Register      Login
Soil Research Soil Research Society
Soil, land care and environmental research
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > SR > SR09075
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 48(2)

Impact of subsoil physicochemical constraints on crops grown in the Wimmera and Mallee is reduced during dry seasonal conditions

J. G. Nuttall A B and R. D. Armstrong A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Primary Industries, PB 260, Horsham, Vic. 3401, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: James.Nuttall@dpi.vic.gov.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 48(2) 125-139 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR09075
Submitted: 26 April 2009  Accepted: 26 October 2009   Published: 31 March 2010

Abstract

Subsoil physicochemical constraints can limit crop production on alkaline soils of south-eastern Australia. Fifteen farmer paddocks sown to a range of crops including canola, lentil, wheat, and barley in the Wimmera and Mallee of Victoria and the mid-north and Eyre Peninsula of South Australia were monitored from 2003 to 2006 to define the relationship between key abiotic/edaphic factors and crop growth. The soils were a combination of Calcarosol and Vertosol profiles, most of which had saline and sodic subsoils. There were significant correlations between ECe and Cl– (r = 0.90), ESP and B (r = 0.82), ESP and ECe (r = 0.79), and ESP and Cl– (r = 0.73). The seasons monitored had dry pre-cropping conditions and large variations in spring rainfall in the period around flowering. At sowing, the available soil water to a depth of 1.2 m (θa) averaged 3 mm for paddocks sown to lentils, 28 mm for barley, 44 mm for wheat, and 92 mm for canola. Subsoil constraints affected canola and lentil crops but not wheat or barley. For lentil crops, yield variation was largely explained by growing season rainfall (GSR) and θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m). Salinity in this soil layer affected lentil crops through reduced water extraction and decreased yields where ECe exceeded 2.2 dS/m. For canola crops, GSR and θa in the shallow (0.10–0.60 m) and deep (0.60–1.20 m) layers were important factors explaining yield variation. Sodicity (measured as ESP) in the deep subsoil (0.80–1.00 m) reduced canola growth where ESP exceeded 16%, corresponding to a 500 kg/ha yield penalty. For cereal crops, rainfall in the month around anthesis was the most important factor explaining grain yield, due to the large variation in rainfall during October combined with the determinant nature of these crops. For wheat, θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m) at sowing was also an important factor explaining yield variation. Subsoil constraints had no impact on cereal yield in this study, which is attributed to the lack of available soil water at depth, and the crops’ tolerance of the physicochemical conditions encountered in the shallow subsoil, where plant-available water was more likely to occur. Continuing dry seasonal conditions may mean that the opportunity to recharge soil water in the deeper subsoil, under continuous cropping systems, is increasingly remote. Constraints in the deep subsoil are therefore likely to have reduced impact on cereals under these conditions, and it is the management of water supply, from GSR and accrued soil water, in the shallow subsoil that will be increasingly critical in determining crop yields in the future.

Additional keywords: salinity, sodicity, boron, wheat, barley, lentil, canola.


Acknowledgments

This experimentation was funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries through the project ‘Improving the profitability of cropping on hostile subsoils’ (DAV00049). The co-operation of 15 families within the study region, whose crops were monitored, is also greatly appreciated. Thanks also to R Perris, M Baker and G Price for technical support.


References


Anderson WK , Belford RK , Crosbie GB , Loss SP , Mason MG , Perry MW (1991) Crop management. In ‘The wheat book’. (Ed. B Hillman) pp. 87–115. (Department of Agriculture: Perth, W. Aust.)

Anon. (1999) ‘Climate records.’ (Bureau of Meteorology, Climate and Consultancy Section: Melbourne, Vic.)

Black CK (2003) Official testing methods of the Cereal Chemistry Division, The Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

Bohm W (1979) ‘Methods of studying root systems.’ (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Cantero-Martinez C, O’Leary GJ, Connor DJ (1995) Stubble retention and nitrogen fertilisation in a fallow–wheat rainfed cropping system. 1. Soil water and nitrogen conservation, crop growth and yield. Soil & Tillage Research 34, 79–94.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Cartwright B, Zarcinas BA, Spouncer LR (1986) Boron toxicity in South Australian barley crops. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 37, 351–359.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Dang Y , McDonald M , Routley R , Dalal RC , Singh D , Orange D , Mann M (2006) High chloride in subsoil: a key indicator for potential grain yield losses in southwest Queensland. In ‘13th Australian Society of Agronomy Conference’. Perth, W. Aust. Available at: www.agronomy.org.au/proceedings/

Dang YP, Dalal RC, Mayer DG, McDonald M, Routley R, Schwenke GD, Buck SR, Daniells IG, Singh DK, Manning W, Ferguson N (2008) High subsoil chloride concentrations reduce soil water extraction and crop yield on Vertosols in north-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59, 321–330.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Day T , Hawthorne W , Mayfield A , McMurray L , Rethus G , Turner C (2006) ‘Grain legume handbook.’ (GRDC: Canberra, ACT)

