Agriculture Kangaroo Island Incorporated trials

The trial has 6 treatments with 4 replications and compares various BioAg products and rates against an annual application of single super.

The BioAg fertiliser trial was established in 2019. The trial has 6 treatments with 4 replications and compares various BioAg products and rates against an annual application of single super.

• To validate the results of the development of a rhizobium strain that is able to nodulate with lucerne at lower pH, as achieved in glasshouse trials.

Varied. Please see article. 

• To investigate an agronomic solution to waterlogging through the use of Agpipe.

• To investigate the use of slotted drainpipe (Agpipe) for removal of water from waterlogged crops.

• To test the performance of a range of subsoil amendments.

• To investigate the effects of nitrogen fertiliser application to established kikuyu stands.

To report on results of a visit by Wayne Hawthorne (esteemed pulse expert from Pulse Australia) to Kangaroo Island.

This was the second year in a three-year project that is focusing on building resilient farm businesses and strengthening farm decision making.

to explore how biological approaches to restoring soil health and holistic grazing practices lead to improved soil health, increased soil carbon, increased soil water holding capacity, improved plant health, improved production, increased on farm diversity and a reduced need for synthetic inputs.

• To evaluate the benefit of yield and pod development from the introduction of bees and the management of the pollination process.

To investigate the potential of using a modified delving operation, which rips the clay and allows topsoil/gravel to fall back into the clay slot, to create a subsurface drainage line through the clay and reduce waterlogging.

To investigate whether kikuyu improve soil organic carbon levels on Kangaroo Island.

To identify key ingredients of agronomic packages that deliver high yielding wheat crops with good quality in the Parndana environment.

To answer the question: can you affod to lime?

To assess the efficacy of foliar, on-seed and on-fertiliser commercially available fungicides on blackleg control in retained stubble systems. 

To test 8 TT varieties of hybrid and open pollinated canola.

• To demonstrate the effect of crop canopy densities on pollination.

To investigate the merit of fodder crops in the crop rotation, with particular interest in weed control, nitrogen and gross margin.

To look at grinding our local limesands to see if it made them more effective.

To look at the effectiveness of grinding our local limesands and comparing the changes in soil pH against unground lime.

• To demonstrate and refine the technique to suit the many mixed farmers on Kangaroo Island.

• To allow producer groups to trial new grazing systems in their local environment at a commercial scale.

• To allow producer groups to trial new grazing systems in their local environment at a commercial scale.

• To allow some farmers to see first hand how such crops performed on their own patch of dirt.

• To assess P application rates and its effects on pasture growth and soil P levels.

To investigate the different responses on pasture growth to triple, single and gold phosphorus fertiliser application.

• To investigate the different responses on pasture growth to triple, single and gold phosphorus fertiliser application.

• To investigate the different responses on pasture growth to triple, single and gold phosphorus fertiliser application.

• To investigate different responses to the application of single, triple and gold phosphorus fertiliser on pasture growth.

To demonstrate growth of three lines of peas from Seednet.

To explore issues of footrot in sheep and goats on Kangaroo Island. 

• To investigate the potential use of ProGibb SG as a growth promoting agent.

• To investigate the potential use of ProGibb SG as a growth promoting agent.

The ‘Good Clover Bad Clover’ project is a three-year project that commenced in April 2017 and aims to increase awareness of the potential issues and improve management strategies to deal with oestrogenic clover.

• To investigate the impacts burying organic matter at depth.

To investigate the questions:

• What if there was a simple way to improve the top soil depth to encourage plants to grow deeper root systems?
• Could we grow the massive crops you seen grown overseas where they measure top soil in feet not inches?

To investigate the question of 'what if there was a simple way to improve the topsoil depth to
encourage plants to grow deeper root systems?'

To investigate the impacts burying at depth organic matter (using a Neutrog product Bounce Back) and gypsum using the Sub Soiler machine.

To investigate the impacts burying at depth organic matter (using a Neutrog product Bounce Back) and gypsum using the subsoiler machine.

To identify patterns of herbicide resistance levels on Kangaroo Island in 2009.

To find crop species suitable to Kangaroo Island conditions, which were either:
• of higher value per tonne than currently grown milling wheat, or
• low yielding yet high value to reduce the per hectare freight cost.

To determine how quickly our lime-sands work.

To monitor how quickly the lime would change the pH down the profile.

To test the impact of adding gypsum, lime or fertilisers to the subsoil.

To test the impact of adding gypsum, lime or fertilisers to the subsoil of a profile typical for the Vivonne Bay environment but in a situation which usually gets very wet, and is designed to run for at least two years.

To promote the sowing of persistent perennial grasses on Kangaroo Island properties to:
• improve ground cover in late summer, autumn and winter, and to
• increase pasture water use to minimize soil acidification and salinisation.

• To conduct pasture trials and assess for plant density, plant size/vigor and basal cover.