Soil measurements and wheat yield response to superphosphate in Victoria

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (72) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
B Palmer ◽  
VF McClelland ◽  
R Jardine
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Chemical Measurements ◽  
Soil Measurements ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Available Phosphate

The relationships between soil tests for 'plant available' phosphate and wheat yield response to applied superphosphate were examined and the extent to which these relationships were modified by other soil measurements was determined. Soil samples and wheat yield data were obtained from experiments conducted in the Victorian wheat belt. The sites were grouped into four relatively uniform classes using soil pH measurement and geographic location. The soil test values differed widely and were accountable for by the soil characteristics measured. However, the overall and within group yield responses to applied superphosphate could not be accounted for in terms of either the soil test value or the associated chemical measurements. By inference, yield response was clearly dependent on factors other than those determining the results of soil tests.

An evaluation of several soil tests for predicting wheat yield response to superphosphate in Victoria

1968 ◽  
Vol 8 (30) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
JV Mullaly ◽  
JKM Skene ◽  
R Jardine
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Response Variability ◽  
The Other ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Soil Groups

The predictability of three different measures of wheat yield response to superphosphate from each of four soil test measures of available phosphorus (0-6 inches) was examined, using data from field experiments over the period 1951 to 1965. The associations were studied separately within the three great soil groups that are dominant over the wheatgrowing areas of Victoria. Whichever measure of yield response was considered, soil bicarbonate P test measurement gave the best basis for prediction. However, at most, only 26 per cent of the yield response variability was predictable, and the other three tests were substantially less successful. Under the general conditions considered, where yield response is subject to a variety of uncorrected environmental deficiencies, it is concluded that the soil tests for P investigated in this paper are of doubtful practical value.

Calibration and assessment of soil tests for estimating fertilizer requirements. I. Statistical models and tests of significance.

Soil Research ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
JD Colwell
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Fertilizer Application Rate ◽  
The Relationship

The calibration of soil tests requires a statistical model to describe the relationship between yield of crop, fertilizer application rate, and soil test. Yield response to fertilizers can be represented by polynomials both in the natural and square-root scales, and these polynomials can be generalized for a given crop and region, using soil test expressions. The generalization can be done using orthogonal polynomials and simultaneous regression equations that relate the coefficients of the polynomials to the soil test variables. This procedure is necessary because of heterogeneity in the residual sum of squares of regressions fitted to the yield data of several fertilizer field experiments within a region. The set of simultaneous regression equations constitutes a direct calibration of the soil test, since it can be used for the estimation of economic fertilizer requirement. Highly significant calibrations are demonstrated for a phosphorus soil test with wheat and a potassium test with potatoes. A nitrogen test gave only non-significant (P > 0.05) relationships.

Soil and tissue tests to predict pasture yield responses to applications of potassium fertiliser in high-rainfall areas of south-western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
W. J. Cox ◽  
B. J. Codling
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Yield Responses

