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.

Response of annual pastures to applications of limestone in the high rainfall areas of south-western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 925 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
D. G. Allen ◽  
Z. Rengel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Ph ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Italian Ryegrass ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Yield Responses

The yield response of long-term pastures growing on acidified soil to applications of limestone (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 t/ha with adequate magnesium fertiliser, and 0 and 5 t/ha with no magnesium fertiliser) was measured in 5 field experiments on different representative soils of the high rainfall areas of south-western Australia. After application, limestone was incorporated 1 cm deep in 3 experiments, 3 cm deep in 1 experiment, and 7 cm in another experiment. The pastures comprised subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum), and annual and Italian ryegrass (Lolium rigidum and L. multiflorum), the dominant species found in intensively grazed dairy and beef pastures of the region. Yields were measured when ryegrass plants had 3 leaves per tiller, which is when pastures in the region are grazed to maximise utilisation by cattle.Subsoil acidity was a problem at 4 of the 5 sites, and was so severe at 1 site that, despite having the lowest soil pH to 50 cm depth, there was no yield response to limestone incorporated to 3 cm deep. Applications of fertiliser magnesium had no significant effect on pasture production, soil pH, aluminium and manganese, or concentration of magnesium in dried herbage in any of the 5 experiments. Increasing amounts of limestone consistently: (i) increased soil pH, by between 1–2 pH units in the top 5 cm of soil, and 0.5–1.0 of a pH unit in the 5–10 cm soil profile; and (ii) decreased, by up to 84–98%, the amount of exchangeable aluminium in the 0–5 and 5–10 cm soil profiles. During 3 years (1998–2000) there were: (i) no yield responses to limestone for a total of 9 assessments on a sand, or 11 assessments on a sandy gravel; (ii) 2 significant (P<0.05) yield responses to limestone, from a total of 8 assessments on a loamy clay and from 9 assessments on a loam; (iii) 9 significant yield responses from a total of 13 assessments on a sandy loam (2 from 5 assessments in 1998, 3 from 4 assessments in 1999, and all 4 assessments in 2000). The sandy loam had the largest amount of exchangeable aluminium in the top 5 cm of soil [about 1.6 cmol(+)/kg, accounting for 35% of the exchangeable cations]. Increasing limestone applications did not induce deficiency or toxicity of any nutrient elements in subterranean clover or ryegrass dried herbage and, for dried herbage of bulk samples of both species, had no effect on dry matter digestibility, metabolisable energy and concentration of crude protein.

Assessment of the phosphorus and sulphur status of subterranean clover pastures. 2. Soil tests

1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (38) ◽  
pp. 320 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Spencer ◽  
D Bouma ◽  
DV Moye
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Soil Tests ◽  
Test Procedures ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Extractable P ◽  
Yield Responses

Values obtained by a number of established soil test procedures for phosphorus and sulphur were correlated with yield responses to addition of the relevant nutrient, by subterranean clover-based pastures at 21 sites in south-eastern New South Wales. Colwell's bicarbonate-soluble P and Bray's P, phosphorus values showed sufficiently close associations with response to added phosphorus to be useful for predictive purposes ; Bray's P, values generally gave smaller coefficients. In general, the pasture on soils testing less than 25 p.p.m. bicarbonate-extractable P in the surface three inches responded appreciably to applied phosphorus (relative yields were <85 per cent). The corresponding value for the Bray P, procedure was 10 p.p.m. P. Soil samples from 0-1, 0-3, and 3-6 inch depths gave similar correlations with response. The time of soil sampling did not affect the relationships but winter pasture production was not as closely related to soil test values as was spring production. By contrast, soil tests for sulphur were not reliable but some discrimination between soils could be made with a 500 p.p.m. phosphate extraction. Values from soil samples collected in the winter were less closely related to response than were values from samples collected in the autumn.

