Barley treated with a Biostimulant proved resistant to aphid attack, resulting in a $15 a hectare saving for a central NSW farming enterprise. The irrigated crop grown by Wyalong Rural Investments, between Forbes and West Wyalong, suffered minimal damage in an aphid infestation last spring. A neighbouring barley crop, just metres away and treated conventionally, was impacted by the aphids and subsequently sprayed at a cost of $15/ha. The soil rejuvenator, TM Agricultural, was used as part of an independent trial by Forbes agricultural consultants Agribusiness Plus to test new technology and product performance in the field. TM Agricultural uses plant extracts to stimulate indigenous soil microbes. Agribusiness Plus agronomic consultant Baden Dickson said the aim was to find the products delivering the greatest economic benefits to growers.

The 15ha trial was undertaken on a paddock owned by Wyalong Rural Investments, which grows 18,000ha of dryland and irrigated crops each year at Forbes, Marsden and Ungarie. The trial site ranged from heavy grey self-mulching to red loam soils in a 550mm rainfall zone. Soil tests revealed a soil pH of 6.8, phosphorus level of 60mg/kg (Colwell), and slight deficiencies of copper, zinc and boron topsoil soil but toxic at depth. The Baudin barley was direct drilled on tramlines with 3m centres into a wheat stubb, le which had yielded 6.5 tonnes/ha. One fallow spray was applied over the summer, and the crop was sown in the first week of May under a zero till system using a Morris air seeder with knife points and press wheels. It was sown on a 33cm row spacing at 6.25cm depth with 50kg/ha MAP and 100kg/ha of urea. A pre-emergent was applied at sowing of 1.5 litres/ha of Trifluralin, 800ml/ha of Roundup Attack and 250ml/ha of TM Agricultural. The crop received two irrigations on June 23 and September 18, while growing season rainfall totalled 320mm. An in-crop spray of Tigrex was completedin late June to control radish. Plant populations numbered 120 per square metre, meeting the average target of 110-120/sqm.

At tillering, Mr Dickson measured 880 heads per square metre and observed roots at a greater depth than the untreated crop. “The surrounding barley not treated with TM Agricultural was crawling with aphids compared to the treated crop where insect numbers were 1-2 a square metre,’’ he said. “The untreated barley was sprayed at a cost of $15/ha (including contractor costs at $8.50/ha) for the aphids, and the insect damage set it back quite a bit.’’ Both crops were sprayed for net blotch and yielded an average of 6t/ha. Mr Dickson was alerted to TM Agricultural while working at Goulburn in 2007 when he observed greater biomass and rooting depth in a TM treated triticale crop. “The triticale crop was in a frost prone paddo,ck, and it grew 10-15cm higher, had more biomass, rooting depth and yielded 300kg/ha above a neighbouring crop treated with conventional rates of MAP,’’ he said. Agribusiness Plus has also trialled TM Agricultural as a seed inoculant at Marsden and mixed it with varying rates of poultry manure in side-by-side treatments with another biological product in cereal crops. This year, trials are planned for TM Agricultural in dryland canola and cereals. New Zealand soil scientist and agricultural advisor Graham Shepherd recently studied TM trials under a wide variety of soils in different climatic zones under Australian enterprise, es including dairy, livestock, cereal cropping, beans, cotton, tea and forestry. Mr Shepherd said TM was a powerful tool to significantly lift on-farm performance and reduce a farm’s environmental footprint. “This is in terms of nutrient loss, greenhouse gas emissions and sequestering soil carbon,’’ he said. Mr Shephed of BioAgriNomis said biological life within the soil was the engine room of a farm. He said biological activators promoted the diversity, activity and biomass of the biological fraction of the soil. “Many of our soils can have quite a good microbial biomass,s but the microbes are half asleep and need products such as biological activators to wake them up,’’ Mr Shepherd said.

Media Release By
Kim Woods | Director
Outcross Media | www.ogacreative.com.au
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