Claying and deep ripping can increase crop yields and profits on water repellent sands with marginal fertility in southern Western Australia

Sandplain soils on the south coast of Western Australia have multiple limitations to crop production that include water repellence, low water and nutrient retention, subsoil acidity, and high soil strength. Crops on sandplain soils achieve, on average, almost 85% of their rainfall-limited yield pote...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAustralian journal of soil research Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 178 - 187
Main Authors Hall, D.J.M, Jones, H.R, Crabtree, W.L, Daniels, T.L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing 01.01.2010
Subjects
claying
deep ripping
organic carbon
sands
water repellence
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Summary:Sandplain soils on the south coast of Western Australia have multiple limitations to crop production that include water repellence, low water and nutrient retention, subsoil acidity, and high soil strength. Crops on sandplain soils achieve, on average, almost 85% of their rainfall-limited yield potential; however, where there are multiple limitations the corresponding value is often 3-6%) had cumulative discounted cash returns $AU100-200/ha higher than the unclayed 'control' treatment and $300/ha higher than the lowest clay rates. For most of the clay treatments, deep ripping increased discounted returns between 2005 and 2007 by $80-120/ha.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SR09078
ISSN:0004-9573
1446-568X
DOI:10.1071/SR09078