A PROJECT in the northern agricultural region is set to explore the impacts of seeding systems and stubble management in broadacre cropping to ensure ground cover is maintained on sandy soil types.
Led by the Mingenew Irwin Group (MIG) and funded through the Future Drought Fund, the project ultimately aims to mitigate the production risk caused by changing climate and significant climatic events by giving growers the information they need to make informed management decisions.
The dust storms that hit the Mid West in 2020 were an example of how extreme weather events affect wind erosion and showed how far and wide topsoil, and the inputs that were in it, travel in areas where there is limited groundcover to bind them.
MIG chief executive officer Joy Sherlock said the added challenge of wind erosion along with the changing climate and sandy soils have implications on retaining sufficient ground cover during summer.
"On the other hand, there are implications with the impact of additional ground cover on seeding operations and the productivity of the crop in the following season," Ms Sherlock said.
"We aim to investigate the pros and cons of using different methods of stubble retention versus different seeding mechanisms."
The project, which began last year, includes both the collection of local data and a comparison to systems in lower rainfall areas of Australia, with the replicated trial allowing growers to visually observe and quantify the impact of this whole system's approach to ground cover retention.
It will investigate stubble management and seeding systems to measure the affect ground cover has on soil temperature and soil moisture retention and how this translates to productivity in the following crop.
Stubble treatments used include total stubble removal, bale and remove, industry standard, cut high, cut high and rolled, all versus disc and tyne seeding this year.
"The main site has been selected, harvest and stubble preparation of the site has occurred and we have prepped for seeding this season with initial soil samples and Predicta B soil disease assessment samples having been taken," Ms Sherlock said.
"It is going to be an interesting season with other parameters monitored throughout the duration of the project such as soil moisture, groundcover percentage, plant/crop establishment, grain yield and quality, agronomic inputs and rainfall."
Testing will continue throughout the year with in-season monitoring and final assessment of results and data after harvest, which will be made available by the end of the project in the first quarter of 2023.
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