Dairy and beef pastures in the high (>800 mm annual average) rainfall areas of south-western Australia, based on subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), grow on acidic to neutral deep (>40 cm) sands, up to 40 cm sand over loam or clay, or where loam or clay occur at the surface. Potassium deficiency is common, particularly for the sandy soils, requiring regular applications of fertiliser potassium for profitable pasture production. A large study was undertaken to assess 6 soil-test procedures, and tissue testing of dried herbage, as predictors of when fertiliser potassium was required for these pastures. The 100 field experiments, each conducted for 1 year, measured dried-herbage production separately for clover and ryegrass in response to applied fertiliser potassium (potassium chloride). Significant (P<0.05) increases in yield to applied potassium (yield response) were obtained in 42 experiments for clover and 6 experiments for ryegrass, indicating that grass roots were more able to access potassium from the soil than clover roots. When percentage of the maximum (relative) yield was related to soil-test potassium values for the top 10 cm of soil, the best relationships were obtained for the exchangeable (1 mol/L NH4Cl) and Colwell (0.5 mol/L NaHCO3-extracted) soil-test procedures for potassium. Both procedures accounted for about 42% of the variation for clover, 15% for ryegrass, and 32% for clover + grass. The Colwell procedure for the top 10 cm of soil is now the standard soil-test method for potassium used in Western Australia. No increases in clover yields to applied potassium were obtained for Colwell potassium at >100 mg/kg soil. There was always a clover-yield increase to applied potassium for Colwell potassium at <30 mg/kg soil. Corresponding potassium concentrations for ryegrass were >50 and <30 mg/kg soil. At potassium concentrations 30–100 mg/kg soil for clover and 30–50 mg/kg soil for ryegrass, the Colwell procedure did not reliably predict yield response, because from nil to large yield responses to applied potassium occurred. The Colwell procedure appears to extract the most labile potassium in the soil, including soluble potassium in soil solution and potassium balancing negative charge sites on soil constituents. In some soils, Colwell potassium was low indicating deficiency, yet plant roots may have accessed potassum deeper in the soil profile. Where the Colwell procedure does not reliably predict soil potassium status, tissue testing may help. The relationship between relative yield and tissue-test potassium varied markedly for different harvests in each year of the experiments, and for different experiments. For clover, the concentration of potassium in dried herbage that was related to 90% of the maximum, potassium non-limiting yield (critical potassium) was at the concentration of about 15 g/kg dried herbage for plants up to 8 weeks old, and at <10 g/kg dried herbage for plants older than 10–12 weeks. For ryegrass, there were insufficient data to provide reliable estimates of critical potassium.

A comparison of the yield responses of four grasses to a wide range of nitrogen application rates

1985 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Reid
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Growth Curves ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Meadow Fescue ◽  
Nitrogen Rate ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Nitrogen Rates

SUMMARYThe yield results are reported for an experiment in which 21 rates of nitrogen fertilizer were applied on pure-sown swards of four grasses, S. 24 and Barvestra perennial ryegrass, S. 37 cocksfoot and S. 53 meadow fescue. Growth curves fitted to the herbage yield data for each grass in each year are presented. On average the total dry-matter yield curves for the two ryegrasses were similar to one another, but showed a slightly smaller response to nitrogen rates below 300 kg/ha than did S. 23 ryegrass in an earlier experiment, and a more rapid decrease in response at higher rates. S. 37 cocksfoot had a similar dry-matter yield response to the ryegrasses at the low nitrogen rates, but the response decreased more rapidly at nitrogen rates over 250 kg/ha. The dry-matter yield response of S. 53 fescue decreased even more rapidly with nitrogen rates over 200 kg/ha. The mean estimates of the optimal nitrogen rate for each of the four grasses, i.e. the nitrogen rate at which the dry-matter response had decreased to 10 kg/kg N, was 380, 372, 357 and 327 kg N/ha for S. 24, Barvestra, S. 37 and S. 53 respectively, compared with 409 kg/ha for S. 23 ryegrass in the earlier experiment.

scholarly journals Yield Responses of a Mature Olive Orchard to Water Deficits

2003 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Moriana ◽  
Francisco Orgaz ◽  
Miguel Pastor ◽  
Elias Fereres
Keyword(s):  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Irrigation Treatment ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Stem Water Potential ◽  
Full Irrigation ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Water Deficits ◽  
Irrigation Treatments ◽  
Yield Responses

Irrigation is one of the most important means of increasing olive oil production but little information exists on the responses of olive to variable water supply. Five different irrigation strategies, full irrigation, rain fed, and three deficit irrigation treatments were compared from 1996 to 1999, in Cordoba, southern Spain, to characterize the response of a mature olive (Olea europaea L. `Picual') orchard to irrigation. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) varied from less than 500 mm in the rain fed to ≈900 mm under full irrigation. The deficit irrigation treatments had ETc values that ranged from 60% to 80% of full ETc depending on the year and treatment. Water relations, and oil content and trunk growth measurements allowed for the interpretation of yield responses to water deficits. In a deficit irrigation treatment that concentrated all its ETc deficit in the summer, stem water potential (Ψx) decreased to -7 MPa but recovered quickly in the fall, while in the treatment that applied the same ET deficit progressively, Ψx was never below -3.8 MPa. Minimum Ψx in the rain fed treatment reached -8 MPa. Yield (Y) responses as a function of ETc were calculated for biennial yield data, given the alternate bearing habit of the olive; the equation are: Y = -16.84 + 0.063 ET -0.035 × 10-3 ET2, and Y = -2.78 + 0.011 ET - 0.006 × 10-3 ET2, for fruit and oil production respectively, with responses to ET deficits being similar for sustained and regulated deficit irrigation. The yield response to a deficit treatment that was fully irrigated during the bearing year and rain fed in the nonbearing year, was less favorable than that observed in the other two deficit treatments.

