Deep amelioration of compaction and acidity doubled the water use efficiency of cereal crops on a sandy soil in a long-term experiment in a water-limited environment

Authors

Gaus Azam, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Md. Shahinur Rahman, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Craig Scanlan, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Md. Hasinur Rahman, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia
Ross Gazey, Ross Gazey Photography, Western Australia
E G. Barrett-Lennard, Department of Primary Industries and Regional DevelopmentFollow
Kanch Wickramarachchi, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow
Bob Nixon, Bunketch Ag, Western Australia
Chris Gazey, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western AustraliaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2026

Journal Title

Geoderma

ISSN

0016-7061

Keywords

Soil re-engineering, Compaction, Acidity, Aluminium toxicity, Liming, Strategic deep tillage, Root architecture

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Soil Science

Abstract

The co-occurrence of subsoil compaction and acidity commonly decreases the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of agricultural crops around the world, yet the benefits of the complete amelioration of these constraints on yield and WUE remain unclear. We conducted a long-term field experiment in Western Australia (WA) to evaluate the effects of the complete removal of subsoil compaction and acidity through soil profile re-engineering — involving soil removal, replacement, and lime incorporation — on root architecture, yield, and WUE in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Treatments included an untreated control, and soil loosening to 0.45 m depth and lime incorporation at three depths combined with loosening (0.45 m). Results showed that the improvements in soil conditions through soil re-engineering were maintained for seven years. In the control, the roots of cereal crops were confined to the top 0.2–0.3 m of soil, while soil re-engineering tripled the rooting depth and created a more uniform root distribution. The removal of compaction improved wheat root architecture but did not affect barley. These improvements increased yield and WUE up to 3.7-fold, and the benefits occurred in every season. In the best treatment, wheat yield ranged from 945 to 4164 kg ha−1 and WUE from 16.9 to 33.3 kg mm−1, compared with 252–1722 kg ha−1 and 6.5–13.0 kg mm−1 in the control. Moreover, the best treatments substantially exceeded the expected yields of crops grown under comparable climatic conditions, based on two independent published datasets from WA and southern Australia. Our findings show that soil re-engineering can sustainably improve yield and WUE on coarse-textured sandy soils with multiple subsoil constraints for the long-term in water-limited environments. While this approach may not be directly scalable or economically feasible, it provides a foundation for the development of more comprehensive tillage machinery suitable for large scale soil profile re-engineering.

Recommended Citation

Azam, G, Rahman, M, Scanlan, C, Rahman, M, Gazey, R, Barrett-Lennard, E G, Wickramarachchi, K, Nixon, B, and Gazey, C. (2026), Deep amelioration of compaction and acidity doubled the water use efficiency of cereal crops on a sandy soil in a long-term experiment in a water-limited environment. Geoderma, 466 (117700).
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/nrm_research/128