Pre-crop Practices Key to Water Efficiency
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
Improvements in the Efficiency of Rainfall Capture and Soil Water Management Promise to Deliver Valuable Productivity Benefits to Growers
Research being undertaken as part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation's (GRDC) water use efficiency initiative is showing that pre-crop management is more important than in-crop management in lifting the water use efficiency (WUE) and yield of wheat cropping systems.
According to the research, it is the pre-crop practices of fallow weed management, rotation choice, long-term stubble retention and reduced tillage which are likely to have the greatest impact on fallow water storage and therefore WUE and crop yield.
Put simply, it is the combining of best practices that will contribute to the more efficient storage and use of available water.
Addressing growers and agronomists at the GRDC Northern Research Updates in central western NSW earlier this year, CSIRO researcher Neal Dalgliesh said while the benefits of stored soil water to crop production were well documented, there was less understanding over the processes involved in the capture and storage of rainfall for future crop production.
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