Soil Links & Resources

Planting depth refers to the vertical position at which seeds are placed in the soil. It is a critical factor that affects the germination and growth of plants. Planting seeds at the appropriate depth ensures they receive the right amount of moisture, temperature, and oxygen to germinate and develop into healthy, productive plants.

Research summary of methods incorporating biochar application within soil.

Sandy soils are common across much of the grain growing regions in Southern and Western Australia. More than 5 million hectares of this land is affected by water repellency.

Water repellent soils prevent normal infiltration of water, which either pools on the surface and evaporates, or moves down ‘preferred pathways’ leaving large volumes of soil dry. Uneven wetting of soils causes poor germination of crop, pasture and weed plants and increased risks from wind and water erosion.

Water repellency is caused when hydrophobic (water repellent) ‘skins’, made from plant waxes and other products from the natural process of plant biodegradation, form around individual sand grains. These waxy skins effectively repel water from the soil and limit water availability to the crop.

Surprisingly zero-tillage and stubble retention also produced the highest measurements in the field of soil water content, contradicting the water repellency findings. This indicates there are mechanisms other than water repellency involved in water infiltration into the soil.

DPIRD – Developing a controlled traffic (tramline) farming system (2024).

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a farming system built on permanent wheel tracks where the crop zone and traffic lanes are permanently separated. It can improve profitability and sustainability.

CTF increases profit by more yield, better grain quality, improved operation timeliness, and reduced costs. The environment can improve, with less nutrient leaching, less water erosion, better water infiltration, and less greenhouse gas emission. Implementation needs a clear, long-term plan, and prioritisation of soil health.

The following simple calculations will allow you to
accurately determine how much fertiliser to put on
your soil.

Before applying fertilisers of any type, you should assess
the nutrient content of your soil, and understand that
other factors – soil type, soil depth, current pasture or
crop type and previous paddock history – need to be
considered as well

Soil constraints may not be immediately visible in a single season or consistent, varying from year to year. Yield maps are a valuable tool for identifying differences between actual and potential yields, as well as spotting patterns that may indicate underlying soil issues.

If a paddock isn’t performing as expected, monitor it closely throughout the growing season for signs of possible soil constraints.

Soil Quality Knowledge Base has some great educational resources for identifying and managing soil contraints.

Legumes in Australian farming systems and prospects to reduce the reliance on N fertiliser by diversifying wheat-based cropping systems with legumes.

GRDC Take home messages:

• Legumes differ in their reliance upon biological nitrogen (N) fixation (BNF) for growth. Under Australian rainfed condition, BNF tends to be greatest in faba bean and lupin and lowest in mungbean and chickpea, due to differences in the growth duration and biomass production between the various pulse crops
• A “rough rule-of-thumb”: Approximately 90 kg of free N is fixed (i.e. from the air to the plant) for every tonne of pulse grain harvested (including above- and below-ground plant parts)
• On average, the first wheat crop grown after pulses with no N fertiliser yields +0.67 t/ha more grain and takes up +36 kg N/ha extra compared to cereal-on-cereal (or canola) sequences. Improvements were similar for the wheat following legume-based pasture (+0.73 t/ha and +39 kg N/ha). However, green or brown manures can increase even more the following wheat yield by +1.12 t/ha, N uptake by +62 kg N/ha and soil mineral N by +83 kg N/ha (vs. +49 kg mineral-N/ha following pulses or legume-based pastures)
• Yield gains (+0.39 t/ha), additional N uptake (+24 kg N/ha) and increases in pre-sowing soil mineral N (+20 kg N/ha) were all smaller in the second wheat crop after a pulse. By contrast, the productivity and N fertility benefits following legume-based pastures or green/brown manures do not decline as much in the second wheat crop as observed with pulses, and unlike pulses often persistent into a third wheat cropping year, especially after pure lucerne pastures.
• Legumes provide rotational benefits beyond N supply including expanded weed management options, decreased cereal disease inoculum, increased availability of soil water and other nutrients and in some cases, improved soil structure
• The combined inputs of BNF and residual legume N currently appear to be comparable to the total fertiliser N used in Australian wheat production, offering a clear pathway to reduce the rates of N fertiliser applied to wheat by grain-growers.

Research consistently demonstrates that reduced till farming approaches not only maintain crop productivity but often enhance it while delivering substantial economic and environmental advantages. As global adoption of these practices has increased by 93 percent over the past decade, reaching over 507 million acres worldwide1, farmers are discovering that the pros of no till farming create compelling value propositions that benefit both their operations and the broader ecosystem.

Minimum tillage and zero tillage systems dramatically reduce soil disturbance while maximizing surface residue retention.

Minimum tillage encompasses practices that limit soil disturbance to shallow depths of 2-4 inches using discs or tines, maintaining 30 percent or more residue cover to qualify as conservation tillage3. These systems reduce the number of field passes while preserving soil structure and organic matter.

Strip tillage represents a hybrid approach that tills narrow strips where crops will be planted while leaving the remainder of the field undisturbed, combining benefits of both tillage and no-till systems4.

Zero tillage, also known as no-till farming, eliminates soil disturbance entirely except for the narrow slot created during planting. Seeds are placed directly into undisturbed soil using specialized equipment, maintaining 70 percent or more crop residue cover5. This approach fundamentally alters the soil ecosystem by preserving natural soil structure and biological activity.

The future of agriculture increasingly depends on practices that enhance rather than degrade the natural resources upon which production depends.

No-tillage sowing decreases water erosion on loamy soils and increases earthworm activity. No-tillage sowing reduces both wind and water erosion. Soil structure is generally improved,
and pasture regeneration is increased because
seed is not buried too deeply for re-establishment.

Soil is a farmer’s basic asset. This issue of “The Journal of Agriculture” in a new form designed to provide still better service to the farming community, is an appropriate medium through which to remind the man on the land of what the soil means to him—and to the State. The farmer’s duties to himself, his family and the State are summed up in the words “soil conservation” which is merely another way of saying “wise land use.”

DPIRD library.