Improved furrow sowing for water repellent soil

2011
CC BY 4.0

Research organisatons
Funding sources

Trial details

Researcher(s) Paul Blackwell (DAFWA)
Stephen Davies (DAFWA)
Year(s) 2011
Contributor West Midlands Group
Trial location(s) Badgingarra, WA
Improved furrow sowing for water repellent soil locations
Aims

To assess the impact of different seeding systems on crop establishment in water repellent soil.

Key messages
  • In general for the bulk of the paddock in the wetter 2011 season there was little obvious difference in establishment between the knife point and winged point with paired rows seeder. However there were a several water repellent patches where establishment was poor for the knife point seeder but was much improved for the winged point-paired row seeder.
  • Plant counts in these areas revealed that establishment was more than doubled from <100 plants/m2 to >200 plants/m2 through use of the winged point-paired row system in both the sandy gravel and pale deep sand soil types
  • The advantage of improved furrow sowing as a tool to manage water repellent soils is it can be applied over all the repellent cropping areas, potentially for relatively low cost if only points and press wheels need changing on an existing seeder.
  • For further results please see the attached trial report.
Lead research organisation Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Host research organisation West Midlands Group
Trial funding source DAFWA
Trial funding source GRDC DAW00204
Related program N/A
Acknowledgments

Thanks to Andrew and Gina Kenny an Jeff Fordham for access to their properties and assistance with the trials. Thanks to McIntosh and Son Moora, for providing the winged point paried row seeder used in the demonstration.  


Other trial partners Not specified
Download the trial report to view additional trial information

Method

Crop type Cereal (Grain): Wheat
Treatment type(s)
  • Soil Improvement
  • Sowing: Method
Trial type Demonstration
Trial design Unreplicated

Badgingarra 2011

Sow rate or Target density 90 kg/ha
Sowing machinery

Knife point seeder 9 inch spacing versus a winged point seeder with paired rows

8 inch inter-row spacing & 4 inch within the paired row (12 inch tyne spacing)

Sow date 1 June 2011
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Fertiliser

At seeding: K Till Plus @ 100 kg/ha

Post: NS @ 85 kg/ha (27 June); NS @ 85 kg/ha (25 July); Flexi N @ 40 L/ha (12 August)

Download the trial report to view additional method/treatment information
Trial source data and summary not available
Check the trial report PDF for trial results.
Observed trial site soil information
Trial site soil testing
Not specified
Soil conditions
Trial site Soil texture
Badgingarra, WA Sandy gravel
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Badgingarra, WA Chromosol
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 Badgingarra WA
2011 224.8mm
2010 209.6mm
2009 228.5mm
2008 246.8mm
2007 198.9mm
2006 196.0mm
2005 242.6mm
2004 204.2mm
2003 230.9mm
2002 212.7mm
2001 192.5mm
2000 206.7mm
National soil grid Source: CSIRO/TERN
NOTE: National Soil Grid data is aggregated information for background information on the wider area
Actual soil values can vary significantly in a small area and the trial soil tests are the most relevant data where available

Soil properties

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Climate

Badgingarra WA 2011


Observed climate information

Rainfall trial gsr (mm) 485mm

Derived climate information

Badgingarra WA

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

2011 trial report



Trial last modified: 09-07-2019 10:13am AEST