Abstract
Soil constraints are a major limitation to grain production on waterlogging-prone sodic soils in the medium-rainfall zone of southern Australia, and several options have been proposed to overcome these constraints. A field experiment commenced in 1999 to compare the effectiveness of different management strategies, including improved crop nutrition, soil amelioration by using gypsum with or without deep ripping, applying organic matter, using raised beds or delayed sowing on improving the growth and grain yields of four consecutive crops including wheat (Triticum aestivum) in 1999 and 2002, barley (Hordeum vulgare) in 2000, and faba beans (Vicia faba) in 2001. Improving crop nutrition alone generally did not significantly improve grain yields, whereas adding ameliorants such as composted pig bedding–litter or deep ripping + gypsum produced grain yield increases in all crops by up to 48% compared with the control. Similar increases in grain yields were produced when crops were grown on raised beds, even in seasons when growing-season rainfall was well below average. Greatest yield increases were recorded when both raised beds and ameliorants were used (up to 2 t/ha, or 63%). Spring-sown crops consistently produced lower grain yields than the (autumn-sown) control. For the three cereal crops (two wheat and one barley), increases in grain yields resulting from soil amelioration generally were not associated with increased harvest index or kernel size but were associated with greater tiller number and number of grains per m2. For the pulse crop, faba beans, yield increases were associated with greater dry matter production and increased number of grains per m2. All management strategies significantly increased crop nitrogen (N) uptake, although this did not necessarily translate to increased grain protein because of a dilution effect in the highest yielding treatments. Increases in grain yield coincided with improved root growth throughout the profile (up to 140 cm depth). All physical amelioration treatments either reduced the degree of temporary waterlogging, as indicated by shallow piezometers, or improved soil structure, as indicated by reduced cone penetrometer resistance, compared with the control. Reduction in soil exchangeable sodium percentage on this highly sodic clay soil, measured within the first season after implementation, was less clear-cut. Increases in grain yield, however, appeared related to improved N supply rather than greater water use. Large increases in grain yields across a range of seasonal conditions appear possible on these soil types in medium-rainfall environments provided both soil structure and nutrition are improved.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 17
Claim · model-written summary
Improving crop nutrition alone did not significantly improve grain yields of the crops tested, including wheat.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume2 - Treatment
- Improving crop nutrition alonee1
- Outcome
- grain yieldse1
- Direction
- did not significantly improvee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Improving crop nutrition alone generally did not significantly improve grain yields”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Adding ameliorants increased grain yield in all crops, by up to 48% compared with the control.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- adding ameliorants such as composted pig bedding–litter or deep ripping + gypsume1
- Outcome
- grain yielde1
- Direction
- increasese1
- Value
- 48%e1
- Comparator
- the controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adding ameliorants such as composted pig bedding–litter or deep ripping + gypsum produced grain yield increases in all crops by up to 48% compared with the control”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Raised beds produced similar grain yield increases, including in seasons with well below-average growing-season rainfall.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- grown on raised bedse1
- Outcome
- grain yieldse1
- Direction
- Similar increasese1
- Qualifier
- even in seasons when growing-season rainfall was well below averagee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Similar increases in grain yields were produced when crops were grown on raised beds, even in seasons when growing-season rainfall was well below average”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Greatest yield increases occurred when raised beds and ameliorants were used together, up to 2 t/ha or 63%.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- both raised beds and ameliorantse1
- Outcome
- yielde1
- Direction
- Greatest yield increasese1
- Value
- up to 2 t/ha, or 63%e1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Greatest yield increases were recorded when both raised beds and ameliorants were used (up to 2 t/ha, or 63%)”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Spring-sown crops consistently produced lower grain yields than autumn-sown control crops.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- Spring-sowne1
- Outcome
- grain yieldse1
- Direction
- lowere1
- Comparator
- the (autumn-sown) controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Spring-sown crops consistently produced lower grain yields than the (autumn-sown) control”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Yield increases from soil amelioration were associated with greater tiller number and number of grains per m2 in cereals.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- soil amelioratione1
- Outcome
- tiller number and number of grains per m2e1
- Direction
- greatere1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“increases in grain yields resulting from soil amelioration generally were not associated with increased harvest index or kernel size but were associated with greater tiller number and number of grains per m2”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Yield increases from soil amelioration were not associated with increased harvest index or kernel size in cereals.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- soil amelioratione1
- Outcome
- harvest index or kernel sizee1
- Direction
- not associated with increasede1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“increases in grain yields resulting from soil amelioration generally were not associated with increased harvest index or kernel size but were associated with greater tiller number and number of grains per m2”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
In faba beans, yield increases were associated with greater dry matter production.
