All in Field Crops and Horticulture

Knowledge Harvest

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:15:27 +0000

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.

IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Research Type:

Research Project

Research Scale:

National

LWA Project Code:

RST005115

Researchers:

Peter Day

Subjects

Subjects:

Field Crops and Horticulture

Keywords:

knowledge

harvest

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Background

Project Background:

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation’s mission is to provide Australia with leadership through collaborative investment in research and its adoption to improve the productivity and sustainability of irrigation in Australia. It aims to achieve this mission by defining, commissioning and managing research and development projects that produce new information of national importance and facilitate its adoption.

Aims:

Review the research and knowledge developed throughout the 10 years of irrigation research undertaken by the Program and package and deliver this knowledge through a suite of activities to end-users.

Water Smart Cotton and Grains in NSW

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:33:46 +0000

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 walks and technology demonstrations will provide the platform of knowledge transfer and encourage the adoption of irrigation best practices to improve WUE. Water use indices will be calculated for both the cotton and grains industries to provide a benchmark to gauge future changes in WUE.

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IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Research Type:

Research Project

Research Scale:

Farm

LWA Project Code:

DAN005162

Researchers:

Deb Slinger

Subjects

Subjects:

Cotton and Fibre Crops

Field Crops and Horticulture

Water (General)

Keywords:

smart

Cotton

Grains

Current Activities

Status:

Active

Current Activities:

During the first half of 2009, the project team will be surveying cotton and grain irrigators to establish water use efficiency benchmarks. NSW DPI previously conducted a survey of 36 cotton farms from Hillston to Emerald and found a 40 percent increase in water use efficiency since 2003. This project will expand the collection of this important benchmarking information to include the both the cotton and grains industries. Data will be obtained from around 60 cotton and 60 wheat irrigators located from Southern NSW through to Central Qld so as to benchmark irrigation water use for the cotton industry during the 2008/09 season and for irrigated wheat during the 2008 season. Consultants will play a role in the collection of this data through the consultants support program. After receiving training in the on-line benchmarking tool Watertrack Rapid, project officers will provide support to improve consultant’s knowledge, skills and confidence to offer benchmarking as an irrigation service.

The project will continue the delivery of training workshops on a range of irrigation topics such as those developed as part of the Cotton and Grains Irrigation Workshop Series and the Centre Pivot and Lateral Move National Training Course.

Background

Project Background:

In recent times, cotton irrigators have shown a growing interest in irrigating winter cereals as the profitability of these crops has improved. Irrigators want to improve their 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.

In an effort to further improve water use efficiency within the cotton and grains industries, this project will build upon the achievements of the preceding ‘Knowledge Management in Irrigated Cotton and Grains’ and ‘Advancing Water Management in NSW’ projects. It will also complement other CRDC and GRDC funded projects such as the ‘High Yielding Irrigated Grains in Cotton Farming Systems’ and ‘Maintaining Profitability and Soil Quality in Cotton Farming Systems III’. These projects have elements focussing on stimulating adoption of best management irrigation practices and generating greater water use efficiency in both the irrigated cotton and grains industries.

This project has been developed based on the recommendations of the ‘Knowledge Management in Irrigated Cotton and Grains’ project evaluation report.

Coutts, J & R. (April 2008), Knowledge management in irrigated cotton and grains (Phase 2). External Evaluation. Internal Document.

Aims:

1) Benchmark irrigation water use efficiency in terms of bales per ML or tonnes per ML for the irrigated cotton and grains industries.

2) Increase consultant’s knowledge, skills and confidence to offer a greater range of irrigation services to growers.

3) Promote and deliver irrigation training to cotton and grains irrigators and consultants to increase their knowledge of best irrigation management practice.

4) Scope the full upgrade of an Irrigated Cotton and Grains WATERpak.

5) Coordinate and or support forums/field days/conferences to build relationships between researchers and extension staff, irrigators and consultants.

