Moisture for germination and growth is critical to crop performance. Many different strategies exist to conserve soil moisture pre and post sowing, including spraying and tillage.
Online Farm Trials contains 150 trials covering issues that include: managing moisture variability within paddock; crop rotations that optimise moisture availability in the sequence; impacts of break crops and summer crops for production; and, future crop gains and interactions between soil moisture and nitrogen conservation, including timing of fertiliser application. There are 65 published trials for wheat, 16 for canola and 16 for barley linked to soil moisture conservation and use. There are also trials for lupins (6) and vetch (4).
For further information on soil moisture strategies, refer to the following case studies on low rainfall environments that consider summer weed control options to managing soil moisture:
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To discuss whether the Southern Oscillation Index is useful as a rainfall predictor for the Southern Mallee.
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To answer the question, 'How much damage is done to soil by occasional tillage, strategically applied, in an otherwise direct drilled system?'.
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To compare the zinc efficiency, root growth and production characteristics of 2 cultivars of wheat
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To identifiy zinc deficiency in flax and treatment with zinc fertiliser.
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To measure the role of water stored in the soil at sowing in affecting wheat yield.
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To discuss ‘tillage rotation’ as a way to rehabilitate compacted subsoil and increase yield and profit.
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The focus was on being able to rip and inject lime to depth, to attempt to alleviate the acidity and aluminium toxicity that resulted from the low pH.
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The key aim of this trial was to compare soil pH change to depth; with two different sources of lime (lime sand and farmers chalk lime).
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In the mid 1990’s, DAFWA established a series of lime demonstrations sites across the WA wheatbelt, to highlight the importance of managing soil acidity. This trial is one of the series, which had a very simple design (0, 1 and 2t/ha applied, in 3 replicates). The rationale was to use farmer equipment, to enable larger areas to be treated diff… read more
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The key aim of this trial is to document and understand the change in soil pH down to a depth of 30cm.
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The key aim was to compare the rate of lime movement down the soil profile and the change in pH down to a depth of 30cm.
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To investigate the nitrogen rate and time of application response of canola varieties to yield and oil content of Triazine Tolerant (TT) and Roundup Ready (RR) hybrids in comparison with open-pollinated (OP) types to:
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To investigate the effects of rates and granule size of copper containing superphosphate on wheat yields grown on yello9w brown gravelly soil
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To investigate the effects of rates and granule size of copper containing superphosphate on wheat yields grown on yello9w brown gravelly soil
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To quantify nitrogen leaf uptake when applying UAN with and without follow-up rain; and to determine the effect of streaming versus standard nozzles on nitrogen leaf uptake.
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To economically rebuild many of the characteristics of a soil that will improve the viability of the farming system in this dry land cropping enterprise.
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To investigate the tolerance of barley genotypes to manganese-deficient calcarious soil on Eyre Peninsula.
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To screen winter and for summer crops for the tolerance of copper deficiency in glasshouse trials.
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To establish the relative tolerance of triticale, wheat and rye to zinc and copper deficiency at a range soil pH.
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A demonstration site to compare different seeding machinery in tough conditions and through a range of soil types.
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To look at the effectiveness of top-dressed urea on canola and the importance of timing prior to rainfall.
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To determine the most effective method of applying trace elements to crops on sandy soil that has been clay spread.
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To establish the micronutrient status of some South Australian soils.
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To explore relationships between the availability of trace elements in some South Australian soils.
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To measure concentrations of trace elements in terra rossa and rendzina soils in South Australia.
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A review of trace element research in South Australia.
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To ascertain the amount and availability of N under varying stubble management practices and soil environments.
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To measure the trade-off between medic pasture growth and yield of a following cereal crop, with different termination timing of the medic pasture.
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To quantify the benefits of Tramline Farming in a low rainfall area.
