THE agricultural industry will get the opportunity to inspect Australia’s longest running annual cropping systems experiment at a crop walk at Longerenong College on Tuesday.
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The Longerenong Rotation Number One trial, better known as LR1, was established in 1916.
This year will be the 102nd year the trial has been investigating the suitability of cropping rotations on soil fertility in the Wimmera.
Murra Warra farmer and Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke will officially open the trial and commemorate the centenary.
Along with the LR1 trial, the Sustainable Cropping Rotations in Mediterranean Environments trial will also be open to the public on the day.
The trial has been running since 1998 and was established to investigate cropping systems in relation to the soil resources, financial performance and pest and disease management.
Attendees will have the opportunity to walk through the trial site followed by presentations from leading agricultural researchers and economists.
Agriculture Victoria senior scientist Dr. Roger Armstrong will give insight into the long-term effects of rotations and tillage on grain yields, protein, and soil mineral nitrogen supply.
Agriculture Victoria senior research scientist Fiona Robertson will present the long-term effects of rotations on soil nitrogen and carbon sequestration.
Agriculture Victoria senior plant pathologist Grant Hollaway will discuss the effects of crop sequences on diseases and rotations for control of cereal cyst nematode diseases.
University of Melbourne associate professor Bill Malcolm has analysed the economics of the cropping rotations and will update attendees about the most profitable rotations in the Wimmera.
The Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and Agriculture Victoria is hosting the LR1 centenary and sustainable cropping rotations crop walk and the event is free to attend.
The crop walk will start at 1.30pm at Longerenong College.
