Dr James Hunt from La Trobe University will present at BCG’s Trials Review Day this Friday results of three years of research into nitrogen management systems designed to sustainably increase crop yields.
“Australian wheat yields are only half what they could be for the rainfall received. Nitrogen [N] deficiency is the single biggest factor contributing to this yield gap. This is also likely to be true for other non-legume crops and this reduces farm profitability. Alleviating N deficiency would increase national wheat yields by 40 percent,” Dr Hunt said.
Four different nitrogen management systems are being tested and were designed to target different yield potentials and are compared against national average nitrogen application rates.
“What we are finding is the most profitable strategies all have neutral to positive nitrogen balances – more nitrogen applied in fertiliser than removed in grain – indicating soil organic nitrogen is not being mined. I will be talking attendees through some of the strategies to achieve these balances at Trials Review Day,” Dr Hunt said.
BCG’s Trials Review Day, to be held at the Birchip Leisure Centre (COVID restrictions allowing), is a members’ only event. Attendees are encouraged to register online at
https://www.bcg.org.au/events/. The event will be adapted to suit a socially distanced and digital
audience. Call the BCG office on (03) 5492 2787.
To implement this research on farm, organise soil samples to be taken now. If you would like to book your paddocks in to be soil sampled by BCG visit: https://bit.ly/soilsampling2021
For more information regarding BCG’s soil sampling service contact Kate Maddern on 0459 050 394.