Farmer as researcher: forty years in the field

superuser — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:27:21 +0000

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 . Slowly I began to get interested in organics, and with the newly formed Organic Farming and Gardening Society in the 1970s I was able to talk with like minded people’.

IDs and People

Program:

Innovation

Program Theme:

Community Fellows

Research Type:

Community Fellow

Researchers:

Lance Jones

Addie Jones

Subjects

Subjects:

Innovation

Primary Industries

Field Crops and Horticulture

Keywords:

organic farming

2002 2003 Community Fellow

Project Information

Summary:

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.

The Land & Water Australia Community Fellowship will provide financial support to the Jones to write about their experiences and their life at Henrietta, and importantly, the lessons theyve learnt over the decades.

At 81 years, Lance says ‘hes more determined than ever to tell his story about his move to organic agriculture and the role played by his grazing method’.

‘I want to pass on some of the essence of my 40-odd years of experience (and experimentation). . I feel it is important for our community to know that many of us farmers are innovative and creative even us oldies!’.

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Optimising delivery and benefits of aerated irrigation water

superuser — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:45:37 +0000

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.

IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Research Type:

Research Project

Legacy (KMS) Project ID:

UCQ5070

Host Organisation:

Central Queensland University

Researchers:

Prof David Midmore

Subjects

Subjects:

Field Crops and Horticulture

Irrigation

Current Activities

Status:

Active

Current Activities:

Over the next six months the project will:

Visit seven field sites in QLD - Valley Syndicate for Pineapple -Yeppoon, Higham Brothers for Fig- South Yamba, Australian Agricultural College Corporation for Grapes-Emerald, Pearmine farm for Grapes- Emerald, Kim Mob’s farm Biloela for Lucerne, Crop Management Australia for vegetable and sugarcane-Bundaberg, and Fred Barnio’s farm for stone fruits and The summit - for detailed discussion with industry partners on selection of sites, plots, crop, and projects implementation (October-November, 2008).

Develop contacts for communication with consultants, irrigation suppliers and local DPI&F of each individual industry partners (November-December, 2008).

Conduct planning workshop involving all industry partners, and associated consultants, irrigation suppliers, and local DPI&F collaborators( first week of December, 2008).

Prepare flyer about oxygation, info sheets, detailed trial plans and other information as start up information kit to the industry partners and their associates (December, 2008- January, 2009 ).

Procure air injections systems, tool and equipments and other materials required for the project (November- December, 2008).
Install oxygation system, water metering in all collaborators field sites (January- March, 2009).
Install soil moisture monitoring system, solution sampling cups at different depths, and monitoring facilites of soil, water and plants (February-June, 2008).
Collect data on meteorological, soil, water, crop, market parameters and industries feedbacks (March, 2009 onward..)

Pineapple farmer, John Cranny, sharing some data he collected with researchers, Dr Surya Bhattarai and Jay Dhungel

Background

Project Background:

In general as water resources decrease and water costs increase farmers are looking to irrigation methods that are more sustainable. The general public is also looking to farmers to improve upon their water use efficiency. Drip irrigation is seen as a potential solution to this problem, but it has its own problems, not least of which are the high set up costs. It also has other problems that we have identified in terms of constraining root access to oxygen.

Aims:

This proposal addresses all three Research Themes of the NPSI.
There are six key research objectives that will lead into the development of improved practices and industry outcomes revolving around ‘judicious use of water’:

To determine, through in-field trials, whether there are yield and water use efficiencies to be gained with the introduction of oxygation (using venturi, Oxysolver, Seair or fertilizer peroxides) into irrigated annual and perennial cropping.
If so, to optimise the delivery specifications for water/air[oxygen]/nutrient ratios for different soil types, and to develop a simple decision support system to allow for implementation by growers.
To extend the use of ‘waste’ water for irrigated cropping, while accounting for salinity and elevated Biological and Chemical Oxygen Demand, through oxygation, for we have shown oxygation to reduce negative effects of saline irrigation.
To ensure that there is no adverse effect of oxygation on quantity and quality of soil carbon, or on soil structure.
To quantify the effects of oxygation with the ‘Oxysolver’ and ‘Seair’ for furrow-irrigated cropping.
To add to the knowledge base on plant physiological response to oxygation, particularly in perennial species.

