Evaluating physicochemical constraints of Calcarosols on wheat yield in the Victorian southern Mallee

2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Nuttall ◽  
R. D. Armstrong ◽  
D. J. Connor
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Alkaline Soils ◽  
Descriptive Model ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Ridge Regression Analysis

Soil salinity, sodicity, and high extractable boron (B) are thought to reduce wheat yields on alkaline soils of south-eastern Australia; however, little quantitative information on yield penalties to edaphic constraints is available. The relationships between wheat yield of a B-tolerant cultivar and soil physicochemical conditions in the Victorian Mallee were explored using ridge regression analysis, using natural variation in the field. Wheat yields in the survey ranged from 1.3 to 6.1 Mg/ha, with low yields attributed to inadequate soil water supply during pre-anthesis growth. Crop sequences, fallow–wheat, and pulse–wheat left greatest soil water prior to sowing of the wheat crop, and lucerne–wheat the least. A descriptive model explained 54% of variation in wheat yield, with rainfall around anthesis, available soil water in the 0.10–0.40 m layer, nitrate in the 0–0.10 m layer at sowing and salinity, and sodicity in the 0.60–1.00 m layers being important factors. Subsoil salinity (ECe) and sodicity (ESP) appear to be effective surrogates for estimating the likelihood of water extraction in the deep subsoil. The analyses suggest that subsoils need to have an ECe <8 dS/m and ESP < 19% for crops to make use of water deep in the profile. Although soluble B ranged from 2 to 52 mg/kg in the 0.60–1.00 m layer of the alkaline soils considered, B appeared to have little correlation with root growth, water extraction, or yield of wheat, which has been attributed to B-tolerance of the cultivar tested and/or the overbearing effect of high Na+ in these soils.

Do spring cover crops rob water and so reduce wheat yields in the northern grain zone of eastern Australia?

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 517 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. M. Whish ◽  
L. Price ◽  
P. A. Castor
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
On Farm

During the 14-month-long fallow that arises when moving from summer to winter crops, stubble breakdown can denude the soil surface and leave it vulnerable to erosion. Cover crops of millet have been proposed as a solution, but this then raises the question, how often is there sufficient water in the system to grow a cover crop without reducing the soil water reserves to the point of prejudicing the following wheat crop? An on-farm research approach was used to compare the traditional long fallow (TF) with a millet fallow (MF) in a total of 31 commercial paddocks over 3 years. Each treatment was simulated using the simulation-modelling framework (APSIM) to investigate the outcomes over a longer timeframe and to determine how often a millet fallow could be successfully included within the farming system. The on-farm trials showed that early-sown millet cover crops removed before December had no effect on wheat yield, but this was not true of millet cover crops that were allowed to grow through to maturity. Long-term simulations estimated that a spring cover crop of millet would adversely affect wheat yields in only 2% of years if planted early and removed after 50% cover had been achieved.

Wheat response after temperate crop legumes in south-eastern Australia

1991 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Evans ◽  
NA Fettell ◽  
DR Coventry ◽  
GE O'Connor ◽  
DN Walsgott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
First Year ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Available N ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia

At 15 sites in the cereal belt of New South Wales and Victoria, wheat after lupin or pea produced more biomass and had a greater nitrogen (N) content than wheat after wheat or barley; on average these crops assimilated 36 kg N/ha more. The improved wheat yield after lupin averaged 0 . 9 t/ha and after pea 0.7 t/ha, increases of 44 and 32% respectively. The responses were variable with site, year and legume. Soil available N was increased by both lupin and pea and the levels of surface inorganic N measured at the maturity of first year crops was often related to N in wheat grown in the following year. Of two possible sources of additional N for wheat after legumes, namely mineral N conserved in soil by lupin or pea (up to 60 kg N/ha) and the total N added in the residues of these legumes (up to 152 kg N/ha), both were considered significant to the growth of a following wheat crop. Their relative contribution to explaining variance in wheat N is analysed, and it is suggested wheat may acquire up to 40 kg N/ha from legume stubbles. Non-legume break crops also increased subsequent wheat yield but this effect was not as great as the combined effect of added N and disease break attained with crop legumes.

