An estimated 12.5 million hectares of sandy soils in southern and Western Australia are deemed at moderate and high risks of water repellence. In this podcast, researcher Dr Jack Desbiolles from the University of South Australia evaluates the effectiveness of available soil wetter chemistries and seeding tactics to improve crop productivity in non-wetting sandy soil.

The research findings explored in this podcast are the result of two field trials that were run in 2018 and 2019, made possible through GRDC investment. The trials were conducted in a 270mm growing season rainfall zone at Murlong on the Eyre Peninsula, namely a soil wetter evaluation trial and a seeder strategy evaluation trial, aiming to compare a number of seeding strategies.

Contact:

Dr Jack Desbiolles

Agricultural Machinery Research and Design Centre

[email protected]

Useful resources:

https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/grdc-update-papers/tab-content/grdc-update-papers/2020/02/seeder-based-approaches-to-reduce-the-impact-of-water-repellence-on-crop-productivity

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