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Back To The Fertiliser Future

Australian researchers have amassed 50 years worth of scientific soil findings to generate the most comprehensive soil productivity and fertiliser management database for intensive grazing farmers ever.

By Department of Primary Industries - 14th February 2005 - Back to News

Drawing upon a national knowledge base of over 50 scientists, the Primary Industries Research Victoria’s (PIRVic) Better Fertiliser Decisions for Grazed Pastures project has unearthed nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur studies from nearly 2000 separate experimental sites across Australia.

The span of data collection includes examples of extensive Victorian studies that measured pasture responses to phosphorus and nitrogen applications from the 1930s, through to a recent Victorian and Western Australian collaboration that defined optimum fertiliser use for dairy pastures in 2004.

PIRVic National Project Leader, Dr Cameron Gourley says that one of the exciting things about this project is the collection of research work produced years ago by 20^th Century scientists.

"Without this collection and review, much of this precious data could have been lost – it also means that these earlier pieces of analyses can be put to good use in the future," said Dr Gourley.

Dr Gourley went on to say that large amounts of data from many independent experiments spanning many decades, locations and pasture types, have now been drawn together using a relational data base.

"It will help to improve our understanding of the various associations which are the basis of our fertiliser recommendations," he said.

An excellent example of the power of combining information from many experiments can be seen with potassium fertiliser requirements.

Experimental data from more than 180 separate Victorian experiments over a 40-year period has been collated and interpreted.

The subsequent statistical analysis has resulted in a refined relationship between soil test potassium levels and pasture response to different rates of applied potassium fertiliser thus allowing cost benefits to be gained by farmers.

The relational database also allows for the selection of data sets with a specific set of characteristics, such as soil types, climatic zones, pasture types and soil tests.

"This approach provides a high degree of flexibility in selecting data sets that best match a given pastoral system," Dr Gourley said.

"We can also identify where there are gaps in our knowledge across regions and for specific nutrients."

The collation of all existing fertiliser to pasture response studies - both historical and current - has been a significant step towards fine tuning fertiliser recommendations for future industry applications.

"It has also highlighted the importance of adopting a nationally consistent approach in undertaking future studies," said Dr Gourley.

For information visit DPI’s website www.dpi.vic.gov.au. or visit the project site http://rdu.une.edu.au/bfd.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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