Register      Login
Crop and Pasture Science Crop and Pasture Science Society
Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Impact of subsoil constraints on wheat yield and gross margin on fine-textured soils of the southern Victorian Mallee

D. Rodriguez A E F , J. Nuttall A , V. O. Sadras B C , H. van Rees D and R. Armstrong A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Primary Industries Research Victoria – Horsham, 110 Natimuk Rd, Horsham, Vic. 3400, Australia.

B South Australian R&D Institute (SARDI), Adelaide, SA, Australia.

C School of Agriculture and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, SA 5064, Australia.

D Birchip Cropping Group, PO Box 85, Birchip, Vic. 3483, Australia.

E Current address: Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU), PO Box 102, Toowoomba, Qld, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: Daniel.Rodriguez@dpi.qld.gov.au

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57(3) 355-365 https://doi.org/10.1071/AR04133
Submitted: 18 June 2004  Accepted: 14 February 2005   Published: 31 March 2006

Abstract

The APSIM-Wheat module was used to investigate our present capacity to simulate wheat yields in a semi-arid region of eastern Australia (the Victorian Mallee), where hostile subsoils associated with salinity, sodicity, and boron toxicity are known to limit grain yield. In this study we tested whether the effects of subsoil constraints on wheat growth and production could be modelled with APSIM-Wheat by assuming that either: (a) root exploration within a particular soil layer was reduced by the presence of toxic concentrations of salts, or (b) soil water uptake from a particular soil layer was reduced by high concentration of salts through osmotic effects. After evaluating the improved predictive capacity of the model we applied it to study the interactions between subsoil constraints and seasonal conditions, and to estimate the economic effect that subsoil constraints have on wheat farming in the Victorian Mallee under different climatic scenarios. Although the soils had high levels of salinity, sodicity, and boron, the observed variability in root abundance at different soil layers was mainly related to soil salinity. We concluded that: (i) whether the effect of subsoil limitations on growth and yield of wheat in the Victorian Mallee is driven by toxic, osmotic, or both effects acting simultaneously still requires further research, (ii) at present, the performance of APSIM-Wheat in the region can be improved either by assuming increased values of lower limit for soil water extraction, or by modifying the pattern of root exploration in the soil profile, both as a function of soil salinity. The effect of subsoil constraints on wheat yield and gross margin can be expected to be higher during drier than wetter seasons. In this region the interaction between climate and soil properties makes rainfall information alone, of little use for risk management and farm planning when not integrated with cropping systems models.

Additional keywords: root growth, salinity, sodicity, boron toxicity, El Niño, La Niña, ENSO.


Acknowledgments

This work was jointly supported by the Department of Primary Industries of Victoria and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).


References


Asseng S, Fillery IRP, Anderson GC, Dolling PJ, Dunin FX, Keating BA (1998) Use of APSIM wheat model to predict yield, drainage, and NO3 – leaching for a deep sand. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 363–377.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Asseng S, Fillery IRP, Dunin FX, Keating BA, Meinke H (2001) Potential deep drainage under wheat crops in a Mediterranean climate. I. Temporal and spatial variability. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 45–56.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Calviño PA, Sadras V (1999) Interannual variation in soybean yield: interaction among rainfall, soil depth and crop management. Field Crops Research 63, 237–246.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Carberry PS, McCown RL, Muchow RC, Dimes JP, Probert ME, Poulton PL, Dalgliesh NP (1996) Simulation of a legume ley farming system in northern Australia using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 36, 1037–1048.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Dalgliesh, N ,  and  Foale, M (1998). ‘Soil matters, monitoring soil water and nutrients in dryland farming.’ (Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit: Toowoomba, Qld)

Goyne PJ, Meinke H, Milroy SP, Hammer GL, Hare JM (1996) Development and use of a barley crop simulation model to evaluate production management strategies in north-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 47, 997–1015.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hammer GL, Holzworth DP, Stone R (1996) The value of skill in seasonal climate forecasting to wheat crop management in a region with high climatic variability. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 47, 717–737.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hochman Z, Dalgliesh NP, Bell KL (2001) Contributions of soil and crop factors to plant-available soil water capacity of annual crops on Black and Grey Vertosols. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 955–961.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Holloway RE, Alston AM (1992) The effects of salt and boron on growth of wheat. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 43, 987–1001.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Imhof, M , Rampant, P , Ryan, S , Abuzar, M , Murphy, A , Fay, T ,  and  Martin, J (2003). ‘Soils of the Birchip cropping region. Companion notes for Birchip Field Day.’ (Department of Primary Industries: Werribee, Vic.)

