Influence of some soil properties on Wimmera wheat yields

Soil Research ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
GW Ford ◽  
RS Jessop ◽  
JJ Martin
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Type ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Grain Protein Content ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Mineralizable Nitrogen ◽  
Brown Clay

In two experiments the growth and grain yield of wheat were compared on calcareous grey and brown clay soils, and related to seasonal changes in soil water, mineral nitrogen and labile (mineralizable) nitrogen. The soils occurred at the sites either as a mosaic (experiment 1) or as topographically distinct areas in the same paddock (experiment 2). Soil type did not affect grain yield in either experiment, although the more favourable seasonal conditions in 1971 (experiment 2) resulted in substantially higher yields. In experiment 2, grain protein content was highest on the grey clay, and was associated with a lower lability of organic nitrogen in the brown clay. In both experiments mineral nitrogen was predominantly nitrate. It declined during crop growth to very low levels by flowering; increases during grain ripening were small. The net decline in mineral nitrogen closely approximated plant uptake in both experiments. Losses due to leaching and denitrification appear to be small. Labile nitrogen increased during crop growth, probably as a result of the 'rhizosphere effect'. Soil type affected the depletion of soil water by the crop; consumption was higher in both grey clays, partly due to lower depletion from the subsoils of the brown clays. In experiment 2 this was associated with restricted root development in this zone. In both experiments the crops had depleted soil water to below the - 15 bar level by flowering; stress during grain filling was greatest in experiment 1, and higher on the brown clays.

A drought experiment using mobile shelters: the effect of drought on barley yield, water use and nutrient uptake

1978 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-623 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Day ◽  
B. J. Legg ◽  
B. K. French ◽  
A. E. Johnston ◽  
D. W. Lawlor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Nutrient Uptake ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Deficit ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Maximum Depth ◽  
Soil Water Deficit ◽  
Drought Treatment ◽  
Effects Of Drought

SummaryAutomatic mobile shelters were used to keep rain off a barley crop in a drought experiment. The treatments ranged from no water during the growing season to regular weekly irrigation. This paper reports the effect of drought on the harvest yield and its components, on water use and nutrient uptake.Drought caused large decreases in yield, and affected each component of the grain yield. The magnitude of each component varied by up to 25% between treatments, and much of the variation could be accounted for by linear regression against the mean soil water deficit in one of three periods. For the number of grains per ear, the relevant period included tillering and ear formation; for the number of ears per unit ground area, the period included stem extension and tiller death; for grain mass, the period included grain filling.The harvest yields were linearly related to water use, with no indication of a critical period of drought sensitivity. The relation of grain yield to the maximum potential soil water deficit did show that a prolonged early drought had an exceptionally large effect on both yield and water use.Two unsheltered irrigation experiments, also on barley, were made in the same year on a nearby site. The effects of drought on yield in these experiments were in good agreement with the effects observed on the mobile shelter site.When fully irrigated, the small plots under the mobile shelters used water 11% faster than larger areas of crop, because of advection. The maximum depth from which water was extracted was unaffected by the drought treatment. When 50% of the available soil water had been used the uptake rate decreased, but the maximum depth of uptake continued to increase.Measurements of crop nutrients at harvest showed that nitrogen uptake was large, because of site history, and that phosphate uptake was decreased by drought to such an extent that phosphate shortage may have limited yield.

Dynamics of K and NO3 concentrations in the root zone of winter wheat at Broadbalk using specific-ion electrodes

1973 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. R. Nair ◽  
O. Talibudeen
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Salt Bridge ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Fertilizer Treatment ◽  
Equilibration Time ◽  
K Concentration

SummaryProcedures for measuring K+ and NO-3 activities in the root zones of field crops, using specific-ion electrodes, were standardized. For K, a 1·0 M-NaCl salt bridge and KC1 standards in water, for NO3, a saturated KC1 salt bridge and KN03 standards in water, and for both electrodes, a 1:0·5, soil: water ratio, and 30 sec equilibration time were found satisfactory.Recovery of added K in soil pastes by the K electrode and chemical analysis of the soil water extract compared well, but the recovery was about 8% only. The corresponding recovery of added N was about 87 and 95% respectively.Relative changes in the rates and magnitudes of NO3 and K concentrations were measured with these electrodes, laterally and vertically, in the root zone, during active crop growth, from the N2 ½(PKNaMg), N2 PKNaMg, and N4PKNaMg treatments of the Broadbalk Winter Wheat Experiment.In all fertilizer treatments, at all times, the nutrient concentrations were most at 45 cm from the crop (in the uncropped area) and least within the cropped area. The differences between these extremes represent nutrient depletion by the crop, the ‘45 cm’ measurementsindicating changes in uncropped, but fertilized, areas.Soil nitrate depletion by the crop was much more at 12·5 cm and 20 cm depths than at 5 cm. Maximum NO3 depletion was observed during the later stages of crop growth, at ‘pre-panicle emergence’ and at ‘grain filling’. Depletion decreased and the soil NO3 level recovered partially as the crop reached maturity.Periodic changes in the K concentration at each site and the corresponding K depletions were much less. Periods of IC stress on the soil were few and less clearly demarcated. Soil K concentration started to recover at the ‘grain filling’ stage about a month earlier than with NO3.Changes in NO3 and K concentrations seem to relate more to the amounts given of each nutrient, than to the N:K ratio in each fertilizer treatment. However, changes in NO3 and K concentrations, and also NO3 and K depletion, occurred consecutively. This indicates an alternating periodicity in the demands of the crop for NO3 and K respectively throughout growth.