Seasonal variation in the value of subsoil water to wheat: simulation studies in southern New South Wales

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Lilley ◽  
J. A. Kirkegaard
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Subsoil Water ◽  
Mean Annual Rainfall ◽  
South Wales

Water stored deep in the soil profile is valuable to crop yield but its availability and conversion to grain vary with preceding management and seasonal rainfall distribution. We investigated the value of subsoil water to wheat on the Red Kandosol soils in southern New South Wales, Australia, using the APSIM Wheat model, carefully validated for the study area. Simulation treatments over 106 years of historic climate data involved a factorial combination of (1) a preceding crop of either lucerne (Dry treatment) or a low-yielding wheat crop (Wet treatment) and (2) restriction of wheat root depth to either 1.2 or 1.8 m. Root access to the subsoil (1.2–1.8 m) increased wheat yield by an average of 0.6 and 0.3 t/ha for the Wet and Dry treatments, respectively, at Cootamundra (mean annual rainfall 624 mm) and by 0.5 and 0.1 t/ha at Ardlethan (mean annual rainfall 484 mm). The differences were principally related to the frequency with which the subsoil failed to wet up, which occurred in 8% and 39% of years at Cootamundra in Wet and Dry treatments, respectively, but in 21% and 79% of years at Ardlethan. In seasons where water from the subsoil was used, the mean value of the water for grain yield, expressed as marginal water-use efficiency (MWUE), was 30–36 kg/ha.mm at both sites. High MWUE (>60 kg/ha.mm) generally occurred in seasons of above-average rainfall when subsoil water facilitated extra post-anthesis water extraction, including that from upper soil layers, to realise the high yield potential. Low MWUE (<10 kg/ha.mm) occurred when re-translocation of pre-anthesis assimilate to grain in the 1.2 m treatment compensated for reduced subsoil water extraction and no yield difference between 1.2 and 1.8 m treatments was observed. Counter-intuitively, the results suggest that subsoil water will be of more value in higher rainfall environments due to its more frequent occurrence, and in above-average seasons due to more efficient conversion to grain.

Lucerne irrigation and soil water use during bloom and seed set on a red-brown earth in south-eastern Australia

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 577 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Taylor ◽  
VL Marble
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Seed Yield ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Available Water ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Soil Water Extraction ◽  
Medicago Sativa L ◽  
Number Of Stems ◽  
Seed Yields

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) cv. WL45 1, grown on a shallow red-brown earth, was subjected to different irrigation frequencies during bloom to determine the effect on seed yield. The highest yield of 1105 kg ha-1 was produced when the crop was irrigated at an accumulated Epan of 75 mm between irrigations. Yields declined to 528 kg ha-1 as the interval between irrigations increased and the total amount of water applied during bloom was reduced as a consequence. Seed yield was positively correlated with total top growth, number of stems, number of racemes with pods and number of seeds per pod. Neither individual seed weight nor number of pods per raceme was influenced by the irrigation treatments. Soil water extraction by the crop was confined mainly to the 0-1.2 m depth. However, highest seed yields were produced when soil water extraction was confined to the 0-0.6 m depth by regular irrigation. About 16% of the available water in the 0.6-1.2 m depth and 89% of the available water in the 1.2-1.8 m depth could not be extracted by the crop. Failure to extract water from the lower subsoil was attributed to soil physical restrictions and lack of adequate root density.

Impact of subsoil physicochemical constraints on crops grown in the Wimmera and Mallee is reduced during dry seasonal conditions

Soil Research ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Nuttall ◽  
R. D. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Continuous Cropping ◽  
Alkaline Soils ◽  
Yield Variation ◽  
Eastern Australia

Subsoil physicochemical constraints can limit crop production on alkaline soils of south-eastern Australia. Fifteen farmer paddocks sown to a range of crops including canola, lentil, wheat, and barley in the Wimmera and Mallee of Victoria and the mid-north and Eyre Peninsula of South Australia were monitored from 2003 to 2006 to define the relationship between key abiotic/edaphic factors and crop growth. The soils were a combination of Calcarosol and Vertosol profiles, most of which had saline and sodic subsoils. There were significant correlations between ECe and Cl– (r = 0.90), ESP and B (r = 0.82), ESP and ECe (r = 0.79), and ESP and Cl– (r = 0.73). The seasons monitored had dry pre-cropping conditions and large variations in spring rainfall in the period around flowering. At sowing, the available soil water to a depth of 1.2 m (θa) averaged 3 mm for paddocks sown to lentils, 28 mm for barley, 44 mm for wheat, and 92 mm for canola. Subsoil constraints affected canola and lentil crops but not wheat or barley. For lentil crops, yield variation was largely explained by growing season rainfall (GSR) and θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m). Salinity in this soil layer affected lentil crops through reduced water extraction and decreased yields where ECe exceeded 2.2 dS/m. For canola crops, GSR and θa in the shallow (0.10–0.60 m) and deep (0.60–1.20 m) layers were important factors explaining yield variation. Sodicity (measured as ESP) in the deep subsoil (0.80–1.00 m) reduced canola growth where ESP exceeded 16%, corresponding to a 500 kg/ha yield penalty. For cereal crops, rainfall in the month around anthesis was the most important factor explaining grain yield, due to the large variation in rainfall during October combined with the determinant nature of these crops. For wheat, θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m) at sowing was also an important factor explaining yield variation. Subsoil constraints had no impact on cereal yield in this study, which is attributed to the lack of available soil water at depth, and the crops’ tolerance of the physicochemical conditions encountered in the shallow subsoil, where plant-available water was more likely to occur. Continuing dry seasonal conditions may mean that the opportunity to recharge soil water in the deeper subsoil, under continuous cropping systems, is increasingly remote. Constraints in the deep subsoil are therefore likely to have reduced impact on cereals under these conditions, and it is the management of water supply, from GSR and accrued soil water, in the shallow subsoil that will be increasingly critical in determining crop yields in the future.