Determining the fertiliser phosphorus requirements of intensively grazed dairy pastures in south-western Australia with or without adequate nitrogen fertiliser

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 801 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
I. F. Guthridge
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Dairy Herd ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
P Leaching ◽  
The Many ◽  
Yield Responses

Fertiliser phosphorus (P) and, more recently, fertiliser nitrogen (N) are regularly applied to intensively grazed dairy pastures in south-western Australia. However, it is not known if applications of fertiliser N change pasture dry matter (DM) yield responses to applied fertiliser P. In three Western Australian field experiments (2000–04), six levels of P were applied to large plots with or without fertiliser N. The pastures were rotationally grazed. Grazing started when ryegrass plants had 2–3 leaves per tiller. Plots were grazed in common with the lactating dairy herd in the 6-h period between the morning and afternoon milking. A pasture DM yield response to applied N occurred for all harvests in all three experiments. For the two experiments on P deficient soil, pasture DM yield responses also occurred to applications of P. For some harvests when no fertiliser N was applied, probably because mineral N in soil was so small, there was a small, non-significant pasture DM response to applied P and the P × N interaction was highly significant (P < 0.001). However, for most harvests there was a significant pasture DM response to both applied N and P, and the P × N interaction was significant (P < 0.05–0.01), with the response to applied P, and maximum yield plateaus to applied P, being smaller when no N was applied. Despite this, for the significant pasture DM responses to applied P, the level of applied P required to produce 90% of the maximum pasture DM yield was mostly similar with or without applied N. Evidently for P deficient soils in the region, pasture DM responses to applied fertiliser P are smaller or may fail to occur unless fertiliser N is also applied. In a third experiment, where the soil had a high P status (i.e. more typical of most dairy farms in the region), there was only a pasture DM yield response to applied fertiliser N. We recommend that fertiliser P should not be applied to dairy pastures in the region until soil testing indicates likely deficiency, to avoid developing unproductive, unprofitable large surpluses of P in soil, and reduce the likelihood of P leaching and polluting water in the many drains and waterways in the region. For all three experiments, critical Colwell soil test P (a soil test value that was related to 90% of the maximum pasture DM yield), was similar for the two fertiliser N treatments.

Tissue testing to assess the sulfur requirements of subterranean clover on very sandy soils in high rainfall areas of south-western Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
J. S. Yeates ◽  
B. J. Codling ◽  
M. F. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Total N ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Significant Yield ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Ratio Range

Tissue testing was studied in field experiments between 1979 and 1985 to predict when sulfur (S) fertiliser was required for pastures in high rainfall (>650 mm annual average) areas of south-western Australia. The pastures comprised about half subterranean clover and annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.), the major pasture species in the region. Tissue testing was done for each species, using: (i) whole shoots, the present method used by commercial laboratories in Western Australia; (ii) youngest open leaves (legumes, YOLs) or youngest expanded blades (grass, YEBs); (iii) old leaves and blades (leaves that were not YOLs or YEBs); and (iv) stems (left after removal of YOLs, YEBs, old leaves and blades). Dried tissue was measured for total S, sulfate S, the total nitrogen : total S ratio and the sulfate S : total S ratio. For each pasture species, tissue test values were related to yield of dried herbage of that species measured for plants cut at ground level. Fertiliser nitrogen was not applied in the experiments.Annual ryegrass showed no significant yield responses to applied fertiliser S for all harvests in all experiments. Subterranean clover showed significant yield responses for most harvests of all experiments. At each site in each year, yield responses to applied S tended to become larger as the growing season progressed. For subterranean clover critical S values related to 90% of the maximum (relative) yield varied for different harvests of the same experiment within and between years, and for different experiments in the same and different years. As determined from all data, critical S values were similar for all plant parts (whole shoots, YOLs, old tissue, stems), with no consistent, systematic trend with plant age, and were: total S, range 0.10–0.30% S, mean 0.23%; sulfate S, range 0.01–0.14%, mean 0.04%; total N : total S ratio, range 11–30, mean 19; sulfate S : total S ratio, range 0.01–0.48, mean 0.27. The exception was that total S was lower for clover stems, the range being 0.06–0.20%, and mean 0.13%. Therefore, % total S in clover shoots can continue to be used as an indicator of sulfur deficiency in subterranean clover in the region.