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This article summarises the first four years of crop performance after trafficking was imposed on a red calcareous sandy loam at Minnipa Agricultural Centre (a detailed summary of 2015, 2016 and 2017 results can be found in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Eyre Peninsula Farming Systems Summaries, respectively). Three other trials similar in design and m… read more
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To determine safe ways of using higher rates of Trifluralin.
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To assess the potential to use Ultra High Pressure (UHP) liquid injection technology to apply an ultra low soil disturbance UAN sideband into cropping soils and test whether UHP injection of UAN is a viable alternative N application method for the future.
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To (i) improve the understanding of how soil moisture probes and Yield Prophet can be used to complement each other; (ii) increase the range of APSoil soil type selections in Yield Prophet by modifying existing soil types based on the probe data; (iii) provide growers with access to real-time soil moisture data and periodic Yield Prophet repor… read more
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This research identified the plant traits most likely to determine differences in external critical phosphorus (P) requirements (i.e. the soil extractable-P concentration required to achieve 90% of maximum yield) of pasture legume species. Understanding trait differences that affect critical P requirements of pasture legumes is important in prov… read more
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To gain an understanding of production benefits of clay incorporation and the role of organic matter in sandy soils.
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To increase grower and adviser understanding of: (i) tools available for better crop management decisions; (ii) soil water relationships and plant available water capacity (PAWC); and (iii) influence of seasonal conditions and PAWC on crop yield potential.
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To compare and showcase a range of strategic tillage options for amelioration of shallow sandy duplex soils (Sand over clay/gravel) and to assess their effectiveness at overcoming a range of soil constraints including topsoil water repellence and Compaction and increasing crop productivity over a period of 4-5 years.
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There are a range of machinery options that can provide different levels of lime incorporation such as spading. However, research to date on rotary spaders has shown soil/amendment mixing is not uniform due to the cyclical process, and the mixing quality reduces significantly at faster speed (Ucgul et al. 2019). This trial aimed to understand ho… read more
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To understand the impact of soil carbon and nitrogen cycling on disease suppression.
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To compare and showcase the broad range of strategic tillage options for amelioration of yellow sandplain soils and to assess their effectiveness at overcoming a range of soil constraints including non-wetting soil surface, compaction and subsoil acidity and increasing crop productivity.
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To investigate how nutrient interactions influence yield response. Specifically, if:
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To improve predictability of growth responses to zinc from soil analysis.
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To determine the extent of volatilisation loss of two nitrogen fertilisers (granular urea vs. liquid UAN) applied over a number of days at the end of tillering on a Wimmera grey clay soil (Marnoo) and Mallee clay loam (Birchip).
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To determine if crop sensors can be used during stem elongation to determine N content of the plant and the need for applied N.
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To report on the use of crop sensors as an aid for nitrogen decisions.
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To compare the effects varying fertiliser rates on three different soil types and to compare fertiliser rates, Nil, replacement, standard and high.
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• To use farmer scale machinery to evaluate the benefits of adopting zone
management farming on a range of soil types over a three year period;
• To increase the output to input ratio for our farming system; and
• To collaborate with, and add value to research in precision agriculture being
undertaken by CSIRO, … read more
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To investigating if applying fertiliser according to productivity zones is more profitable than blanket applications of fertiliser across the whole paddock. We aimed to design trials to demonstrate to growers that matching fertiliser inputs to productivity zones will increase whole paddock profitability compared to blanket applications of fertil… read more
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To put into practice one of the key findings from the BCG research work over the last three years - 'high sowing rates in Silverstar wheat will decrease screenings' At the same time it was a good opportunity to test the results of small scale plot work in a real life situation on a large scale.
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To assess the efectiveness and persistence of soil ameliorants for irrigated canola establishment.
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A winter wheat trial was established to assess the whole-season nitrogen (N) availability against different nitrogen placement strategies when subject to waterlogging.
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To determine if a soil wetter, such as SE14, improves plant establishment in years with a dry start.
