Australia: Bright harvest prospects, but concern over frost damage

...Qld AgForce Grains president Lyndon Pfeffer is beginning to hear of significant frost losses within early-planted crops, particularly in central Queensland.

“Paddocks round Thallon and Talwood (southern Queensland) were looking quite good but I’ve heard as much as two-thirds of some paddocks in central Queensland may have been frost-affected,” he said.

“So it’s fingers-crossed for the moment because it can take between a week and 10 days for frost damage to show up,” Mr Pfeffer added.

His concerns were echoed by noted Jambin district grower Selwyn Schmidt in Central Queensland who says he too is hearing reports of frost damage on both chickpeas and wheat.

“I’m not sure how substantial it is but there are definite reports of some levels of frost damage,” he said.

“The winter has certainly been colder than average and a bit longer than average,” Mr Schmidt added.

Just-released figures suggest that frost damage in Queensland and northern NSW wheat and barley crops translates into losses estimated at $120m per annum in an average year.

The combined effect of direct frost damage, late flowering to minimise frost risk and terminal drought stress, represent the most important constraint to increased winter cereal production in the northern grains region, according to DPI&F research scientist Troy Frederiks,

“The yield of early-sown crops that escape frost can be 20-50pc more than crops sown at the recommended time,” he said. ”However, only one frost event can be enough to destroy a crop.”