| Researcher(s) |
Jessica Crettenden (SARDI) Roy Latta (Dodgshun Medlin) |
|---|---|
| Year(s) | 2013 |
| Contributor | SARDI Minnipa Agricultural Centre |
| Trial location(s) |
Minnipa Agricultural Centre, SA
|
| Related trials |
|
To test whether soil fertility and health could be improved under a higher input system (e.g. higher fertiliser and seeding rates, establishment of improved pasture) compared to a lower input and more traditional system (district practice seed and fertiliser inputs, volunteer pasture).
The six year (2008-2013) rotation of: wheat, wheat, pasture (volunteer and sown annual medic), wheat, pasture (annual medic – self regenerating) and wheat, was also split into grazed and un-grazed treatments in both the high and low input systems to establish the relative impact of grazing.
| Lead research organisation |
Southern Farming Systems |
|---|---|
| Host research organisation |
SARDI Minnipa Agricultural Centre |
| Trial funding source | GRDC SFS00028 |
| Related program |
Grain & Graze 3 |
| Acknowledgments |
We gratefully acknowledge the help of Mark Klante and Brett McEvoy for site management and Ian Richter and Wade Shepperd for data collection. |
| Other trial partners | EP, BCG, MSF, Ag Excellence Alliance |
| Crop type | Cereal (Grain): Wheat |
|---|---|
| Treatment type(s) |
|
| Trial type | Experimental |
| Trial design | Replicated |
| Sow rate or Target density | 50kg/ha |
|---|---|
| Sow date | 5 May 2013 |
| Harvest date | 4 November 2013 |
| Plot size | 350m x 100m |
| Plot replication | 1 |
| Fertiliser |
7 kg N/ha and 8 kg P/ha (45 kg/ha DAP) and 70 kg/ha with 13 kg N/ha and 15 kg P/ha (75 kg/ha DAP) for the traditional (low) and high input treatments respectively. |
| Herbicide |
Weed control was imposed on all treatments as required in both summer and during the growing season. |
| # | Variety |
Treatment 1
|
Establishment plants (plants/m2) | Organic carbon (%) | Protein (%) | Screenings (%) | Grain yield (t/ha) | Soil N (mg/kg) | Colwell phosphorus (mg/kg) | Dry matter (t/ha) | Water use efficiency (kg/ha/mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | █ Wheat:Mace | █ Low input - grazed | 127 | 1.3 | 10.3 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 111 | 34 | 5.3 | 15 |
| 2 | █ Wheat:Mace | █ Low input - un-grazed | 124 | 1.2 | 10.3 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 84 | 27 | 5.4 | 14 |
| 3 | █ Wheat:Mace | █ High input - grazed | 175 | 1.2 | 11.2 | 6.3 | 2.1 | 118 | 18 | 6.3 | 16 |
| 4 | █ Wheat:Mace | █ High input - un-grazed | 158 | 1.1 | 10.8 | 5.6 | 2.1 | 74 | 22 | 6.1 | 16 |
| Rainfall trial gsr (mm) | 237mm |
|---|
SILO weather estimates sourced from https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/silo/
Jeffrey, S.J., Carter, J.O., Moodie, K.B. and Beswick, A.R. (2001). Using spatial interpolation to
construct a comprehensive archive of Australian climate data , Environmental Modelling and Software, Vol
16/4, pp 309-330. DOI: 10.1016/S1364-8152(01)00008-1.
