Grower Warwick Speechly of Eradu considers himself lucky to have come through the last season relatively unscathed while many neighbouring growers suffered poor yields. But Mr Speechly, who has 1,500 hectares under lupins, is also adapting advice from the Department to suit his needs. He said he's traded in his cultitrash for tines to get the recommended seeding depth of around 5cm. Mr Speechly has also gone to press wheels to keep the seeding machine moving at a constant depth. They say generally sowing into cereal stubble is better than sowing into pasture.
Weed control can be poor when sowing into pasture and some seedling diseases more severe.
However there are problems associated with the technique. I may have to put on a disk coulter to try and cut through the stubble. We're getting better results on our place sowing lupin into pasture, certainly in areas prone to brown leaf spot. Suitable seeding conditions are important, particularly for April to mid-May sowings. It is better to sow into wet or dry soil than into a rapidly drying soil, where staggered germinations, difficult weed control and high seedling mortality occur.