Effects of lupin on soil properties and wheat production

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1971 ◽  
Author(s):  
KY Chan ◽  
DP Heenan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Wagga Wagga ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Wheat Production

Effect of lupin on wheat production and soil properties was evaluated on a red earth, at Wagga Wagga, N.S.W. Soil physical and chemical properties as well as soil surface aggregate stability, soil water distribution and extraction by wheat crops from a 10-year-old wheat/lupin (WL) rotation were compared with those of continuous wheat (WW), with (WW+N) and without (WW-N) nitrogen fertilizer application. Averaged wheat yield over the 1989-1990 period was 4.17, 2.95 and 3.06 t ha-1 respectively for WL, WW-N and WW+N. Despite the higher yield, important changes in soil properties have been detected in the soil under wheat/lupin rotation when compared with that under continuous wheat. The major effect was surface soil acidification and an associated loss of cations. Ten years of WL, compared with WW-N resulted in 0.2 unit reduction in pH (4 -35 v. 4.55) in 0.10-0.15 m with corresponding increases in extractable A1 and losses in exchangeable Ca2+ (17% as present in WW-N) and Mg+2 (12%). In the continuous wheat, annual application of 100 kg N ha-1 as urea resulted in much greater acidification (by 0.48 pH unit from 4.63 to 4.15 at 0.05-0.10 m) and larger losses in Ca2+ (up to 40%) and Mg2+ (up to 52%) in the top 0.2 m. Ten years of WL rotation reduced K+ by 10% in the top 0.2 m layer compared with both of the continuous wheat rotations, presumably due to higher export of K in lupin grains. Inclusion of lupin in the rotation also resulted in differences in the quality of soil organic matter. Despite similar total soil organic carbon content to WW-N, in the top 0.1 m, soil organic matter under WL had lower C/N ratio and higher polysaccharide content. Lower macroaggregate stability was found under WL compared to WW-N, but this did not result in lower soil water storage over the summer fallow during the two seasons of measurement. However, the wheat crop under WW utilized less stored subsoil water than that under WL, even under conditions of moisture stress.

scholarly journals Impact of subsoil constraints on wheat yield and gross margin on fine-textured soils of the southern Victorian Mallee

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 355 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Rodriguez ◽  
J. Nuttall ◽  
V. O. Sadras ◽  
H. van Rees ◽  
R. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Salinity ◽  
Economic Effect ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Boron Toxicity ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Eastern Australia

The APSIM-Wheat module was used to investigate our present capacity to simulate wheat yields in a semi-arid region of eastern Australia (the Victorian Mallee), where hostile subsoils associated with salinity, sodicity, and boron toxicity are known to limit grain yield. In this study we tested whether the effects of subsoil constraints on wheat growth and production could be modelled with APSIM-Wheat by assuming that either: (a) root exploration within a particular soil layer was reduced by the presence of toxic concentrations of salts, or (b) soil water uptake from a particular soil layer was reduced by high concentration of salts through osmotic effects. After evaluating the improved predictive capacity of the model we applied it to study the interactions between subsoil constraints and seasonal conditions, and to estimate the economic effect that subsoil constraints have on wheat farming in the Victorian Mallee under different climatic scenarios. Although the soils had high levels of salinity, sodicity, and boron, the observed variability in root abundance at different soil layers was mainly related to soil salinity. We concluded that: (i) whether the effect of subsoil limitations on growth and yield of wheat in the Victorian Mallee is driven by toxic, osmotic, or both effects acting simultaneously still requires further research, (ii) at present, the performance of APSIM-Wheat in the region can be improved either by assuming increased values of lower limit for soil water extraction, or by modifying the pattern of root exploration in the soil profile, both as a function of soil salinity. The effect of subsoil constraints on wheat yield and gross margin can be expected to be higher during drier than wetter seasons. In this region the interaction between climate and soil properties makes rainfall information alone, of little use for risk management and farm planning when not integrated with cropping systems models.