Comparing different sources of sulfur for high-rainfall pastures insouth-western Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 1221 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. A. Bolland ◽  
J. S. Yeates ◽  
M. F. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneum ◽  
Residual Value ◽  
Single Superphosphate ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
S Deficiency ◽  
Different Sources

The dry herbage yield increase (response) of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.)-based pasture (>85% clover) to applications of different sources of sulfur (S) was compared in 7 field experiments on very sandy soils in the > 650 mm annual average rainfall areas of south-western Australia where S deficiency of clover is common when pastures grow rapidly during spring (August–November). The sources compared were single superphosphate, finely grained and coarsely grained gypsum from deposits in south-western Australia, and elemental S. All sources were broadcast (topdressed) once only onto each plot, 3 weeks after pasture emerged at the start of the first growing season. In each subsequent year, fresh fertiliser-S as single superphosphate was applied 3 weeks after pasture emerged to nil-S plots previously not treated with S since the start of the experiment. This was to determine the residual value of sources applied at the start of the experiment in each subsequent year relative to superphosphate freshly-applied in each subsequent year. In addition, superphosphate was also applied 6, 12 and 16 weeks after emergence of pasture in each year, using nil-S plots not previously treated with S since the start of the experiment. Pasture responses to applied S are usually larger after mid-August, so applying S later may match plant demand increasing the effectiveness of S for pasture production and may also reduce leaching losses of the applied S.At the same site, yield increases to applied S varied greatly, from 0 to 300%, at different harvests in the same or different years. These variations in yield responses to applied S are attributed to the net effect of mineralisation of different amounts of S from soil organic matter, dissolution of S from fertilisers, and different amounts of leaching losses of S from soil by rainfall. Within each year at each site, yield increases were mostly larger in spring (September–November) than in autumn (June–August). In the year of application, single superphosphate was equally or more effective than the other sources. In years when large responses to S occurred, applying single superphosphate later in the year was more effective than applying single superphosphate 3 weeks after pasture emerged (standard practice), so within each year the most recently applied single superphosphate treatment was the most effective S source. All sources generally had negligible residual value, so S needed to be applied each year to ensure S deficiency did not reduce pasture production.

Comparative soil water, pasture production, and crop yields in phase farming systems with lucerne and annual pasture in Western Australia

2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Latta ◽  
L. J. Blacklow ◽  
P. S. Cocks
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Oil Content ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Pasture Production

Two field experiments in the Great Southern region of Western Australia compared the soil water content under lucerne (Medicago sativa) with subterranean clover (Trifolium subterranean) and annual medic (Medicago polymorpha) over a 2-year period. Lucerne depleted soil water (10–150 cm) between 40 and 100 mm at Borden and 20 and 60 mm at Pingrup compared with annual pasture. There was also less stored soil water after wheat (Triticum aestivum) and canola (Brassica napus) phases which followed the lucerne and annual pasture treatments, 30 and 48 mm after wheat, 49 and 29 mm after canola at Borden and Pingrup, respectively. Lucerne plant densities declined over 2 seasons from 35 to 25 plants/m2 (Borden) and from 56 to 42 plants/m2 (Pingrup), although it produced herbage quantities similar to or greater than clover/medic pastures. The lucerne pasture also had a reduced weed component. Wheat yield at Borden was higher after lucerne (4.7 t/ha) than after annual pasture (4.0 t/ha), whereas at Pingrup yields were similar (2 t/ha) but grain protein was higher (13.7% compared with 12.6%) . There was no yield response to applied nitrogen after lucerne or annual pasture at either site, but it increased grain protein at both sites. There was no pasture treatment effect on canola yield or oil content at Borden (2 t/ha, 46% oil). However, at Pingrup yield was higher (1.5 t/ha compared to 1.3 t/ha) and oil content was similar (41%) following lucerne–wheat. The results show that lucerne provides an opportunity to develop farming systems with greater water-use in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, and that at least 2 crops can be grown after 3 years of lucerne before soil water returns to the level found after annual pasture.

Assessment of the phosphorus and sulphur status of subterranean clover pastures. 3. Plant tests

1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (38) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Bouma ◽  
K Spencer ◽  
EJ Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Leaf Analysis ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Soluble Phosphorus ◽  
Yield Responses

Field experiments were carried out in south-eastern New South Wales to establish the relationships between three plant tests for phosphorus and for sulphur, and the yield responses of subterranean clover pastures to applied phosphorus and sulphur. Subterranean clover plants (CV. Mt. Barker), sampled early in the growing season of 1963 and on five occasions at approximately monthly intervals in 1964, were analysed for total and soluble phosphorus and for total and reducible sulphur. The third plant test involved a comparison of the leaf area responses measured seven days after transfer to appropriate nutrient solutions of clover plants sampled in the field plots at the beginning of each growing season. Correlation coefficients (R) varying from 0.546 to 0.908 were obtained for the curvilinear regression of relative yields on total phosphorus contents of the clover, but only under conditions of an adequate sulphur supply. The correlation coefficients for soluble phosphorus were generally lower and differed greatly between samplings. The correlation coefficients for the curvilinear regressions of yield responses on the total or reducible sulphur content of clover, under conditions of ample phosphorus supply, were never less than 0.606 at the end of the season, and for some of the earlier samplings were as high as 0.947. The correlation coefficients (r) between leaf area responses and yield responses to phosphorus were 0.576 and 0.716, and those for sulphur 0.710 and 0.692 in 1963 and 1964 respectively. In contrast to those based on leaf analysis, the relationships between leaf area responses and yield response for each one of the elements were not affected by the level of supply of the other element.

Factors affecting yield and fertilizer response of sugar beet in Iran

1973 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-316
Author(s):  
E. W. Bolle-Jones ◽  
F. Sanei
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Phosphate Fertilizer ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Soil Test ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Fertilizer Response ◽  
High Calcium ◽  
Yield Responses

SummaryField experiments were conducted in four provinces of Iran in which sugar-beet yield responses to added nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were correlated with soil test values and number of irrigations.Although significant yield responses to fertilizer application were obtained in all four provinces, extremely few significant relationships were established between soil test values and yield response.Average crop yield was favourably influenced by the number of irrigations applied in Fare and Khorasan, by organic carbon status in Esfahan and Khorasan and adversely affected by increased soil conductivity in Esfahan and Khorasan. These results were taken to imply an inadequate number of irrigations in Fars and Khorasan. The high calcium carbonate status found in Fars soil adversely affected the level of average yield.Response to nitrogen fertilizer declined in Fars and Khorasan as the leaf nitrogen exceeded 3·15 and 4·0% respectively. Response to phosphate fertilizer declined in West Azerbaijan and Khorasan when leaf phosphorus exceeded 0·4%.

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.

Effect of topdressed phosphorus fertilizer on established white clover based pastures in south-east Queensland. 1. Prediction of yield responses using soil tests

1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (99) ◽  
pp. 454 ◽  
Author(s):  
GE Rayment ◽  
RC Bruce
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Relative Yield ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Phosphorus Status ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Yield Responses ◽  
Phosphorus Levels ◽  
Term Field

Seventeen short-term field experiments were conducted over a five year period in south-east Queensland in which rates of up to 60 kg P ha-1 as monocalcium phosphate were topdressed onto established, previously grazed, grass-white clover (Trifolium repens) pastures, Increases (P < 0.05) in yields of white clover were obtained at seven sites, but concurrent increases in grass production occurred at only four sites. Higher total pasture production resulted at six of these sites. One quantitative (total) and two empirical (0.005 M H2SO4 and 0.5 M Na HCO3) estimates of phosphorus status in 0-10 cm soil samples, collected prior to topdressing treatments, were separately correlated with relative yield responses of white clover, grass and total pasture components. Although soil phosphorus levels by all methods were statistically intercorrelated (P < 0.01), acid-extractable and total phosphorus tests were generally unsuitable for predictive purposes, having low coefficients of determination for regressions and Cate-Nelson separations of responsive from non-responsive sites. Bicarbonate-extractable phosphorus proved the most suitable soil test. It accounted for 60 and 44% of the variance in relative yields of white clover and total pasture, respectively, but was poorly correlated with relative yields of grass. The suggested critical level of soil phosphorus (bicarbonate extraction) for white clover is 28 ppm P. For total pasture, responses are likely below 22, unlikely above 28 and uncertain between 22 and 28 ppm P, respectively. Percentage variance in relative yields already explained by both empirical tests was not significantly increased by inclusion of terms for pH and exchangeable calcium into the X variable.

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