The project aims to better understand the plant characteristics, including phenology and architecture, required to maximise biomass production for barley in grazed, grain and opportunistic grain and grazed scenarios across variable rainfall seasons. A diverse set of elite and novel varieties will be tested by different simulated grazing treatments across low, medium and high rainfall zones of South Australia.
This project will be undertaken by SARDI researchers with the optimal flowering period for wheat and barley for the Murray Plains to be refined and validated from previous investment S/UA1021 through field trials and crop modelling. Drone imagery will be used to estimate both plant establishment and biomass of these field trials to help dissect key grain yield drivers independent of flowering time.