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The primary purpose of this project was to provide additional data from a range of different agricultural scenarios (climate, soil type, management practices) in the Western Region to validate and enhance the ability of the BlacklegCM app to more accurately determine the return on investment various management decisions may provide to a grower i… read more
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To address the following questions.
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To evaluate the effect various rates of granular urea spread 3-4 weeks post of seeding has on the yield and profitability of wheat.
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To determine the effects of variable rate technology (VRT) through variable nutrient management across high, medium and low performing soil types, and also the effects of seeding rate across these soil types
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To demonstrate the value of NUlogic soil and plant testing and the importance of reviewing fertiliser strategies in season
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To compare the effects and to demonstrate the economic benefits that may result from the use of variable rate fertiliser applications by broad acre farmer trial.
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To compare the effects and to demonstrate the economic benefits that may result from the use of variable rate fertiliser applications by broad acre farmer trial.
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To demonstrate the use of soil mapping and soil moisture sensors as data sources for variable rate irrigation and fertigation decisions, with the ultimate aim of reducing pumping and fertiliser costs, improving potato yields and quality and reducing the risk of nutrient enrichment of waterways and wetlands.
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To undertake a variable rate grazing trial in pastures.
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To compare the effects of variable rate nitrogen applications on wheat yield across diverse soil types.
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To compare the effects of variable rate nitrogen applications on wheat yield across varying soil types.
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To use a combination of N-rich strip and satellite imagery in canola to determine a variable rate nitrogen plan.
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To investigate the possible advantages of varying nitrogen rates over different soil types on a field in the Upper North region.
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Demonstrate variable rate technology on farm and how it can be applied to manage fertiliser use and to minimise nutrient enrichment or depletion that leads to poor soil health.
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To evaluate the relative resistance of each variety to Pt under field conditions.
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To evaluate the relative resistance of each variety to Pratylenchus thornei under field conditions.
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To determine environmental triggers and time of day vegetable beetles and slaters are active.
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To test the effect of very deep ripping to 500mm with shallow leading tines and incorporation of limesand on a very deeply compacted acid sand plain soil.
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To quantify the benefits of very wide rows for wheat quality and yield.
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To include a primary trial of breeding material funded by GRDC, at Minnipa, to investigate advanced common vetch lines with specific traits best suited to this region, and enable comparison with other sites in the southern cropping region.
SAGIT trials looking at vetch for a genuine legume break crop option for cereal and mixed farmers… read more
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To investigate the potential of new vetch species/varieties for very low rainfall areas in Southern Australia.
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To determine how the management of a vetch crop (termination timing and end-use) influences the yield and quality of a following wheat crop grown for two consecutive years.
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To determine how the management of a vetch crop (termination timing and end-use) influences the yield and quality of a following wheat crop grown for two consecutive years.
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To determine how the management of a vetch crop (termination timing and end-use) influences the yield and quality of a following wheat crop grown for two consecutive years.
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To determine whether rhizobial inoculation of vetch enhances the amounts of N fixed. To evaluate the effect the timing of vetch termination has on inputs of fixed N, and on residual soil moisture and mineral N measured at the end of the 2012 growing season.
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To compare the effects of (i) five different vetch termination timings, and (ii) five different end-uses of vetch on stored soil water and mineral N, and the yield of a subsequent wheat crop.
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To evaluate improved vetches for cereal farming systems.
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To evaluate the effects of different seeding systems, which alter seed bed utilization on vetch biomass production.
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To compare the performance of a range of pulse varieties and sowing dates in two contrasting soil types in North Central Victoria.
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To compare the performance of a range of pulse varieties and sowing dates in two contrasting soil types in North Central Victoria.
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To compare the effects VRT on different soil tyes and to compare rates of seed and fertiliser.
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To conduct an on-farm wheat demonstration.
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To determine whether successful establishment of sub-tropical grasses is affected by sowing speed
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To integrate productive perennial pastures into annual cropping systems so as to improve the profitability and sustainability of dryland farming.