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ROWES RD CROP NUTRITION TOUR
August 1 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Join us to explore our modern farming systems and how the use of fertilisers is changing over time. Historically, nitrogen was seen as an important nutrient to drive crop yield, with K recently being identified as a large driver of grain yield along with N. The day will explore the benefits of re-introducing legumes into the crop rotation after a long period of cereals and canola, the use of N inhibitors to increase fertiliser efficiency, and how to best use potassium stored deeper in the soil profile.
The tour will begin at the CSBP Legumes trial site – Meet at Kayanaba Rd, Rowes Rd end.
Location 1: CSBP Legume Trial Site
Topic: Benefits of legumes in modern cropping systems
Continuous cropping without legumes increases the need for nitrogen (N) fertiliser and potentially limits productivity where soil N reserves are low and yield potential is high. This trial is located on a paddock which has had a low history of legumes and for the last four years has had a range of legume-based crop rotations applied to the site. The long term impact of these crop rotations on N application and grain yield are starting to emerge and will be discussed on the day.
Location 2: WMG K Cycling Trial Site
Topic: K cycling & early post-em ripping
WMG have been investigating the cycling of K in 10 paddocks across the region in 2023 and one of the key findings was the large amount of K that is stored deeper in the soil. This site at Bidgerabbie is focused on the ability of various crop types to recycle K up from deeper layers in the soil and make this avaialble for future crops. For added spice, we have also deep ripped half of the site post seeding, pre-emergent to explore the impact of this practice on K uptake.
Location 3: CSBP Inhibitor Trial Site
Topic: Nitrification inhibitors
An increased focus of the industry at present is the use of N inhibitors to reduce the amount of N lost to nitrification during the season to increase N use efficiency and reduce farm-based emissions. Flexi-N contains N in the urea, ammonium and nitrate forms. Urease inhibitors such as NBPT coated onto urea can have a big impact on these factors, and the trial site at Bidgerabbie is looking at the effectiveness of this in the deep sandy soils in our region. A range of fertiliser products and strategies will be on show at this site.
The tour will end at the shed at Bidgerabbie for post tour discussion & beverages. RSVP your name to 0438 924 208 to join us!
This event is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government through the State NRM program, and with special thanks to CSIRO, the GRDC & GGA (supporting the RiskWi$e & K Extension Projects).