With two new spring wheat cultivars, a gristing and a medium grade milling wheat, as well as three new feed barley cultivars, the 2019-2020 CPT spring trials plan was very positive.
Fortunately, good solar radiation over the grain fill period boosted yields of irrigated crops and many growers commented on record yield and quality, coupled with good harvest conditions. Ultimately, CPT spring wheat and feed barley yields were higher than last year at most CPT sites. The season got off to a good start, with many areas experiencing mild weather and below average rainfall in spring. Unfortunately, by the start of summer, conditions became more difficult in some regions, with soil moisture falling below average in much of the upper and eastern North Island, along with parts of Tasman, Marlborough and Canterbury. Ongoing drought conditions in many of these regions, as well as a severe drought across Northland and Waikato over summer, affected the yield of dryland crops. In contrast, the lower west coast of the North Island and parts of Otago and Southland experienced frequent rain, resulting in above average soil moisture and water-logging, which hampered management in some crops. Otago and Southland also experienced above average rainfall during both December and February, with many crops affected by flooding at harvest.
The COVID-19 lockdown meant two Southland barley trials could not be harvested, and the results from the spring wheat trial in the Manawatu were withdrawn because of high variability caused by the dry conditions. As a result, some of the new cultivars have no data for these sites.