Methodologies for assembling and interrogating N, P, K, and S soil test calibrations for Australian cereal, oilseed and pulse crops

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 424 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Watmuff ◽  
D. J. Reuter ◽  
S. D. Speirs
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Farming System ◽  
National Database ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Confidence Limits ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Pulse Crops

During the past 50 years, 3800 field experiments yielding over 5200 treatment series were conducted in Australia examining yield responses to applied N, P, K, or S fertiliser applications to cereal, oilseed and pulse crops. The experiments all had accompanying soil test data. These data were entered into multiple Microsoft Access® database templates and then consolidated into a single national online MYSQL® database. A web application (named the BFDC Interrogator) was also developed to rapidly access the national database (BFDC National Database) and construct soil test calibrations between percentage of the maximum grain yield achieved (hereafter called percentage relative yield) and soil test values recorded for specified ranges of regional or national experiments. Search parameters were applied to define soil test calibrations. These included farming system (dryland or irrigated), year of experiment, soil type, crop type, soil test, depth of soil sampling and soil test units. Other data filters based on site metadata, such as method of nutrient placement, can be applied to enable more definitive calibrations. The calibrations are used to derive critical soil test values at 80, 90 and 95% relative crop yield with 95% confidence limits. However, the soil test criteria at 90% relative crop yield with 70% confidence limits have been chosen as the single calibration and reliability standard for all crops and soil tests. Corresponding yield increase (t/ha)–soil test relationships for an applied nutrient can also be accessed. The BFDC National Database and BFDC Interrogator can now be accessed online by trained, registered users. This paper describes the methodologies that underpinned the progressive development of this tool. Through the commitment of the grains and fertiliser industries, it is anticipated that the calibrations will be used to improve decision support systems used to generate fertiliser recommendations for Australian cropping industries.

Methodology for online biometric analysis of soil test–crop response datasets

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Dyson ◽  
M. K. Conyers
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
National Database ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Biometric Analysis ◽  
Nutrient Response ◽  
Major Nutrients ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

Comprehensive data on grain yield responsiveness to applications of the major nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur in Australian cropping experiments have been assembled in the Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping (BFDC) National Database for scrutiny by the BFDC Interrogator. The database contains the results of individual field experiments on nutrient response that need to be collectively integrated into a model that predicts probable grain yield response from soil tests. The potential degree of grain yield responsiveness (relative yield, RY%) is related to nutrient concentration in the soil (soil test value, STV) across a range of experimental sites and conditions for each nutrient. The RY% is defined as RY = Y0/Ymax *100, where Y0 is the yield without applied nutrient, and Ymax is the yield which could be attained through adequate application of the nutrient, given sufficiency of all other nutrients. The raw data for RY and STV are transformed so that a linear regression model can be applied. The BFDC Interrogator uses the arcsine-log calibration curve (ALCC) algorithm to estimate a critical soil test value (CSTV) for a given nutrient. The CSTV is defined as the value that would, on average for the broad agronomic circumstances of the incoming crop, lead to a specified percentage of Ymax (e.g. RY = 90%) without any application of that nutrient. This paper describes the ALCC algorithm, which has been developed to ensure that such estimated CSTVs, with safeguards, are reliable and to as high a precision as is realistic.

Soil and tissue tests to predict pasture yield responses to applications of potassium fertiliser in high-rainfall areas of south-western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
W. J. Cox ◽  
B. J. Codling
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Yield Responses

