It was expected that the imposed treatments to increase soil organic matter would take several years to become noticeable, especially in medium rainfall areas.  Even after three reasonable seasons at Temora with good crop production there were no differences in Soil C stock between the stubble and nutrient supply treatments.  The same result was found at the other seven trial sites located in SE Australia.  Thjis work shows that increasing soil C stocks is a long-term process, and three years was not long enough to measure significant changes with the practices selected.  The Temora Soil C trial will be remeasured again on the completion of the 2016 season after five years of trial work.

Given that carbon sequestration is not an overnight process it is not surprising that there have been few significant results or trends to report on in either an intensive plot or large paddock scale.  Nutrient addition to balance the ration of C;N;P;S has surprisingly had little impact on yield and this is possibly a desirable outcome as no difference between +/- nutrient treatments would indicate that the nutrients are available for sutbble breakdown, rather than crop vegetative mass. Cost associated on a whole farm scale of purchasing nutrients in addition to normal fertiliser requirements could prove prohibitive.

• Seasonal conditions and soil type have a greater effect on carbon than management.
• Providing necessary nutrients and pH for optimum pasture production will potentially increase soil carbon.
• Cropping in a good season might not decrease soil carbon stocks. Opportunities could exist for Monaro landholders to diversify their enterprises when the conditions are right without depleting their soil carbon.
• A rapid increase of soil carbon can easily be followed by a rapid decrease.
• For more information please see our eBook: Soil carbon in the Monaro region (https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/ id1035198100 or http://tinyurl.com/zrr9mht).

• Manganese deficiency was found to be less on compacted than uncompacted soils low in manganese.
• Compacted soils had more roots than uncompacted soils.
• It was postulated that a greater area of root surface increased the reduction and dissolution of manganous oxide and increased manganese availability.

• Compacted layers exist in EP soils, but there is no economic advantage in mechanically intervening.
• Any benefit from deep ripping alone is most likely for 2 years.
• Deep ripping is a high risk option in below average years.
• Sandy soils are more responsive to deep ripping.

Over the summer of 2002/03 soil conservation is as critical as summer weed control to ensure that your soil resource is in the best possible condition to produce high yielding crops in 2003.

• Relatively low levels of stubble cover during January – March provide effective protection against soil erosion.
• Protection against soil erosion is not related to the tillage system employed in crop establishment or management provided stubble is retained over the summer period.
• Ripping techniques in which significant levels of clod are brought to the soil surface are effective in preventing significant soil losses on paddocks without vegetative cover.

• Salinity is increasing slightly but is still well within desired levels. Salinity is not increasing at depth.
• Acidity is worsening with the majorioty of sites below critical levels. Acidity is also inceasing at depth, where it is much more costly to treat.
• Phosphorus levels, where fertilser had been applied, is at optimum to above optimum levels.

• Basal yield reached 75% of potential yield at this site.
• The plus N treatment did not significantly affect yield, and N was not a limiting factor.
• Moisture was in excess below 60cm soil depth.

This site was close to achieving potential yield according to the French-Schultz equation.

Yield from the basal applied treatment wqas 90% of potential yield.

Actual yield (basal treatment) was well below potential yield according to the French-Schultz equation.

• Yield was not significantly increased with the addition of extra N, therefore N was no limiting.
• Potential yield was not reached with either treatment.

• This site exceeded yield potential.
• The plus N treatment did not significantly increase yield from the basal treatment.

• Potential yield was not reached with the basal or the plus N treatments.
• Wheat yield was 1.27t/ha and was not significantly different with the addition of more nitrogenous fertiliser.

This was the highest yielding satellite site with the basal treatment yielding 4.03t/ha.

• As in 2014, there was a significant difference in yield, in response to the cultivation treatments but not between the lime treatments.
• Screenings in 2015 were much higher in the mouldboard and spaded plots than any other treatments. The percentage of screenings in these treatments increased with the increasing rate of lime.

• Sapding or delving in lime lifted the soil pH to a depth of 20cm within one year.
• All other results are inconclusive at this stage; this may be due to seasonal conditions and/or crop variety.

• This trial is a large-scale experiment, the data collected provides an indication of treatment effects and demonstrates benefits and pitfalls of adopting these subsoil acidity management methods on a large-scale. The small plot trials are more accurate and provided detailed statistical analysis of the impact of different treatments.
• Further years of research and analysis from this site and other sites will confirm these findings.

Soil moisture retention granules did not influence wheat grain yield or quality at Hart in 2010.

Soil moisture retention granules did not influence wheat grain yield at Hart in 2009.

• N2O emissions at the Gunnedah site were approximately 10 times higher than at the Emerald site, due to the wet soil conditions and high pre-season rainfall at Gunnedah which led to denitrification of N from pre-season anhydrous ammonia application.
• Two nitrification inhibitors, DMPS (“Big N-sure”, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers) and nitrapyrin (“N-serve”, Dow AgroSciences) directly injected into anhydrous ammonia during pre-plant N application delayed the conversion of applied ammonium in the soil to nitrate for a period of 2–3 months.
• At the Gunnedah site, cumulative N2O emitted was reduced by 86% (DMPS) and 65% (nitrapyrin), compared to untreated ammonia.

