Use of PAM in Australian irrigated agriculture

In many countries using polyacrylamides PAM as a soil conditioner has increased in recent years, particularly since the introduction of new generation, more cost effective products. Using these products on-farm has become more economically feasible because of their low application rates. They also have important environment, soil conservation and irrigation efficiency benefits. This article summarises the important findings from a series of experiments conducted over a five year period

Water Balance of Flooded Rice in the Tropics

Department of Agriculture and Food, WA staff member authored Water Balance of Flooded Rice in the Tropics in the publication Irrigation and Drainage - Sustainable Strategies and Systems’, edited by Muhammad Salik Javaid, published by INTECH, May 2015 Chapter Summary: Excess groundwater recharge rates under irrigated agriculture may lead to problems such as rising watertable, waterlogging and salinity. In irrigated areas, growers may need to manage this water and hence, understanding what leakage is attributed to what crops will become more important. In this study, evaporation, transpiration, and deep percolation losses were estimated for ponded rice culture, using a set of three lysimeters and lockup bay tests. The average deep percolation losses were estimated to be less than 0.97 mm/day or approximately 1 ML/ha for the crop cycle. At this rate, deep percolation under ponded rice culture in Cununurra clay soils is within accepted leakage rates and the rates should not unduly affect growers or environmental managers in terms of rising groundwater levels, waterlogging and salinity.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/books/1000/thumbnail.jp

Agronomic Options for Profitable Rice-based Farming System in Northern Australia

Minimum air temperatures less than 15°C had biggest impact on varietal performance. Cold damage during the months of June and July warrants selection of varieties with cold tolerance for this environment, especially for the aerobic rice system. Ponded water has 4-8°C advantage over the air temperature, thus providing some protection against such cold damage. This has resulted in higher yields under flooded system. Planting dates, varying from late-February to late-May, were found to play a crucial role for plants to escape the low temperature damage at critical growth stages. Among the varieties tested, selected tropical varieties yielded higher than the temperate varieties. Yunlu 29 has been identified as the best variety adapted for aerobic rice system in the Ord. NTR 426 was found to outperform all other tested varieties under the flooded system in this environment. Greater focus must be paid on quality of harvested grain. A complete analysis of data generated in trials conducted from 2009 to 2015 at all sites in WA and NT could help to identify environmental differences between sites and therefore target specific/broad adaptation of varieties with good yield stability. Future work in northern Australia should consider screening a greater range of fragrant and aromatic rice. Traditionally, fragrant rice varieties attain greater levels of aromatic components in tropical regions. These are high value varieties and represent opportunities for import substitution in Australian markets. There is an opportunity for Australia to tap further into the international rice market by producing these speciality rices in the tropical environments of northern Australia. These are some of the factors that need to be considered to establish a viable rice industry in the ORIA and NT regions. Rice crop modelling could add significant value and extend the experimental work and field trials, particularly in helping to quantify long-term risks in rice production due to low/high temperatures, climate change, and so on. Once they have been tested and validated, cropping systems models (for example, Agricultural Production Systems Simulator [APSIM]) can give valuable insights into climatic risks over a much longer period (50-100 years) than experiments/field-trials.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/books/1011/thumbnail.jp

Value of multimedia approach for learning by distance education

The provision of a range of online learning resources will minimise treating on-campus and distanceeducation students differently. Learning resources provided in a CD-ROM could enhance the learning experiences of both on-campus and distance-education students. Supplementary resource materials provided to on-campus students can offer opportunities to enhance and broaden the learning experiences of distance-education students. Hence, both essential and supplementary learning resources should be made available to all students. Web-based learning and teaching approaches can increase and promote more active student engagement and interaction. It can provide easier or more equitable access by students to learning materials. Well-designed, interactive, up-todate, fast to download, easy to read, easy to navigate, and good visual design are important parameters which can determine the effectiveness of CD-ROM for student learning

Value of online resources for learning by distance education

An audit of a large regional University offering courses with an applied focus identified that in terms of learning and teaching activities, it was meeting the needs of its local region while providing support to the professions both within the State and nationally (AUQA 2004). The audit also found that in general terms, students reported very positively on their learning and teaching experiences and were appreciative of supportive teaching staff. The subject-based online discussion fora, which allow for discussion between and among students and staff, are found to be a highly positive supplement to other forms of support (AUQA 2004). Students studying by distance, in particular, find participation in the forum very useful since it lessens the sense of isolation and allows them to communicate with fellow students studying both internally and by distance. Other features of the online environment, such as online submission of assignments, are also valued by students. The University has a priority to promote an institutional climate which values and supports flexible teaching and learning practices to enhance learning (CSU 2003). This has been achieved by, among other things, development of online subject outlines and promotion of the use of the University’s Learning Resources Bank. Palaskas and Muldoon (2003) noted that the current online environment at the University is characterized by the capability to involve students in online forum discussions, deliver learning resources online and to provide online administrative service

