26 March 2024. Last updated 26 March 2024.
Mungbean harvesting and no glyphosate required
After a fairly good summer rainfall pattern over much of the Northern region, harvesting of our Mungbean crops has commenced.
Farmers will mostly desiccate their Mungbean crop the conventional way by using Glyphosate at recommended 90% physiological maturity stage. Note I said 90% physiological maturity or PM and that is usually some days ahead of the old 90% black or brown pod recommendation for desiccation timing. If these mung seeds inside the pod are separated from the white scale or pod lining, then that seed is considered PM.
With our export markets determining acceptable levels of pesticide residual levels or MRLs, industry and our farmers are very conscious of registered pesticide use and withholding periods.
With great investment by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and targeted research done by folk from the Qld Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the industry has developed a Best Management Practice (BMP) for doing a mechanical desiccation process, where no herbicides like Glyphosate are applied to a mature Mungbean crop. Instead we windrow or swath it, which means cutting the plant stems just above the ground and layering these cut plants with mature pods on their raccines, into a row or as we call it a windrow. Left to dry naturally, some days later a special pickup front like in the photo below is brought in to pick up the windrow and thrash it normally inside the header.
Plenty of swathing or mechanical desiccation trial work has been done in this region and certainly many farmers have tried this new farming practice.
The advantages are endless starting with no potential stalk staining on our large shiny Mungbeans, zero point zero zero pesticide residue providing extra value to our export customers and invariably a more saleable product. Losses could well be much less than a conventional herbicide system, depending on windrow dryness and effective harvester set up. A slower operation is a drawback of mechanical desiccation and no easy way round this important issue. Grain quality by both processes has proven at least equal in quality .
Also swath or windrow size is important too. Big bulky windrows take longer to dry down, so in large bio mass crops this can slow the pick up operation considerably. Possibly sequential days of swathing is a smart idea.
Is it for everyone to start swathing now? The answer is no, however we now have a practice that we can adopt more into the future when needed. Certainly a regular grain dollar bonus would offset some extra swathing time costs.
On another note, I regularly speak strongly about having an even plant strike in all our cropping paddocks. Plenty of good agronomic reasons for this desired result, and understanding your planter and soil types are key parts of your farm operations.
To this end, I am emceeing and presenting at the first of our GRDC/AMPS planter workshop forums at Inglestone on the morning of Wednesday 3 April 2024. Off to Gurley in northern NSW for the second of these very interesting mornings on Thursday 4 April. Please call or register if you would like to attend for another great practical learning morning by independent experts.
That’s all folks from Paul Mac.
A pea pickup front picking up swathed Mungbeans on Darling Downs.