Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AN > EA04165
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 47(2)

Surface soil acidity and fertility in the central-western wheatbelt of New South Wales

C. M. Evans A B E and B. J. Scott C D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A NSW Agriculture, Agricultural Research and Advisory Station, Condobolin, NSW 2877, Australia.

B Current address: PO Box 280, Condobolin, NSW 2877, Australia.

C NSW Agriculture, Agricultural Institute, PMB, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia.

D Current address: EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Faculty of Science and Agriculture, School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: goodev@bigpond.net.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 47(2) 184-197 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA04165
Submitted: 2 August 2004  Accepted: 1 July 2006   Published: 23 January 2007

Abstract

Documentation of the chemical fertility status of the soils is sparse for the western and central-western wheatbelt of New South Wales, Australia. We examined properties of the surface soils (0–10 cm) from central-western NSW by collating two published and nine unpublished datasets of soil analyses representing about 2800 soil samples. The emphasis was on the red soils used extensively for cropping. The surface soils of central-western NSW have low phosphorus (47% of soils) and sulfur (70% of soils <5 mg S/kg using KCl-40 analysis) status and commonly have organic carbon contents of about 1%. Surface soil acidity was a substantial problem with 56% of soils (0–10 cm) having a pHCa <5.0. Sodic and dispersive soils are also of concern in this area and these soils have received little attention or research. Approximately 5% of surface (0–10 cm) soils had an exchangeable sodium percentage of ≥6% (sodic). Salinity of surface soils was of minor significance compared with other soil problems in the area, although isolated areas occur. These results indicated that lime applications in this area are likely to benefit crop and pasture production. Additional use of phosphorus and sulfur fertilisers and agricultural practices which increase or maintain organic carbon will also need to be adopted to improve pasture and crop production. The use of gypsum and/or lime on sodic soils may also need to be addressed. As a priority, we suggest that the benefits of lime application to crop yield be examined. The application of lime to the 0–10 cm soil depth should ultimately arrest acidification of the subsurface soil (10–20 cm depth) through downward movement of the lime effect. Further examination of gypsum applications to dispersive sodic soils and the evaluation of sulfur deficiency in the field for pastures and canola are also priority areas of likely agricultural relevance.

Additional keywords: aluminium, exchangeable cations.


Acknowledgements

This research was funded by NSW Agriculture through Acid Soils Action and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). We thank the people who provided data used in this paper. In particular, the following group leaders and/or data collectors: Ali Bowman, Yin Chan, Lloyd Charles, Anthony Fanning, Greg Gibson, Tanya Ginns, Scott Golding, Jenene Kidston, Mark and Karen Leary, Libby Roesner, Bill Schumann, Linda Stockman, Rick Young, the people involved with Central West Farming Systems, the local NSW Agriculture agronomists and former agronomists, Neil Durning, Paul Lukins, Ken Motley and Keith Woodlands, and the farmers who provided their soil test results. Thanks to Geraldine O’Neill who spent many hours carrying out data entry and analysis, to David Freckelton who produced Figure 1 and to Keith Helyar and John Brockwell for their comments on the manuscript.


References


Alvey NG , Rothamsted Statistics Department (1977) ‘Genstat: a general statistical program.’ (Rothamsted Experiment Station: Hemel Hempstead, UK)

