FABA beans have not enjoyed a good reputation as a break crop in Tasmania, but recent trial work undertaken by Southern Farming Systems may help put them back on the rotation list as a viable option.
Small plot irrigated trials sown at Cressy in the Northern Midlands, showed it is possible to achieve high yields with faba beans. PBA Samira topped the trial, with yields up to 7.85 tonne per hectare, established at a population of 30 plants per square metre. The average yield across the site was just under 6 t/ha.
The trials were established in mid-May on poppy stubble that had been disced and grazed and were undertaken as part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Stubble Initiative project.
Best yield results were obtained when varieties were established at 30 plants per square metre, and given full protection against fungal diseases Chocolate Spot and Aschochyta Blight.
Tasmanian trials and project manager Heather Cosgriff expressed surprise at how well the beans did in a tough season.
The ongoing challenge for the crop in Tasmania will be avenues to market.
- Southern Farming Systems
“It has to be said that the Faba Beans were not nursed at this site. They were sown quite late and toughed it out through one of the coldest winters on record.
“Upfront weed control was not optimal and the plants themselves were short, with the first pods only centimetres from ground level. To have yields in the seven-eight tonne range is quite a feat.”
The ongoing challenge for the crop in Tasmania will be avenues to market. Tasmania is a long way from the Middle East, where the human consumption market favours Australian faba beans, so a local market, most likely for stockfeed, is required if the crop is to find a permanent place in Tasmanian grain rotations.
TAP Agrico’s David Skipper said that faba for feed is an immature market in Tasmania.
“As livestock producers become more au fait with protein sources for their animals, demand should increase. The key will be increasing local production to ensure a consistent supply of beans to make the industry economically viable.”