Conclusions: 

In a season such as that experienced at the Emerald 2016–17 site, there were only minor environmental benefits from using a nitrification inhibitor in conjunction with anhydrous ammonia. However, these experimental conditions may not be typical as pre-plant fertiliser is usually applied earlier in the year at Emerald than it was at this site. A longer period of time between pre-plant application and plant establishment would provide greater opportunity for N2 O losses to occur, although the potential for heavy winter rainfall tends to be low in the Emerald region. While both inhibitor products clearly reduced emissions during the first two measurement periods, it was apparent that the effectiveness of these products had dissipated by the time of the second irrigation. The additional inhibitor application with the side-dressed urea boosted the N2 O reduction period for the DMPP treatment, while the application of untreated urea to the other treatments allowed further losses matching those of the untreated control after the initial pre-plant N application. The 2016–17 Gunnedah experiment provided the perfect testing conditions for nitrification inhibitors as the soil was very wet at application, and received frequent heavy rainfall during the next 3 months. These inhibitors were designed to retain mineral N from applied N fertiliser in the soil during periods of excessive rainfall that may otherwise lead to large losses of nitrate N through denitrification and leaching. Leaching occurs through downward movement of nitrate with water in the soil, but we found no evidence of this having occurred in the soil core samples we took just prior to sowing. For heavy clay soils such as this one at Gunnedah, denitrification of soil nitrate during periods of anaerobic soil conditions is the most likely major N loss pathway. The results of the gas sampling campaigns highlighted the almost complete mitigation of N2 O emissions during this period by adding nitrification inhibitors. The Big N-sure® inhibitor appeared to remain active for longer in the soil than the N-serve®.

• Visually the impacts of Lime may not be seen, but the benefits of Lime are evident when comparing
  Limed areas plant biomass and yield with that of unLimed areas.
• Application of Lime is shown to halt subsoil acidification which is costly to address and will impact upon future sustainability and productivity of an agricultural enterprise.
• Appropriate rates of Lime are shown to increases yield

When comparing the soil pH map against the EM38 map we found that there were some similar trends, especially in the alkaline zone in the south east of the paddock which lines up partially to the high EM38 readings (clay soil). However, the difference between the two maps is significant in terms of creating lime The greatest lime savings through the soil pH mapping approach have occurred on paddocks which are considered to be in a maintenance phase. That is, paddocks which have had a reasonable lime history and only require strategic lime applications. Savings on these paddocks tends to range between 35 – 65%. Other farmers who have previously implemented variable rate lime are also using the grid soil pH mapping service to measure how effective the variable rate application was. The subsequent map is then used to apply a maintenance rate of lime.

• Monitor pH to depth by using a shoven and cheap pH test kit.
• Don't assume just because you once limed that the problem is solved - monitor, monitor, monitor.
• Consider options to get lime to depth by increasing the rate and/or frequency of limin or using strategic tilage.

• Precision mapping of soil provides a more accurte understanding of pH and nutrient status than traditional mapping.
• Soils are highly variable, so even replicate samples of the same transect will vary and there is no 'perfect result' so just be aware of htis in the interpretation of the maps.
• If your paddock varies in soil type ensure extra samples are analysed for PBI.

Soil testing prior to sowing revealed that chemical properties were highly variable between zones (see Table 1 in attached Trial report). For example, over a distance of 100 m between the midslope and the swale, soil organic carbon levels nearly doubled from 0.22 to 0.40. Topsoil phosphorus levels also increased from just above the marginal level of 20 (Colwell) on the midslope to nearly 30 (Colwell) on the swale. 

Averaged across all sampling locations, protein levels increased by 0.6% in the 50kg/ha of urea treatment and by 1% in the 100kg/ha of urea treatment relative to the nil in-crop fertiliser strip. This increase in protein was enough to improve grain quality from Australian Standard White (ASW) to Australian Premium White (APW) at four of the six sampling locations. On the day of harvest at the nearest grain receiver site (Yelta), the ASW silo cash price was $127/t and APW was $158/t. At a urea cost of $620/t, the application of 50 kg/ha of urea costs $31/ha (fertiliser cost only). Therefore, at the four sites where grain quality was improved, a small profit was made (15 – 55 $/ha) with the application of 50 kg/ha of fertiliser. However, at one third of the protein sampling sites, a loss of $31/ha was incurred as there was no difference in grain quality between the treatments.

While all soil types responded to nitrogen, the response and profitability of nitrogen application varied between soil zones. Using the Urea/SOA treatment as an example, for the loam and swale soil types, the additional profit compared to no in-season N was approximately $50/ha. However, applying additional fertiliser to the dune soil was twice as profitable (approximately $100/ha). As input costs were standard across all soil types (i.e. an N Rich strip with the equivalent rate of N was used for all treatments), profitability was driven by the increase in yield. As fertiliser efficiency was below its potential for the loam and swale soils (and at potential for the dune soil), it is possible that the same yield response could have been achieved with less fertiliser, therefore these two soil zones could have been more profitable if less nitrogen was applied.

• Soil water can be predicted from EM38 measurements made on the soil surface in southern dryland cropping soils.

• It is possible to estimate the amount of water and its distribution in the top 50 cm of soil.

• Rapid surveys of large areas and/or high numbers of experiment plots will be possible.
 

• The trial provides strong support for the use of soil-specific N management to improve profitability and risk management on Mallee dune-swale paddocks.
• Sandy soil types have consistently shown yield responses to increased inputs of N, while the heavy swale soils have not shown a yield benefit of increased N inputs.
• Nil fertiliser (N and P) has been the most profitable fertiliser treatment on the heaviest swale soil and the least profitable elsewhere.
• Upfront N at a higher rate still appears to generate the most consistent yield increase and profit outcome on the sandy soil types.

• The trial provides strong support for the use of soil-specific N management to improve profitability and risk management on Mallee dune-swale paddocks.
• Sandy soil types have consistently showing yield responses to increased inputs of N, while the heavy swale soils have not shown a yield benefit of increased N inputs.
• Nil fertiliser (N and P) has been the most profitable fertiliser treatment on the heaviest swale soil and the least profitable elsewhere.
• There was still a measurable response in 2013 to a pasture break in 2009.

• Chlorsulfuron (eg Glean) was found to reduce wheat yields at some sites.
• No zinc (Zn) responses were recorded at any of the sites.
• Phosphorus (P) response was closely correlated with soil P levels.
• Increasing Zn and P nutrition did not reduce the Chlorsulfuron effect.

