Managing water repellence at seeding: moisture access strategies

Key points

• Crop establishment in water-repellent sands can be improved by accessing soil moisture available after the opening rains, either within the stubble row
  or in the inter-row subsurface below the dry layer (up to 20 centimetres (cm) deep)
• On-row or edge-row sowing and deep moisture lifting achieved consistent benefits in small plot trials
• Combining these techniques with a seed zone soil wetter maximised the benefits
• Angled-row sowing is a practical compromise when accurate row-guided seeding cannot be implemented
• Seed and fertiliser separation can provide complementary benefits.