Effects of deep ripping and liming on soil water deficits, sorptivity and penetrometer resistance

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
GR Steed ◽  
TG Reeves ◽  
ST Willatt
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
Soil Resistance ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Penetrometer Resistance ◽  
Yield Responses

A field experiment was conducted at Rutherglen, in north-eastern Victoria, to determine the effects of liming and deep ripping on soil water extraction by wheat, sorptivity of water into the soil profile and soil resistance to a penetrometer. The site was typical of many cropping paddocks in the region. In the unmodified state the top 20 cm of the soil profile was acid (pH 4.80) and there was a dense hardpan between 7.5 and 17.5 cm depth. Deep ripping increased water extraction by wheat by an average of 8 mm during a drought season (1982), but had no effect on water use in a wet season (1983). The major effect of ripping was to increase the water use in winter from below the ripped zone (40 cm) compared with the unripped treatment. Lime, either with or without ripping, had no significant effect on crop water extraction. Sorptivity, a measure of infiltration, was increased by ripping alone and by ripping plus lime. Soil resistance to a penetrometer was reduced by deep ripping; an effect which had persisted at least 30 months after the last ripping operation. Economic wheat yield responses were obtained by using deep ripping and liming to improve soil physical properties at this site.

Lucerne removal before a cropping phase

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 877 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Angus ◽  
R. R. Gault ◽  
A. J. Good ◽  
A. B. Hart ◽  
T. D. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Residual Soil ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N

Growing dryland crops after lucerne is known to be risky because of the lack of residual soil water. We investigated ways of reducing this risk by removing portions of a lucerne pasture, using either herbicides or cultivation, at monthly intervals between November and April, before sowing a wheat crop in May, followed by a canola crop in the following year. The experimental site was on a red-brown earth in southern New South Wales. Lucerne removal was incomplete when the wheat was sown, so all lucerne plants were removed from half of each plot with a post-emergence herbicide, to allow comparisons of intercropped wheat–lucerne and wheat monoculture. Measurements were made on crop growth, yield, grain quality, soil water, and soil mineral nitrogen (N) before and after both crops. On average, each additional month between lucerne removal and wheat sowing led to a yield increase of 8% and a grain protein increase of 0.3 percentage units. The main reason for the increases was additional soil mineral N, associated with a longer period of mineralisation. The soil water content at the time of wheat sowing was greater with early lucerne removal but the growing season rainfall did not limit yields, and there was more residual soil water at the time of wheat maturity where lucerne had been removed late and yields were lower. Method of lucerne removal did not significantly affect wheat yield, grain protein, soil water, or soil mineral N. The portions of the plots containing lucerne plants that survived the initial removal attempt produced similar wheat yields to the portions where lucerne had been totally removed, but grain protein was lower. The following growing season was drier, but despite less residual soil water where lucerne had been removed earlier in the previous year, the average canola yield was 2.5% greater for each additional month of fallow. The increase again appeared to be due to more residual mineral N. The seed oil concentration also decreased in response to later lucerne removal but seed protein increased. Where lucerne plants had been retained in the previous wheat crop, canola yield was lower than where they had been totally removed, apparently because of less soil water at sowing. Over the 2 years of the experiment, the net supply of mineral N was 374 kg N/ha, equivalent to an annual net mineralisation of 2% of the total soil N. The initial mineralisation rate was slow, suggesting that the soil may be deficient in mineral N soon after lucerne removal.

Soil water extraction by dryland crops, annual pastures, and lucerne in south-eastern Australia

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Angus ◽  
R. R. Gault ◽  
M. B. Peoples ◽  
M. Stapper ◽  
A. F. van Herwaarden
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Management ◽  
Water Extraction ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Soil Water Extraction ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Dryland Crops ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The extraction of soil water by dryland crops and pastures in south-eastern Australia was examined in 3 studies. The first was a review of 13 published measurements of soil water-use under wheat at several locations in southern New South Wales. Of these, 8 showed significantly more water extracted by crops managed with increased nitrogen supply or growing after a break crop. The mean additional soil water extraction in response to break crops was 31 mm and to additional N was 11 mm. The second study used the SIMTAG model to simulate growth and water-use by wheat in relation to crop management at Wagga Wagga. The model was set up to simulate crops that produced either average district yields or the potential yields achievable with good management. When simulated over 50 years of weather data, the combined water loss as drainage and runoff was predicted to be 67 mm/year for poorly managed crops and 37 mm for well-managed crops. Water outflow was concentrated in 70% of years for the poorly managed crops and 56% for the well-managed crops. In those years the mean losses were estimated to be 95 mm and 66 mm, respectively. The third study reports soil water measured twice each year during a phased pasture–crop sequence over 6.5 years at Junee. Mean water content of the top 2.0 m of soil under a lucerne pasture averaged 211 mm less than under a subterranean clover-based annual pasture and 101 mm less than under well-managed crops. Collectively, these results suggest that lucerne pastures and improved crop management can result in greater use of rainfall than the previous farming systems based on annual pastures, fallows, and poorly managed crops. The tactical use of lucerne-based pastures in sequence with well-managed crops can help the dewatering of the soil andreduce or eliminate the risk of groundwater recharge.

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