Chickpea in wheat-based cropping systems of northern New South Wales. III. Prediction of N2 fixation and N balance using soil nitrate at sowing and chickpea yield

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 409 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Herridge ◽  
H. Marcellos ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
W. L. Felton ◽  
G. L. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Yield Coefficient ◽  
Soil Nitrate ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
South Wales

Functions quantifying relationships between N2 fixation by legumes and other factors would be useful to farmers in the management of legumes and nitrogen in their production systems. The 2 most critical factors regulating N2 fixation are legume yield and soil nitrate and both should be included as independent variables in the functions. Data from 9 experiments in northern New South Wales on soil nitrate at sowing, yields of shoot and grain dry matter (DM) and N of chickpea, and δ15N of shoots of chickpea and non N2-fixing reference crops (wheat, barley, and uninoculated chickpea) were used to determine the percentage of chickpea N derived from N2 fixation (P fix), total N2 fixed, and N balance (fixed N2 minus grain N). Data were then subjected to simple and multivariate regression analyses with Pfix and total N2 fixed as the dependent variables and soil nitrate, shoot N, and grain yield as the independent variables. Simple regression coefficients (r2) for Pfix were 0·26 with shoot N as the independent variable, 0·59 with soil nitrate, and 0·62 with grain yield. Coefficient values were increased in the 2-factor (multiple) regressions to 0·74 (P<0·001) for soil nitrate plus shoot N, and 0·82 (P < 0·001) for soil nitrate plus grain yield. For total N2 fixed, the regression coefficient was lower at 0·68 (P < 0·001), using soil nitrate plus grain yield. We tested the functions against an independent data set with best prediction of Pfix involving the nitrate and grain yield equation (r2 = 0·83; P < 0·001). Total N2 fixed was not well predicted. We concluded that further development of such functions is warranted to refine both accuracy and precision for chickpea and to extend the approach to other species.

Low nodulation and nitrogen fixation of mungbean reduce biomass and grain yields

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. F. Herridge ◽  
M. J. Robertson ◽  
B. Cocks ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
J. F. Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Nitrate ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Relationship

Apparent nodulation failures and associated low grain yields have been reported for commercial mungbean (Vigna radiata) crops in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. We therefore conducted on-farm surveys of 40 commercial mungbean crops in the region in which symbiotic traits, i.e. nodulation and nitrogen fixation, and biomass and grain yield were monitored. Effects of bradyrhizobial inoculation and inoculation methods on mungbean and soybean (Glycine max) symbiosis and yield were determined in experiments at 3 sites in northern New South Wales. Thirty-four of the 35 mungbean crops assessed for nodulation were nodulated. The relationship between soil nitrate to a depth of 90 cm at sowing and mungbean nodulation was not significant. However, at low-to-moderate soil nitrate levels (<100 kg N/ha), the mean nodule score was 1.6, compared with 0.5 at high (>100 kg N/ha) soil nitrate levels. Soil nitrate had a negative effect on the percentage of mungbean nitrogen derived from nitrogen fixation (%Ndfa). Mean %Ndfa values for soil nitrate levels <50, >50–100 and >100 kg N/ha were 35, 22 and 19% respectively. Grain yields of the surveyed mungbean crops varied from 0.3 to 2.1 t/ha, and were correlated with shoot dry matter. Grain yield was not significantly correlated either with sowing soil nitrate, nodule score or %Ndfa. In the inoculation experiments, mungbean did not nodulate as well as soybean, producing about one-third the number of nodules. Both species responded to inoculation with increased nodulation, although data from one of the sites suggested that responses during early growth of mungbean were not maintained during pod-fill. Effects of inoculation on mungbean %Ndfa were marginal. Average increases were 9%, based on natural 15N abundance, and 6%, based on the ureide method. Soybean %Ndfa, on the other hand, responded strongly to inoculation, with increases of 56 (15N) and 77% (ureide). Inoculation increased mungbean crop N by an average of 10% and grain yield by 6%, compared with responses to fertiliser nitrogen of 31% (crop N) and 10% (grain yield). For soybean, inoculation increased crop nitrogen by 43% and grain yield by 7%, similar to responses to fertiliser nitrogen of 45 (crop N) and 5% (grain yield). These results suggest that inoculated mungbean was N-limited and that inoculation of mungbean using current technology may be somewhat ineffectual. We concluded that low nodulation and nitrogen fixation of commercial mungbean most likely results from the suppressive effects of nitrate and/or insufficient numbers of bradyrhizobia in the soil. When low symbiosis and low soil nitrate are combined, N is likely to limit crop growth, and potentially grain yield. Suggested strategies for improving mungbean nodulation and nitrogen fixation in the northern grains belt include selection of more symbiotically competent plant and bradyrhizobial genotypes and more effective utilisation of established soil populations of mungbean bradyrhizobia.

