The resilience of re-engineered sandy soils in wet and dry seasons in Western Australia

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

10-2024

Conference Title

Agronomy Australia Conference 2024: Adaptive Agronomy for a Resilient Future

Place of Publication

Albany, WA

Keywords

Soil re-engineering, interacting soil constraints, deep drainage, terminal drought, root architecture

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences

Abstract

Unpredictable climatic events such as wet winters and dry hot springs in the Mediterranean climate, are increasingly common, threatening the sustainability of the grains industry in southern Australia. Our previous research suggests that deep soil amelioration and re-engineering might double the grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE), particularly in more favourable seasons. However, the crucial question remains: will these enhancements endure during low decile seasons? To address this research question, we investigated four experiments for three seasons at Bolgart, Meenar, Badgin, and Tarin Rock in Western Australia (WA).

Estimated water-limited yield potentials (Yp) for cereals were 3.88, 3.63 and 2.29 t/ha in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The average paddock control yields were 1.75, 3.64 and 1.74 t/ha compared to the yields of best soil re-engineering treatment of 3.67, 6.26 and 3.44 t/ha during the same period across the four experiments. Yield gains of up to 2.2 t/ha for canola, 2.7 t/ha for wheat, and 2.7 t/ha for barley were achieved. WUE also increased by up to 16.5 and 15.1, and 18.7 kg/mm of effective rainfall for wheat, barley and canola, respectively. While yield enhancements were more pronounced during wetter seasons (2021 and 2022), WUE demonstrated higher performance during the drier season (2023). Our findings reveal that the improvements in soil properties persisted for three seasons and are expected to last longer.

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