margins. The investment will investigate faba bean yield potential in Northern NSW, when grown with non-limited available soil water and adequate nutrition. A series of larger scale field experiments across the region will be monitored to determine low and high yielding locations, with results being compared through a paired field correlation test to identify yield limiting factors. The analysis will allow for identifiable differences between fields/farms and highlight factors that are contributing to the yield variation in faba beans. The project will work closely with growers to ensure the experimental fields and farms are adequate for the study and practices to mitigate the impacts are relevant for grower utilisation. Extension will take place through grower meetings and field days, providing opportunities for sharing key outcomes and engaging in discussions with growers to facilitate local implementation within the industry. Identifying faba bean yield limiting factors will aid growers and advisors to better manage their fields, resulting in higher yields and greater sustainability long term. Outcome By May 2029, the investment will identify the major yield limiting factors of Faba beans in Northern NSW and disseminated at grower field days and meetings to at least 100 growers and advisors over the three years. Outputs Output 1. Title: Field experiments to investigate the yield variation of faba bean grown in Northern NSW. Description: Field experiments over three years to identify factors that impact faba bean yield. The experiments will contain both small plots and larger field size studies to analysis limiting factors - such as, soil characteristics, soil water holding capacity, disease, rotation, and management tactics. The experiments protocols to contain plant and soil harvests to measure plant growth, harvest index, basic phenology, and soil attributes. Small plot experiments will be developed to evaluate the yield potential of faba bean, preferably with the option of irrigation to reduce water limiting scenarios and fertiliser to reduce possible deficiency impacts. Treatments may contain but not limited to irrigation (to evaluate full yield potential), starter fertiliser, sowing date, cultivar choice, etc. It is expected the investment will contain four large field experimental sites every season, covering a wide range of farming practices and soil types/characteristics. Selections of the large field sites should ensure a known high and low yielding companion field or sites and a common rotation if possible, between the different locations. To evaluate limiting factors between high and low yielding fields, it is recommended to adopt a paired field comparison method. Data collection should align with the methods developed by the National Pulse Agronomy project and will include: - Soil measurements: Full comprehensive soil analysis to 90cm, bulk density, soil water holding capacity - Plant measurements: Crop establishment counts, dates of key phenological growth stages, management inputs, grain yield, plant biomass, plant nutrient uptake and grain export - Rainfall and temperature data - Disease variance: perform soil predicta-B analysis and plant disease analysis All data is to be uploaded in an approved GRDC repository annually. Output 2. Title: Extension of key management practices and identified limiting factors. Description: The investment will deliver information to the local farming regions entailing crucial faba bean management options and the key factors which impact grain yield. Extension will occur through grower focused field days and industry events such as GRDC Research updates etc and could also include podcasts, videos, GroundCover articles and case studies. Field days such occur annually at each of the field sites and or in collaboration with local GRDC and grains focused events.

Australia

2025-12-01