scholarly journals The development and application of functions describing pasture yield responses to phosphorus, potassium and sulfur in Australia using meta-data analysis and derived soil-test calibration relationships

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron J. P. Gourley ◽  
David M. Weaver ◽  
Richard J. Simpson ◽  
Sharon R. Aarons ◽  
Murray M. Hannah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Application Rate ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
National Database ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Test Interpretation ◽  
Meta Data ◽  
Nutrient Use ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Pasture Yield

An improved ability to predict pasture dry matter (DM) yield response to applied phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulfur (S) is a crucial step in determining the production and economic benefits of fertiliser inputs and the environmental benefits associated with efficient nutrient use. The adoption and application of soil testing can make substantial improvements to nutrient use efficiency, but soil test interpretation needs to be based on the best available and most relevant experimental data. This paper reports on the development of improved national and regionally specific soil test–pasture yield response functions and critical soil test P, K and S values for near-maximum growth of improved pastures across Australia. A comprehensive dataset of pasture yield responses to fertiliser applications was collated from field experiments conducted in all improved pasture regions of Australia. The Better Fertiliser Decisions for Pastures (BFDP) database contains data from 3032 experiment sites, 21918 yield response measures and 5548 experiment site years. These data were converted to standard measurement units and compiled within a specifically designed relational database, where the data could be explored and interpreted. Key data included soil and site descriptions, pasture type, fertiliser type and rate, nutrient application rate, DM yield measures and soil test results (i.e. Olsen P, Colwell P, P buffering, Colwell K, Skene K, exchangeable K, CPC S, KCl S). These data were analysed, and quantitative non-linear mixed effects models based upon the Mitscherlich function were developed. Where appropriate, disparate datasets were integrated to derive the most appropriate response relationships for different soil texture and P buffering index classes, as well as interpretation at the regional, state, and national scale. Overall, the fitted models provided a good fit to the large body of data, using readily interpretable coefficients, but were at times limited by patchiness of meta-data and uneven representation of different soil types and regions. The models provided improved predictions of relative pasture yield response to soil nutrient status and can be scaled to absolute yield using a specified maximal yield by the user. Importantly, the response function exhibits diminishing returns, enabling marginal economic analysis and determination of optimum fertiliser application rate to a specific situation. These derived relationships form the basis of national standards for soil test interpretation and fertiliser recommendations for Australian pastures and grazing industries, and are incorporated within the major Australian fertiliser company decision support systems. However, the utility of the national database is limited without a contemporary web-based interface, like that developed for the Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping (BFDC) national database. An integrated approach between the BFDP and the BFDC would facilitate the interrogation of the database by advisors and farmers to generate yield response curves relevant to the region and/or pasture system of interest and provides the capacity to accommodate new data in the future.

Superphosphate on wheat: The cumulative effect of repeated applications on yield response

1968 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
VF McClelland
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Cumulative Effects ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Experimental Site ◽  
Growing Period ◽  
Rotation System ◽  
Repeated Applications ◽  
Yield Responses

The cumulative effects of repeated applications of superphosphate on wheat yield responses, over a period of 26 years (10 cycles of a rotation system), were examined. Since cumulative effects are the sum of current and residual effects and current effects diminish with repeated applications of superphosphate, this approach enabled residual effects to be inferred. Residual effects were apparent at all rates of application (30, 60, 90, and 120 lb/acre), being greater at the three higher levels. The influence of rainfall in the growing period (April to October) on cumulative effects was also examined. April rainfall increased yield at all levels of application, whereas September rainfall increased yield only at 90 and 120 lb/acre of superphosphate. The results indicate that, for this particular experimental site, residual phosphorus has become more important in determining yield responses than currently applied phosphorus.