• Manganese toxicity developed on acid red basaltic soils north coast of New South Wales following continued use of ammonium sulphate fertiliser French beans.
• This was likely due to acidification of the soil as when pH fell below 4.5 large amounts of available manganese were released.
• Line at 5 to 7 tons per hectare alleviated the problem.
• Difficulty in establishing pastures, especially lucerne, in the Albury district shown to be a result of manganese toxicity.
• Liming at 2 tons per hectare increased soil pH and lowered manganese concentrations in leaves and in soil but did not reduce soil manganese below toxic concentrations in waterlogged and heat exposed soils.

• Field experiment to test the relative effectiveness of a zinc spray to the soil surface compared to zinc-enriched fertilizers.
• These results suggest that zinc-enriched fertilizers which are of a heterogeneous nature will not be effective at correcting zinc deficiency in the year of application, or in the following year.
• Both soil sprays of zinc pre-sowing and zinc-enriched fertilizers drilled with the seed of a homogeneous nature are effective at correcting zinc deficiency.

• The frequency of winter cereals in the rotation have a large impact on crown rot inoculum build up.
• Monitoring paddocks over time is a powerful way to help crown rot management and the PreDictaB™ soil tests are an effective method for achieving this.
• The dominant wheat–canola rotation in southern NSW is increasing the region’s level of risk to losses caused by crown rot.
• Not all paddocks behave the same way and factors other than crop type are affecting crown rot behaviour.

• 55% of paddocks tested in 2014 and 80% of paddocks in 2015 had crown rot.
• 90% of paddocks tested in 2014 and 2015 had take all.
• The previous crop grown in the paddock can greatly influence the pre-sowing levels of crown rot and take all in the following year, particularly in a cereal on cereal rotation.
• Most paddocks with pre-sowing levels of crown rot and take all had increased inoculum levels throughout the growing season.
• Crop rotation and duration, and stubble management can reduce crown rot and take all infection risk.

Results from the Northern Agricultural Region have shown that crops can be sown over subtropical perennial grasses without jeopardizing persistence of the perennial base. However, perennial grasses vary in their tolerance to in-crop herbicides and crop yield is dependent on effective weed control, adequate fertility and moisture, and winter dormancy (or suppression) of the perennial pasture.

Pasture cropping systems can also lift overall biomass production, improve the feed value of stubbles, provide out of season fodder, and reduce the likelihood of wind erosion and groundwater recharge on deep sandy soils.

The application of additional nitrogen can lead to greater biomass in both the annual crop and perennial pasture. However, this is dependent on seasonal conditions and the economics of applying additional nitrogen needs to be considered carefully on low moisture holding, infertile, sandy soils in the Northern Agricultural Region.

• Bean yields at Conmurra were significantly lower in 2011 than in 2010.
• This trial was located in much shallower soil in 2011 than 2010, and yield was suppressed by dry conditions and several frost events during September and October.

• Since soil moisture was not limiting, and a soft finish to the season was observed, sowing date trials at Minnipa in 2010 showed no differences in yield between early and late sowing dates under these conditions.

• Despite only close to average growing season rainfall, yields in 2011 (average 2.9t/ha) were
  buoyed by stored soil moisture from summer rainfall, low disease levels and generally
  favourable growing conditions, and performed significantly higher than the wetter seasons of
  2009 (2.4t/ha) and 2010 (2.5t/ha) where growing season rainfall was higher but disease was
  more prevalent. These favourable growing conditions are also likely responsible for the lack of
  sowing date response in 2011.

Early sowing is essential in order to maximise yield of wheat crops grown on long (18 month) fallow. Long fallowing and early sowing are complementary practices, as the fallow reduces weeds and diseases which can be difficult to control in early sown crops, and early sowing with slow developing cultivars allows the crop to better use soil water that is stored during the fallow. Stored soil water also helps to establish early sown crops when there is minimal autumn rainfall. This fact sheet outlines how farmers can maximise wheat yield on long fallow by sowing early with slow developing cultivars, and is based on two years of GRDC funded research conducted by AgGrow Agronomy, CWFS and CSIRO in western NSW.

• There were no measurable differences in 2014 wheat yield in response to two different sowing dates and sowing on-row vs. inter-row.
• On the sandy soil type, there was more plant available water (PAW) in the top 10cm when sowing on-row.
• Rhizoctonia inoculum was higher with on-row compared to inter-row sowing but this did not carry through to an effect on rhizoctonia infection in the crop. 
• In a season where the profile PAW was similar for the two sowing dates (April 30 and May 14) crop establishment was better with the earlier time of sowing but ryegrass pressure on the swale was also higher with the earlier time of sowing.

• In a non-wetting sand, sowing on-row allowed seedlings to germinate in a wetter soil, with increased competitiveness against weed and disease pressures resulting in significant advantages in crop establishment and biomass production.
• Sowing on-row in sands or loam that did not express non-wetting did not capture the same level of benefits.
• Sowing crops on or very near last year’s crop row greatly suppressed grass weed populations and reduced brome grass seed set by over 70% compared to inter-row seeding.
• Early sowing in the last week of April instead of the third week of May helped to overcome the dry spring conditions and resulted in yield benefits of 28% at Loxton and up to 13% at Karoonda.
• When sowing crops on last year’s row, the potential for higher stubble borne pathogen (Take-All and Fusarium) inoculum and a greater likelihood of N tie-up after opening rains needs to be considered. However, impacts on rhizoctonia disease depend upon inherent biological fertility of soil.

• In a non-wetting sand, sowing on-row allowed seedlings to germinate in a wetter soil, with increased competitiveness against weed and disease pressures resulting in significant advantages in crop establishment and biomass production.
• Sowing on-row in sands or loam that did not express non-wetting did not capture the same level of benefits.
• Sowing crops on or very near last year’s crop row greatly suppressed grass weed populations and reduced brome grass seed set by over 70% compared to inter-row seeding.
• Early sowing in the last week of April instead of the third week of May helped to overcome the dry spring conditions and resulted in yield benefits of 28% at Loxton and up to 13% at Karoonda.
• When sowing crops on last year’s row, the potential for higher stubble borne pathogen (Take-All and Fusarium) inoculum and a greater likelihood of N tie-up after opening rains needs to be considered. However, impacts on rhizoctonia disease depend upon inherent biological fertility of soil.

