Investment
Investment
Re-engineering soils to improve the access of crop root systems to water and nutrients stored in the subsoil.
Multiple interacting soil constraints are reducing Plant Available Water (PAW), grain production and long-term profitability of crops across most of the 12 M ha of sandplain soils in the medium-high rainfall zone (van Gool 2018) of the Western Region resulting in lost yields with an estimated value of $1.2 Billion per year (Peterson, 2016). Current soil amelioration options (liming, deep ripping, spading, mouldboard ploughing) address one or more constraints to a depth up to 40cm. The potential yield benefits of addressing multiple constraints through complete soil profile re-engineering to a depth of 80cm is unknown.
This investment aims to:
- Identify the most profitable and long-lasting soil amelioration and amendment strategies for managing multiple interacting soil constraints.
- Demonstrate the benefits of re-engineering the soil profile through a combination of deep soil loosening; reconstituting profile layers and deep placement of nutrients and soil amendments.
- Project start date:
- 01/02/2019
- Project end date:
- 30/06/2024
- Crop type:
-
- All Crops
- Organisation
- Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
- Region:
- West
- Project status
- Active
GRDC News
Researcher on a machinery mission to re-engineer...
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Dr Gaus Azam’s groundbreaking research on soil re-engineering in Western Australia, supported by GRDC in...
Big data approach improves on-farm trial insights
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Researchers at CCDM are using precision agricultural tools like yield maps and remote sensing to...
Deep ripping and topsoil inclusion: a case...
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Case studies enable a detailed consideration of complex issues, and this is what Bindi Isbister...
The great dig to re-engineer soils
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A soil profile with multiple constraints is being radically re-engineered at Tarin Rock in Western...
Update papers
- 1708866000000, To rip on or off the old rip line: a paddock-scale study on deep ripping and topsoil inclusion in a dry season - GRDC
- 1708866000000, Benchmarking the effect of soil mixing on crop yield and soil properties in the Great Southern - GRDC
- 1612962000000, The potential of deep ripping heavy, sodic soil with nutrient burial - GRDC
- 1582808400000, Re-engineering the subsoil of pale, deep sand - GRDC
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.