Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Soil Acidity And Legume Nodulation, J G. Howieson, M. A. Ewing

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Nitrogen is a basic constituent of protien and is essential to all forms of life. Many agricultural plants are legumes - a group of plants which, in co-operation with specialised soil bacteria, fix their own nitrogen from the air. When the legume dies, the organic matter breaks down anf the nitrogen becomes available to the following crops.

Soil acidity is a major factor limitimg the successful association between legumes and their beneficial soil bacteria in Western Australia.

Soil Acidity On High Rainfall Pastures, J S. Yeates, D. A. Mcghie, I. R. Wilson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Most soils of the high rainfall area of south-western Western Australia are naturally acis.

The most acid group of soils, the peaty sands. have been routinely limed before subterranean clover pastures were established since research in the 1950s showed that poor Rhizobium nodulation could be overcome with the application of about 2 tonnes per hectare of coastal limesand.

Breeding Wheat Varieties For Acid Soils, I R. Barclay

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Wheat varieties with improved tolerance of acid soils cold increase yeilds be perhaps 20 per cent or more over a substantialarea ofWestern Australia's eastern wheatbelt.

Aluminium toxicity is probably the main cause of poor root growth and therefore reduced yields on these soils.

Soil Acidity In The Eastern Wheatbelt, W M. Porter, I. R. Wilson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In Western Australia parts of the sandplain of the eastern wheatbelt are very acid and produce poor crops, It was not until the late 1970s that the effect of soil acidity on the productivity of the sandplain soils was examined in any detail.

Since then researchers have learnt a great deal about the nature of soil acidity in the eastern wheatbelt sandplain soils and can suggest management options for farmers.

This article discisses the problem of the very acid soils. It does not deal with the moderately acid, medium textured soils of the eastern wheatbelt. Although the acidity of these …

Barley Production And Soil Acidity, P J. Dolling, W. M. Porter

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

One of the causes of reduced plant yields on acid soils is aluminium toxicity. because barley is extremely sensitive to this mineral, a project started last year to examine the influence of soil acidity on barley production in the main barley growing areas of Western Australia.

This article discusses some of the background information on the project and its aims.

Soil Acidity And Liming In The Lower Great Southern, R N. Glencross, M. G. Clarke

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In the 375 to 750 millimetre rainfall area of the Lower Great Southern, reports of loss of subterranean clover from established pastures, reduced carrying capacity for sheep and increasing soil acidity lead to the establishment in 1981 of a research programme into the effects of soil acidity on pasture productivity in that region.