• In a non-wetting sand, sowing on-row allowed seedlings to germinate in a wetter soil, with increased competitiveness against weed and disease pressures resulting in significant advantages in crop establishment and biomass production.
• Sowing on-row in sands or loam that did not express non-wetting did not capture the same level of benefits.
• Sowing crops on or very near last year’s crop row greatly suppressed grass weed populations and reduced brome grass seed set by over 70% compared to inter-row seeding.
• Early sowing in the last week of April instead of the third week of May helped to overcome the dry spring conditions and resulted in yield benefits of 28% at Loxton and up to 13% at Karoonda.
• When sowing crops on last year’s row, the potential for higher stubble borne pathogen (Take-All and Fusarium) inoculum and a greater likelihood of N tie-up after opening rains needs to be considered. However, impacts on rhizoctonia disease depend upon inherent biological fertility of soil.

• Earlier sowing and standing residue was important to maximising grain yield in lentils in the Wimmera.
• Mid to mid/late maturing varieties like CIPAL0803 and PBA Jumbo, where highest yielding in the 2011 season with mild conditions and significant stored moisture.

• Early to late May was optimum for planting chickpeas at Yenda in 2010. This season was
  one of the most favourable experienced for many years. However, during a normal season in this lower rain zone, greater moisture and heat stresses will occur, later sowings will be
  more exposed to climate stress and yields will be lower. These findings support conclusions
  from the Wagga Time of Sowing trial reported above - late April to early May is the optimal
  window to plant chickpeas in southern NSW. In the drier Yenda environment (compared to
  Wagga), sowings should be targeted more towards the first half of this window.
• PBA Slasher, CICA0603 and Genesis 509 (all desi types) were the best varieties especially
  when sown in May and June. Genesis 090 and Genesis 079 (kabuli) performed well at the
  May planting only.
• Plant population had little or no affect on yield or seed size.

• As to be expected, the highest rate of lime application (100 t/ha) had the greatest increase on pH, increasing pH by 1.5 units in the topsoil and 0.4 of a unit in the sub soil.
• The spaded only treatments (no lime applied) also increased the pH by bringing up less acidic clay into the surface soil horizons.
• The higher lime rate applications showed that the soil pH had been evenly increased through the profile,  demonstrating the ability of the spader to uniformly mix the lime to depth.

Growers taking part in the trials were hoping that the spader would create a more uniform soil by mixing clay throughout the root zone and breaking up impermeable clay at depth and help reduce waterlogging.

Soil acidity affects up to 5.5 million hectares (50%) of Victoria’s agricultural land and soil acidification looms as a major soil
degradation issue (NHT 2001). Soil acidification can be seen is a cost of productive agricultural systems - whether from
product removal, increased potential for nitrate leaching, the build-up of soil organic acids, or from the increased use of
nitrogen fertilizers.
Soil acidity and acidification are mostly ameliorated by applying agricultural lime. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2018)
survey data show the average rate of application of lime is only about 1.5 t/ha, which is considerably less than the general
minimum recommendations of 2.5-7.5 t/ha (Agriculture Victoria 2019). Moreover, few Victorian farmers, about 1,000 (5%),
use variable rate application. Variable rate application is used to apply a wide range of agricultural chemicals, lime being
only one of many, so that the application rate is adjusted to match changing local requirements within the paddock. No
statistics are available on the application of variable rate technology for managing soil acidity, however service providers
supporting variable rate liming are increasingly active.
Agriculture Victoria Research (AVR) studied 10 case-study paddocks in the HRZ of Victoria to demonstrate the net
economic benefits of using intensive point sampling of surface soil pH and the precision application of lime in cropping
systems.
The initial pHCa distribution within each paddock was obtained by sampling at the rate of 100 soil cores per paddock
followed by spatial interpolation to a resolution of 10 square metres.
Discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis was used to generate profit-maximising lime 'prescriptions’ for each homogenous pH
zone (HZ) within the 10 case-study cropping paddocks, and to quantify the net benefits of the precision liming strategy.
These benefits were compared to alternative liming strategies, including traditional approaches and uniform application.
The analysis followed the best-practice method described by Mullen (2001). It involved optimization and simulation; and it
accommodated the dynamic nature of the acidity nature of the soil, in that production in the current year is affected by
current pH and in turn has an impact on pH in the next year.
It was shown that reaping the benefits of the precision liming strategy is difficult, because benefits depend on the
decisions made by farmers and their advisors requiring a high level of data collection and management, interpretation, and
judgement.
When acid tolerant crops are grown, the net benefits of liming can generally be maximised using low-cost traditional
practices. However, if the decision-maker wants the option of planting high-value, acid-sensitive crops then it would pay to
pursue a profit-maximising strategy involving intensive point sampling, pH mapping and variable rate application.
The DCF model described in this report demonstrates the nature of the data, analysis and interpretation involved in the
decision-making process. The model has been prototyped in MS Excel® and uses Evolver, an optimization add-in that is
part of Palisade’s DecisionTools Suite. The DCF model is available from the primary author on request and can be used
with attribution.

The use of cultivation, whether deep or shallow, in 2003, shows no advantage in increasing the grain yield. In fact there may be a penalty in the loss of soil water, particularly at the surface, if the cultivation is performed in a dry autumn, as was the case in 2003.

The data would suggest that Deep Ripping had an effect on increasing the total water content of the soil, thereby making more moisture available to the barley crop during the spring months at a time when the crop was filling the grain. This may have resulted in a higher grain yield for both Ripped and Ripped + Gypsum treatments by comparison to the Direct Drilled and Shallow Cultivation treatments (although yield difference not statistically significant). 