Bakker AC, Emerson WW (1973) The comparative effects of exchangeable calcium, magnesium, and sodium on some physical properties of red-brown earth subsoils III. The permeability of Shepparton soil and comparison of methods. Australian Journal of Soil Research 11, 159–165.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bakker AC, Emerson WW, Oades JM (1973) The comparative effects of exchangeable calcium, magnesium, and sodium on some physical properties of red-brown earth subsoils I. Exchange reactions and water contents for dispersion of Shepparton soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research 11, 143–150.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Baldock JA , Skjemstad JO (1999) Soil organic carbon and/or soil organic matter. In ‘Soil analysis: an interpretation manual’. (Eds KI Peverill, LA Sparrow, DJ Reuter) pp. 159–170. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Bernstein L (1975) Effects of salinity and sodicity on plant growth. Annual Review of Phytopathology 13, 295–312.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Blair GJ, Chinoim N, Lefroy RDB, Anderson GC, Crocker GJ (1991) A soil sulfur test for pastures and crops. Australian Journal of Soil Research 29, 619–626.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bolland MDA (1986) Residual value of phosphorus from superphosphate for wheat grown on soils of contrasting texture near Esperance, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 26, 209–215.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bray RH, Kurtz LT (1945) Determination of total, organic and available forms of phosphorus in soils. Soil Science 59, 39–45.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Brockwell J, Pilka A, Holliday RA (1991) Soil pH is a major determinant of the numbers of naturally occurring Rhizobium meliloti in non-cultivated soils in central New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 31, 211–219.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chartres CJ, Cumming RW, Beattie JA, Bowman GM, Wood JT (1990) Acidification of soils on a transect from plains to slopes, south-western New South Wales. Australian Journal of Soil Research 28, 539–548.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chan KY, Bowman AM, Smith W, Ashely R (2001) Restoring soil fertility of degraded hardsetting soils in semi-arid areas with different pastures. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 507–514.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Chi CL, Emerson WW, Lewis DG (1977) Exchangeable calcium, magnesium and sodium and the dispersion of illites in water. I. Characterisation of illites and exchange reactions. Australian Journal of Soil Research 15, 243–253.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Colwell JD (1963) The estimation of the phosphorus fertiliser requirements of wheat in southern New South Wales by soil analysis. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 3, 190–197.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Conyers MK (1986) The relationship between average annual rainfall and exchangeable aluminium in soils of south-eastern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 26, 587–590.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Conyers MK, Scott BJ (1989) The influence of surface incorporated lime on subsurface soil acidity. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 29, 201–207.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Corbin EJ (1972) Factors affecting nitrogen and phosphorus requirements of wheat in central-western New South Wales. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales 83, 39–44. open url image1

Dalal RC, Chan KY (2001) Soil organic matter in rainfed cropping systems of the Australian cereal belt. Australian Journal of Soil Research 39, 435–464.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Doyle AD , Bradley J (1982) Lime for cereals on acid soils in northern New South Wales. In ‘Proceedings of the 2nd Australian Agronomy Conference’. (Ed. MJT Norman) p. 259. (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Wagga Wagga, NSW)

Emerson WW, Smith BH (1970) Magnesium, organic matter and soil structure. Nature 228, 453–454.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Emerson WW, Chi CL (1977) Exchangeable calcium, magnesium and sodium and the dispersion of illites in water. II Dispersion of illites in water. Australian Journal of Soil Research 15, 255–262.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Evans CM , Bowman AM , Scott BJ (2003 a) Subsurface soils in the central-western, low rainfall wheatbelt of NSW. In ‘Proceedings of the 11th Australian Agronomy Conference’. (CD-ROM) (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Geelong, Vic.)

Evans CM , Sanderson R , Maccallum R , Fettell NA (2003 b) Crop monitoring in central-western NSW. In ‘Proceedings of the 11th Australian Agronomy Conference’. (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Geelong, Vic.)

Fenton G , Helyar K , Abbott T , Orchard P (1996) ‘Soil acidity and liming.’ Agfact AC. 19. 2nd edn. (NSW Agriculture: Orange, NSW)

Gillman GP, Sumpter EA (1986) Modification to the compulsive exchange method for measuring exchange characteristics of soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 24, 61–66.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Greenland DJ (1971) Changes in the nitrogen status and physical condition of soils under pastures, with special reference to the maintenance of the fertility of Australian soils used for growing wheat. Soils and Fertilisers 34, 237–251. open url image1

