Cotton growers and consultants are becoming concerned with the level of

compaction in soils in the Gwydir. The feeling is that compaction is increasing due

in part to the use of round bale pickers and to working the soil when it is still above

the plastic level at depth.

Compaction is believed to be impacting the productivity of the region. It is

influencing crop growth, nutrition and water use and may be increasing water

logging.

The project objectives were;

 To increase the awareness and understanding of the compaction in irrigated

cotton soils in the Gwydir Valley.

 To investigate possible crop rotations and mechanical approaches which may

help reduce the degree of compaction in irrigated soil. This is seen as

important in helping to achieve a more resilient and competitive cotton

farming system and an environmentally sustainable cotton industry.

The March field day saw 24 growers and consultants attend; all were keen to see the

differences in the soil pits between the five treatments. The trials identified the two

most promising rotations for growers, safflower and irrigated wheat. It showed that

the mechanical approach was successful, but only to the depth of ripping (30cm).

Growers and consultants will be able to utilise this information as they develop

practical rotations for their farming systems. A greater understanding of how to

manage compaction will help achieve a more resilient and competitive cotton

farming system and an environmentally sustainable cotton industry.

Soil pits dug as part of the Gwydir Valley area wide management groups at Ashley

and Telleraga in July 2013 indicated that there was compaction on our irrigated

cotton soils. Further pits dug in May 2014 confirm that soil compaction is not an

isolated issue. Generally the cracking clay soils across the Gwydir Valley do repair

themselves when they are able to have a series four or five wet and dry cycles. This

project aims to look at possible remediation techniques which may benefit the soils.