For further conclusions please see the attached trial report.

For results and discussion please see the attached trial report.

Pre-sowing comment: surface crusting with adequate moisture at 3cm.

Early season commment: slow chickpea growth. Field peas ok some ryegrass. Adequte moisture.

Pre sowing comment: surface crusting with adequate mositure at 3cm.

Early season comment: slow chickpea growth. Field peas ok some ryegrass. Adequate moisture.

Artificially applied nitrogen had no significant effect on crop establishment or on early growth as determined from NIR testing 

• For further conclusions please see the attached trial report.

The project on the strategic use of tillage within no-till systems continued at the 4 sites in 2015: Harden, Daysdale (near Corowa), Thuddungra (near Young) and Berthong (near Cootamundra). Soil physical and chemical properties continued to be monitored throughout 2015. Establishment counts, dry matter and grain yields were also measured. The final harvest for the sites occurred in December 2015, except at the Daysdale site where we grew a vetch brown manure crop that was cut for dry matter in October. The final soil sampling at all sites will take place in autumn 2016. 

• Think of a fallow as a risk reducing investment for your property.
• Soil testing after chemical fallow is essential to determine the starting point of available nutrients in the soil.
• Good agronomic practices that maximise plant health and growth will allow crops to use water more effectively, improving yield potential.
• Weed free fallows mean increased moisture conservation leading to potentially higher yielding crops for the following year and more profitable rotations.
• The use of a residual herbicide to help suppress weeds over summer will be beneficial.
• If this trial was to be repeated, results will vary given different seasons and different soil types

• Fertiliser nitrogen (N) rates should be tailored to suit paddock history and soil mineral N levels at sowing.
• Sorghum yields without N fertiliser, although high in a favourable season, were still well below those achieved using additional N fertiliser.
• At Tamworth, in-season rainfall ideally suited a split-N application strategy resulting in the highest yields.
• At Breeza, drier conditions meant that neither split N application nor slowrelease N products boosted grain yields above those reached using urea all applied at sowing.
• Gross margins for most alternative N strategies were greater than that achieved when no N was applied.
   

• Fertiliser nitrogen (N) rates tailored to suit paddock history/ soil mineral N levels optimised N2O emissions.
• At Tamworth, withholding N fertiliser on a high mineral N soil reduced N2O emissions, but did not optimise grain yield.
• At Breeza, most strategies of urea + nitrification inhibitor, polymer-coated urea and split N application substantially reduced N2O emissions. Most alternatives produced similar grain yields to the current practice of urea all applied at sowing, so the N2O emissions intensity per tonne of grain produced was also reduced.
• A 1:3 blend of urea + polymer-coated urea all applied at sowing, increased N2O emissions compared with the urea all at sowing treatment. The treatment also reduced grain yield, so potential slow-release treatments need to be carefully evaluated from both an N2O emissions and grain production point of view.

• Fertiliser nitrogen (N) rates tailored to suit paddock history/ soil mineral N levels optimised N2O emissions.
• At Tamworth, withholding N fertiliser on a high mineral N soil reduced N2O emissions, but did not optimise grain yield.
• At Breeza, most strategies of urea + nitrification inhibitor, polymer-coated urea and split N application substantially reduced N2O emissions. Most alternatives produced similar grain yields to the current practice of urea all applied at sowing, so the N2O emissions intensity per tonne of grain produced was also reduced.
• A 1:3 blend of urea + polymer-coated urea all applied at sowing, increased N2O emissions compared with the urea all at sowing treatment. The treatment also reduced grain yield, so potential slow-release treatments need to be carefully evaluated from both an N2O emissions and grain production point of view.

• Fertiliser nitrogen (N) rates tailored to suit paddock history/ soil mineral N levels optimised N2O emissions.
• At Tamworth, withholding N fertiliser on a high mineral N soil reduced N2O emissions, but did not optimise grain yield.
• At Breeza, most strategies of urea + nitrification inhibitor, polymer-coated urea and split N application substantially reduced N2O emissions. Most alternatives produced similar grain yields to the current practice of urea all applied at sowing, so the N2O emissions intensity per tonne of grain produced was also reduced.
• A 1:3 blend of urea + polymer-coated urea all applied at sowing, increased N2O emissions compared with the urea all at sowing treatment. The treatment also reduced grain yield, so potential slow-release treatments need to be carefully evaluated from both an N2O emissions and grain production point of view.

• Very dry conditions during the 2013−14 summer meant that much of the nitrogen (N) fertiliser applied was not taken up by the sorghum crop, especially if it had been applied in-crop at booting. Between 46–65% of the applied N remained in the soil at harvest in 2013−14.
• A following crop of unfertilised sorghum accessed the remaining N for crop growth and, at rates of 100 kg N/ha and above in the 2013−14 crop, increased grain yield and protein above the control. Late N application by topdressing in the 2013−14 crop gave similar crop production results to treatments where N was sidebanded at sowing.
• Two-year gross margins showed a significant benefit from N application as urea either at sowing or incrop.
   

• For three seasons, we applied isotope-labelled urea (15N) to sorghum in small (0.75–1.0 m2) plots, then calculated nitrogen (N) recovery by comparing the amount applied with the total 15N found in grain, crop residues and soil.
• Between 55–85% of the N fertiliser applied was recovered at harvest, meaning a 15–45% loss, presumably during wet soil conditions when nitrate denitrification led to N2 and N2O gaseous losses.
• In very wet conditions, little of the applied N remained in the soil at harvest, while in a dry season there was more of the applied N found in the soil at harvest than in the plant.

• Treatment 1, Nil grazed, moderate stubble yielded the highest, (2.18 t/ha).
• No significant difference in Total Plant Available Water, majority of stored water was below the 50 cm depth.
• There was a significant difference between the eight treatments when comparing available soil nitrogen.
• There was a significant difference in grain quality attributes between the eight stubble treatments.

