Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske
33 results found:-
Research sheds light on gypsum’s role in tackling soil acidity
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2021-08-09T09:00:00+10:00Some 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.
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Tips for using a modified one-way plough for soil mixing and inversion
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2021-08-05T09:00:00+10:00Soil inversion using a modified one-way plough may not be as effective as using a mouldboard plough. However, modified one-way ploughs can still do a good inversion job if the correct discs are used, the plough is set up correctly and paddock conditions are suitable.
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Ripping duplex soils may reduce waterlogging
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2021-07-21T09:00:00+10:00Evidence from trials and growers suggests ripping non-dispersive duplex soils can help reduce waterlogging.
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How to minimise wind erosion after soil amelioration
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-12-15T09:00:00+11:00Severe wind events in the Western Australian grainbelt in 2020, especially in May, demonstrated that wind erosion after summer/autumn soil amelioration is a serious problem. Both ameliorated and non-ameliorated paddocks blew, but community attention focused on recently ameliorated and exposed soil.
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Improving crop establishment in non-wetting soil
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-12-09T09:00:00+11:00Long-term fixes to non-wetting soils, such as inverting, mixing and claying by ploughing, spading, delving and clay spreading, are expensive and unlikely to be implemented across a grower's whole non-wetting area in one or even several seasons. Shorter-term and strategies can be used on some parts of the farm while growers simultaneously fix non-wetting issues using longer-term approaches on other areas of a property.
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Knife-point benefits vary when alleviating compaction
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-12-01T00:00:00+11:00Benefits from using knife-points to alleviate compaction will be small and will vary with soil type, conditions, machine set-up and depth of compaction. They will not de-compact or mix soil as effectively as dedicated implements.
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Comparing lime sources
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-10-10T00:00:00+11:00From a return on investment (ROI) point of view, the ‘best’ lime is the cheapest one that achieves a given increase in soil pH. It is important to work out the best lime for your situation by considering lime effectiveness and costs (product, transport and application), because they vary considerably.
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Pros and cons of deep ripping on an angle
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-09-05T00:00:00+10:00Deep ripping on an angle can improve machinery trafficability in many situations, as well as boosting crop emergence. But there is a price to pay in terms of machinery wear and tear.
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Using ground-based EM and radiometrics to map soil amelioration
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-07-29T00:00:00+10:00Ground-based electromagnetic and radiometric surveys can be useful tools for mapping soil issues and amelioration options over large areas.
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Early to mid-tillering is optimum time to check crop roots
Author: Alisa Bryce and Wayne Pluske, 2020-04-22T00:00:00+10:00The best time to check crop root growth for potential issues is early to mid-tillering.