| Researcher(s) | N/A |
|---|---|
| Year(s) | 2015 |
| Contributor | West Midlands Group |
| Trial location(s) |
Kojonup, WA
|
To improve the adoption of liming practices in the medium to high rainfall zone of Western Australia by demonstrating the economic and environmental benefits of lime application and incorporation.
Prior to seeding the trial in 2015, the site was extensively soil sampled to a 60 cm depth by Precision SoilTech. An area with the capacity to accommodate the treatments with minimal variation in soil pH between plots was identified, however due to the nature of this site and the layout of the treatments (designed to be practical for the landowner to implement and maintain), there are inconsistencies within the trial which need to be carefully considered when assessing treatment effects. There were no systematic differences between the lime treatments in crop establishment and harvest yield, seemingly as a result of variability in soil pH and other characteristics between plots, complicated further by the layout of the trial, rather than a treatment effect.
It was observed that incorporation by both offset discs and one way plough did not reduced or cause uneven germination compared to knife-point at seeding, and during the season it was not visually evident that incorporation treatments had a major effect on crop growth and health compared to the control treatment.
While it may not be expected that shallow incorporation of lime would result in significant differences between lime treatments on a forest gravel soil type in the first year of a trial, it is imperative going forward into the next two seasons that a professional statistician helps analyse current and future data to ensure that subsequent interpretations can be improved, given the apparent impacts of site variability, and as treatment effects may become more pronounced. It is expected that the ongoing plot soil testing conducted prior seeding each season will be the primary indicator used to determine whether incorporation of lime using either offset discs or one way plough can reduce soil acidity on a forest gravel at depth more quickly than the district practice of top-dressing, while yield responses will determine any economic benefits.
| Lead research organisation |
Southern DIRT |
|---|---|
| Host research organisation | N/A |
| Trial funding source | GRDC LIE00008 |
| Related program | N/A |
| Acknowledgments |
Southern DIRT would like to thank Roger and Simon House of “Starhaven” for hosting, implementing and maintaining the trial; also for supplying the lime and investing significant time modifying the one way plough used in the trial, Wes Lefroy from Precision SoilTech for his assistance locating the site and designing the trial, Vivek Bhat for overseeing implementation of the trial as the Southern DIRT Project Officer at the time, and Southern DIRT members for their valuable input into determining the aims of the trial. This trial is supported by GRDC funding through LIE00008: Working together to deliver multiple benefit messages to growers through a whole systems approach to soil management. Soil acidity management strategies throughout Western Australia are available for download from: http://www.liebegroup.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Soil-acidity-management-stratagies-throughout-Western-Australia.pdf |
| Other trial partners | Not specified |
| Crop type | Cereal (Grain): Wheat |
|---|---|
| Treatment type(s) |
|
| Trial type | Experimental |
| Trial design | Replicated |
| Sow rate or Target density | 100kg/ha |
|---|---|
| Sow date | 29 May 2015 |
| Harvest date | Not specified |
| Plot size | 11m x 30m |
| Plot replication | 4 |
| Fertiliser |
04/07/2015: 50kg Urea 01/08/2015: 60kg Urea |
| Herbicide |
22/05/2015: 1.5L Glyphosate, 16mL Nail, 100mL Dominex 29/05/2015: 100kg Allstar & 4L/t Impact 21/07/2015: 750mL Tigrex, 100mL Dominex 18/09/2015: 145 mL/ha Folicur 430 SC |
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.
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Note that PBR cover is administered through the Plant Breeders’ Right Act 1994 (