- Taxon
- faba beans
Vicia fabae1 - Outcome
- dry matter productione1
- Direction
- greatere1
Not reportedTreatment
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“For the pulse crop, faba beans, yield increases were associated with greater dry matter production and increased number of grains per m2”
Claim · model-written summary
In faba beans, yield increases were associated with an increased number of grains per m2.
- Taxon
- faba beansVicia fabae1
- Outcome
- number of grains per m2e1
- Direction
- increasede1
Not reportedTreatment
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“For the pulse crop, faba beans, yield increases were associated with greater dry matter production and increased number of grains per m2”
Claim · model-written summary
All management strategies significantly increased crop nitrogen uptake.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- management strategiese1
- Outcome
- crop nitrogen (N) uptakee1
- Direction
- significantly increasede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“All management strategies significantly increased crop nitrogen (N) uptake”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
The highest yielding treatments did not necessarily increase grain protein, because of a dilution effect.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- highest yielding treatmentse1
- Outcome
- grain proteine1
- Direction
- did not necessarily translate to increasede1
- Qualifier
- because of a dilution effecte1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“although this did not necessarily translate to increased grain protein because of a dilution effect in the highest yielding treatments”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield increases coincided with improved root growth throughout the profile, to 140 cm depth.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Outcome
- root growthe1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Qualifier
- throughout the profile (up to 140 cm depth)e1
Not reportedTreatment
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Increases in grain yield coincided with improved root growth throughout the profile (up to 140 cm depth)”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Physical amelioration treatments reduced temporary waterlogging compared with the control.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- physical amelioration treatmentse1
- Outcome
- degree of temporary waterlogginge1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Comparator
- the controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“All physical amelioration treatments either reduced the degree of temporary waterlogging, as indicated by shallow piezometers, or improved soil structure, as indicated by reduced cone penetrometer resistance, compared with the control”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Physical amelioration treatments improved soil structure, shown by reduced cone penetrometer resistance compared with the control.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- physical amelioration treatmentse1
- Outcome
- cone penetrometer resistancee1
- Direction
- reducede1
- Comparator
- the controle1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“All physical amelioration treatments either reduced the degree of temporary waterlogging, as indicated by shallow piezometers, or improved soil structure, as indicated by reduced cone penetrometer resistance, compared with the control”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
The reduction in soil exchangeable sodium percentage within the first season was less clear-cut.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Outcome
- soil exchangeable sodium percentagee1
- Qualifier
- less clear-cute1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Reduction in soil exchangeable sodium percentage on this highly sodic clay soil, measured within the first season after implementation, was less clear-cut”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain yield increases appeared related to improved N supply rather than greater water use.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- improved N supplye1
- Outcome
- grain yielde1
- Qualifier
- rather than greater water usee1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Increases in grain yield, however, appeared related to improved N supply rather than greater water use”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
Claim · model-written summary
Large grain yield increases appear possible across seasons on these soils when soil structure and nutrition are both improved.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume2
- Treatment
- both soil structure and nutrition are improvede1
- Outcome
- grain yieldse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Large increases in grain yields across a range of seasonal conditions appear possible on these soil types in medium-rainfall environments provided both soil structure and nutrition are improved”
e2“wheat (Triticum aestivum)”
The same questions in other papers
lime · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
139 papers in the same direction as this paper · 31 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- no effect
169 papers more in this group
See all 173 papers →sowing time · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
195 papers in the same direction as this paper · 266 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
458 papers more in this group
See all 462 papers →tillage · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
1,115 papers in the same direction as this paper · 257 in the opposite direction · 41 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
1,410 papers more in this group
See all 1,414 papers →fertilization · yield · Triticum aestivum (wheat)Positive and negative results
3,114 papers in the same direction as this paper · 284 in the opposite direction · 39 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- no effect
- negative
3,434 papers more in this group
See all 3,438 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.