Factors affecting the availability of fertiliser copper on a yellow brown gravelly sand at Lake Grace WA

1980

Research organisaton

Trial details

Researcher(s) N/A
Year(s) 1980
Contributor Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Trial location(s) Lake Grace Area, WA
Factors affecting the availability of fertiliser copper on a yellow brown gravelly sand at Lake Grace WA locations
Aims

To investigate if the effects of rates and granule size of copper containing superphosphate on wheat yields grown on yellow brown gravelly  soil persist into following year.

Key messages

Cu greatly increased yield fro 560 kg/ha to 1570 kg/ha.  Copper was applied as copper sulfate at 6.6 kg/ha.

Highlights of the results are:

(a) preseeding cultivations after drilling the Cu in 1979 markedly increased Cu uptake;

(b) medium sized Cu-OSP was inferior ti fine granule size

(c) the effects of granule size & 1979 pre-seeding cultivations were not reflected in 1980 Cu uptakes.  The effectiveness of the treatments which were relatively ineffective in 1980 as those treatments which were most effective in 1979

(d) Cu drilled with the seed in 1980 was much less effective than all Cu treatments applied the previous year

(e) although all grades of Cu-OSP drilled with the seed in 1980 were relatively ineffective compared with that applied the previous year, the inclusion of 15% fine material with 85% medium material increased Cu uptake from the fertiliser by 40%, 50% fine material increased Cu uptake from fertiliser by 80%.

GRanules > 3 mm are much less effective than medium sized granules.

REsearch suggests that 1 kg/ha copper sulfate at early boot is required for the first crop where Cu fertiliser is applied at recommended rates.

 

Lead research organisation Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Host research organisation Department of Agriculture and Food WA
Related program More Profit from Crop Nutrition
Acknowledgments N/A
Other trial partners Not specified

Method

Crop type Pasture: Clover
Treatment type(s)
  • Fertiliser: Application Method
Trial type Experimental
Trial design Replicated

Lake Grace Area 1980

Sow rate or Target density 60 kg wheat /ha
Sowing machinery

12 run drill at 17.5 cm spacings

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size 2.1m x 50m
Plot replication 3
Fertiliser

Zn fertiliser basal @ 1 kg Zn/ha; Mo applied 100 g Mo/ha; N applied at 40 kg/ha.

CSBP supplied special mixes of 2 Cu sources (sulfate "& oxide) incorporated into superphosphate granules in the same way as for the company's normal range of mixes at 2 concentrations of Cu (0.66 & 1.32 %). the mixes were then siieved into 3 granule sizes: > 3mm , large; >1 <3 mm , medium; <1 mm , fine.

The mixes were sown at 200 kg/ha to give Cu rates of 1.32 & 2.64. In addition the 0.66 % mix was sown at 100 kg/ha (with extra super topdressed) giving a rate of 0.66 kg Cu/ha with half the particles of the 200 kg/ha mix.



Trial last modified: 28-05-2019 11:46am AEST