Tri-State Project - Impact of Salinity on Horticulture in the Lower Murray

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:40:13 +0000

IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Legacy (KMS) Project ID:

DEP15

Host Organisation:

Department of Water Land and Biodiversity Conservation S.A.

Researchers:

Dr Gerrit Schrale

Subjects

Subjects:

Water (General)

Catchment Management

Field Crops and Horticulture

Irrigation

Salinity

Soils

Keywords:

aquatic nutrients

crops

Project Information

Summary:

The project, started in November 2003 and to finish in early 2007, is split into two stages and deliverables are spread over agreed milestones.

Stage 1: Specific tasks and main deliverables for Stage 1 are:

A detailed literature review of the salinity relationships for the commonly grown crops (grape, citrus, stone fruit, melon and vegetables) in the Lower Murray region;
Identify the knowledge gap in salinity relationships;
Explore the salinity implications of the leaching efficiency and its variance and prepare a focussed plan for field studies; and
Develop a framework for the economic assessment of the salinity hazard.

Stage 2: As a follow up of stage 1, the original project submission listed the following three main activities for stage 2:

Use chloride as a natural tracer in the soil profiles at suitable field sites (where the season’s irrigation practices have been recorded) to estimate leaching efficiency and its variance;
Use the models ‘VineLOGIC’ and ‘Swagman’ (for Citrus) to simulate salinity inputs versus outputs on selected vineyards and orchards; and
Assess the implications of the project outcomes in relation to the salinity and drainage management strategies.

The original submission identified that stage 1 findings may lead to revision of the stage 2 field investigations. It is now proposed that the stage 2 investigations also include field experimentation for measuring and subsequent modelling of the soil-water-plant-atmosphere transport processes.

An economic analysis was carried out on this project, looking at the following benefits: productivity and profitability; environmental; and social. Download economic analysis.

Outcomes:

The project is substantially improving our understanding of leaching efficiency and the amount of water required as a leaching fraction. The results of the project will inform the new NPSI project Root zone water, salinity and nutrient management under precision irrigation (SRD8).

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Background

Project Background:

Irrigated horticulture in the Lower Murray (Riverland-Sunraysia) region contributes a ‘gate-value’ of about $ 2.5 billion a year to the national economy. As a consequence of improved irrigation practices over the years, there is a risk emerging of a salinity build-up in the root zone, threatening the sustainability of this region. During the past two decades the water use efficiency (WUE) of irrigated horticulture in this region has gradually increased from about 50 to 80% as a consequence of improved irrigation systems and management. With the objective to manage the irrigation impact on the river water quality and health of the floodplains, the River Murray Catchment Water Management Board introduced an 85% target of WUE in the current Water Allocation Plan.

In the Lower Murray Region the irrigation water salinity is typically about 0.4 dS m-1 and with 15% leaching the average salinity (ECe) in the root zone should be around 0.6 dS m-1. However field surveys indicate that the root zone salinity is often greater than 1.3 dS m-1 with considerable variance. In order to understand and manage this salinity hazard, a ‘Tri-State Salinity’ syndicate of Government agencies from western NSW, Victoria and South Australia (with support from federal agencies) was formed to undertake laboratory and field scale studies for irrigated horticulture in this region.

Aims:

To determine the salinity relationships for irrigated horticulture along the lower Murray: Riverland, Sunraysia and NSW
Determine the variance of EC (soil water) in the field under known soil conditions and irrigation management
Simulate the performance of the main crops under different scenarios of river salinity at Morgan
Provide input to the implementation of the Salinity Strategy and Integrated Catchment Management Plan of the Murray-Darling Basin and the Living Murray initiative.

Location

State & NRM Region:

New South Wales

Victoria

Locations:

Lower Murray

Riverland

Sunraysia