Crop Updates 2011 - Cereals

This session covers eleven papers from different authors: OPENING, NEW CROP VARIETIES & DECISION SUPPORT Opening 1. Overview of the 2010 season, David Bowran, Director, Practice and Systems Innovation, Department of Agriculture and Food, 2. My experience in a drought as a farmer and consultant, Bill Crabtree, Morawa, Western Australia 3. Meeting the productivity and sustainability challenges to Australian agriculture until 2030, Peter Carberry, CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship New Crop Varieties 4. National Variety Trials (NTV) wheat variety performance – captivity vs broadacre, Peter Burgess, Kalyx Agriculture 5. WALAN2289 – a new lupin variety to replace Mandelup in the system, Bevan Buirchell, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. The strengths and pitfalls of different grades of new wheat varieties in Western Australia Ben Curtis, Sarah Ellis, Brenda Shackley, Christine Zaicou, Department of Agriculture and Food, 7. Yield performance of temperate and tropical rice varieties in the Ord River Irrigation Areas (ORIA) Siva Sivapalan, Penny Goldsmith and Gae Plunkett, Department of Agriculture and Food Decision Support 8. A new phenology model (DM) for wheat, Darshan Sharma, Mario D’Antuono, Brenda Shackley, Christine Zaicou, Ben Curtis, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. PeatFax Map and the Weed Seed Wizard: tools to help with crop protection, Art Diggle1, Peter Mangano1, Sally Peltzer1, Michael Renton2, Bill Macleod1, Fumie Horiuchi1, George Wyatt1 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2University of Western Australia 10. Soil management calculator for predicting phosphorus losses under cropping systems in Western Australia, Geoff Anderson1, Richard Bell2, Ross Brennan1 and Wen Chen2, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University 11. Tools to assist growers understand the impacts of management decisions in the high rainfall zone, Penny Riffkin, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Hamilto

Crop Updates 2009 - Farming Systems

This session covers nineteen papers from different authors: Decision support technology 1. The use of high resolution imagery in broad acre cropping, Derk Bakker and Grey Poulish, Department of Agriculture and Food 2. Spraywise decisions – online spray applicatiors planning tool, Steve Lacy, Nufarm Australia Ltd 3. Testing for redlegged earthmite resistance in Western Australia, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore and Alan Lord, Department of Agriculture and Food 4. Screening cereal, canola and pasture cultivars for Root Lesion Nematode (Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter and Sean Kelly,Department of Agriculture and Food Farming Systems Research 5. Lessons from five years of cropping systems research, WK Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. Facey Group rotations for profit: Five years on and where to next? Gary Lang and David McCarthy, Facey Group, Wickepin, WA Mixed Farming 7. Saline groundwater use by Lucerne and its biomass production in relation to groundwater salinity, Ruhi Ferdowsian, Ian Roseand Andrew Van Burgel, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Autumn cleaning yellow serradella pastures with broad spectrum herbicides – a novel weed control strategy that exploits delayed germination, Dr David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. Decimating weed seed banks within non-crop phases for the benefit of subsequent crops, Dr David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food 10. Making seasonal variability easier to deal with in a mixed farming enterprise! Rob Grima,Department of Agriculture and Food 11. How widely have new annual legume pastures been adopted in the low to medium rainfall zones of Western Australia? Natalie Hogg, Department of Agriculture and Food, John Davis, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University 12. Economic evaluation of dual purpose cereal in the Central wheatbelt of Western Australia, Jarrad Martin, Pippa Michael and Robert Belford, School of Agriculture and Environment, CurtinUniversity of Technology, Muresk Campus 13. A system for improving the fit of annual pasture legumes under Western Australian farming systems, Kawsar P Salam1,2, Roy Murray-Prior1, David Bowran2and Moin U. Salam2, 1Curtin University of Technology; 2Department of Agriculture and Food 14. Perception versus reality: why we should measure our pasture, Tim Scanlon, Department of Agriculture and Food, Len Wade, Charles Sturt University, Megan Ryan, University of Western Australia Modelling 15. Potential impact of climate changes on the profitability of cropping systems in the medium and high rainfall areas of the northern wheatbelt, Megan Abrahams, Chad Reynolds, Caroline Peek, Dennis van Gool, Kari-Lee Falconer and Daniel Gardiner, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Prediction of wheat grain yield using Yield Prophet®, Geoff Anderson and Siva Sivapalan, Department of Agriculture and Food 17. Using Yield Prophet® to determine the likely impacts of climate change on wheat production, Tim McClelland1, James Hunt1, Zvi Hochman2, Bill Long3, Dean Holzworth4, Anthony Whitbread5, Stephen van Rees1and Peter DeVoil6 1 Birchip Cropping Group, Birchip, Vic, 2Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Flagship, Qld, 3 AgConsulting, SA 4 Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Toowoomba Qld, 5 CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, SA, 6 Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland 18. Simple methods to predict yield potential: Improvements to the French and Schultz formula to account for soil type and within-season rainfall, Yvette Oliver, Michael Robertson and Peter Stone, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 19. Ability of various yield forecasting models to estimate soil water at the start of the growing season, Siva Sivapalan, Kari-Lee Falconer and Geoff Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Effect Of A Polymer On Growth And Yield Of Soybeans (Glycine Max) Grown In A Coarse Textured Soil