• Different methods of stubble handling had little impact on yield.
• Early soil testing allowed good decision making for crop nutrition and budgeting.
• Soil biota were more active in the in-row root zone, as opposed to the mid row zone.

No real conclusions can be drawn from 2005 data, although the use of scratch tillage at the Inverleigh and Mingay sites showed some promise, but did come at a financial cost if implemented on raised-beds. 

• For different 2013 treatments, the amount of stubble ranged from 2.4 to 4.0 t DM/ha at harvest and from 1.6 to 3.0 t DM/ha at the subsequent sowing. The only statistically significant effect of 2013 treatments on 2014 pre sowing stubble was a difference between wheat and vetch stubble, 2.7 t DM/ha and 2.0 t DM/ha, respectively, reflecting faster breakdown of vetch than wheat stubble.
• Despite significant differences in the amount and types of stubble generated in 2013, and remaining at sowing in 2014, there was no statistically significant effect of 2013 treatments on 2014 soil moisture at sowing or 2014 crop yields.
• There were significant differences between crop types in 2014. Significantly more wheat plants established than canola (49 and 15 plants/m2 respectively) and wheat had a significantly higher grain yield than canola (1.2 and 0.3 t/ha respectively). Both wheat and canola were affected by the dry spring and associated frosts, plus canola had poor establishment.
• Research conducted previously at Walpeup in the 1980s found that maintaining 2 t/ha stubble increased the amount of water stored in the soil at sowing, at depth 0–140 cm, by 16 mm in 1 year of 3. This increase in soil water availability was not reflected in increased crop yield.
• The recent experiment at Ouyen, together with the previous research at Walpeup, indicate that Mallee crop yields are unlikely to be increased by retaining higher levels of stubble, although there can be benefits of reduced soil erosion.

High stubble loads appear to increase frost damage by reducing the amount of heat radiated from the soil at night, leading to lower canopy temperatures and greater frost severity, duration and damage.

• Since soil moisture was not limiting, and a soft finish to the season was observed, sowing date trials at Minnipa in 2010 showed no differences in yield between stubble treatments under these conditions.
• This trial will be repeated in the same environment to validate across seasons.

• In 2016, a Decile 10 season, stubble load had no effect on soil mineral nitrogen or soil water.
• The presence of stubble resulted in higher soil mineral nitrogen over the summer fallow period.
• Wheat yields were higher following peas or fallow than they were after wheat or canola in 2016.

• On black soil the average wheat yield increase due to zinc was of the order of 240 kg/ha between 1939 and 1949.

• Grain yield at Hill River was increased on two soil types by 12% and 33% through the addition of soil amendments to the surface or subsoil.
• There was no yield difference between applying amendment to the surface or subsoil in 2016, except at one of the seven sites sown to lentils.
• There was little difference between applying large rates of synthetic fertiliser or applying 20 t/ha chicken litter.

• PPS believes that the results in the Jallukar trial show that the technique of sub soil amelioration has potential to produce large increases in productivity in certain soils in the Upper Wimmera region.  
• The drier than average springs allowed for only one dry matter cut each year; more favourable seasons may have altered the results. 
• For further discussion please see the attached trial report.

• Trace elements applied to the soil (either shallow at seeding or deep prior to seeding) two years previously benefitted wheat at a clay spread site.
• Accross all sites and six years of measurements there were no measurable residual responses to deep placed nutrients.

• Incorporating clay that has high calcium carbonate (lime) content has potential to cause extreme manganese deficiency although this can be addressed with addition of micronutrient fertiliser either shallow or deep.

• Chlorsulfuron herbicide was found to reduce wheat yields at some sites.
• Phosphorus (P) responses were closely correlated with soil P levels.
• No significant responses to zinc (Zn) fertiliser were recorded.
• P and Zn nutrition was not found to interact with chlorsulfuron herbicide damage in wheat

• Chlorsulfuron (e.g. Glean) was found to reduce wheat yields at some sites.
• No Zinc (Zn) responses were recorded at any of the sites.
• Phosphorus (P) response was closely correlated with soil P levels.
• Increasing Zn and P nutrition did not reduce the Chlorsulfuron effect.

• The addition of sulphur increased wheat grain yield at both trial sites.
• Grain yield at the clay loam site was consistent for all of the sulphur rates, sources (gypsum and SoA) and application times tested
• In contrast, there was variation in grain yield for the sulphur treatments tested at the sandy dune location due to the poor nutrient holding capacity of this soil type.

• Durum quality wheat was produced at Lubeck, although high soil N levels pushed protein levels above the maximum for noodle wheat. Milling wheat grown at the same site achieved H2 quality. There was no yield response to N fertiliser at sowing. This demonstration highlights the importance of careful paddock selection when producing specialty wheat.
• While it has been demonstrated that durum wheat can be produced in this part of the Wimmera, durum is a high risk option. A basic economic comparison highlighted the high penalty when downgraded to feed quality if durum specifications are not met.

1. Summer cover crops can be very profitable; improving ground cover and increasing fallow water storage in long fallows to improve grain yields and boost returns in northern farming systems.
2. A later spray-out produced additional levels of a cover that is more resilient and stored more water in the longer fallow. Delaying spray-out too long reduced fallow water storage considerably.
3. Using a summer cover crop saved two fallow herbicide sprays and dramatically improved establishment of the subsequent wheat crop.
4. Yields and returns were increased by the cover crops, and yields were well in excess of those expected from the increased soil water storage alone.

The growing season rainfall in 2019 was below average at Perillup, and the summer cropping demonstration did not suffer from water-logging.

Grain growers in this region believe that the soil drying effects from growing summer crops has the greatest potential benefit to winter cropping yields.

In 2019, there was a 770kg/ha barley yield increase above the control from the plots where cowpea was grown in the summer.

There was a 470kg/ha decline in winter barley yield in the plot that was planted to canola between January 30 and May 9, 2019.

