Amelioration for Soil Water RepellenceWhere does it work?

What are the long-term impacts?

Stephen Davies, Paul Blackwell, Craig Scanlan, Derk Bakker

Soil WATER REPELLENCE (~3.3M ha at risk; est. ~$251M cost p.a.)

Water Repellent Soils in WA

Pale deep

sandDeep

sand

Sandy

gravel

Sandy

duplex

Pale deep sand, Badgi. Res. Station

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

2009, Wheat 2011, Wheat 2013, Wheat

Whe

at g

rain

yie

ld (t

/ha)

Control

Clayed

No lasting benefits of spading, mouldboard, offsets post-2009.

Pale deep sand, McAlpine

$163/ha$293/ha

-0.4

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

Offset Discs One-way Plough

Rotary Spader

Mouldboard Plough

Clay (100t/ha)

Gra

in yi

eld

resp

onse

com

pare

d to

unt

reat

ed (t

/ha)

Wheat, 2011

Lupin, 2012

Wheat, 2013

$451/ha$76/ha$92/haNet 3-yearbenefit

Soil types , McAlpine

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Mouldboard Plough Clayed Rotary Spader

2013

Whe

at g

rain

yie

ld re

spon

se

(t/h

a, h

and

harv

est)

Pale sand

Yellow sand

Pale deep sand with base, Kenny

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

*2010, Barley 2011, Lupin 2012, Barley 2013, Barley

Gra

in Y

ield

(t/h

a)

Control

Mouldboard

Pale deep sand, Badgingarra

Barley WUE3-4 kg/ha/mm Control7-8 kg/ha/mm MBP

2012 Barley

2.7 t/haMBP 2010

1.4 t/haUntreated

2010 Barley

0.8 t/haUntreated

2.0 t/haMBP 2010

0.8 t/haUntreated

1.8 t/haMBP 2010

2011 Lupin

Wheat grain yield 2013 season – 7th season after treatments appliedPrestons, Casuarinas

2013 Wheat yield

Supporting your success

2.0

2.2

2.4

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

Whe

at y

ield

201

3 (t

/ha)

Wheat grain protein 2013 season – 7th season after treatments applied Prestons, Casuarinas

2013 Grain protein

Supporting your success

8.0%

8.5%

9.0%

9.5%

10.0%

10.5%

11.0%

11.5%

12.0%

Whe

at g

rain

pro

tein

(%)

Screenings %

2013 Grain protein

Supporting your success

0.0%0.5%1.0%1.5%2.0%2.5%3.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%5.0%

Scre

enin

gs (

% <

2mm

)

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

Aver

age

kern

el w

eigh

t (m

g)

Kernel weight (mg)

2013 Grain protein

Supporting your success

But... Wongan Hills 2012...

• Pale sands (with base)• Yellow deep sands• Sandy gravel• Deep sandy duplex

CAUTION Loamy sands (esp. Acidic)Deep pale sands (poor potential)

• Pale deep sands• Yellow deep sands• Sandy duplex• Loamy sands (Acidic)

CAUTIONGravels

• Pale deep sands• Deep sandy duplex

• Sandy gravels• Pale sands (with base)

CAUTIONLoamy sands?

Delivering agronomic strategies for water repellent soils in WA (DAW00204)

stephen.davies@agric.wa.gov.au

Visit: www.agric.wa.gov.au

AMELIORATION OPTIONS SUMMARY

Soil Type Option 1 Option 2 Option 3

Pale deep sand – low potential

Claying Spading?

Pale deep sand with base

Mouldboard Claying Spading

Yellow deep sand Mouldboard Spading One-way plough

Deep sandy earth(Acidic)

Spading One-way plough

Sandy duplex Spading?Mouldboard (deep duplex)

Sandy gravel Mouldboard One-way ploughSpader (lower gravel)