Plant population and shading studies in barley

1971 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Willey ◽  
R. Holliday
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Unit Area ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Plant Population ◽  
Grain Number ◽  
Ear Development ◽  
Development Period ◽  
Lower Production

SUMMARYTwo barley experiments are described in which a range of plant populations were shaded during different periods of development. Shading during the ear development period caused considerable reductions in grain yield, largely by reducing the number of grains per ear. Shading during the grain-filling period caused no reduction in grain yield. It is suggested that under conditions of these experiments there was probably a potential surplus of carbohydrate available for grain filling and that grain yield was largely determined by the storage capacity of the ears. The importance of the number of grains per ear as an indicator of individual ear capacity is emphasized.The effects of plant population on grain yield and its components are also examined. It is concluded that the number of grains per ear is the component having greatest influence on the decrease in grain yield at above-optimum populations and attention is again drawn to the possible importance of ear capacity. It is argued that on an area basis the number of grains per unit area may give a good indication of ear capacity. Examination of this parameter shows a close relationship with grain yield per unit area for both the shading and population treatments. It is particularly evident that a decrease in grain yield at high populations was associated with a comparable decrease in the number of grains per unit area. It is suggested that this decrease in grain number may be due to a lower production of total dry matter during ear development rather than an unfavourable partitioning of this dry matter between the ear and the rest of the plant. This lower production of total dry matter is attributed to the crop growth rates of the higher populations having reached their peak and then having declined before the end of the ear development period. This crop growth rate pattern, through its effect on grain number per unit area, is put forward as the basic reason why, in the final crop, grain yield per unit area decreases at above-optimum populations.

Survey of farm management practices of the northern wheat belt of New South Wales

1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Martin ◽  
MG McMillan ◽  
JB Cook
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Grain Protein Content ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
South Wales ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Fertiliser Use

A survey of management practices on wheat farms in northern New South Wales was carried out on 50 farms between 1983 and 1985 and was supplemented by a questionnaire mailed to 750 growers in 1985. Information was collected on crop rotation, tillage practice, fertiliser use and weed control practices. Data were collected from 1 paddock on each farm and included: wheat grain yield and quality, available soil water and nutrients at sowing, wild oat density, and incidence of soil-borne diseases. The 3-year average grain yield in survey paddocks was 2.2 t/ha. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors affecting grain yield and protein in 1985. Of the variation in wheat grain yield, 74% was explained by variation in available soil water at sowing, available soil nitrate at sowing, sowing date and wild oat density. Grain protein content declined with increasing available soil water and phosphate at sowing and with earlier sowing, but increased with available nitrate at sowing. Agronomic practices aimed at maximising wheat grain yield, in the presence of a deficiency ofavailable soil nitrate, are likely to result in a reduction of grain protein content. Likewise, responses to application of nitrogenous fertiliser are likely to be inversely related to available soil water at sowing. The mean gross margin for 1984 and 1985, based on $100/t of wheat grain, was $128. The mean gross margin for the least profitable 20% of paddocks was $37, and $253 for the top 20%. New varieties of wheat and herbicides were readily adopted by farmers. On the other hand, adoption of nitrogenous fertiliser use was slow, considering the widespread and long-standing deficiencies of nitrogen in cropping soils of the region. Crop rotation and tillage practices have changed only marginally since the late 1940s. The results of this survey indicate that the usefulness of soil testing for predicting fertiliser requirements could be improved by taking into account levels of available soil water, weed competition and sowing date and by using multiple regression analysis.