Does nitrogen fixation of commercial, dryland chickpea and faba bean crops in north-west New South Wales maintain or enhance soil nitrogen?

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Schwenke ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
G. L. Turner ◽  
D. F. Herridge
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Faba Bean ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Nitrate ◽  
North West ◽  
Nitrate N ◽  
South Wales ◽  
N Fertility

Summary. Nitrogen (N2 ) fixation accords pulse crops the potential to sustain or enhance total soil nitrogen (N) fertility. However, regional field experiments have shown that this potential is often not realised because N2 fixation is inhibited by the supply of nitrate N in the root zone (0–90 cm) coupled with a low demand for N during plant growth. The objectives of this study were to establish whether commercially grown chickpea and faba bean crops in the northern grain belt of New South Wales were depleting, maintaining or enhancing soil N fertility, and whether current farm management practices were maximising the N2 fixation potential of the crops. Fifty-one rainfed crops of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were surveyed in the Moree, Walgett and Gunnedah districts of north-west New South Wales during the winters of 1994 and 1995. Nitrogen fixation was measured using the natural 15N abundance technique. Net N balance was calculated for each crop by subtracting grain N harvested from fixed N2. Soil, plant and fallow conditions with potential to influence N2 fixation were also documented. The percentage of crop N derived from N2 fixation (Pfix) ranged from 0 to 81% for chickpea and 19 to 79% for faba bean. Nitrogen fixation of chickpea was uniformly low in the 1994 drought. Total N2 fixed ranged from 0 to 99 kg/ha for chickpea and 15 to 171 kg/ha for faba bean. Net N balance ranged from –47 to +46 kg N/ha for chickpea crops, and –12 to +94 kg N/ha for faba bean crops. About 60% of the difference in Pfix between chickpea and faba bean at the average level of soil nitrate (65 kg/ha) was explained by the higher N demand of the latter. The remaining 40% could be due to greater tolerance of the faba bean symbiosis to nitrate effects. In addition, faba bean had a lower N harvest index than chickpea, which meant that proportionally less N needed to be fixed by faba bean to offset removal of grain N. On average, Pfix needed to exceed 35% for chickpea and 19% for faba bean to balance soil N. The equivalent soil nitrate levels were 43 kg nitrate N/ha for chickpea and 280 kg/ha for faba bean (extrapolated from the relationship between measured Pfix and soil nitrate). Double-cropping chickpea into summer cereal or grass pasture stubble provided the most consistent strategy for achieving the low levels of soil nitrate.

Mental Health Status of a Latin American Community in New South Wales

1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert McDonald ◽  
Carmen Vechi ◽  
Jenny Bowman ◽  
Robert Sanson-Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
New South ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Threshold Score ◽  
Hunter Region

Objective: To determine the levels and predictors of psychological distress within a Latin American community in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. Method: Participants (n=184) were interviewed in their homes by a bilingual interviewer using a specially prepared questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Results: Of the 13 independent variables examined, two demographic and two immigrant-related variables were significantly associated with an above-threshold score: marital status, employment status, perceived discrimination, and dissatisfaction with life in Australia. Conclusions: Compared to results from other community surveys, the levels of psychological distress within this Latin American community appear to be relatively high.

