19 November 2024. Paul McIntosh, Pulse Australia and WeedSmart.
Summer is really with us and of course our favourite summer legume - Mungbeans - comes into its own. This short rotation crop as it is positioned in our farming systems has many benefits. Like all crops we plant from seed, seed quality for germination and vigour are main considerations.
The Australian Mungbean Association (AMA) has gone one step further by introducing the AMA Approved Mungbean Seed scheme. Not only do our planting seed crops have to have good germ and vigour, they are also selected for being relatively clear of the two bacterial diseases Halo Blight and the tricky Tan Spot. These two pesky diseases are mostly seed borne, so very experienced independent paddock inspectors do regular inspections in the growing periods of these designated planting seed crops of Mungs.
No, they cannot and nor does the AMA specify, total clean or disease free seed, however it is much reduced against those painful seed borne diseases.
The other convincing reason for the AMA seed scheme also pertains to seed quality. This point covers the genetic drift or reduced quality of the planting seed. After two or three generations of seed production, this same cohort or batch of seed can deteriorate quite considerably. In other words, the sample produced in the paddock may have dull colour or even smaller seeds produced.
This is not good when our export markets are very specific on wanting large shiny Mungbeans from Australia. This quality specification when achieved certainly earns Aussie Farmers the best price for our clean green Mungbeans.
The AMA bags are very distinctive and apart from a reduced bacterial disease levels, there are very few, if any, weeds seeds in the bag.
So have confidence in your summer Mungbean crop and also have confidence that your best planting seed option is in an AMA seed scheme bag.
With words long ago spoken from my father Alec, having good quality planting seed is the cheapest investment in grain farming.
Don’t forget to register for the Crop Protection Forum at Highfields Cultural Centre on Wednesday 27 November. A huge informative program is on the agenda and no matter if you are early career or a veteran in agriculture issues in the North, you will learn something special here.
Good quality planting seed sample or not??
Regards
Paul McIntosh (JP Qual)