Advances in precision agriculture in south-eastern Australia. III. Interactions between soil properties and water use help explain spatial variability of crop production in the Victorian Mallee

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 870 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Armstrong ◽  
J. Fitzpatrick ◽  
M. A. Rab ◽  
M. Abuzar ◽  
P. D. Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Root Growth ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Management Zones ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Supplementary Irrigation

A major barrier to the adoption of precision agriculture in dryland cropping systems is our current inability to reliably predict spatial patterns of grain yield for future crops for a specific paddock. An experiment was undertaken to develop a better understanding of how edaphic and climatic factors interact to influence the spatial variation in the growth, water use, and grain yield of different crops in a single paddock so as to improve predictions of the likely spatial pattern of grain yields in future crops. Changes in a range of crop and soil properties were monitored over 3 consecutive seasons (barley in 2005 and 2007 and lentils in 2006) in the southern section of a 167-ha paddock in the Mallee region of Victoria, which had been classified into 3 different yield (low, moderate, and high) and seasonal variability (stable and variable) zones using normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and historic yield maps. The different management zones reflected marked differences in a range of soil properties including both texture in the topsoil and potential chemical-physical constraints in the subsoil (SSCs) to root growth and water use. Dry matter production, grain yield, and quality differed significantly between the yield zones but the relative difference between zones was reduced when supplementary irrigation was applied to barley in 2005, suggesting that some other factor, e.g. nitrogen (N), may have become limiting in that year. There was a strong relationship between crop growth and the use of soil water and nitrate across the management zones, with most water use by the crop occurring in the pre-anthesis/flowering period, but the nature of this relationship appeared to vary with year and/or crop type. In 2006, lentil yield was strongly related to crop establishment, which varied with soil texture and differences in plant-available water. In 2007 the presence of soil water following a good break to the season permitted root growth into the subsoil where there was evidence that SSCs may have adversely affected crop growth. Because of potential residual effects of one crop on another, e.g. through differential N supply and use, we conclude that the utility of the NDVI methodology for developing zone management maps could be improved by using historical records and data for a range of crop types rather than pooling data from a range of seasons.

Effect of Limited Irrigation on Water Consumption and Grain Yield of Spring Maize (Zea Mays)

2013 ◽  
Vol 404 ◽  
pp. 415-419
Author(s):  
Heng Jia Zhang ◽  
Jun Hui Li
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Spring Maize

The soil water contents in spring maize field were monitored continuously using soil neutron probe combined with drying-weighing method. Meanwhile, the effect of limited irrigation on crop periodic water consumption and its percentage in total water use, leaf area index, and grain yield of spring maize were explored. The results indicated that both the periodic water consumption and its percentage in total water use varied from low to high then to low within maize growing season, with the maximum valued both at silking to middle grain filling. In addition, leaf area indexes were greatly improved by full irrigation before maize filling, and grain yield was not reduced by efficient limited irrigation management, contrarily, yield increase and 31.1% of significant irrigation water saving were achieved, which was beneficial to the optimization of soil water ecological processing and limited irrigation management.

scholarly journals Combining Genomic and Phenomic Information for Predicting Grain Protein Content and Grain Yield in Spring Wheat

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karansher S. Sandhu ◽  
Paul D. Mihalyov ◽  
Megan J. Lewien ◽  
Michael O. Pumphrey ◽  
Arron H. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Protein Content ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Grain Protein Content ◽  
Spectral Information ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Prediction Ability ◽  
Secondary Traits

Genomics and high throughput phenomics have the potential to revolutionize the field of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding. Genomic selection (GS) has been used for predicting various quantitative traits in wheat, especially grain yield. However, there are few GS studies for grain protein content (GPC), which is a crucial quality determinant. Incorporation of secondary correlated traits in GS models has been demonstrated to improve accuracy. The objectives of this research were to compare performance of single and multi-trait GS models for predicting GPC and grain yield in wheat and to identify optimal growth stages for collecting secondary traits. We used 650 recombinant inbred lines from a spring wheat nested association mapping (NAM) population. The population was phenotyped over 3 years (2014–2016), and spectral information was collected at heading and grain filling stages. The ability to predict GPC and grain yield was assessed using secondary traits, univariate, covariate, and multivariate GS models for within and across cycle predictions. Our results indicate that GS accuracy increased by an average of 12% for GPC and 20% for grain yield by including secondary traits in the models. Spectral information collected at heading was superior for predicting GPC, whereas grain yield was more accurately predicted during the grain filling stage. Green normalized difference vegetation index had the largest effect on the prediction of GPC either used individually or with multiple indices in the GS models. An increased prediction ability for GPC and grain yield with the inclusion of secondary traits demonstrates the potential to improve the genetic gain per unit time and cost in wheat breeding.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document