Seeder-based strategies to reduce the impact of water repellence on crop productivity

Authors: Jack Desbiolles¹, Nigel Wilhelm², Melissa Fraser³, Lynne Macdonald⁴, Therese McBeath⁴, James Barr¹

¹University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA, 5095; ²South Australian Research and Development Institute, Urrbrae, SA, 5064; ³Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, Struan, SA, 5271; ⁴CSIRO Agriculture & Food, Urrbrae, SA, 5064

Funded By: GRDC CSP00203

Project Title: Increasing production on sandy soils in low and medium rainfall areas of the Southern Region

Peer Review: Rodrigo Da Silva

Key Messages

• Low-cost, low risk seeder-based strategies achieved valuable wheat/barley crop establishment and grain yield benefits in a severely water repellent sand in two below-average rainfall seasons.
• Edge-row/on-row sowing and 230mm deep furrow till achieved the greatest crop benefits by exploiting existing in-furrow moisture (via guided sowing) and deeper moisture (via lifting by furrow opener), respectively.
• While adoption of these strategies involves RTK guidance, liquid dispensing and compatible seeding system technologies, scope for simplified solutions to reduce practical challenges exist and their performance should be tested in farm scale demonstrations.