Investment

Soil salinity, sodicity, acidity, alkalinity, elemental toxicities such as boron, chloride and aluminium, waterlogging and compaction are significant constraints to grain production and profitability in Australia. Recent research findings showing significant yield benefits to strategic soil tillage including deep ripping practices in sandy soils has sparked a resurgence in amelioration activities in the Southern Wimmera. This was highlighted during the 2018/19 growing seasons with a number of growers commencing deep ripping programs to remove compaction and hard pans and allow crop access to water and nutrients at depth. However, a detailed knowledge of soil characteristics and constraints to root growth is required prior to undertaking any strategic soil management practice to ensure it will adequately address the most limiting constraint(s) and does not have any deleterious effects. Feedback from the Medium Rainfall Zone (MRZ) RCSN has identified that, some growers do not fully understand their soil characteristics and constraints down the profile, and as such, are unaware of the full impacts of soil amelioration practices, including deep ripping. Many growers are not undertaking a soil testing program to understand their soil constraints, especially to depth, making it difficult to assess the suitability of their soil for amelioration, which will depend upon soil type and the presence of one or more constraints. This investment is designed to aid growers' and advisers' ability to characterise soils, identify constraints to crop growth, and assess suitability of soils for amelioration to remove constraints, including return on investment for potential practices in the Southern Wimmera. The approach includes a series of soil pit demonstrations on growers' properties who have undertaken soil amelioration practices as well as a soil masterclass for advisers, based around identification of key soil constraints and the suitability and the return on investment from soil amelioration.