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Current Research
Improved water use efficiency in no-till cropping and stubble retention systems in spatially and temporally variable conditions in the Riverine Plains
A GRDC-funded project running from 2009 to 2014 will address aspects of No-till/Stubble retained systems to make them more suitable for the high rainfall Riverine Plains region. It will examine canopy management issues specific to crops grown in the presence of residue in the light of increasing temporal variation. It will also extend Riverine Plains’ successful PA program to new variable rate N technologies, improve the targeting of inputs by better understanding spatial variation in yield potential.
The primary aim of this project is to improve WUE of cropping systems across the Riverine Plains by 10%. We are investigating a number of inter-linked areas to achieve this goal.
1. No-till rotation trial
The research will evaluate the performance of different drill openers at three row widths in a no-till full stubble retention rotation, with the aim of improving WUE by 10% and reducing the risk associated with no-till stubble retained systems.
The individual objectives within the trial are as follows:
- To determine the influence of three different openers (disc, tyne and disc /culter combination) on the reliability and performance (yield, quality and profitability) of cereals and break crops grown in a 4-5 year Riverine Plains rotation under a no-till stubble retention (NTSR) system;
- To evaluate the optimum row spacing for individual crops grown in the rotation under this NTSR scenario and to establish whether there is an interaction between drill opener and row width;
- To evaluate the downstream agronomic consequences of these different drill opener row width interactions, for example, weed competition;
- Evaluation of the results in terms of nitrogen and water use efficiency;
- To demonstrate the most successful machinery combinations (drill openers and row spacing) for establishing crops into the higher stubble burdens of this higher rainfall zone environment;
- To monitor soil moisture with different row spacing and openers using crops established under NTSR typical of Riverine Plains rotations.
This trial has two sites:
1) John and Jarrod Hanrahan, Coreen, NSW
2) John and Peter Alexander, Bungeet, Victoria
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Above: Disc Seeding at Coreen. |
Below: Tyne Seeding at Coreen. |
2. Canopy Management in the presence of stubble
This trial will define the benefits of wide row spacing for residue flow and inter-row establishment versus the potential reduction in yield and quality of wider rows in the high rainfall zone and establishing best management practices that maximize WUE at various row spacings in the presence of stubble.
The individual objectives within the trial are as follows:
- To determine how nitrogen timings developed for narrow row spacing (based on stem elongation timings) apply to wide row spacing;
- To establish whether there is an interaction between row spacing, nitrogen timing and sowing rate;
- To validate crop sensing technology in Australian conditions by correlating NDVI (Normalised Digital Vegetative Index) with crop biomass, nitrogen content and total nitrogen content;
- To determine whether crop reflectance as measured by NDVI has the same relationship with nitrogen uptake when crops are sown at different row spacing;
- To investigate the usefulness of various wavelengths that can be used in crop sensors.
This trial has been established at the Bungeet site, owned by John and Peter Alexander.
3. Investigating the application of crop sensing technology in commercial broadacre systems.
Paddocks at Yarrawonga and Dookie will be scanned using a CropCircle sensor at key growth stages during the year. Up to 10 zones will be delineated from each image. These zones will then be ground truthed in terms of crop growth and development, biomass and nitrogen content and DSN.
This aspect of the project will add to the results from the canopy management trial in terms of validating crop sensing technology in Australian conditions and also give some insight into how the technology can be applied to commercial systems to increase WUE in terms of improved yield targeting across paddocks and improved allocation of nitrogen fertilizer more generally.
4. Cover cropping
A smaller aspect of this project is to investigate the use and effect of cover crops in NTSR cropping systems.
Cover crops can be integrated into cropping systems to help with weed control and condition the soil. This trial will evaluate the opportunity that exists in the Riverine Plains area to incorporate cover crops into systems, and the effect that these cover crops have on subsequent winter grain crops.