Western Australia
December 5, 2014
Maintaining soil health is one of the keys to a sustainable and profitable agricultural industry in Western Australia.
Marking World Soil Day (5 Dec), which aims to raise awareness of the critical role of soils in food production, Department of Agriculture and Food Crop Production Systems director Mark Sweetingham said soil productivity continued to be a big challenge for agriculture.
“A significant proportion of the WA grain crop is grown on relatively infertile soils which require nutrient inputs to reach their economic potential,” Dr Sweetingham said.
“Growers are also facing soil degradation problems, such as soil acidity, water-repellence, soil compaction, hostile subsoils and salinity.
“By growers investing in the health of their soil, for example through controlled traffic farming practices, applying fertilisers efficiently and applying soil ameliorants, such as lime, this will not only improve soil condition but also the productive value of the land.”
Dr Sweetingham said the department was leading projects in partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation with a co-investment of more than $5 million annually.
“The research is focusing on applied research and development in soil acidity, water-repellence, subsoil constraints, soil biology, crop nutrition, fertiliser management and nitrogen fixation,” he said.
Four new projects funded by GRDC form a collaboration, 'Soil Constraints West', to develop strategies to manage water repellent soils, combat soil acidity and nutrient toxicities, and how to minimise the impact of soil compaction.
“Part of this work is getting out and talking to growers and agribusiness consultants about the importance of investing in their soil and the options for doing this,” Dr Sweetingham said.
This information will be discussed at an interactive and open format soil workshop being held in Dongara on 9 December for agricultural consultants. They day will also include the latest developments in soil biology research.
This will be followed up by the department producing a series of articles on managing the state of soil.
Department officer and Federal President of Soil Science Australia, Tim Overheu, said the International Year of Soils would be marked in 2015, with the aim to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
“A WA Soil Science Conference along with a range of other activities are planned in 2015 to highlight the critical role of soils,” Mr Overheu said.
World Soil Day will be marked nationally at an event in Canberra, where the national advocate for soil health, former Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery, will speak about the importance of soil for human survival and promote its sustainable management.
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