Winter cover crops can increase infiltration, soil water and yields of irrigated cotton—Yelarbon

2016 - 2017

Research organisaton
Funding source

Trial details

Researcher(s) Andrew Erbacher
David Lawrence
Year(s) 2016 - 2017
Contributor Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Trial location(s) Yelarbon, QLD
Winter cover crops can increase infiltration, soil water and yields of irrigated cotton—Yelarbon locations
Aims

Can cover crops increase infiltration and net water accumulation in pivot-irrigated cotton systems with low (<30%) ground cover?

Key messages

1. Winter cover crops can improve ground cover, increase plant available water and improve subsequent cotton yields in pivot-irrigated systems.
2. The early spray-out treatment was the best cover crop for storing water over the short fallow in this study where cover did not have to last very long. However, the extra cover in the mid-terminated cover treatment continued to boost infiltration in the cotton’s
early growth stages.
3. All cover crop treatments improved the yields of cotton by approximately 3 bales/ha; well in excess of any gains expected from the increased fallow soil water storage.

Lead research organisation Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Host research organisation N/A
Trial funding source GRDC DAQ00211
Related program N/A
Acknowledgments

We very much appreciate the support of the trial co-operator and consultants for their effort and contributions to the project, along with our project team members in CSIRO (Neil Huth, Brook Anderson), David Freebairn, and the DAF Biometry, Technical and Research Infrastructure staff that supported the heavy management and monitoring loads of these experiments.
Thanks also to the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Cotton Research and Development Corporation and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for funding the project (DAQ00211).


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

Method

Crop types Cereal (Grain): Barley Cereal (Grain): Wheat Other crop: Cotton Hay: Vetch
Treatment type(s)
  • Crop: Type
Trial type Experimental
Trial design Replicated

Yelarbon 2016 Barley

Sow date Please see report
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2016 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2016 Cotton

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2016 Vetch

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2017 Barley

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2017 Wheat

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2017 Cotton

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified

Yelarbon 2017 Vetch

Sow date Not specified
Harvest date Not specified
Plot size Not specified
Plot replication Not specified
Psuedoreplication Not specified
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
Yelarbon, QLD Not specified
Derived trial site soil information
Australian Soil Classification Source: ASRIS
Trial site Soil order
Yelarbon, QLD Vertosol
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 Yelarbon QLD
2017 755.4mm
2016 760.6mm
2015 762.0mm
2014 747.4mm
2013 745.5mm
2012 752.2mm
2011 757.7mm
2010 765.8mm
2009 755.3mm
2008 755.7mm
2007 748.0mm
2006 745.7mm
2005 750.2mm
2004 763.6mm
2003 764.8mm
2002 744.5mm
2001 755.0mm
2000 693.6mm
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

Derived climate information

No observed climate data available for this trial.
Derived climate data is determined from trial site location and national weather sources.

Yelarbon QLD

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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: 05-07-2022 09:52am AEST