RESEARCH with a powerful soil moisture and retention agent already highly regarded for its crop establishment and grain yield benefits is being extended to a new level for growers this season.
SE14, from SACOA, is proven in various soils and crop types for its moisture retention capability, sometimes lasting beyond single growing seasons and contributing to significant yield gains, and which again resulted in a big leap in demand and sales for the 2022 season.
SACOA western regional manager Damon Fleay said the company was investing further this year to assess its performance in more soils and different environments, its interaction with different cropping fertilisers, and its application with a range of water and liquid nitrogen fertiliser rates, also to observe crop safety.
Fully replicated trials with canola and lupins are being conducted at Corrigin, Merredin, Dalwallinu, Williams and Yerecoin.
Additional replicated trials near Esperance have been impacted by extremely wet conditions.
The Corrigin site features non-wetting soil types, while the Merredin trial is exploring the use of SE14 for crop establishment in lower rainfall areas and the typical yellow sandplain at Dalwallinu incorporates non-wetting properties.
The site at Yerecoin was sown into non-wetting gravel soils with a history of hay production, while the Williams trial is at a high phosphorus fixing site.
Numerous farm-scale trials also will be monitored for growers this season.
Mr Fleay said ideal starts to the season at most trial sites had somewhat diminished the clearly visible responses normally associated with SE14 in non-wetting soils or marginal soil moisture situations.
However, positive results were still being observed and will continue to be monitored throughout the season to help deliver more information to growers.
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He said the Williams trial was investigating the interaction of SE14 applied at 2L/ha and 3L/ha in 50L/ha of water with compound NPK fertiliser applied at 100kg/ha, 120kg/ha and 140kg/ha (with 40 per cent of fertiliser applied with the seed and 60pc banded below) in canola.
"The trial will help confirm some thinking that SE14 could help release some of the tied-up P in high phosphorus-fixing soils,'' Mr Fleay said.
"Both soil and tissue testing will be used to measure background and crop nutrition status to test the hypothesis, along with other objective measurements such as in-season biomass and yield.''
Trials in canola at all other sites are looking at SE14 at 2L/ha and 3L/ha applied with 50L/ha of water as the carrier compared with 50L/ha of UAN, as well as combinations of the two (20L/ha UAN plus 30L/ha of water and 35L/ha UAN plus 15L/ha of water).
All of the NPK compound fertiliser applied in these treatments was banded below the seed zone.
Mr Fleay said these trials would help further confirm results from other trials, as well as some farm-scale trials and grower experiences, suggesting more positive outcomes when liquid UAN was mixed with water, including reduced risk of crop phytotoxicity.
Trials in lupins at all other sites also will assess the performance of SE14 at 2L/ha and 3L/ha applied with water rates of 40L/ha and 60L/ha.
Mr Fleay said trends so far had indicated improved responses from adopting higher water rates in lupins, particularly in lighter soil types.
Meanwhile, there also has been interest in the ability to vary applications of SE14 across paddocks using latest seeding technologies, which, similar to other crop input products, can be performed according to growers' paddock mapping data.
