Title: Smart mouldboard ploughing improves weed management

[The Australian Dairy Farmer 23 July 2013] — MOULDBOARD ploughing has not only helped overcome non-wetting soils for Mingenew farmer, Stuart Smart, but also proved an effective non-chemical weed control. Mouldboard ploughing has increased yield by up to 0.4 tonnes per hectare in spot trials on Mr Smart’s property, as well as controlling up to 95 per cent of weeds in the first year of use.“ For us it has been a total turnaround. We’ve gone from soil that wouldn’t accept water at all to fully wet soil,” Mr Smart said. “For weed management, where we once payed $120 per hectare for chemical with no effective control, we now pay $70-90 for mouldboard ploughing.” Mr Smart crops 14,000ha of his 22,000ha property south-east of Mingenew in the Mid-West region of Western Australia. Growing season rainfall has varied greatly in recent years, but is traditionally between 300-350mm. Mr Smart said they began mouldboard ploughing four years ago using a 14-furrow plough with the aim being to completely invert the soil. Over the years he has refined the system and this year had two ploughs running around the clock for selected paddocks. “The point of mouldboard ploughing for us is to invert all of the non-wetting soil and any weed seed, placing between 6-8 inches of clean sand over the top,” Mr Smart said. “Now if we get 5mm of rain, the soil is wet from the top through to its maximum point of extension and our weed control has improved dramatically.” Ryegrass is the main problem weed, with increasing herbicide resistance meaning non-chemical treatments are essential to reduce weed populations. “We were running out of chemicals that we could use and we needed something that allowed us to regain control of the situation,” Mr Smart said. “This year we’ve had great results. The 300-400ha of soil that we’ve re-inverted after two years hasn’t brought any ryegrass back up and only a small amount of wild radish has reappeared.” “We haven’t experienced any adverse effects and only found positives. Last year this was highlighted by a ploughed and non-ploughed crop sitting side-by-side in a small trial we did with the header, and the treated patch outperforming its neighbour 2.4t/ha to 2t/ha. “With a return on investment like that, it really is a no-brainer for our operation.” Comment

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Article: WeedsNews4649 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:grain crop weeds, :WeedsNews:physical weed control
Date: 30 September 2013; 10:15:39 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

Author Name: Zheljana Peric
Author ID: zper12