Helyar KR, Cregan PD, Godyn DL (1990) Soil acidity in New South Wales – current pH values and estimates of acidification rates. Australian Journal of Soil Research 28, 523–537.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hirth JR (1980) Sulfur status of pasture legumes in the semi-arid wheatbelt. In ‘Proceedings of the 1st Australian Agronomy Conference’. (Ed. IM Wood) p. 302. (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Lawes, Qld)

Hochman Z, Osborne GJ, Taylor PA, Cullis B (1990) Factors contributing to reduced productivity of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) pastures on acidic soils. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 41, 669–682.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Isbell RF (1996) ‘The Australian soil classification’. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Khu JF , Chan KY (1993) Soil conservation in the paddock – keeping a full plate into the future: effects of farming practices on red soils in central west NSW. In ‘Proceedings of 7th Australian Agronomy Conference’. (Eds GK McDonald, WD Bellotti) pp. 304–307. (The Australian Society of Agronomy: Adelaide, SA)

Lewis DC (1999) Sulfur. In ‘Soil analysis: an interpretation manual’. (Eds KI Peverill, LA Sparrow, DJ Reuter) pp. 221–228. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Little IP (1992) The relationship between soil pH measurements in calcium chloride and water suspensions. Australian Journal of Soil Research 30, 587–592.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Moody PW , Bolland MDA (1999) Phosphorus. In ‘Soil analysis: an interpretation manual’. (Eds KI Peverill, LA Sparrow, DJ Reuter) pp. 187–220. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Osborne GJ, Wight WA, Sykes J (1978) Increasing soil acidity threatens farming system. Agricultural Gazette NSW 89, 21. open url image1

Probert ME, Jones RK (1977) The use of soil analysis for predicting the response to sulfur of pasture legumes in the Australian tropics. Australian Journal of Soil Research 15, 137–146.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ralph W (1992) What happens to super. Rural Research 154, 12–15. open url image1

Rengasamy P (2000) Cropping in Australian sodic soils. In ‘Program and Abstracts of Sodicity Conference’. (Ed. A Surapaneni) p. 23. (Department of Natural Resources and Environment: Tatura, Vic.)

Rengasamy P, Olsson KA (1991) Sodicity and soil structure. Australian Journal of Soil Research 29, 935–952.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rengasamy P, Greene RSB, Ford GW (1986) Influence of magnesium on aggregate stability in sodic red-brown earths. Australian Journal of Soil Research 24, 229–237.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Schumann WG (2001) Soil acidity and phosphorus levels of permanent pasture paddocks on the southern and central tablelands of NSW. In ‘Proceedings of the 16th annual NSW Grasslands Conference’. (Ed. K Condon) p. 77. (The NSW Grasslands Society: Gundagai, NSW)

Scott BJ (1985) Nutrition of barrel medic in central-western New South Wales. In ‘Ecology and agronomy of annual medics. NSW Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin 32’. (Ed. Z Hochman) pp. 35–37. (NSW Department of Agriculture)

Searle PL (1986) The measurement of soil cation exchange properties using the single extraction, silver thiourea method: an evaluation using a range of New Zealand soils. Australian Journal of Soil Research 24, 193–200.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Simmons KV , Godyn DL (1983). ‘Phosphorus needs for wheat in southern NSW.’ Agfact P1.4.3, 1st edn. (Department of Agriculture: Orange, NSW)

Slattery WJ , Conyers MK , Aitken RL (1999) Soil pH, aluminium, manganese and lime requirement. In ‘Soil analysis: an interpretation manual’. (Eds KI Peverill, LA Sparrow, DJ Reuter) pp. 103–128. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Stace HCT , Hubble GD , Brewer R , Northcote KH , Sleeman JR , Mulcahy MJ , Hallsworth EG (1968) ‘A handbook of Australian soils.’ (Rellim Technical Publications: Glenside, SA)

Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Science 37, 29–38.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Young RR, Alston CL, Chartres CJ (1999) Variation in the acidity of cropped and uncropped light-textured red soils of central-western New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39, 981–993.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1