Balancing Tillage And Nutrition In WA's Water Repellent Sands

Sandy soils, typical to parts of Western Australia and found in South Australia’s and Victoria’s mallee country, create considerable and costly grain constraints. In WA water repellency, resulting in low nutrient use efficiency and poor crop establishment, affects around 10 million hectares. WA’s annual price tag put on lost production through water repellence is estimated at $250 million. GRDC is investing in a multi-million-dollar soils and crop nutrition strategy aimed at managing nutrition after ameliorating these kinds of soil constraints. Water repellent soils in Western Australia are fairly common in the west midlands region, in the central wheat belt and also on the south coast. So the main problem with water repellence is it leads to uneven wetting of the soil and inefficient use of rainfall and ultimately lower grain yield. Contact: Dr Craig Scanlan 0427 160 376 [email protected] Further Information: https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/story/5975994/improved-potassium-access-bolsters-grain-yields/ https://groundcover.grdc.com.au/story/6293818/nutrient-research-guides-fertiliser-decisions/ https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-land-water/soils/managing-soils Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices