Reacidification and reliming effects on soil properties and wheat yield

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 849 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Scott ◽  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
G. J. Poile ◽  
B. R. Cullis
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Plant Tolerance ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Subsurface Soil ◽  
Significant Yield ◽  
Lime Application

Summary. Farmers in southern New South Wales began lime application in the 1980s. Many have now limed most of the acidic soils on their properties, and are considering reliming. This is an important economic consideration as lime is a costly input. We accurately located an old lime experiment established in 1982 and applied and incorporated lime in 1992, to give factorial combinations of 5 rates of lime applied in 1982 and 5 rates applied in 1992. The plots were soil sampled and cropped to wheat (cv. Janz) in both 1992 and 1993. The rate of soil pHCa decline in the 0–10 cm soil from 1983 to 1993 following lime application in 1982 was dependent on the pHCa increase achieved 1 year after lime application (1983). The rates of decrease varied from 0.10 pHCa units/year, after 5000 kg/ha was applied, to 0.02 pHCa units/year following application of 500 kg/ha of lime. Evidence in 1992 and 1993 suggested that the pHCa effect of lime applied in 1982 had moved down the soil profile below 10 cm. Wheat yield in 1992 responded to lime applied in 1982 but not to lime applied in 1992. In the 1993 season, the 1982 and 1992 applied lime gave significant yield increases. The response in grain yield in 1993 to 1992 applied lime was greatest where no lime, or low rates of lime, had been applied in 1982. Grain yield in 1993 was described as a function of pHCa in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm layers in that season. Maximum yield of the aluminium sensitive cultivar Janz was obtained where the pHCa was about 5.5 in both layers. Where the soil pHCa was 5.0 in the 0–10 cm soil layer, grain yield increased with increasing pHCa in the 10–20 cm layer from 3.2 t/ha at pHCa 4.1 to 3.9 t/ha at pHCa 5.3. Reliming at 2000 kg/ha increased grain yield in 1993 by about the same amount as an initial application of the same lime rate. We suggest that the residual benefit in grain yield was due in part to movement of the lime effect to the subsurface soil. It appears that maximum yields may only be achieved with the amendment of the subsurface soil by a series of lime applications over several decades or by the combined use of shallow incorporated lime and plant tolerance of soil acidity.

Longevity of wheat yield response to lime in south-eastern Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 571 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Coventry ◽  
W. J. Slattery ◽  
V. F. Burnett ◽  
G. W. Ganning
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Phosphorus Fertiliser ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Summary. A long-term experiment in north-eastern Victoria has been regularly monitored for wheat yield responses to a range of lime and fertiliser treatments, and the soil sampled for acidity attributes. Substantial grain yield increases have been consistently obtained over a period of 12 years with a single lime application. Lime applied at 2.5 t/ha in 1980 was still providing yield increases of 24% with an acid-tolerant wheat (Matong, 1992 season) and 79% with an acid-sensitive wheat (Oxley, 1993 season) relative to no lime treatment. The 2 wheat cultivars responded differently to phosphorus fertiliser, with the acid-sensitive wheat less responsive to phosphorus fertiliser in the absence of lime. The use of a regular lime application applied as a fertiliser (125 kg lime/ha) with the wheat seed gave only a small grain yield increase (8% Matong, 16% Oxley), despite 1 t/ha of lime applied over the 12-year period. Liming the soil at a rate of 2.5 t/ha (1980) initially raised the soil pH by about 1.0 unit and removed most soluble aluminium (0–10 cm). However, after 12 years of crop–pasture rotation after the initial 2.5 t lime/ha treatment the soil pH had declined by 0.7 of a pH unit and exchangeable aluminium was substantially increased, almost to levels prior to the initial application of lime. Given the continued yield responsiveness obtained following the initial application of lime, this practice, rather than regular applications of small amounts of lime, is recommended for wheat production on strongly acidic (pHw < 5.5) soils in south-eastern Australia.

Long-term benefits of limestone applications to soil properties and to cereal crop yields in southern and central New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
C. L. Mullen ◽  
B. J. Scott ◽  
G. J. Poile ◽  
B. D. Braysher
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Cereal Grain ◽  
Subsurface Soil ◽  
Acid Tolerant ◽  
The Cost

The cost of buying, carting and spreading limestone, relative to the value of broadacre crops, makes investment in liming a questionable proposition for many farmers. The longer the beneficial effects of limestone persist, however, the more the investment in liming becomes economically favourable. We re-established previous lime trials with the aim of measuring the long-term effects of limestone on surface acidity (pH run-down), subsurface acidity (lime movement) and grain yield. The study made use of experiments where there was adequate early data on soil chemical properties and cereal yields. We report data from 6 trials located at 4 sites between Dubbo and Albury in New South Wales. The rate of surface soil (0–10 cm) pH decline after liming was proportional to the pH attained 1 year after liming. That is, the higher the pH achieved, the more rapid the rate of subsequent pH decline. Since yields (product removal) and nitrification (also acid producing) may both vary with pH, the post-liming pH acts as a surrogate for the productivity and acid-generating rate of the soil–plant system. The apparent lime loss rate of the surface soils ranged from the equivalent of nearly 500 kg limestone/ha.year at pH approaching 7, to almost zero at pH approaching 4. At commercial application rates of 2–2.5 t/ha, the movement of alkali below the layer of application was restricted. However, significant calcium (Ca) movement sometimes occurred to below 20 cm depth. At rates of limestone application exceeding the typical commercial rate of 2.5 t/ha, or at surface pH greater than about 5.5, alkali and Ca movement into acidic subsurface soil was clearly observed. It is therefore technically feasible to ameliorate subsurface soil acidity by applying heavy rates of limestone to the soil surface. However, the cost and risks of this option should be weighed against the use of acid-tolerant cultivars in combination with more moderate limestone rates worked into the surface soil.There was a positive residual benefit of limestone on cereal grain yield (either barley, wheat, triticale, or oats) at all sites in both the 1992 and 1993 seasons. While acid-tolerant cultivars were less lime responsive than acid-sensitive ones, the best yields were generally obtained using a combination of liming and acid-tolerant cultivars.The long-term residual benefits of limestone were shown to extend for beyond 8–12 years and indicate that liming should be profitable in the long term.

Effect of fertility level on the yield of some native perennial grasses on the North-West Slopes, New South Wales.

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 327 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Lodge
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Fertility Level ◽  
Native Grasses ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Yield ◽  
Pot Culture

The effect of fertility on the yields of native perennial grasses was investigated in pot culture and field experiments. Yields of six native perennial grasses and Paspalum dilatatum Poir were determined in the glasshouse at five levels of applied phosphorus (P), sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) and in the field the biomass of individual tussocks of eight native grasses was compared. In pot culture the maximum yields of the native perennial grasses with P, S and N applied were 15 to 75% lower than those of P. dilatatum. Within the native grasses there were significant yield differences: Bothriochloa macra (Steud) S.T. Blake, Chloris truncata R.Br. and Dichanthium sericeum (R. Br.) Camus yielded up to twice as much dry matter as either Aristida ramosa R.Br., Sporobolus elongatus R.Br. or Eragrostis leptostachya Steud. These data indicate that P, S and N are all essential for maximum yield of some native grasses, and large imbalances in the level of these nutrients resulted in seedling mortalities in most native grasses.

Competition between rice and barnyard grass (Echinochloa). 2. The response to nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur in pots

1969 ◽  
Vol 9 (36) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
CR Kleinig ◽  
JC Noble
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Rice Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
Nutrient Supply ◽  
Yield Response ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Barnyard Grass ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Yield ◽  
Nitrogen Phosphorus

The results are presented of four glasshouse experiments conducted at Deniliquin, New South Wales, investigating the competition between rice (Oryza sativa) and barnyard grass (Echinochloa spp.) grown on Riverina clay. A study of the response to nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur showed that Echinochloa tillering was favoured as level of nutrient supply increased. Echinochloa severely depressed rice tillering and yield. Delayed application of nitrogen did not result in any increase in rice yield when competing with Echinochloa. In the absence of Echinochloa competition, rice tillering and grain yield responded to both added nitrogen and phosphorus, but there was no significant yield response to sulphur. Rice panicle production (fertile tillering) was strongly influenced by nutrient supply and was, in turn, related to final grain yield of rice.

The effect of (2-chloroethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (CCC) and presowing drought hardening on growth and grain yield of wheat

1972 ◽  
Vol 12 (54) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Philpotts
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Trimethylammonium Chloride ◽  
Yield Increase ◽  
Dryland Farming ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Good Potential ◽  
Drought Hardening

The effects on the growth and yield of wheat of two seed treatments, dusting with CCC and presowing drought hardening (soaking and drying), were studied under dryland farming conditions. CCC increased grain yield by up to 88 per cent and the yield increase was due to an increase in the number of grains per fertile tiller. Protein content and bushel weight were unaffected by the treatment. Presowing drought hardening hid no effect on growth or grain yield. The yield increases obtained with CCC suggest that this growth regulator has a good potential for increasing wheat yield in the northern New South Wales wheat belt.

Lime improves emergence of canola on an acidic, hardsetting soil

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Scott ◽  
M. R. Fleming ◽  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
K. Y. Chan ◽  
P. G. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Strength ◽  
Structural Effect ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Brassica Napus L ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Lime Application

Much of the agricultural lime applied in southern New South Wales, Australia, is applied to crops of canola (Brassica napus L.), but little is documented on the response of canola to lime. The few documented responses in grain yield of canola to lime application have been ascribed to decreased toxicities of aluminium and manganese. However, there is evidence that lime can have a structural effect on soil. A field experiment was limed in 1982 (0–5 t/ha) and was relimed in 1996 (0–5 t/ha) to give factorial combinations of 5 rates of 'old' (1982) and 6 rates of 'new' (1996) lime. When sown to canola in 1999 there was an increase in density of canola (from 17�to�60�plants/m2) and grain yield (from 1200 to 2700 kg/ha) associated with increasing rates of lime application. The emergence of canola was increased by 15% for each 1 unit increase in soil pHCa. Two subsequent pot experiments, conducted on cores taken from a subset of field plots with different liming histories, showed that lime application increased emergence of canola by about 9% for each 1 unit increase in soil pHCa. In addition, 2 contrasting watering treatments (gentle spraying and rapid flooding) were applied to the pots to either avoid or accentuate any soil structural breakdown. Flooding gave lower emergence compared with spraying (19 and 31%, respectively). Soil strength measurements (penetration resistance and shear strength) conducted on the surface soil (0–1 cm depth) during the second glasshouse experiment showed that lime application and gentle watering (spraying rather than flooding) resulted in lower soil strength. The soil strength measurements were related to emergence of canola. It is proposed that soil structural stability was the major contributor to these observed emergence differences. This is the first evidence in New South Wales of lime affecting plant performance via its influence on soil structure.

Aluminium tolerance and lime increase wheat yield on the acidic soils of central and southern New South Wales

2001 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 523 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Scott ◽  
J. A. Fisher ◽  
B. R. Cullis
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Aluminium Tolerance ◽  
Wagga Wagga ◽  
Al Tolerance ◽  
Acidic Soils ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
Yield Depression

Acidic soils constrain wheat yield in some parts of central and southern New South Wales. This paper describes research designed to evaluate the usefulness of aluminium (Al) tolerance, manganese (Mn) tolerance and the interaction of lime use and Al tolerance in improving wheat yields. Closely related pairs of wheat lines with tolerance and sensitivity of Al and Mn were bred. Carazinho (a Brazilian wheat cultivar) was used as a source of Al tolerance in a backcrossing, recurrent selection program to introduce tolerance into an Egret background (a locally adapted Australian cultivar). Aluminium tolerance was determined using the haematoxylin root tip test and Mn tolerance was determined using a subirrigated gravel bed system. Eight pairs divergent in tolerance of Al were evaluated for their yield on 3 acidic soil types in 5 field experiments. Grain yield increased in Egret-derived lines when Al tolerance from Carazinho was introduced. Yield from the Al-sensitive genotypes (averaged over the 8 pairs) compared with the Al-tolerant genotypes was 0.43 to 0.98 t/ha and 0.88 to 1.38 t/ha respectively on an acid earthy sand in central western New South Wales (Binnaway) in 2 seasons, and 1.08 to 1.96 t/ha and 1.29 to 1.88 t/ha on an acid podsolic soil in southern New South Wales (Borambola). On a moderately acidic red earth site (pH Ca 4.8) at Wagga Wagga, no such advantage accrued to the Al-tolerant group with the average yield for the sensitive and tolerant pairs being 5.00 and 4.78 t/ha, respectively. Manganese tolerance was assessed in only 1 of these experiments (Borambola) using 6 pairs of lines tolerant of Al but with contrasting Mn tolerance. No advantage of Mn tolerance was apparent at this site. At Binnaway the tolerant and sensitive lines responded to lime application with the tolerant lines yielding on average about 0.42 t/ha of grain more than the sensitive lines even when 5 t/ha of lime was applied. At Borambola the tolerant lines yielded 0.59 t/ha of grain more than the sensitive lines when no lime was applied. With lime application this difference in performance disappeared and Al-tolerant and sensitive lines yielded equally. At the Wagga Wagga site, the addition of lime did not affect the yield of the sensitive lines, while the tolerant lines showed a yield depression of 0.32 t/ha of grain with lime application. Three different relationships between lime application and Al tolerance were observed. While 2 relationships fit with our previous understanding, grain yield depression resulting from the combined use of Al tolerance and lime at our least acidic site remains poorly understood.

Time of sowing and wheat yield in northern New South Wales

1974 ◽  
Vol 14 (66) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
AD Doyle ◽  
H Marcellos
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Wheat Cultivars ◽  
Grain Yields ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Leaf Area Duration

The influence of variation in time of sowing on grain yield in five wheat cultivars has been studied in the North West Slopes of New South Wales over the period 1967 to 1971. Highest grain yields were obtained when wheat was sown at the end of June so as to flower at the end of the first week in October. Reductions in relative grain yield of 5 to 7 per cent were recorded for each week that sowing was delayed after the end of June, or 9 to 13.5 per cent for each week that flowering was delayed after the first week in October. Lower grain yields from late sown crops were associated with lower leaf area duration after flowering which could account for 69 per cent of the variation in grain yield. Lower grain yields in early sown crops were associated with lower ear numbers which could be ascribed in part to the influence of frosts.

scholarly journals Lime and gypsum application on the wheat crop

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Fávero Caires ◽  
Itacir Cesar Feldhaus ◽  
Gabriel Barth ◽  
Fernando José Garbuio
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Exchangeable Ca ◽  
Randomized Complete Block Design ◽  
Wheat Leaves

Root growth and crop yield can be affected by chemical modifications of the soil profile owing to lime and gypsum applications. A field trial was carried out on a dystrophic Clayey Rhodic Hapludox at Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil, aiming to evaluate lime (without or with incorporation into the soil) and gypsum effects on root growth, mineral nutrition and grain yield of wheat (cv. OR 1). A randomized complete block design was used, with three replications, in a split-plot experiment. Treatments with dolomitic limestone (without lime and 4.5 t ha-1 of lime applied on the surface, in total rate and 1/3 of the requirement per year during 3 years, or incorporated into the soil) were applied in July 1998 (main plots) and the rates of gypsum (0, 3, 6 and 9 t ha-1) in October 1998 (subplots). Wheat was evaluated in the 2000 winter season. In conditions of water deficit absence, there was no limitation in root growth in depth, for exchangeable Ca of 6 mmol c dm-3. Lime incorporation of lime increased the Mg concentration in the leaves, but wheat yield was not influenced by the correction of soil acidity through liming treatments. Gypsum increased the concentrations of Ca and S in wheat leaves, with significant effects on grain yield. The critical level of S-SO4(2-) in the 0-20 cm soil layer, extracted by ammonium acetate 0.5 mol L-1 in acetic acid 0.25 mol L-1, was 25.8 mg dm-3.

Quality and potential utility of ENSO-based forecasts of spring rainfall and wheat yield in south-eastern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Anwar ◽  
D. Rodriguez ◽  
D. L. Liu ◽  
S. Power ◽  
G. J. O'Leary
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Good Reliability ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Reliable seasonal climate forecasts are needed to aid tactical crop management decisions in south-eastern Australia (SEA). In this study we assessed the quality of two existing forecasting systems, i.e. the five phases of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and a three phase Pacific Ocean sea-surface temperatures (SSTs), to predict spring rainfall (i.e. rainfall from 1 September to 31 November), and simulated wheat yield. The quality of the forecasts was evaluated by analysing four attributes of their performance: their reliability, the relative degree of shift and dispersion of the distributions, and measure of forecast consistency or skill. Available data included 117 years of spring rainfall and 104 years of grain yield simulated using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model, from four locations in SEA. Average values of spring rainfall were 102–174 mm with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 47%. Average simulated wheat yields were highest (5609 kg/ha) in Albury (New South Wales) and lowest (1668 kg/ha) in Birchip (Victoria). The average CV for simulated grain yields was 36%. Griffith (NSW) had the highest yield variability (CV = 50%). Some of this year-to-year variation was related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Spring rainfall and simulated wheat yields showed a clear association with the SOI and SST phases at the end of July. Important variations in shift and dispersion in spring rainfall and simulated wheat yields were observed across the studied locations. The forecasts showed good reliability, indicating that both forecasting systems could be used with confidence to forecast spring rainfall or wheat yield as early as the end of July. The consistency of the forecast of spring rainfall and simulated wheat yield was 60–83%. We concluded that adequate forecasts of spring rainfall and grain yield could be produced at the end of July, using both the SOI and SST phase systems. These results are discussed in relation to the potential benefit of making tactical top-dress applications of nitrogen fertilisers during early August.

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