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Are low fertiliser inputs a viable option for canola in low rainfall areas?

2016

Research organisation
Funding source
Department of Agriculture and Food WA
<abbr title='Grains Research and Development Corporation'>GRDC</abbr>

Trial details

Researcher(s) Mark Seymour (DAFWA)
Year(s) 2016
Contributor Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Trial location(s) Grass Patch, WA
Pingrup, WA
Varley, WA
Are low fertiliser inputs a viable option for canola in low rainfall areas? locations
Aims

To evaluate the response of canola to low fertiliser inputs

Key messages
  • At Grass Patch in 2016 there was no response to fertiliser applications of K, S and micro nutrients. 
  • There was a yield response to P and N.
  • Considering the costs of inputs, the lowest cost treatment which provided equal maximum gross margin was to apply only superphosphate at sowing – equivalent to 9 kg P/ha.
  • In this region farmers typically apply either superphosphate plus N or a compound fertiliser at sowing and top-up N at 4- 6 weeks after sowing.  This approach in this experiment would have had higher up front input costs, did increase yield but did not lead to higher gross margins.  But the farmer approach also is a more balanced nutrient approach, in that nutrients are replaced to balance out nutrients removed in the seed.
Lead research organisation Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Host research organisation N/A
Trial funding source GRDC DAW00227
Related program Tactical Break Crop Agronomy
Acknowledgments
  • This trial is one of a series conducted throughout WA as part of the GRDC/DAFWA co-funded project “Tactical Break Crop Agronomy in Western Australia”. 
  • Thanks to the Esperance TSU for trial management and the Sanderson family for their continued support in providing trial sites.. 
  • Pam Burgess (DAFWA. Esperance) provided technical assistance to ensure all treatments and measurements occurred in a timely and accurate fashion.
Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop type Oilseed: Canola
Treatment type(s)
  • Fertiliser : Rate
Trial type Experimental
Trial design Randomised,Replicated

Grass Patch 2016

Sow rate or Target density Target density of 30 plants/m²
Sowing machinery

Coneseeder with knife points and press wheels, capacity to deep band of topdress fertiliser in one pass whilst sowing seed as per treatment requirements
Sow date 28 April 2016
Harvest date 8 October 2016
Plot size 20m x 1.54m
Plot replication 4
Fertiliser

As per treatments listed in attached report.
Herbicide

27 April 2016 - pre-sowing sprayed @ 2.5L/ha of Sprayseed

28 April 2016 - pre-sowing sprayed @ 1.1L/ha Atrazine IBS

28 April 2016 - pre-sowing sprayed @1L/ha Treflan

5 July 2016 -post-emergent sprayed @ 0.5% Uptake

5 July 2016 -post-emergent sprayed @ 0.1L/ha Verdict 520

16 August 2016 - post-emergent pathways

16 August 2016 - post-emergent sprayed @ 2L/ha Roundup Ultra pathways

27 October 2016 - post-emergent sprayed @ 0.1% wetter

27 October 2016 - post-emergent sprayed @ 3L/ha Reglone
Fungicide

Seed treated with Maxim Xl and Cruiser Opti.
Seed treatment Seed treated with Maxim Xl and Cruiser Opti
Tillage knife points

Pingrup 2016

Sow rate or Target density Not specified
Sowing machinery Not specified
Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser Not specified
Herbicide Not specified
Fungicide Not specified
Seed treatment Not specified
Tillage Not specified

Varley 2016

Sow rate or Target density Not specified
Sowing machinery Not specified
Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser Not specified
Herbicide Not specified
Fungicide Not specified
Seed treatment Not specified
Tillage Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information

Download results

Trial results Table 1

# Treatment 1
Treatment 2
Treatment 3
Gross margin ($/ha) Grain yield (t/ha)
1 █ No fertiliser █ Nil █ 327 0.87
2 █ Superphosphate █ Nil █ 345 0.96
3 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing █ Nil █ 347 0.98
4 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 400 kg Gypsum/ha █ Nil █ 358 0.94
5 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 100 kg MOP/ha █ Nil █ 261 0.88
6 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha █ Nil █ 362 1.03
7 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha █ Nil █ 303 1.06
8 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha + Micro sprays █ Nil █ 260 1
9 █ No fertiliser █ 15N █ 340 0.94
10 █ Superphosphate █ 15N █ 344 1
11 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing █ 15N █ 409 1.14
12 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 400 kg Gypsum/ha █ 15N █ 320 0.92
13 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 100 kg MOP/ha █ 15N █ 245 0.9
14 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha █ 15N █ 407 1.15
15 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha █ 15N █ 285 1.06
16 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha + Micro sprays █ 15N █ 265 1.05
17 █ No fertiliser █ Nil █ 15N 393 1.02
18 █ Superphosphate █ Nil █ 15N 338 1
19 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing █ Nil █ 15N 438 1.18
20 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 400 kg Gypsum/ha █ Nil █ 15N 374 1.02
21 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 100 kg MOP/ha █ Nil █ 15N 292 0.98
22 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha █ Nil █ 15N 395 1.14
23 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha █ Nil █ 15N 336 1.15
24 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha + Micro sprays █ Nil █ 15N 301 1.11
25 █ No fertiliser █ 15N █ 15N 381 1.05
26 █ Superphosphate █ 15N █ 15N 321 1.01
27 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing █ 15N █ 15N 399 1.16
28 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 400 kg Gypsum/ha █ 15N █ 15N 373 1.07
29 █ No fertiliser at sowing plus 100 kg MOP/ha █ 15N █ 15N 264 0.97
30 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha █ 15N █ 15N 460 1.3
31 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha █ 15N █ 15N 336 1.19
32 █ Superphosphate + 10 kg N/ha at sowing + 400 Gypsum/ha + 100 MOP/ha + Micro sprays █ 15N █ 15N 268 1.11

Grain yield t/ha

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Gross margin $/ha

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Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Site Depth Type pH EC P K N A OC CAT
Grass Patch, WA 0 - 10cm Scaddan loam 5.40 0.15 23.00 140.00 21.00 0.92
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Grass Patch, WA Sandy loam
Pingrup, WA Not specified
Varley, WA Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Grass Patch, WA Sodosol
Pingrup, WA Sodosol
Varley, WA Kandosol
Soil Moisture Source: BOM/ANU
Average amount of water stored in the soil profile during the year, estimated by the OzWALD model-data fusion system.
Year Grass Patch WA Pingrup WA Varley WA
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000

Climate

Grass Patch WA 2016

Observed climate information

Rainfall avg ann (mm) 347mm
Rainfall avg gsr (mm) 246mm
Rainfall trial total (mm) 396mm
Rainfall trial gsr (mm) 258mm

Derived climate information

Grass Patch WA

Pingrup WA

Varley WA

Grass Patch WA

NOTE: Exact trial site locality unknown - Climate data may not be accurate
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Pingrup WA

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Varley WA

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Some data on this site is sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology

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.

Trial report and links

2016 trial report



Trial last modified: 05-12-2019 16:04pm AEST