Expertise from industries outside agriculture, including mining, will be harnessed as part of new research that aims to increase the profitability of grain crops grown on problematic 'ironstone gravel' soils.

With GRDC investment The University of Western Australia (UWA) is leading research that will improve knowledge about the properties of these soils (also known as 'gravel soils'), which should result in more informed management of the grain crops grown on them.

Project lead Daniel Murphy, Head of the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment and co-director of SoilsWest, said ironstone gravel soils were used for agricultural production across an estimated two million hectares of land in medium to high rainfall areas of WA and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.

Professor Murphy says UWA researchers will use advances in the fields of chemistry and physics and leverage technology and knowledge from industries such as mining.

“We will work with other researchers with geological and mining skills to generate new understandings about the mineralogy and physical characteristics of these soils, especially their soil moisture holding capacity and high rates of phosphorus 'fixation',” he says.

"The research will generate new foundational scientific knowledge, including about nutrient interactions, that will feed into future GRDC soils projects that deliver practical outcomes to grain growers."

More information: Daniel Murphy, 08 6488 7083, daniel.murphy@uwa.edu.au