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Soil and Nutrition, 03 Nov 2021
Trials show benefits of strategic cover cropping
Cover crops can not only improve fallow efficiency and provide a ‘net’ water benefit, but they can also improve the following cash crop’s establishment and yields
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Soil and Nutrition, 24 Oct 2021
Liming trials support new soil analysis technology
Research being conducted in South Australia could offer growers a simpler option for soil analysis and help deliver insights into more-effective liming techniques. Ruby Hume, a PhD candidate in soil science at the University of Adelaide, is investigating the value of infrared spectroscopy for farm soil analysis.
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Soil and Nutrition, 15 Oct 2021
It’s never too early to think about lime
Summer lime applications may seem a long way off, but South Australian growers are being urged to plan their lime programs now.
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Soil and Nutrition, 20 Sep 2021
Test methods a concern with soil aluminium
Aluminium toxicity brought on by acidic soil conditions impairs crop root growth and yield. New research is shedding light on using different laboratory methods to measure aluminium in different soil types, as well as the impact of aluminium on root growth.
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Soil and Nutrition, 15 Sep 2021
Research compares alternative lime sources
In glasshouse research, limesand and dolomite have outperformed alternative liming products to raise soil pH and improve crop root growth. Lime is also more effective when mixed into the acidic soil layer.
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Soil and Nutrition, 10 Sep 2021
Deep treatments put to the test
By digging deep, two PhD students are exploring the benefits and potential negatives of phosphorus placement
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Soil and Nutrition, 29 Aug 2021
Harnessing the short and long-term effects of gypsum
Gypsum has both short and long-term impacts on soil sodicity. In the short term it increases salinity to suppress dispersion. In the long term it replaces sodium on soil particles with calcium.
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Soil and Nutrition, 28 Aug 2021
Project digs deep to understand whether soil changes add up
Alleviating subsoil constraints can lead to yield gains, but these changes need to be considered as capital investments
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Soil and Nutrition, 17 Aug 2021
Loamy soils’ potassium status under review
Potassium depletion of loamy soils in Western Australia has been the subject of new attention. Better growth in windrows on these soils could be an indicator of declining soil potassium supply more broadly across these soil types.
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Soil and Nutrition, 09 Aug 2021
Research sheds light on gypsum’s role in tackling soil acidity
Some growers are looking at gypsum as an option to tackle subsoil acidity. As gypsum is more soluble than lime, some people think that gypsum and lime will move into acidic layers faster than lime alone, and that gypsum can counteract toxic aluminium.