The water holding capacity of coarse textured soils is low. It can be increased by the addition of soil conditioners such as the cross-linked polymers (PAM). A synthetic anionic acrylic copolymer (ALCOSORB400) was mixed with a sandy soil at 5 different rates (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% PAM by weight) and subjected to 5 different irrigation regimes (3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 days interval between 2 irrigations). Soybean (Glycine max; CV Stephens) was grown during the period from January to March 2001 in pots containing 800 g of treated soil under glasshouse environment. Dry matter productions at 20, 40 and 60 days after planting (DAP), plant height at maturity and grain yield at harvest were determined. The results indicated that the amount of dry matter productions at 20, 40 and 60 DAP were found to be higher with increasing amounts of PAM in soil and decreasing intervals between 2 consecutive irrigations. Similar relationships were found for plant height at maturity. Soybeans grown in soils treated with 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2% PAM achieved grain productions which were about 6, 9 and 14 times greater, respectively, than that in control soil under 3 days of irrigation interval. It was also found that 0.05% PAM in soil with 4 days irrigation interval and 0.1% PAM in soil with 5 days irrigation interval enabled plants to achieve grain yields higher than that of control soil with 3 days irrigation interval. Therefore, crops in coarse textured soils treated with polymers can produce more grain or dry matter yield often under low frequent irrigations. It can also help to save water, time, money and energy which otherwise spent on high frequency irrigations. These findings also have potential beneficial implications to growing garden plants, pot plants, glasshouse plants and/or general horticulture

Effect Of Polymer On Soil Water Holding Capacity And Plant Water Use Efficiency

The amount of water retained by a sandy soil against a 0.01 MPa pressure increased by 23 and 95% by adding small amounts (0.03 and 0.07% by weight, respectively) of a polymer to the soil. However, the polymer did not significantly increase the quantity of water released from the soil by increasing the pressure from 0.01 to 1.5 MPa. The additional amount of water retained by the soil due to the presence of polymer was completely available to soybean plants grown in pots. Consequently there were substantial increases in water use efficiency of soybean plants grown in soils treated with 0.03 (12) and 0.07% (19) polymers

Improving crop production by the use Of PAM: potential benefits to Australian agriculture

An anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) at the rate of 7 kg ha-1 applied to the surface of a degraded hard-setting soil increased the germination of cotton seeds by 84%. Significant improvement in soil physical properties was also observed in treated soils. A cross-linked PAM at the rate of 0.03 and 0.07% increased the amount of water retained by a sandy soil by 23 and 95%, respectively. Consequently the water use efficiency of soybean plants grown in PAM treated soils was increased by 12 and 19 times, respectively. Increasing amounts of PAM in sandy soil enabled to extend the irrigation interval without any adverse effect on the grain yield of soybeans. An anionic PAM at the rate of 10 kg ha-1 reduced the turbidity of water in a sodic soil by 83%. However, PAM combined with small amounts of gypsum was highly effective in reducing the turbidity of water without significant effect on the percolation rate of water through the soil