Katanning+Senior+High+School

[|Environmental Scan] On our first visit to the Great Southern Agricultural Research Institute (GSARI), we learnt about seed packaging. We learnt that problems occur in the field and to lessen the risk, need to achieve our desired plant density, and ensure the trials don't vary too much. This is to ensure maximum yield is obtained to give farmers the feedback they need to move forwards with new varieties of wheat, barley, lupins, canola, peas and triticale.
 * ASISTM Visit 1[[image:P1040277b.JPG width="240" height="198" align="right"]]**

To best determine the optimal growing results the seeds are planted at three different times of the season so that the rainfall is different and we can then advise farmers of the best times to plant their crops. The three times were 4th May, 22nd May and the 14th of June.

It will not be until the crop is harvested we will know the best yielding cereal crop according to planting times.


 * ASISTM 2 JUNE 2007**

On the second visit to GSARI we went out to the fields and examined the trial crops. We counted the seeds planted and looked to see if there were any weeds in the crops. We then looked at a chart and determined what spray we should use to kill all the weeds and allow the crop to grow to its full potential.

Then they showed us the seeder and all its features and how it worked, after that they put the seeder into action in the field and planted some seeds for us.

During the day we were split into three groups to get shown these things and we rotated through to get the best knowledge we could with smaller groups. In these groups we had the chance to ask questions about what we were learning and we wrote down notes and recorded our results.

GSARI Field Day 18/10/01 On our third visit to the Great Southern Agricultural Research Institute (GSARI) we attended their annual field day. This was an information day for farmers and the community about the research trials being conducted by GSARI. The day was split into 3 tours where we had a choice of attending either of the blue, green, yellow or red trial loops. The topics for each tour were as follows:
 * Red loop
 * Wheat – Time of Sowing
 * Barley National Variety Testing
 * Oat Disease Management
 * Blue loop
 * Pulses & Herbicide Trials
 * Pea Varieties
 * Field Pea Rolling Trial
 * Yellow loop
 * Breech Strike Resistance
 * Sheep CRC Trials
 * Trial Sheep in Yards for inspection
 * Green loop
 * Trees for Rubber & Oil
 * Mustard Variety Trials
 * Cereals & Herbicide Tolerance

On the first tour our class was split between 2 loops (red & blue). On the red loop we met Brenda Shakley and we were able to see our wheat trials at a much more mature height compared to our germination count day. Brenda explained to the group about the success of the various varieties of wheat and about her research in general. She compared the new wheat varieties to Wyalkatchem as it is the current preferred wheat grown in the Great Southern region. When Brenda completed her presentation we were able to view each of the different time of sowing trials.