Optimising grain yield and grazing potential of crops across Australia’s high-rainfall zone: a simulation analysis. 2. Canola

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianne M. Lilley ◽  
Lindsay W. Bell ◽  
John A. Kirkegaard
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Vernalisation Requirement ◽  
Crop Density

Recent expansion of cropping into Australia’s high-rainfall zone (HRZ) has involved dual-purpose crops suited to long growing seasons that produce both forage and grain. Early adoption of dual-purpose cropping involved cereals; however, dual-purpose canola (Brassica napus) can provide grazing and grain and a break crop for cereals and grass-based pastures. Grain yield and grazing potential of canola (up until bud-visible stage) were simulated, using APSIM, for four canola cultivars at 13 locations across Australia’s HRZ over 50 years. The influence of sowing date (2-weekly sowing dates from early March to late June), nitrogen (N) availability at sowing (50, 150 and 250 kg N/ha), and crop density (20, 40, 60, 80 plants/m2) on forage and grain production was explored in a factorial combination with the four canola cultivars. The cultivars represented winter, winter × spring intermediate, slow spring, and fast spring cultivars, which differed in response to vernalisation and photoperiod. Overall, there was significant potential for dual-purpose use of winter and winter × spring cultivars in all regions across Australia’s HRZ. Mean simulated potential yields exceeded 4.0 t/ha at most locations, with highest mean simulated grain yields (4.5–5.0 t/ha) in southern Victoria and lower yields (3.3–4.0 t/ha) in central and northern New South Wales. Winter cultivars sown early (March–mid-April) provided most forage (>2000 dry sheep equivalent (DSE) grazing days/ha) at most locations because of the extended vegetative stage linked to the high vernalisation requirement. At locations with Mediterranean climates, the low frequency (<30% of years) of early sowing opportunities before mid-April limited the utility of winter cultivars. Winter × spring cultivars (not yet commercially available), which have an intermediate phenology, had a longer, more reliable sowing window, high grazing potential (up to 1800 DSE-days/ha) and high grain-yield potential. Spring cultivars provided less, but had commercially useful grazing opportunities (300–700 DSE-days/ha) and similar yields to early-sown cultivars. Significant unrealised potential for dual-purpose canola crops of winter × spring and slow spring cultivars was suggested in the south-west of Western Australia, on the Northern Tablelands and Slopes of New South Wales and in southern Queensland. The simulations emphasised the importance of early sowing, adequate N supply and sowing density to maximise grazing potential from dual-purpose crops.

Long-term benefits of limestone applications to soil properties and to cereal crop yields in southern and central New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
C. L. Mullen ◽  
B. J. Scott ◽  
G. J. Poile ◽  
B. D. Braysher
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
Subsurface Soil ◽  
Acid Tolerant ◽  
The Cost

The cost of buying, carting and spreading limestone, relative to the value of broadacre crops, makes investment in liming a questionable proposition for many farmers. The longer the beneficial effects of limestone persist, however, the more the investment in liming becomes economically favourable. We re-established previous lime trials with the aim of measuring the long-term effects of limestone on surface acidity (pH run-down), subsurface acidity (lime movement) and grain yield. The study made use of experiments where there was adequate early data on soil chemical properties and cereal yields. We report data from 6 trials located at 4 sites between Dubbo and Albury in New South Wales. The rate of surface soil (0–10 cm) pH decline after liming was proportional to the pH attained 1 year after liming. That is, the higher the pH achieved, the more rapid the rate of subsequent pH decline. Since yields (product removal) and nitrification (also acid producing) may both vary with pH, the post-liming pH acts as a surrogate for the productivity and acid-generating rate of the soil–plant system. The apparent lime loss rate of the surface soils ranged from the equivalent of nearly 500 kg limestone/ha.year at pH approaching 7, to almost zero at pH approaching 4. At commercial application rates of 2–2.5 t/ha, the movement of alkali below the layer of application was restricted. However, significant calcium (Ca) movement sometimes occurred to below 20 cm depth. At rates of limestone application exceeding the typical commercial rate of 2.5 t/ha, or at surface pH greater than about 5.5, alkali and Ca movement into acidic subsurface soil was clearly observed. It is therefore technically feasible to ameliorate subsurface soil acidity by applying heavy rates of limestone to the soil surface. However, the cost and risks of this option should be weighed against the use of acid-tolerant cultivars in combination with more moderate limestone rates worked into the surface soil.There was a positive residual benefit of limestone on cereal grain yield (either barley, wheat, triticale, or oats) at all sites in both the 1992 and 1993 seasons. While acid-tolerant cultivars were less lime responsive than acid-sensitive ones, the best yields were generally obtained using a combination of liming and acid-tolerant cultivars.The long-term residual benefits of limestone were shown to extend for beyond 8–12 years and indicate that liming should be profitable in the long term.

