Increased grower profitability on soils with sodicity and transient salinity in the eastern grain belt of the Western Region.
Investment
Increased grower profitability on soils with sodicity and transient salinity in the eastern grain belt of the Western Region.
Interacting combinations of sodicity and transient salinity, often associated with high subsoil pH, ion toxicities and poor subsoil structure, interact to constrain crop yields by reducing water extraction by crop roots. In the Western Region, approximately 2.5 million hectares of land in the eastern grain belt are affected by soil sodicity. Many growers attempt to profitability manage these constrained soils by opportunistically cropping them in better seasons or after fallow or by minimising costs and accepting lower productivity across all years.
This investment will evaluate the benefit of different options to improve water capture and availability, including water harvesting onto crop rows, targeted amelioration in the root zone and increasing soil water capacity, and determine the profitability and reliability of such approaches.
- Project start date:
- 01/02/2019
- Project end date:
- 31/12/2023
- Crop type:
-
- Wheat, (Cereal)
- Organisation
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Region:
- West
- Project status
-
Completed
GRDC News
Resources

Paddock Practices: Whole package approach to soil constraints advised for Western Australia - GRDC
Significant research into western region soils has identified new best practice approaches to remedying an array of soil constraints.