Nutritional requirements of summer crops need to be considered when selecting species. Cowpeas fixed useful nitrogen in the 90 growing days.

2019 Demonstration Key Messages

• The growing season rainfall in 2019 was below average at Perillup, and the summer cropping demonstration did not suffer from water-logging.
• Grain growers in this region believe that the soil drying effects from growing summer crops has the greatest potential benefit to winter cropping yields.
• In 2019, there was a 770kg/ha barley yield increase above the control from the plots where cowpea was grown in the summer.
• There was a 470kg/ha decline in winter barley yield in the plot that was planted to canola between January 30 and May 9, 2019.
• Nutritional requirements of summer crops need to be considered when selecting species. Cowpeas fixed useful nitrogen in the 90 growing days.
• The growing season rainfall in 2019 was above average in Williams, and the summer cropping demonstration site was severely water-logged.
• Buster Radish could also be a perfect non-machinery deep ripping tool with its great root system.

2018 Demonstration Key Messages

• The summer cropping demonstration sites were sown at two different timings. The Ryansbrook trial, 35km south west of Kojonup, was sown 4th October 2018 into moisture and the Woodgenellup trial was dry sown on the 30th January 2019 prior to a predicted rainfall event.
• According to our producer rainfall records, since 2003, every 4 out of 5 years they have had summer rainfall events in January and February. Unfortunately, in the 2018/19 summer there was minimal summer rainfall and the summer crops at the Ryansbrook site failed. The C4 grasses (millet and sorghum) persisted better with little to no moisture in the soil profile compared to the broadleaf crop types (canola and cowpea).
• At the Woodgenellup site germination was patchy however, plants have developed reasonable biomass.
• Winter season in-crop measurements will be taken at the Woogenellup site to determine the effect of the summer crop on water logging. Due to the failure of the summer crop at the Ryansbrook site, no further measurements will be taken at this

• Wheat yield increased from 2.6 t/ha in controls to 3.2 t/ha in plots receiving the equivalent of summer rainfall decile 5 (50mm) or decile 9 (100mm) in a single event in February.
• Stubble treatments (bare ground control, standing 2 t stubble/ha, flat 2 t stubble/ha, flat 5 t stubble/ha) did not affect the dynamics of soil water nor grain yield.

• The presence of stubble did not increase stored soil moisture, regardless of the size and number of irrigation events.
• In 2010 additional soil moisture at sowing did not generally increase final grain yield.
• Additional soil moisture can increase crop demand and response to nitrogen.

• Summer sowing into perennial grasses is showing some promise, but the results are inconsistent.  We need to develop guidelines for the required soil conditions (including soil fertility) and there is a need to reduce weed competition by controlling the seed-set of annual pasture weeds in the preceding year.
• Results from these trials plus a range of other summer sowing sites demonstrate that serradella pods need to be drilled for successful establishment. Broadcasting pod is not a reliable alternative.
• The experimental line of yellow serradella (72.1A) was slow to establish in the first year at Badgingarra but has has really gone ahead in the second year.  This yellow serradella is unique in having a very different hard seed breakdown pattern compared with the commercial yellow serradella varieties (i.e. Yelbini, Charano, Santorini) and is suitable for ‘summer sowing’.  It is earlier flowering (80 to 90 days compared to 105 to 115 for Margurita) and yellow serradella is hardier than French serradella.
• Summer sowing using pod avoids the need for de-hulling, so seed is cheaper, but higher sowing rates are required.  Consequently the concept relies to a large extent on farmers being able to source or to produce their own hard-seeded serradella pod at low cost

• The results for summer sowing into an established perennial grass pasture were encouraging in a season with minimal spring rainfall. The results were negatively impacted by the low rainfall in spring. Drilling pod was more successful than broadcasting pod and then using animals to trample it into the soil.
• This was the first summer sowing trial into perennial grasses in WA so it is too early to develop recommendations, but it appears that you need to use 20 to 40 kg pod/ha to achieve a good seedbank. The mid-March sowing time is at the end of the ‘sowing window’ for summer sowing. Sowing in early February is desirable to maximize the time for hardseed breakdown.
• With summer sowing using pod rather than seed there is no need for de-hulling, so there is a cost saving per kilogram, but higher sowing rates are required as the seedlings need to compete with annual grasses, broadleaf weeds as well as the perennial grasses. The summer sowing method requires relatively high sowing rates and the concept relies to a large extent on farmers producing hard-seeded serradella pod on-farm at a low cost.After these promising results in 2010, similar trials will be undertaken in 2011 with local producers.

• The results for summer sowing into an established perennial grass pasture were encouraging in a season with minimal spring rainfall.  The results were negatively impacted by the low rainfall in spring.
• Drilling pod was more successful than broadcasting pod and then using animals to trample it into the soil.  This was the first summer sowing trial into perennial grasses in WA so it is too early to develop recommendations, but it appears that you need to use 20 to 40 kg pod/ha to achieve a good seedbank.  The mid-March sowing time is at the end of the ‘sowing window’ for summer sowing.  Sowing in early February is desirable to maximize the time for hardseed breakdown.
• With summer sowing using pod rather than seed there is no need for de-hulling, so there is a cost saving per kilogram, but higher sowing rates are required as the seedlings need to compete with annual grasses, broadleaf weeds as well as the perennial grasses.  The summer sowing method requires relatively high sowing rates and the concept relies to a large extent on farmers producing hard-seeded serradella pod on-farm at a low cost.
• After these promising results in 2010, similar trials will be undertaken in 2011 with local producers.

• The benefit of summer weed control can vary across soil types and conditions.
• Conserving summer soil moisture is generally money in the bank and can prove invaluable when there is a dry finish, although the benefits seem to differ according to soil type.
• Higher glyphosate prices meansthat growers need to become more efficient when controlling weeds. Targeting weeds while they are young and fresh will help with reducing glyphosate rates. The addition of residual herbicides, such as Ally, will reduce the need for follow-up spraying.

