Boyup Brook community crop reaches new heights with Pioneer canola hybrids

President of Boyup Brook community crop Wayde Robertson with Pioneer Seeds Territory Sales Manager Kim Mayfield, pictured in the Boyup Brook Community Crop of 45Y95CL.

Community crop initiative 

The community crop program is raising funds for the Boyup Brook Sport and Recreation Association to upgrade their sporting facilities. The current facilities have not seen a significant upgrade since the 1970's, leading to several local businesses and farmers pitching in to get the project out of the ground. 

"It's a great initiative to pull the community together to raise some funds for a good cause. The sporting precinct desperately needs upgrading," Wayde said. 

The group planted 12 hectares of 45Y95CL in early May, selecting the hybrid for its high yield potential.  

"The hybrid has had a lot of success in our area. I've grown it for a few years on my own place and knew that since the season is a bit longer in the Boyup Brook area, and with a very heavy soil, that the hybrid had a lot of potential for big yields," Wayde said. 

Planting and crop management 

Since the country had never been cropped before, the group took a conservative approach to fertiliser. 

"We went to about 160 units of nitrogen - it's new country to crop so it didn't need too heavy of an application," Wayde said.  

Clethodim, Intervix and Lontrel were utilised as the main herbicide applications for the Clearfield hybrid. Due to the prevalence of slugs in the area, the canola crop also received a slug-bait application after seeding. 450ml of Prosaro fungicide was applied at the 20% flower stage.  

A manganese seeding compound blend, nitrogen and a soil-wetter was utilised in the furrow. 150kg of NS31 was applied at the four-leaf stage, followed by two UAN applications at the 6-leaf and bolting stages. The dryland crop also received about 400mm of in-crop rainfall. 

The Boyup Brook Community Crop Project is proudly supported by Pioneer Seeds.

Promising outlook on yield 

Local Farm Services Consultant for the southern region of West Australia, Owen Boxall, learned of the project from Wayde, and was thrilled to join in on the community cause.  

"We've had a fairly long relationship with Wayde, 10-15 years. He's done a lot of side-by-side trials with us in addition to always testing and trialling our products.  

"He's been a big supporter of Pioneer brand products over the years, so when he said he was going to be running this community crop, he came to us as and asked if it would be possible for us to donate some 45Y95CL seed to the cause.  

"He's grown the hybrid before, and since it's a higher rainfall area, it's perfectly suited. We were more than happy for the opportunity to join in on this community effort for a great cause," Owen said. 

Wayde has been impressed by the performance of the 45Y95CL seed in the community project, proudly donated by Pioneer Seeds.  

"We're looking at a late November to early December harvest window. It's looking very good at the moment, we're hoping for a yield of three tonnes or more," he said. 

Wayde Robertson with Pioneer Seeds Farm Services Consultant Owen Boxall. 

Wayde’s Kojonup WA canola  

Wayde decided to grow a diverse range of canola hybrids including 44Y94CL, 45Y28RR and the Optimum GLY herbicide tolerance trait hybrid PY525G on his own property outside of Kojonup WA, in the 2024 season.  

"We made the decision to split our canola strategy and spread a bit of the risk. We'd previously grown PY422G and been happy with it, but we wanted more mid-maturity hybrids for a longer season this year.  

"We wanted hybrids we could put in dry and have a bit more flexibility around the chemical applications, which was 200 hectares of PY525G, in addition to the 200 hectares of 45Y28RR. We also planted 330 hectares of 44Y94CL to go in after the break," he said.  

Pioneer Seeds Territory Sales Manager, Kim Mayfield, looked back on the success that the grower had in the past using Clearfield hybrids, and recommended the Optimum GLY and Roundup Ready canola hybrids as a shift in strategy.  

"The Clearfield canola hybrids traditionally see very high yields in Western Australia, and Wayde has grown a lot of Pioneer brand canola in the past, including the Clearfield, but this year he's growing PY525G and 45Y28RR in addition to the 44Y94CL.  

"I recommended these to him for weed control and management. It's also wetter area, so having a staggered approach to the germination of the hybrids helps mitigate some of the risk," he said.  

Harvest began for the crops in early December 2024.

Inputs and management 

The grower utilised similar inputs for all three canola hybrids, including 25.6 units of phosphorus, between 180-220 units of nitrogen, 28 units of potassium and 44 units of sulphur.  

For the PY525G and 45Y28RR, he utilised propyzamide and Treflan at the post-sowing pre-emergence stage. Additionally, he applied chlorpyrifos and bifenthrin at the same stage to combat insect pressure in the area from red mite, weevils, byrobia mite and slugs. They used a wetting agent in furrow at 2-2.2kg and 160kg of compound. At the two-leaf stage, a litre of Nufarm Crucial was applied, followed by another application of Crucial in addition to Select Xtra and Veritas Opti at the four-leaf stage. They sprayed for Sclerotinia at the 20% flower stage with Prosaro at 450ml with a bit of UAN.  

The grower followed a similar knockdown technique for the crop of 44Y94CL, with some differences. For the broadleaf grass spray, he utilised Intervix, Select Xtra, Lontrol and Veritas Opti. The Clearfield hybrid also received a similar Sclerotinia spray to the other crops.  

Early indicators of great crop performance 

With a couple of months until harvest, Wayde predicted that the canola hybrids all have great yield potential, and he plans to implement a similar strategy next year.  

"I'm not going to make a call on yield until the header gets in there, but it's got great standability, visually there's a lot of pods there and it's looking really promising. We're looking to harvest at the start of December.  

"We're going with 44Y94CL and PY525G again in the next canola season, and we're looking at our options for another longer season hybrid for 2025 too," Wayde said. 

Incorporating a range of hybrid canola seed options with staggered maturities into a cropping strategy can help mitigate risks from adverse conditions and pests, leading to more consistent yields and enhanced crop resilience. 

Contact your local Pioneer Seeds representative to learn more about how Pioneer brand hybrids can fit into your winter crop strategy.