WHEN a hailstorm shredded Scott Russell's young mungbean crop at the end of October last year, he thought that would be the end of his season.
To Mr Russell's amazement and that of independent agronomist Roger Lindeman, the crop recovered - only to be shredded twice more in hailstorms in December.
For the crop to have then gone on to deliver 178 tonnes of grain off 114 hectares is nothing short of incredible.
"The first storm caused significant damage, but the next two storms, which came within a few days of each other, were the most devastating for the crop, tearing off flowers and young pods," Mr Russell said.
"The crop really had to start again, and fortunately the season was kind enough for new flowers to set. Instead of the usual 90 days, it took 120 days to get to harvest, but it was a worthwhile result in the end."
Mr Russell also grows cotton, corn and wheat in rotation on the alluvial floodplains of Consuelo, near Rolleston, central Queensland.
"Going into summer, we had limited stored soil moisture and chose mungbean as a best cash return option for the limited irrigation water available at the time.
"We planted into marginal soil moisture at the end of September following a 50-millimetre fall of rain, even though the optimal planting window had almost closed."
Following up with an early irrigation, Mr Russell hoped for some in-crop rain to finish the crop.
Although the hail that came caused extensive damage and set the crop back about a month, it did also bring some welcome rain to fill the soil profile.
"We plan to sow wheat this winter in the two fields where we grew mungbean.
"Having good stored moisture and fixed nitrogen in the soil should set us up for an excellent wheat crop this year."
Bean Growers Australia accumula-tion manager Andrew McDonald said mungbean seed sales had been better than the past two seasons and growers had had success with both spring and summer-planted crops this growing season.
"The spring crop is all in now and we should see the first of the summer crop in mid-March," he said.
"Rain is needed again now in southern Queensland to get maximum yields from all crops."
Mr McDonald said the larger spread of mungbean crops sown across all cropping regions increased the chance of larger tonnages for the Australian export market.
The launch of the variety Jade-AU 12 months ago has encouraged growers to get back into mungbeans, and the release of more effective, softer chemistry such as Alticor for insect control has also bolstered support for mungbeans.
"In the past two seasons, planting opportunities have been scarce and often late.
"This year conditions have enabled growers to plant earlier, and our experience suggests that early deliveries tend to have a higher percentage of beans making processing quality."
So far, mungbean prices have remained strong.
Pulse Australia national development manager Gordon Cumming said this was a good reason for growers to take particular care when managing potential disease outbreaks.
"It is all about protecting the crop from diseases that may affect grain quality," he said.
"Powdery mildew, halo blight and tan spot all have potential to damage crops this season."
Winter pulse training
GROWERS interested in including a winter pulse in their crop rotation this year are invited to register for faba bean and chickpea best management practice training courses in March and April.
Faba bean courses will be held in Goondiwindi, Narrabri and Dalby on March 17-18, March 24-25 and March 31 to April 1 respectively.
A chickpea training course is planned for Goondiwindi on April 21-22, with a one-day refresher course on April 23 for growers and agronomists who have attended previous chickpea training courses.
For more information or to register contact Gordon Cumming on
0408 923 474.