Dairy and beef pastures in the high (>800 mm annual average) rainfall areas of south-western Australia, based on subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum), grow on acidic to neutral deep (>40 cm) sands, up to 40 cm sand over loam or clay, or where loam or clay occur at the surface. Potassium deficiency is common, particularly for the sandy soils, requiring regular applications of fertiliser potassium for profitable pasture production. A large study was undertaken to assess 6 soil-test procedures, and tissue testing of dried herbage, as predictors of when fertiliser potassium was required for these pastures. The 100 field experiments, each conducted for 1 year, measured dried-herbage production separately for clover and ryegrass in response to applied fertiliser potassium (potassium chloride). Significant (P<0.05) increases in yield to applied potassium (yield response) were obtained in 42 experiments for clover and 6 experiments for ryegrass, indicating that grass roots were more able to access potassium from the soil than clover roots. When percentage of the maximum (relative) yield was related to soil-test potassium values for the top 10 cm of soil, the best relationships were obtained for the exchangeable (1 mol/L NH4Cl) and Colwell (0.5 mol/L NaHCO3-extracted) soil-test procedures for potassium. Both procedures accounted for about 42% of the variation for clover, 15% for ryegrass, and 32% for clover + grass. The Colwell procedure for the top 10 cm of soil is now the standard soil-test method for potassium used in Western Australia. No increases in clover yields to applied potassium were obtained for Colwell potassium at >100 mg/kg soil. There was always a clover-yield increase to applied potassium for Colwell potassium at <30 mg/kg soil. Corresponding potassium concentrations for ryegrass were >50 and <30 mg/kg soil. At potassium concentrations 30–100 mg/kg soil for clover and 30–50 mg/kg soil for ryegrass, the Colwell procedure did not reliably predict yield response, because from nil to large yield responses to applied potassium occurred. The Colwell procedure appears to extract the most labile potassium in the soil, including soluble potassium in soil solution and potassium balancing negative charge sites on soil constituents. In some soils, Colwell potassium was low indicating deficiency, yet plant roots may have accessed potassum deeper in the soil profile. Where the Colwell procedure does not reliably predict soil potassium status, tissue testing may help. The relationship between relative yield and tissue-test potassium varied markedly for different harvests in each year of the experiments, and for different experiments. For clover, the concentration of potassium in dried herbage that was related to 90% of the maximum, potassium non-limiting yield (critical potassium) was at the concentration of about 15 g/kg dried herbage for plants up to 8 weeks old, and at <10 g/kg dried herbage for plants older than 10–12 weeks. For ryegrass, there were insufficient data to provide reliable estimates of critical potassium.

scholarly journals 650 PB 022 DIFFERENT LETTUCE TYPES RESPOND SIMILARLY TO P FERTILIZATION

HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 525g-526
Author(s):  
N.M. El-Hout ◽  
C.A. Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
P Fertilization ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Large Yield ◽  
Soil Test P ◽  
The Relationship

The production of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) types other than crisphead (i.e., leaf, boston, bibb, and romaine) has recently increased due to expanding consumer demand. Fertilizer P recommendations for these lettuce types are largely based on soil-test calibrations for the crisphead type only. However, biomass production and morphological traits of the different lettuce types vary. Four field experiments were conducted to compare the relative efficiencies of these lettuce types to P fertilization. All lettuce types showed large yield and quality responses to P. Because environmental conditions affected yield potential, P rates required for optimal yield varied by lettuce type within experiments. However, the P rates required for optimal yield were similar over all experiments. Furthermore, the relationship between relative yield and soil-test P across all seasons showed a similar soil-test P level was required for maximum yield of all lettuce types. The results of this study show that soil-test-based fertilizer recommendations for crisphead lettuce may be adequate for all lettuce types

Critical soil test values for predicting the phosphorus and sulphur status of subhumid temperature pastures

Soil Research ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Spencer ◽  
JS Glendinning
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
New South ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Spring Period ◽  
South West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Phosphorus Application ◽  
Best Fit

Field experiments in which five levels of phosphorus application were combined factorially with five levels of sulfur application were carried out on a range of improved pastures on the Southern Tablelands and South-West Slopes of New South Wales. Dry matter responses by the pastures in the winter-spring period were correlated with soil test values obtained early in the growing season. When a best-fit curve of the Mitscherlich form was fitted to the relative yield-bicarbonate extractable phosphorus relationship, critical values for the surface 7.5 cm of soil varied between 25 and 35 ppm phosphorus, depending on the method of choosing the optimum yield. The parallel relation with phosphate-extractable sulfur was so ill defined that no critical value could be identified. Deeper sampling was of no advantage with either nutrient.

Making Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping Systems in Australia (BFDC): knowledge gaps and lessons learnt

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
M. J. Bell ◽  
N. S. Wilhelm ◽  
R. Bell ◽  
R. M. Norton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Critical Values ◽  
National Database ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Critical Range ◽  
Wide Range

Soil testing remains a most valuable tool for assessing the fertiliser requirement of crops. The relationship between soil tests (generally taken from surface soil) and relative yield (RY) response to fertiliser is subject to the influence of environment (e.g. water, temperature) and management (e.g. cultivation, sowing date). As such, the degree of precision is often low when the soil test calibration is based on a wide range of independent experiments on many soil types over many years by many different operators. Hence, the 90% RY target used in soil test interpretation is best described by a critical range (critical concentration and confidence interval) for a given soil test rather than a single critical value. The present Better Fertiliser Decisions for Crops (BFDC) National Database, and the BFDC Interrogator that interacts with the database, provide a great advance over traditional formats and experiment-specific critical values because it allows the use of filters to refine the critical range for specific agronomic conditions. However, as searches become more specific (region, soil type) the quantity of data available to estimate a critical range becomes more vulnerable to data paucity, to outliers, and to clusters of localised experiments. Hence, appropriate training of the users of this database will ensure that the strengths and limitations of the BFDC National Database and BFDC Interrogator are properly understood. Additionally, the lack of standardised metadata for sites within the database makes it generally impossible to isolate the effects on critical values of the specific management or environmental factors listed earlier, which are therefore best determined by specific studies. Finally, the database is dominated (60%) by responses of wheat to nitrogen and phosphorus, meaning that relatively few studies are available for responses by pulses (other than narrow leaf lupins) or oilseeds (other than canola), especially for potassium and sulfur. Moreover, limited data are available for current cropping systems and varieties. However, the identification of these gaps can now be used to focus future research on the crops, nutrients, soils, regions, and management practices where data are lacking. The value of metadata and the need for standardised protocols for nutrition experiments were key lessons.

