Soil Improvement trials Application Method,Form,Method,Rate,Soil Improvement,Timing,Type

To provide growers and advisers with a better understanding of the benefits of deep ripping and in particular depth of deep ripping required to optimise crop yield and profit.

To provide growers and advisers with a better understanding of the benefits of deep ripping and in particular depth of deep ripping required to optimise crop yield and profit.

This project aimed to provide support to landholders in the north­eastern area of the EP to address bare areas with repeated soil erosion events. This was done by providing funding to trial a range of practices to increase soil cover and providing technical support to deliver and evaluate these practices. 

Trials and demonstrations involving soil mixing either with a spader or ripping with inclusion plates have been shown to increase yields on sandy soils on Eyre Peninsula (EP). Many of these trials have included the addition of organic material incorporated at rates of 5-10 t/ha. Whilst generally these treatments have provided yield increases for a number of years post application, the rates applied have proven to be uneconomic (EPFS 2019, p 71). This project was originally developed by the Lower Eyre Ag
Development Association (LEADA) with two major objectives being:
1. To test ripping with inclusion plates on a wider range of soils.
2. To trial rates and sources of organic matter that are practical for broadacre use.

Why do the trial? 
There are around 5 million hectares of sandy soils under agricultural production in the low to medium rainfall areas of south-eastern Australia. These soils have multiple constraints limiting production including water repellence, soil acidity, compaction and low organic carbon levels leading to poor biological cycling and nitrogen mineralisation. Estimates of the yield gap (the difference between water limiting potential and average actual crop yield) are between 1.8 and 2.1 t/ha on Upper Eyre Peninsula and as much as 2.3 t/ha on Lower Eyre Peninsula (http://yieldgapaustralia.com .au/ maps/). 
In 2016, GRDC invested in a research program to help grain growers identify and overcome the primary constraints to poor crop water-use on sandy soils in the low-medium rainfall environment (CSP00203). The 'Sands Impacts' component of this project enables grower groups to test outcomes from the research component by applying targeted mitigation and amelioration interventions to overcome production constraints. 

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 answer the question: can you affod to lime?

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 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 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 look at the effectiveness of placing lime at depth.

• To look at the effectiveness of placing lime at depth.

A three-year research trial aims to investigate the impact of precision lime application rate, placement and product on cropping land and will evaluate cost effective ways to ameliorate subsoil acidity.

To report on Simon Veitch's liming program.

• To test a new product on the market - liquid lime - which is being advertised as being faster and more effective than bulk lime.

To test the efficacy of a new product on the market - liquid lime.

To investigate a new product on the market - liquid lime- that is being advertised as being faster and more effective than bulk lime.

The mapping of soil pH and nutrients across a paddock enables landholders to accurately determine application rates of lime and fertiliser. This can reduce the need for blanket applications, which are both time-consuming and expensive.

• To monitor changes in soil pH under farmland on Kangaroo Island.

• To investigate soil acidity in Kangaroo Island soils.

To have paddocks re-tested for soil pH post liming and results were compared to the pH level prior to liming.

To assess the effectiveness of a range of soil ameliorants.

To investigate a spader machine for lime incorporation.

The spader trials were set up at several sites ranging from 0.5 ha to whole paddocks. The growers wanted
the spader to incorporate clay, lime and/or organic matter, or just improve the friability of the soil.

• To test the ability of a range of drainage treatments to improve crop yields in soil prone to waterlogging.

• To test the ability of a range of drainage treatments to improve crop yields in soil prone to waterlogging.

To assess the impact of deep ripping on crop yield over a two year period in the To assess the impact of deep ripping on crop yield over a two year period in the eastern wheatbelt

To compare and showcase a range of strategic tillage options for amelioration of shallow sandy duplex soils (Sand over clay/gravel) and to assess their effectiveness at overcoming a range of soil constraints including topsoil water repellence and Compaction and increasing crop productivity over a period of 4-5 years.

Soil compaction affects soil aeration and gas diffusivity, and thus has a major impact on the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from fertilised soils. Controlled traffic farming (CTF) systems reduce the area of compacted soil by confining all field traffic to permanent traffic lanes, and a pilot trial at one long-term CTF site provided evidence of reduced soil emissions. We investigated the effect of CTF on soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) using replicate manual chamber measurements in 3 traffic treatments;namely:non-trafficked CTF beds, permanent CTF lanes,and a single traffic pass on CTF beds to simulate the random traffic tracks of non-controlled traffic farming. Emissions of N2O and CH 4 were monitored from these treatments in 15 crops over 3 years on 6 grain farms in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

Thus, the major objective was to determine the emissions of N2O and CH4 from random trafficked and permanent traffic lane soil, relative to those from non-trafficked CTF beds. These emission ratios are referred to here as traffic impact factors.
 

The aim of this investigation was to use the cropping systems simulator APSIM to assess the impact of high levels of sodicity chlorine, electrical conductivity and boron on the growth and yield of a wheat crop (cv. Yitpi) grown in the BCG Systems Trial.

To investigate the effect of deep ripping and gypsum on root and plant growth of wheat, canola and lentils.

To investigate the bio-fumigation effects of canola dn mustard varieties on root disease and a number of crop varieties.

To compare soil moisture, soil nitrogen and profitability of five different vetch end-use treatments from 2012, sown to wheat in 2013.

To develop productive and sustainable cropping systems for the alkaline sodic soils in the Wimmera and southern Mallee.

To investigate how to improve the productivity of sodic soils in the Wimmera and southern Mallee.

To test the effects of subsoil remediation on crop water use and yield.

To find more reliable methods to control rhizoctonia.

To discuss the APSIM model for wheat in the southern Mallee.

To report results of a long-term sodicity trial for 1995.

To improve the soil structure of sodic soils using gypsum and tillage techniques.