Nitrogen needs of wheat. 2. Grain yield response to nitrogenous fertilizer

1978 ◽  
Vol 18 (90) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
AC Taylor ◽  
RR Storrier ◽  
AR Gilmour
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Nitrate ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Available Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogenous Fertilizer ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Average Annual Rainfall

In southern New South Wales, the increase in wheat yield due to nitrogenous fertilizer (34 kg N ha-1) was examined against a wide range of controlled and uncontrolled factors over three years in which rainfall was generally above average. The controlled factors included paddock history, cultural aspects and a range of nitrogen soil tests. Multivariate regression procedures were used in the examination. Average annual rainfall was a major determinant of fertilizer response patterns. Overall, soil nitrate (0-30 cm) was superior to paddock history and to other soil tests in predicting responses to added nitrogen. In the west (average annual rainfall 400 to 550 mm), nitrogen applications were profitable when soil nitrate levels were low, but only if growing season rain was at least average. At each soil nitrate level, responses to applied nitrogen declined as average annual rainfall increased. In the east (average annual rainfall greater than 550 mm), responses to added nitrogen were profitable at all nitrate levels, provided growing season rain was not limiting. The magnitude of the responses was related to the level of potentially available nitrogen in the soil (0-10 cm) rather than to nitrate.

Factors influencing the soil-test calibration for Colwell P and wheat under winter-dominant rainfall

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Mark Conyers ◽  
Richard Bell ◽  
Michael Bell
Keyword(s):  
Soil Type ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Critical Range ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Dry Conditions

Critical ranges for soil tests are based on results that inevitably involve some broad variance around the fitted relationship. Some of the variation is related to field-based factors affecting crop response to nutrients in the soil and some to the efficiency of the soil-test extractant itself. Most attempts to improve soil tests focus on the extractant, whereas here, we explore the variation that could be accounted for by field-based factors in the soil-test calibration relationship between Colwell phosphorus (P) and wheat yield, using the Australian Better Fertiliser Decisions for Crops database—the biggest dataset available for this relationship. Calibrations developed from this dataset have been criticised, and so we aimed to explore factors accounting for more of the variation in the relationships for the dryland, winter-dominant rainfall region of southern New South Wales. As reported previously, soil type was shown to influence the critical range and r-value for the Colwell P soil-test calibration for P responses by wheat. We also identified a tendency for dry conditions, at sowing or during the season, to lower relative yields for a given soil-test value, indicating increased reliance on fertiliser P over soil P. A similar trend was evident for later sowing date, again suggesting an increased probability of crop P requirements being met from the fertiliser P. However, additional records need to be generated to establish definitively that early sowing or subsurface P reserves minimise response to fertiliser P. In general, factors that influence crop access to soil P will have an impact on response to fertiliser P. Although this analysis shows that it is possible to ‘tighten’ the response curve for Colwell P and wheat by restricting the data for a given soil type to ideal management and seasonal conditions, the ‘outliers’ that are excluded frequently reflect an important subset of environmental conditions encountered by wheat crops in dryland agriculture.

The calibration of soil tests for fertilizer requirements

Soil Research ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Jardine
Keyword(s):  
Principal Components ◽  
Calibration Procedure ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Prediction Equations ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Yield Responses

The predictability, from soil test measurements, of principal components of yield responses to superphosphate was examined using data previously published (by J. D. Colwell). On assessing the overall predictions of principal components by the adjusted coefficient of determination, approximately 45% of the variability was so accounted for. Since this is approximately 9% greater than that accountable for by Colwell's procedure, it is suggested that a calibration procedure for soil tests (to yield fertilizer requirements) could be based on such prediction equations, and is worth further consideration.

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