Soil potassium—crop response calibration relationships and criteria for field crops grown in Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross F. Brennan ◽  
Michael J. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Faba Bean ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
National Database ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Hordeum Vulgare L ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Soil Test K

The Better Fertiliser Decision for Crops (BFDC) National Database holds historic data for 356 potassium (K) fertiliser rate experiments (431 treatment series) for different rain-fed grain crops and soil types across Australia. Bicarbonate-extractable K (Colwell soil-test K) is the most extensively used soil test reported in the database. Data are available for several crop species grown on a range of soil types from all states except Tasmania. Species represented and number of treatment series in the database are: wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 254; barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), 5; canola (Brassica napus L.), 130; lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), 32; sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), 10; sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), 5; and faba bean (Vicia faba L.), 2. About 77% of the available soil-test K (STK) data on wheat, canola, and lupin are from Western Australia. The usual sampling depth of 0–10 cm is recorded for all treatment series within the database, while 68% of experiments have STK information from other soil horizons down the profile, usually in 10-cm increments. The BFDC Interrogator, a comprehensive data search and calibration support tool developed for use with the BFDC National Database, was used to examine STK–yield relationships for each crop across Australia, with more detailed analysis by state/region and then by soil type if data were available. The BFDC Interrogator was used to determine a critical STK concentration to achieve 90% of the maximum relative yield (90%RY) for each crop species, with a critical range (determined by the 70% confidence limit for the 90%RY) also reported. The STK for 90%RY for wheat was 40–41 mg/kg on Tenosols and Chromosols, ~49 mg/kg on Kandosols, and ~64 mg/kg on Brown Ferrosols. There was some evidence of critical values increasing with increasing crop yield and on soils with no acidity constraints to root growth, with effects presumably driven by increased crop K demand. The STK for 90%RY for canola, grown mainly on Tenosols, was similar to that for wheat, ranging from 43 to 46 mg K/kg, but for lupin, also grown mainly on Tenosols, the STK for 90%RY was a relatively low ~25 mg K/kg. Data for sunflower were limited and the STK for 90%RY was poorly defined. A comparison of critical STK concentrations for different crops grown on Tenosols suggested that critical ranges for 90%RY of lupin (22–27 mg K/kg) were significantly lower than that for wheat (32–52 mg K/kg) and canola (44–49 mg K/kg). Critical STK values were not determined for sorghum and faba bean.

Soil sulfur—crop response calibration relationships and criteria for field crops grown in Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (5) ◽  
pp. 523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey C. Anderson ◽  
Ken I. Peverill ◽  
Ross F. Brennan
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Triticum Aestivum L ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
National Database ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Sampling Depth ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
R Value

Accurate definition of the sulfur (S) soil test–crop grain yield increase (response) relationship is required before soil S test measurements can be used to if there are likely to be responses to S fertilisers. An analysis was done using the Better Fertiliser Decision for Crops (BFDC) National Database using a web application (BFDC Interrogator) to develop calibration relationships between soil S tests (KCl-40 and MCP) using a selection of sampling depths and grain relative yields (RY). Critical soil test values (CSTV) and critical soil test ranges (CSTR) were defined at RY 90%. The ability of the KCl-40 extractable S soil test to predict grain yield response to applied S fertiliser was examined for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown in Western Australia (WA), New South Wales (NSW), and Victoria and canola (Brassica napus L.) grown in WA and NSW. A smaller dataset using MCPi-extractable S was also assessed. The WA-grown wheat KCl-40 S CSTV, using sampling depth to 30 cm for soil types Chromosols (Coloured), Chromosols (Sesqui-Nodular), Kandosols (Grey and Yellow), Tenosols (Brown and Yellow), and Tenosols (Grey, Sesqui-Nodular), was 2.8 mg kg–1 with an associated CSTR 2.4–3.2 mg kg–1 and a correlation coefficient (r) 0.87. Similarly, KCl-40 S CSTV was defined using sampling depth to 10 cm for these selected soil types and for wheat grown on Vertosols in NSW. The accuracy of the KCl-40 S CSTV for canola grown in WA was improved using a sampling to a depth of 30 cm instead of 10 cm for all soil types. The canola KCl-40 S CSTV using sampling depth to 30 cm for these soil types was 7.2 mg kg–1 with an associated CSTR 6.8–7.5 and an r value 0.70. A similar KCl-40 S CSTV of 7.0 mg kg–1 was defined using a sampling depth of 10 cm, but the CSTR was higher (6.4–7.7 mg kg–1) and the r value lower (0.43). A lower KCl-40 S CSTV of 3.9 mg kg–1 or 31.0 kg ha–1 using a sampling depth of 60 cm was defined for canola grown in NSW using a limited number of S-rate calibration treatment series. Both MCPi (r = 0.32) and KCl-40 (r <0.20) soil S test–NSW canola response relationships using a 0–10 cm sampling depth were weak. The wheat KCl-40 S CSTR of 2.4–3.2 mg kg–1 can be used widely on soil types where soil sulfate is not leached during the growing season. However, both the WA canola CSTR of 6.4–7.2 mg kg–1 using a sampling depth of 30 cm and NSW canola CSTR of 25–39 kg ha–1 or 3.1–4.9 mg kg–1 using a sampling depth of 60 cm can be considered in regions outside of WA and NSW.