Effect of sowing rate on grain yield, kernel weight, and grain protein percentage of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in northern New South Wales

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
AD Doyle ◽  
RW Kingston
Keyword(s):  
Hordeum Vulgare ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Kernel Weight ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Hordeum Vulgare L ◽  
Protein Percentage ◽  
South Wales

The effect of sowing rate (10-110 kg/ha) on the grain yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was determined from a total of 20 field experiments conducted in northern New South Wales from 1983 to 1986. Effects of sowing rate on kernel weight and grain protein percentage were also determined from 12 experiments conducted in 1985 and 1986. Two barley varieties were tested each year. In all years fallow plus winter rainfall was equal to or greater than average. Grain yield increased with higher sowing rates in most experiments, with the response curve reaching a plateau above 60-70 kg/ha. For 13 of the 40 variety x year combinations, grain yield fell at the highest sowing rates. Only in an experiment where lodging increased substantially with higher sowing rates was there a reduction in yield at a sowing rate of 60 kg/ha. The average sowing rate for which 5 kg grain was produced per kg of seed sown was 63 kg/ha. Grain protein percentage usually fell, and kernel weight invariably fell, with increasing sowing rate. Increasing sowing rates from the normal commercial rate of 35 kg/ha to a rate of 60 kg/ha typically increased grain yields by 100-400 kg/ha, decreased kernel weight by 0.4-2.0 mg, and decreased grain protein by up to 0.5 percentage points. In no case was the grain weight reduced to below malting specifications. It was concluded that sowing rates for barley in northern New South Wales should be increased to about 60 kg/ha.

Tolerances of wheat cultivars to pre-emergence herbicides

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 922 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Lemerle ◽  
AR Leys ◽  
RB Hinkley ◽  
JA Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Yield Loss ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Yield Reduction ◽  
Wheat Cultivars ◽  
Yield Losses ◽  
South Wales

Twelve spring wheat cultivars were tested in southern New South Wales for their tolerances to the recommended rates and three times the recommended rates of trifluralin, pendimethalin, tri-allate and chlorsulfuron. Recommended rates of these herbicides did not affect the emergence or grain yield of any cultivar. However, differences between cultivars in their tolerances to trifluralin, pendimethalin and chlorsulfuron at three times the recommended rate were identified. The extent of the reduction in emergence and/or grain yield varied with herbicide and season, and there was also a herbicidexseason interaction. Durati, Songlen and Tincurrin were the most susceptible cultivars to trifluralin, and Teal was the most tolerant. Yield losses from trifluralin were more severe in 1979 than in 1980 or 1981. The differential between cultivars treated with pendimethalin was smaller and more variable; Tincurrin was the only cultivar with a yield reduction in more than one season. Durati, Songlen and Shortim were the only cultivars affected by chlorsulfuron. A reduction in crop emergence of a cultivar treated with trifluralin or pendimethalin did not correlate consistently with any grain yield loss, and reductions in emergence were always greater than yield loss.

Wheat for fodder and grain on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
RD FitzGerald ◽  
ML Curll ◽  
EW Heap
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Sowing Time ◽  
Wheat Varieties ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
South Wales

Thirty varieties of wheat originating from Australia, UK, USA, Ukraine, and France were evaluated over 3 years as dual-purpose wheats for the high rainfall environment of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales (mean annual rainfall 851 mm). Mean grain yields (1.9-4.3 t/ha) compared favourably with record yields in the traditional Australian wheatbelt, but were much poorer than average yields of 6.5 t/ha reported for UK crops. A 6-week delay in sowing time halved grain yield in 1983; cutting in spring reduced yield by 40% in 1986. Grazing during winter did not significantly reduce yields. Results indicate that the development of wheat varieties adapted to the higher rainfall tablelands and suited to Australian marketing requirements might help to provide a useful alternative enterprise for tableland livestock producers.