Kobayashi K, Salam MU (2000) Comparing simulated and measured values using mean squared deviation and its components. Agronomy Journal 92, 345–352.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

McCown RL, Hammer GL, Hargreaves JNG, Holzworth DP, Freebairn DM (1996) APSIM: A novel software system for model development, model testing, and simulation in agricultural systems research. Agricultural Systems 50, 255–271.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Meinke H, Hochman Z (2000) Using seasonal climate forecasting to manage dryland crops in northern Australia—experiences from the 1997–98 seasons. ‘Applications of seasonal climate forecasting in agriculture and natural ecosystems—the Australian experience’. (Eds GL Hammer, N Nicholls, C Mitchell) pp. 149–165. (Kluwer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands)

Munns R (1996) Physiological processes limiting plant growth in saline soils: some dogmas and hypothesis. Plant, Cell and Environment 16, 15–24. open url image1

Munns R (2002) Comparative physiology of salt and water stress. Plant, Cell and Environment 25, 239–250.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Munns R, Rawson HM (1999) Effect of salinity on salt accumulation and reproductive development in the apical meristem of wheat and barley. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 26, 459–464. open url image1

Nelson PN, Ham GJ (2000) Exploring the response of sugar cane to sodic and saline conditions through natural variation in the field. Field Crops Research 66, 245–255.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Neumann PM, Azaizeh H, Leon D (1994) Hardening of root cell walls: a growth inhibitory response to salinity stress. Plant, Cell and Environment 17, 303–309. open url image1

Nuttall JG, Armstrong RD, Connor DJ, Matassa VJ (2003a) Interrelationships between edaphic factors potentially limiting cereal growth on alkaline soils in north-western Victoria. Australian Journal of Soil Research 41, 277–292.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Nuttall JG, Armstrong RD, Connor DJ (2003b) Evaluating physicochemical constraints of Calcarosols on wheat yield in the Victorian southern Mallee. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 487–497.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

O’Leary GJ, Connor DJ (1996a) A simulation model of the wheat crop in response to water and nitrogen supply: I. Model construction. Agricultural Systems 52, 1–29.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

O’Leary GJ, Connor DJ (1996b) A simulation model of the wheat crop in response to water and nitrogen supply: II. Model validation. Agricultural Systems 52, 31–55.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

O’Leary GJ, Grinter V, Mock I (2004) Optimal transect spacing for EM38 mapping for dryland agriculture in the Murray Mallee, Australia. ‘Proceedings of the 4th International Crop Science Congress’. Brisbane, Qld.. verified 24 January 2005.
http://www.cropscience.org.au/icsc2004/poster/1/6/493_olearyg.htm

O’Leary GJ, Ormesher D, Wells M (2003) Detecting subsoil constraints on farms in the Murray Mallee. ‘Proceedings of the 11th Australian Agronomy Conference’. Geelong, Vic.. verified 7 March 2003. (Australian Society of Agronomy, ISBN 0-9750313-0-9)
http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/2003/c/15/oleary.htm

Rengasamy P (2002) Transient salinity and subsoil constraints to dryland farming in Australian sodic soils: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 42, 351–361.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Robertson MJ, Carberry PS, Lucy M (2000) Evaluation of a new cropping option using a participatory approach with on-farm monitoring and simulation: a case study of spring-sown mungbeans. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 51, 1–12.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rodríguez HG, Roberts JKM, Jordan WR, Drew MC (1997) Growth, water relations, and accumulation of organic and inorganic solutes in roots of maize seedlings during salt stress. Plant Physiology 113, 881–893.
PubMed |
open url image1

Sadras V, Baldock J, Roget D, Rodriguez D (2003) Measuring and modelling yield and water budget components of wheat crops in coarse-textured soils with chemical constraints. Field Crops Research 84, 241–260.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Sadras V, Roget DK, O’Leary GJ (2002) On-farm assessment of environmental and management constraints to wheat yield and rainfall use efficiency in the Mallee. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 53, 587–598.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Ulery AL, Teed JA, van Genuchten MT, Shannon MC (1998) SALTDATA: a database of plant yield response to salinity. Agronomy Journal 90, 556–562. open url image1