scholarly journals Response of Diverse Lettuce Types to Fertilizer Phosphorus

HortScience ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Sanchez ◽  
N.M. El-Hout
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
P Fertilization ◽  
Large Yield ◽  
Soil Test P ◽  
Southern Florida ◽  
Index Level

Four field experiments were conducted from 1990 to 1992 on Histosols in southern Florida to compare the relative response of various types of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) (i.e., leaf, Boston, Bibb, romaine, and crisphead lettuce) to P fertilization. All lettuce types showed large yield and quality responses to P fertilization. Because environmental conditions affected yield potential, P rates required for optimal yield varied for lettuce types across experiments. However, with the exception of Boston, the P rates required for optimal yield were similar when averaged over all experiments. Furthermore, the relationship between relative yield and soil-test P across all seasons showed that a similar soil-test P index level was required for maximum yield of all lettuce types. Overall, the results of this study suggest that existing soil-test-based fertilizer recommendations for crisphead lettuce are adequate for other lettuce types currently grown.

scholarly journals Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1824) ◽  
pp. 20152529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Sutter ◽  
Matthias Albrecht
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Individual Contributions

Insect pollination and pest control are pivotal functions sustaining global food production. However, they have mostly been studied in isolation and how they interactively shape crop yield remains largely unexplored. Using controlled field experiments, we found strong synergistic effects of insect pollination and simulated pest control on yield quantity and quality. Their joint effect increased yield by 23%, with synergistic effects contributing 10%, while their single contributions were 7% and 6%, respectively. The potential economic benefit for a farmer from the synergistic effects (12%) was 1.8 times greater than their individual contributions (7% each). We show that the principal underlying mechanism was a pronounced pest-induced reduction in flower lifetime, resulting in a strong reduction in the number of pollinator visits a flower receives during its lifetime. Our findings highlight the importance of non-additive interactions among ecosystem services (ES) when valuating, mapping or predicting them and reveal fundamental implications for ecosystem management and policy aimed at maximizing ES for sustainable agriculture.

scholarly journals A modification of the arcsine–log calibration curve for analysing soil test value–relative yield relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrián A. Correndo ◽  
Fernando Salvagiotti ◽  
Fernando O. García ◽  
Flavio H. Gutiérrez-Boem
Keyword(s):  
Linear Relationship ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Calibration Curve ◽  
Confidence Level ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Critical Value ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Confidence Limits

This article aims to discuss the arcsine–log calibration curve (ALCC) method designed for the Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping Systems (BFDC) to calibrate relationships between relative yield (RY) and soil test value (STV). Its main advantage lies in estimating confidence limits of the critical value (CSTV). Nevertheless, intervals for 95% confidence level are often too wide, and authors suggest a reduction in the confidence level to 70% in order to achieve narrower estimates. Still, this method can be further improved by modifying specific procedures. For this purpose, several datasets belonging to the BFDC were used. For any confidence level, estimates with the modified ALCC procedures were always more accurate than the original ALCC. The overestimation of confidence limits with the original ALCC was inversely related to the correlation coefficient of the dataset, which might allow a relatively simple and reliable correction of previous estimates. In addition, because the method is based on the correlation between STV and RY, the importance to test it for significance is emphasised in order to support the hypothesis of a relationship. Then, the modified ALCC approach could also allow a more reliable comparison of datasets by slopes of the bivariate linear relationship between transformed variables.

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