SEMINAR: Soil&Water Seminar(SEE), Mar22:

The Soil&Water Seminar at 11am on Tues, March 22nd, will be given by Dr Bill Bowden. All welcome!

TITLE: “Bring back the mouldboard plough for renovation cropping?”

ABSTRACT: The effects of deep cultivation following years of no-till farming is being investigated in a new project. The practice dramatically changes surface soil profiles while it allows growers to bury weed seeds, incorporate lime and nutrients to depth, bury and/or dilute non-wetting surface soils, break up chemical and mechanical hard pans and improve soil “tilth”. The risk of wind erosion increases. This seminar reports the results of three years of ‘preliminary’ speculative work of a pilot study on the nutritional aspects of some of these topics Gravelly soils in the forest country of WA with a high phosphorus (P) history and a high P soil test, have shown marked (and counter intuitive) crop responses to fertiliser P inputs. Increasing acidity, soil non-wetting and poor soil “tilth” can all reduce the availability of crop nutrients which do not move readily through the soil. This can force growers to apply high rates of expensive fertiliser down the spout. Liming and cultivation have allowed better root exploration through improved soil tilth and moisture relations. This in turn creates more efficient nutrient uptake from the soil reserves with a consequent effect of reducing the fertiliser input and increasing the profitability of cropping in the region. The biggest hurdle for growers, fertiliser company reps, consultants and consequently, research workers, is diagnosing which remedial treatment is appropriate for any given management unit in question.