Fischer RA (1979) Growth and water limitation to dryland wheat yield in Australia: a physiological framework. The Journal of Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 45, 83–94. open url image1

Francois LE (1994) Growth, seed yield and soil content of canola grown under saline conditions. Agronomy Journal 86, 233–237. open url image1

French RJ, Schultz JE (1984) Water use efficiency of wheat in a Mediterranean-type environment. I. The relation between yield water use and climate. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 35, 743–764.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hubble GD , Isbell RF , Northcote KH (1983) Features of Australian soils. In ‘Soils: an Australian viewpoint’. (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Incerti M, O’Leary GJ (1990) Rooting depth of wheat in the Victorian Mallee. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 30, 817–824.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Isbell RF (1996) ‘The Australian Soil Classification.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Katerji N, van Hoorn JW, Hamdy A, Mastrorilli M, Oweis T, Erskine W (2001) Response of two varieties of lentil to soil salinity. Agricultural Water Management 47, 179–190.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Keeney DR , Nelson DW (1982) Nitrogen-Inorganic Forms. In ‘Methods of soil analysis Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties’. (Eds AL Page, RH Miller, DR Keeney) pp. 643–698. (SSSA: Madison, WI)

Kirkegaard JA, Lilley JM, Howe GN, Graham JM (2007) Impact of subsoil water use on wheat yield. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 303–315.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Maas EV (1986) Salt tolerance of plants. Applied Agricultural Research 1, 12–26. open url image1

Maas EV, Hoffman GJ (1977) Crop salt tolerance – current assessment. Journal of the Irrigation and Drainage Division 103, 115–134. open url image1

Naidu R, Rengasamy P (1993) Ion interactions and constraints to plant nutrition in Australian sodic soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 31, 801–819.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Nuttall JG , Armstrong RD (2006) Are flip-flop yields of crops on alkaline soils in the Victorian Mallee related to subsoil physicochemical constraints? In ‘13th Australian Society of Agronomy Conference’. Perth. W. Aust. Available at: www.agronomy.org.au/proceedings/

Nuttall JG, Armstrong RD, Connor DJ (2003a) Evaluating physicochemical constraints of Calcarosols on wheat yield in the Victorian southern Mallee. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 487–497.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Nuttall JG, Armstrong RD, Connor DJ, Matassa VJ (2003b) Interrelationships between edaphic factors potentially limiting cereal growth on alkaline soils in north-west Victoria. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 277–292.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Nuttall JG, Davies SL, Armstrong RD, Peoples MB (2008) Testing the primer-plant concept: wheat yields can be increased on alkaline sodic soils when an effective primer phase is used. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59, 331–338.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

O’Leary GJ (1994) Soil water and nitrogen dynamics of dryland wheat in the Victorian Wimmera and Mallee. PhD Thesis, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

Payne RW , Lane PW (1987) ‘Genstat 5 reference manual.’ (Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK)

Ralph W (1986) Boron toxicity in southern cereals. Rural Research 130, 25–27.

Rayment GE , Higginson FR (Eds) (1992) ‘Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne, Vic.)

Rengasamy P, Olsson KA (1991) Sodicity and soil structure. Australian Journal of Soil Research 29, 935–952.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

Ridge PE (1986) A review of long fallows for dryland wheat production in Southern Australia. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 52, 37–43. open url image1

Robertson MJ, Kirkegaard JA (2005) Water-use efficiency of dryland canola in an equi-seasonal rainfall environment. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 56, 1373–1386.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sadras V, Roget D, O’Leary G (2002) On-farm assessment of environmental and management constraints to wheat yield and efficiency in the use of rainfall in the Mallee. Australian Journal of Soil Research 53, 587–598. open url image1

Shaw RJ (1999) Soil salinity – electrical conductivity and chloride. In ‘Soil analysis: an interpretation manual’. (Eds KI Peverill, LA Sparrow, DJ Reuter) (CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood, Vic.)

Siddique KHM, Regan KL, Tennant D, Thomson BD (2001) Water use and water use efficiency of cool season grain legumes in low rainfall Mediterranean-type environments. European Journal of Agronomy 15, 267–280.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stirzaker RJ, Passioura JB, Wilms Y (1996) Soil structure and plant growth: impact of bulk density and biopores. Plant and Soil 185, 151–162.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | open url image1

van Herwaarden A , Passioura J (2001) Improving estimates of water use efficiency in wheat. Australian Grain. pp. 3–5. (Greenmount Press: Toowoomba, Qld)

Whetton PH , Suppiah R , McInnes KL , Hennessy KJ , Jones RN (2002) ‘Climate change in Victoria. High resolution regional assessment of climate change impacts.’ (Victorian Department of Primary Industries & CSIRO Atmospheric Research: Melbourne, Vic.)