Results from a demonstration in December of 2012 suggest weed control had an impact on stored soil moisture and consequent yield in 2013 across a range of soil types at seven locations across the Eastern Wheatbelt. Another factor that could have been quantified in this work, was the effect of weed control on nitrogen status (and consequent effect of N on yield). Opening values were collected at the beginning of the trial but no closing N values were measured. Removing summer weeds has an impact on the nitrogen levels in the soil, and this will be further quantified with more field work in 2014.

• Controlling summer weeds improves crop yield.
• Summer weeds like Heliotrope use large amounts of stored soil water and nitrogen, which is then not available to the following crop.

• Time of weed removal at the high rainfall site did not affect canola yield but the canola had a higher biomass when weeds were removed earlier.
• The medium rainfall site had consecutively higher wheat yields with earlier times of weed removal; however these were not significantly different.
• At the low rainfall site plots sprayed for summer weeds had significantly higher oat yields than unsprayed plots. Timely control of summer weeds increased soil moisture and nitrate conservation.

• In dry regions, summer fallowing is not just about controlling weeds but mainly about conserving moisture!
• Cultivation conserved the most amount of soil moisture over the summer period. ƒ
• The three treatments which controlled summer weeds: (i) cultivation every three weeks; (ii) cultivation when required; and (iii) knockdown when required, had a significantly higher yield (0.4 to 0.7 t/ha) compared to the treatments where there was no or poor summer weed control. ƒ
• Greater than 80mm of available moisture was lost under heavy heliotrope and melon populations

• Trials are underway investigating the effects of rotational grazing versus set stocking of stubble residues on surface cover and soil characteristics in arable paddocks.
• Early rain in 2014 disrupted the trial’s implementation but initial results on a stubble / self-sown pasture grazed in June indicated no difference between set stocking and rotational grazing on surface cover.

During 2006 and 2007, a field trial designed to quantify the effect of two different surface drainage strategies of pasture (hump & hollow and raised beds) on farm productivity, profitability and sustainability was conducted on a commercial farm near Derrinallum. Under the rainfall conditions experienced for the two years of the trial, it is concluded that the use of raised beds for the growing of pastures for grazing has little to offer the sheep industry. On the basis of the data obtained in this trial, it is recommended that the hump & hollow system is the preferred method of surface drainage for sheep grazing systems in this environment and should be promoted in the region. Major findings included:

• In both years, total annual pasture dry matter (DM) yields from the raised bed treatment were substantially less than for the undrained and the hump & hollow treatments.
• In the drought year of 2006 the raised bed treatment grew 37% (2.8 t DM/ha) less while the hump & hollow treatment grew only 7% (0.6 t DM/ha) less than the undrained (total of 7.6 t DM/ha).
• In the higher rainfall 2007 year the raised bed treatment produced 15% (1.6 t DM/ha) less pasture than the undrained. In contrast, the hump & hollow grew 10% (1.1 t DM/ha) more than the undrained (total of 10.7 t DM/ha) in 2007.
• The reasons for the lower than expected pasture yields on the raised beds are speculated to be a combination of low yields in the furrows, poorer plant establishment and density on the beds, and a reduction in the water holding capacity of the soil relative to the other treatments.
• Soil physical health was however considerably better on the raised beds than the other treatments. Aeration porosities at field capacity in November 2007 were a very healthy 16.3% in the raised beds, a moderate 11.8% for the hump & hollow and a poor 7.0% for the undrained.
• No significant differences in ewe or lamb weights at weaning were found between treatments in either year. This was most likely due to the set stocked sheep having pasture on offer in excess of requirements for most of the spring. In 2006 however, the raised beds were stocked at around 1 ewe/ha less due to the lower pasture growth rates.
• From a catchment and general environmental health perspective, the water run‐off results raise some concerns about the environmental impact of growing and grazing pastures on raised beds.
• The raised beds proved to be very effective in removing excess water from the pasture. Over 2007, the raised bed treatment (47.1 mm) had 170% more runoff water than the undrained (17.4 mm) while the hump & hollow (26.7 mm) had 53% more runoff.
• Both drainage treatments had considerably higher concentrations of, and total loads of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in runoff water. Of particular concern were the losses of 0.5 and 0.4 kg P/ha for the raised bed and hump & hollow treatments respectively compared to 0.1 kg P/ha for the undrained in 2007. For N, corresponding losses were 6.3, 2.1 and 0.9 kg N/ha for the raised beds, hump & hollow and undrained respectively.
• It is recommended that if raised beds are to be used for grazed pastures, then the best practice recommendations developed for raised bed cropping also be applied to pasture.

UWA trials on an MLA funded project showed that using more disease-resistant or disease-tolerant cultivars across Australia in 2015 and 2016 significantly increased plant productivity by up to 4 to 5-fold. This opportunity to identify cultivar resistances and cultivar field tolerances to the soil borne pathogen complex offers the best and most cost-effective, long term, and economically feasible means of managing damping-off and root diseases in subterranean clover across southern Australia. However, despite this tremendous opportunity to benefit producers, this opportunity is unlikely to be realised unless there is ongoing commitment by Industry funding to support such an approach and to realise this potential.

• Inoculum are living bacteria.
• Survial of rhizobia is vital for inoculation and effective nodulation of crop and pasture legumes.
• Chemicals and fertilisers can affect survival and persistence of rhizobia in the soil.
• Therefore, ensure high numbers of rhizobia are sown, especially where chemicals are used.

In 2001 the Rankins Springs CWFS plan to sow lupins across all treatments with the exception of organic treatment, which is considering vetch. The original plan was for barley in 2001, but at the last meeting a motion was passed for lupins to be sown this year to aid soil nitrogen levels.

The Sustainable Land Management Demonstration Sites in the Mallee have been established to demonstrate improved farming practices through a better understanding of crop management and water use to reduce groundwater recharge and soil erosion.