turity for harvest or to ‘brown off’ late weed infestations to make harvesting easier. To minimise losses in yield and quality when desiccating, it is best to apply desiccants when over 90% of pods are mature. Choose glyphosate and diquat products that are registered for desiccation of lentil and abide by all label requirements and harvest withholding periods. Glyphosate is not registered for seed crops and should not be used in pulses intended for seed production or sprouting.
Windrowing of lentil crops for uniform ripening and earlier harvest was once considered impractical because lentil windrows often lack bulk, are difficult to pick up from the bare ground and tend to be blown around in strong winds when left to dry down. However, some growers have had success in placing wide swathes doubled into a bulkier windrow and using a ‘cotton wheel roller’ to compact the windrow. Risk is reduced and harvesting efficiency improved because of the larger, compact windrow and wide swathe covered in the harvesting pass.
Windrowing has also been successful when it is done directly in front of the harvester. This can aid the harvesting of short crops and reduce snail contamination in the sample, but does not assist uniform and early crop ripening.
Harvest lentil as soon as they are ready. This helps avoid grain losses due to pod drop or shattering and reduces the risk of lodging, harvesting inefficiencies and deterioration of grain quality. Lodging and the relatively low crop height, varying from 15 to 50 cm, depending on variety, time of sowing, soil type, paddock levelness, seasonal conditions and faming system used can present some challenges at harvest. Lentil plants sown inter-row into standing cereal stubble are relatively easier to harvest because of their greater crop and pod height, reduced tendency to lodge and the stubble assists the flow of crop. Machinery modifications and early harvesting have improved the efficiency of lentil harvest.
All except very short crops will show some lodging at maturity, but some varieties or production systems like inter-row sowing into standing stubble produce more erect stands at harvest than others. Pods may develop at all levels of the crop and ripening can be uneven if the season is extended. Croptopping (for weed control) or desiccation can ensure a quicker and more uniform ripening of the crop. Plants growing in wheel tracks may ripen later and usually need to be desiccated for harvest. Timing of desiccation or croptopping is critical for grain quality because premature desiccation of wheel tracks or later maturing areas in a paddock can lead to grain quality issues in the harvested sample (e.g. green kernel or stained seed coats).
Monitor crops regularly as harvest time approaches. Harvest lentil when the lower pods have turned pale brown in colour and the seeds rattle in those pods. The seed that develops from the first flowers (those lowest on the plant) will mature before seed from the later flowers. Sample seed from at least 20 plants from a minimum of six sites across the paddock and test for moisture content. Seed moisture content of 15% is satisfactory for harvest but grain needs to be at 12–13% for safe storage. Harvest seed crops first, as the higher moisture content makes the seed less prone to harvest damage and should have a better germination percentage if stored and handled correctly.
Lentil crops generally ripen unevenly and many current varieties are short and tend to lodge. Crops that remain upright at maturity are more prone to pod drop during hot windy conditions, so early harvest is essential to capture the yield produced unless the standing stubble can provide sufficient protection from the wind.
Stems and some foliage may still be green when the grain is ready to harvest. Crop desiccation may assist uniform, quick ripening or dry any green plants and late infestations of weeds. Apply the desiccant when 50% of the crop has turned pale brown then harvest before the pods become brittle.
Harvesting as early as possible is extremely important, and attention to time