Available now: five interactive eBooks featuring a round-up of some of our most popular articles, videos and podcasts published over the last six years. We’ve created five titles to capture the key topics explored by our Community of Practice during this time; Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Tests and targets, and Crop […]
Optimal production, with the help of soil testing and phosphorous application, is the focus for grower Tim Harrington on his property in the south west corner of Western Australia. Tim farms 2700 hectares of canola and malt barley varieties and is currently experimenting with some long season wheat varieties just […]
The move from sheep-based farming to a multi-cropping focus brought many challenges for Western Australian farmer Brad Wood. In this case study Brad outlines how understanding the best way to manage stubbles became a focus on his Kendenup property, where he farms barley, wheat, canola, peas and faba beans […]
Most growers know that major plant nutrients become less available as soil pH decreases. But there are four ways acid soils can affect crop nutrition. Soils are considered strongly acid when the pH is below 5.5. Serious problems are likely when the pH falls below 4.5. 1. Plant roots and […]
Knowing in-crop nitrogen (N) status is a critical part of good crop nutrition. Crop N sensors can give a real-time estimate of plant N status. This helps gauge if N levels are excessive or deficient (ideally before yield loss occurs). How sensors work Sensors don’t measure N content directly. They […]
Lessons learnt from the careers of three leading Australian crop nutrition scientists have now been captured in a series of short YouTube videos. In the videos researchers Mark Conyers, Rob Norton and Ross Brennan reveal the big lessons learnt from their careers that are of relevance to modern agriculture., Mark […]
In a recent GRDC Communities Crop Nutrition podcast, Dr Richard Bell from Murdoch University explained the importance of potassium (K) for optimal plant growth and reducing the effects of stressors such as drought, frost and salinity. K is second only to nitrogen in importance for crop growth. Many soils in […]
The efficient use of nitrogen (N) remains critical for closing yield gaps and managing risk in low rainfall and sandy soil environments. In a recent GRDC Communities podcast, Dr Therese McBeath discusses the benefits to wheat and canola from upfront nitrogen (N) applications, even after a legume crop. It seems […]
There are a few key points to consider before applying nitrogen (N) fertiliser: Nitrogen is the nutrient removed in the largest quantities in grain at harvest. Pulses in the system can provide some free N. Calculate a few target yields using one of the many tools available that vary yield […]
Colwell potassium (K) is the go-to K test in many growing regions. Colwell-K measures extractable K and is used to estimate plant-available K. But interpreting Colwell-K values gets tricky on heavier soils. This is partly because research on critical values has been dominated by Western Australian sandy soils. There is […]
At the recent 2019 GRDC Updates Wagga Wagga, Jason Condon from the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation discussed effective soil sampling methods and some cost-saving options. Soil tests provide the analytical data used for efficient nutrient and soil management of agricultural land. Sampling options Traditionally, a multicore composite sample was […]
The amount of residual phosphorus (P) a crop takes up is largely determined by soil moisture and soil temperature. These conditions can vary significantly across a typical three-month sowing period from April to June. This variation can impact the P fertiliser requirements of crops at sowing. Recent trials in […]
