Researcher(s) |
Giacomo Betti (DAFWA) Stephen Davies (DAFWA) Liam Harte (DAFWA) |
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Year(s) | 2015 |
Contributor | West Midlands Group |
Trial location(s) |
Dandaragan, WA
Moora, WA |
To compare and assess the effectiveness of one-off tillage treatments on soil water repellence, water infiltration, crop establishment and productivity on a water repellent gravel.
All tillage treatments had a little effect on the management of SWR and plant establishment in the severe water repellent gravel sand at Moora. Nevertheless, yield improvements were recorded, in particular with the “Large offsets” and the “Modified one-way with standard discs” treatments.
At this stage, it is not possible to clearly state what changes drove the yield increase. Given the little effect that the cultivations had on the SWR it is possible that improved soil structure, increased nutrient availability and nitrogen mineralisation may have played a role on the increased productivity.
The yield potential of the canola crop in 2015 was low given it was sown relatively late, plant numbers were low and there was a dry finish, this may have compromised the response to the tillage treatments. Observation of the trial in the following growing seasons and the response of a cereal crop in 2016 will help us to better understand the long term effect of the treatments on crop growth.
Lead research organisation |
Department of Agriculture and Food WA |
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Host research organisation |
West Midlands Group |
Trial funding source | DAFWA |
Trial funding source | GRDC DAW00224 |
Related program | N/A |
Acknowledgments |
This work was supported by DAFWA and GRDC through DAW00244: ‘Delivering enhanced agronomic strategies for improved crop performance on water repellent soils in Western Australia’. Thanks and appreciation to Erin Cahill and Tony Snell for hosting the trial site, for one-way and offset ploughing and seeding the trial, and to Ben and Sean Plozza for one-way ploughing. We acknowledge the technical support of Trevor Bell and Bruce Thorpe (DAFWA). |
Other trial partners | Not specified |
Crop type | Oilseed: Canola |
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Treatment type(s) |
|
Trial type | Experimental |
Trial design | Randomised,Replicated,Blocked |
Sow rate or Target density | 2.5kg/ha |
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Sowing machinery |
The trial was established on April 2015 as a randomised block with three replicates of one control treatment and four different cultivation types: “Grizzly” large offsets; One-way plough; Modified one-way plough with either standard (‘shallow dish’) discs or ‘deep dish’ discs. The modified one-way disc plough had every second disc removed allowing more space for soil to turn and was fitted with larger discs to increase the working depth. In this experiment two disc types were tested with the modified one-way plough: 1) standard setup used ‘off-the-shelf’ large 76 cm (30 inch) discs which had a ‘dish depth’ of 115 mm and 2) a modified, more concave, disc was used which was built to have more curvature to promote greater turning of the soil, it had a diameter of 79 cm (31 inch) and a deeper dish depth. |
Sow date | 2 June 2015 |
Harvest date | Not specified |
Plot size | 40m x 14m |
Plot replication | Not specified |
Psuedoreplication | Not specified |
Sow rate or Target density | Not specified |
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Sowing machinery | Not specified |
Sow date | Not specified |
Harvest date | Not specified |
Plot size | Not specified |
Plot replication | Not specified |
Psuedoreplication | Not specified |
Rainfall trial gsr (mm) | 299mm |
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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.