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Field Crops and Horticulture

Rob Houghton in a dryland barley crop

Rainfed crops hold the ground as irrigation dries up

by Kellie Penfold, GRDC

For farmers in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA), a plentiful water supply has for decades guaranteed harvests and allowed them to grow high-value rice crops.

But in recent years water allocations have dried up, mirroring the climate.

Peter Draper and Janelle McGufficke

Less irrigation raises question of environmental effects

Environmental assessment normally is associated with expansion but, as irrigators in the Riverina have found, the effects of less water are also of interest.

Funding was made available through the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation last year as part of a three year research program to quantify the effects of changing irrigation strategies on biodiversity in the region.

Brian Dunn in a rice field

Rice may flourish using less water

There are encouraging signs from a new study at the Yanco Agricultural Institute that delaying flooding could be a successful strategy for saving water without loss of rice production.

The investigation was prompted by an industry hit hard by the water shortage and anxious to find ways of producing with less.

Seasonal labour is the most profitable use of labour in broadacre crop dominant farms

Many broadacre farms in Western Australia (WA) experience problems in attracting and retaining farm labour. A survey of WA farmers (Rabobank 2007) reported that of the 69 percent of farmers who required additional labour over the previous 12 months, 14 percent said it was ‘impossible’ to find labour. A further 62 percent said they had experienced some difficultly attracting adequate labour. To overcome this labour shortage, 41% of the survey (more)...

Knowledge Harvest

The Knowledge Harvest project aimed to raise awareness and adoption of NPSI research. The harvest consolidated knowledge from the last 10 years of investment including the recently completed Phase I of the Program, knowledge from NPSI’s predecessor National Program for Irrigation Research and Development (NPIRD) and knowledge from Phase II.

Water Smart Cotton and Grains in NSW

Irrigators want to improve WUE in terms of bales per ML or tonnes per ML, with the intention to maximise their profitability or $/ML. An important step to achieving this is through the adoption of irrigation management best practices. Consultants will be mentored to increase their knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver a range of irrigation services. Irrigation training, farm (more)...

Farmer as researcher: forty years in the field

For nearly forty years, the Jones have farmed at Henrietta in the states north-west, experimenting with different crops, grazing systems and machinery along the way. ‘I suppose I wanted to find out why certain things worked and others didnt,’ said Lance Jones. Over the decades, Lance came to think about a new way of farming. ‘I decided to reduce the inputs and noticed that the cattle got better . (more)...

Sustainable soil management workshops for Queensland broadacre cropping industries

Traditional agricultural practices in northern NSW and Queensland extensive cropping industries have generally resulted in a decline in soil health leading to lower potential yiedls and increased production costs.

Salinity Impact on Lower Murray Horticulture

Project Objectives

  • Determine/update the crop salinity relationships
  • Determine the variability of EC (soil water) and leaching efficiency in the field
  • Simulate different scenarios of River Murray salinity at Morgan
  • Input to the MDB Salinity Strategy and Integrated Catchment Management Plan

Optimising delivery and benefits of aerated irrigation water

We have shown in a number of annual crops that by simply creating air bubbles in drip irrigation systems we can significantly increase crop yield and quality, overcoming root oxygen starvation caused by irrigation. We will trial this practice [we call it oxygation] on perennial species in growers’ fields firstly in Queensland, and then halfway through the project in NSW and SA, to improve yield and yield per unit of water use. (more)...