Project Title:
Long Term No-Till Farming Systems ‘Improving the quality of no-till’
Aim:
Short term (3 years)
1. To educate and update growers on the latest no-till developments.
2. To provide valuable no-till research information.
3. To establish two highly valued long term trials that provide a foundation for measuring and improving the sustainability of no-tillage practices in WA.
Long term
1. To develop recommendations for leading edge no-tillage systems which have permanent soil cover, diverse crop rotations and cover cropping.
2. To compare the long term effects of the new no-tillage farming systems with current district-practice no-tillage.
Background:
The adoption of no-till in WA is widespread with approximately 86% of growers using no-till for a proportion of their cropping (D' Emden and Llewellyn, 2004). No-till crop production systems have major benefits for growers in Australia, such as timeliness of operations, moisture harvesting, erosion control and higher yields. These effects are easily quantifiable; however, there are other beneficial effects, such as increased soil biological activity and organic matter, which occur over a longer time period (Sá, 2004). Growers are confident that the current system is more sustainable than previous production methods that involved tilling the soil. Nonetheless, some of these expected long term benefits have not been realised and production appears to have reached a plateau. In addition, the sustainability of no-till in WA has been questioned because herbicide resistance is on the increase (D' Emden and Llewellyn, 2004). With this in mind the WANTFA commissioned Rolf Derpsch, an international no-till consultant from Paraguay, to do a situation analysis of no-till in WA.
The main challenges identified in the report were lack of cover on the soil, inadequate diversity in the rotation and herbicide resistance and weed control. Practices such as overgrazing, burning, tillage and poor crop rotation were contributing to the problems. WA's grain growing enterprises are currently dominated by cereals, particularly wheat, largely due to poor economic returns from other crops when grown under dry conditions. As a consequence, the area sown to alternative crops such as canola, lupins and other grain legumes have declined in recent years.
Derpsch (2005) recommended that no-till systems in WA should essentially be based on full stubble retention, diverse rotations with cover crops and a more holistic approach to weed management. In addition, he recommended seeding with discs as it seemed "that under a tyne system (with limited rotation options), no till has reached a plateau and it appears difficult to advance the system to a higher level". His conclusion stems from the fact that tynes would not be able to cope with the required increase in crop residues for the no-till system to progress. The situation is exacerbated when growers remove the residue by baling, burning or grazing with sheep.
This project which commenced in 2006 has been designed to test and further develop the Derpsch recommendations for improving the quality of the no-till system. No-till and full stubble retention, as well as crop rotation systems, in general only show their benefits (such as increased organic matter) in the long term (Derpsch, 2005). Consequently, the research has been planned on a long term basis. The project will provide valuable data and information on a range of topics such as yield trends, rotations, water relations, stubble handling, disc seeders, cover crops, educate and update growers on novel no-till developments and establish a highly valued systems trial that will provide a foundation for future advancement in no-till. The environmental and economic benefits of the new no-till system will be determined in the long term and the information will advance current crop production systems - higher and more sustainable profits resulting from increased yields, decreased fertiliser inputs, improved soils and water utilisation and reduced erosion.
Objectives:
The expected outcome is an improvement in the quality of no-till and water use efficiency in WA that will result in increased farm profitability and environmental sustainability. Initially, this will be measured by positive changes in attitudes of growers towards full stubble retention systems with no burning, to the use of cover crops and to integrated weed management. This project will demonstrate to growers and researchers the use of disc seeders, or tynes with inter-row seeding, to handle heavy stubble loads and this is expected to increase the knowledge and use of this technology in the promotion of stubble retention in the wheatbelt. The data and information from this project is also expected to improve our understanding of the long term effects of including break and cover crops in the rotation. This will improve decision making by farmers when including break and cover crops in their rotations which will result in improved environmental and economic outcomes.
The project outcomes and outputs will be achieved by the continuation of two long term trial sites where leading edge high residue no-till systems, as recommended by Rolf Derpsch, will be compared to current district practice no-till. An important CSIRO linked project will measure the water balance in the different no-till systems.
Methodology:
The two trial sites were selected in 2006, one with the Mingenew Irwin Group (MIG) on a sandplain soil near to Mingenew and the other with WANTFA on heavy soil at Cunderdin. The overall project and the Cunderdin site will be managed by Neil Cordingley and the other site by a MIG representative (Cameron Weeks). WANTFA and MIG will have ownership over their own sites under the project leader. Dr Ken Flower (UWA) will also provide scientific input to the project and coordinate research collaborators activities.
Design:
Three randomised blocks of four treatments each. The treatments comprise farming systems that are based on different philosophies. The treatments will each have different three phase rotations and with all phases of each rotation presented every year.
Treatments:
1. Maximum carbon input (including cover crops),
(cereal/cereal/cereal)
2. Maximum diversity (including cover crops),
(brassica/legume/cereal)
3. Maximum flexibility (crops chosen annually)
4. Maximum profit (current district practice)
The philosophy guidelines were established in August 2006 at a workshop that included growers, agronomists and scientists. The maximum profit treatment is based on district practice (tynes, standard crop spacing, burning if required) and was determined by local growers. All the other treatments are sown with a disc seeder to handle high residues and cover crops will be knife rolled where appropriate.
The large size of the plots (40 m x 80 m) will minimise contamination across plots of soil, weeds and diseases. In addition, the design allows for split plots to allow for further research and new technologies.
Measurements and observations:
Measurements include: yield, grain quality, ground cover and biomass (where appropriate); crop input costs; plant counts; nematode; weeds; disease; and soil chemical, physical, biological. Statistical and economic analysis completed following each growing season.
A range of evaporation and soil moisture measurements will be taken by Dr Phil Ward as part of his linked CSIRO water balance project. A number of other research collaborators will be contributing to these assessments from DAFWA, UWA, Muresk and CSIRO.
Communication strategy:
This project will utilise all the extension and communication methods of the WANTFA and MIG grower groups, the Grower Group Alliance as well as CAAANZ members to achieve very wide coverage. On a local level, field days and meetings will create interest amongst other local growers and agronomists.
At least one field day/walk will be held at each site to extend the information to the wider grains industry in WA. In this way, centres of influence such as agronomists, consultants, researchers and other Industry partners will be utilised to communicate the message to the end user - the grower. Project results will be presented at both the WANTFA conference and MIG trial results meeting. Information will be published in the newsletters of WANTFA, GGA and CAAANZ members; trial results booklets; Farm Weekly; and Ground Cover where appropriate.
References:
Derpsch, R. (2005a). Situational Analysis of No-Tillage Systems in WA and Recommendations for the Way Forward.. Report on a Consultancy to Western Australia and South Australia1 ( Feb 2005 to 31 March 2005). Final Report. In: WANTFA New Frontiers in Agriculture. Vol 13, No. 3 pp. 88-92
D' Emden F.H and Llewellyn, R.S. (2004). No-till adoption and the weed management challenge. Paper presented at he the 14th Australian Weeds Conference, Wagga Wagga.
Sá, J.C.M. (2004). Adubação Fosfatada no Sistema de Plantio Direto. In: Sympósio sobre Fósforo na Agricultura Brasileira, Anais (ed.) T. Yamada, Silvia, R. S. Abdalla, p.201-222, Piracicaba, SP, POTAFÓS, p 726.
Length of the project: 3 years (Refunded from commencement in July 2006)
Funding body: Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC)
Contact:
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