Production of summer crops in northern New South Wales. I. Effects of tillage and double cropping on growth, grain and N yields of six crops

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Herridge ◽  
JF Holland
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Growth Yield ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tillage Practice ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
Double Cropping ◽  
South Wales

The effects of tillage practice and double cropping on growth, yield and N economies of summer crops were examined in field experiments near Tamworth, northern New South Wales. Sorghum, sunflower, soybean, mungbean, cowpea and pigeon pea were sown into alkaline, black earth soils which contained either high (Site A, sown January 1983), moderate (Site B, sown December 1983), or low concentrations of nitrate (Site C, sown December 1984). During the previous winters, the land had been sown to wheat (double crop) or fallowed using cultivation or no-tillage practices. At Sites A and B, dry matter yields, averaged over all crops, were increased by 34 and 14% under no-tillage. Average increases in grain yields at the two sites were 22 and 11%. At Site C, tillage practice did not affect yields. Soybean showed the greatest responses to no-tillage. Increases in grain yields were 46, 15 and 18% for Sites A, B and C respectively. The least responsive legume was mungbean. Yields of sorghum were increased by 41% at Site A; responses at Sites B and C ranged between a 9% decrease and a 7% increase. With double cropping, grain yields were, on average, 18 (Site A), 81 (Site B) and 72% (Site C) of the yields in the cultivated (fallow) plots. However, when comparisons were made for the 12 month periods, i.e. wheat and summer crops v. fallow and summer crops, production was more than doubled at Site B and tripled at Site C, compared with the cultivated fallow. Significant in the responses to double cropping were the 192 (Site B) and 230 mm rainfalls (Site C) during November and December that replenished the soil profile with water to a depth of >0.75 m. Assessments of soybean N2 fixation using the ureide method indicated large effects of site and season on the proportion of plant N derived from N2 fixation (range, 0-0.83), on the amount of N2 fixed (range, 0-233 kg N ha-1) and on the N balance as a result of the cropping (range, -69 to +45 kg N ha-1).

Survey of the productivity, composition and estimated inputs of fixed nitrogen by pastures in central-western New South Wales

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Bowman ◽  
W. Smith ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
J. Brockwell
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
New South ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Legume Species ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
South Wales

Total productivity and legume nitrogen fixation (N2 fixation) in dryland pastures were examined in a 2 year study (1999–2001) on 118 farms in central-western New South Wales. Pasture exclosure cages, placed at 217 on-farm sites, were harvested on 7 occasions and the foliage hand-sorted according to species in order to measure shoot dry matter (DM). The separated legume shoot material collected in spring 1999 (52 different legume samples) and 2000 (76 different legume samples) from a subset of representative pastures (41 cages on 28 different farms in 1999, 32 cages on 25 different farms in 2000) was also analysed for concentration of nitrogen (%N) and 15N natural abundance. These data were subsequently used to calculate the proportion of the legume shoot N derived from atmospheric N (%Ndfa), comparative measures of the relative efficiency of N2 fixation (kg N fixed/t DM accumulated) and the amounts of shoot N fixed (kg N/ha). The survey encompassed 8 common pasture types, and 5 others that were less common, ranging from native perennial grass pastures with little legume content to lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) pastures with and without companion clovers. Fifteen legume species were found in the pastures, some only occasionally. Lucerne and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were the only perennials. Mean spring estimates of %Ndfa were similar in 1999 and 2000 for lucerne (72 and 81%, respectively), rose clover (T. hirtum All., 82 and 77%) and annual medics (Medicago spp., 89 and 86%). For the remaining 12 legume species, measures of %Ndfa ranged from 64 to 95% and averaged 83%. Shoot %N contents were greater for lucerne than for the other 14 legumes and this was reflected in the comparative measures of N2 fixation which ranged from 14.5 kg N/t DM for rose clover to 25.7 kg N/t DM for lucerne in 2000. The most productive pasture type comprised lucerne plus balansa clover [T. michelianum Savi var. balansae (Boiss.) Azn.], white clover or arrowleaf clover (T. vesiculosum Savi), but all pasture types that contained lucerne were highly productive. Spring was the most productive season and summer the least. Lucerne was overwhelmingly the most productive legume and was responsible for >83% of the fixed N in those pastures that contained both lucerne and other legumes. Lucerne productivity was approximately uniform throughout the year whereas, for other pastures, especially those based on rose clover or subterranean clover (T. subterraneum L.), there were sharp peaks in spring and little or no dry matter production over summer. The presence of lucerne in pastures significantly (P<0.05) reduced broadleaf weeds. It was concluded that, where there are requirements in central-western New South Wales agriculture for uniform forage production throughout the year and a high input of fixed N, lucerne is substantially superior to other species.

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