Amelioration Of Water Repellant Soils and Improving the Production of Calcareous Soils in South Australia – A Farmer Experience
Andrew Polkinghorne
ABSTRACT
We farm 18,000 acres of grain at Lock which is on central Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The crops grown are wheat, lentils, barley and canola.
The climate is semi-arid and Mediterranean with hot dry summers and cool damp winters. The crops are grown through the winter and spring period with planting in May and harvest beginning in November at the beginning of summer. Frost is uncommon but does occur and although the rainfall is low it is relatively reliable. There is some risk of frost damage at flowering, and that risk decreases further into spring, however the risk of heart damage during flowering and grain fill increases further into spring.
