STATE government soil management project New Horizons will enter a third year of research, as planting gets underway at its three trial sites.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
A fourth site will also be established at PIRSA’s Struan Research Centre, near Naracoorte, which will add a pasture focus to the project, alongside the crop production trial sites at Brimpton Lake on the Eyre Peninsula, Karoonda in the Mallee, and Cadgee in the South East.
The PIRSA initiative aims to improve low fertility soils across SA by better managing the top 50 centimetres of soil, rather than the traditional top 10cm.
Last year the results from these sites showed grain yield increases of between 70 per cent and 200pc after organic matter, fertiliser and/or clay were applied to sandy soils at depths of up to 50cm.
In the third season of planting at the three original trial sites, canola will be planted at Cadgee, barley planted at Brimpton Lake in mid-May, and lupins at Karoonda in late May.
The new Struan site will be used for grazing livestock with one-hectare treatments comparing and assessing the economic viability of using easily and locally-sourced organic material.
Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Leon Bignell said the 2016 New Horizons trials would give greater certainty about the potential benefits and longevity of each of the treatments.
SARDI Sustainable Farming System leader Nigel Wilhelm said it was important the trials reflected standard practice as it added to the credibility of the results.
“The Struan site will also help us validate the results we’re getting,” he said.
“Larger paddock sizes will help us achieve better economies of scale, and we’re aiming to keep overall costs to about $500/ha, which we believe is a cost that is acceptable and still profitable for SA farmers.
“Modifying the top 50cm of the soil profile can lead to improved root growth, soil fertility and water use efficiency – better soil health.
“But we also need to demonstrate the economic feasibility at the farm level of these applied treatments, to help provide farmers with the confidence to make the change.”
