18 June

Treatment 1 strawberry harrowed and cut away.

9 June

Treatments sprayed with 0.5 l/ha Supass 475 and 5 l/ha Roundup PowerMAX.

28 May
First Irrigation

27 May
Instrumentation installed-

- Soil solution samplers installed in treatments 2 and 3 at the top and bottom of the treatments.

- Run-off flumes installed in the middle three rows of treatments 2 and 3 and the middle two planting furrows of treatment 1.

- Auto samplers were installed in one replica of treatments 1, 2 and 3.

24 – 26 May

KQ228 planted across all treatments.

Treatment 1 and the unreplicated treatment planted with a conventional planter.

Treatments 2 and 3 planted with a double disc opener planter.

19 May
Ground preparation for planting, treatments imposed-

• Treatment 1-1.52 m soybeans harvested and incorporated
• Treatment 2-1.83 m soybeans mulched
• Treatment 3-1.83 m soybeans harvested
• Unreplicated treatments-
  • -  1.52 m soybeans mulched and
        incorporated
  • -  1.83 m soybeans mulched and
        incorporated

10-12 May
Treatments 1 and 3 harvested

 Preliminary results:

Soybean crops yield 2.1 t/ha

(yield lower than expected due to crop moisture stress towards the end of the crop and immature pods)

10-14 May
Soil Sampling

Four soil samples were taken from each plot.  Soil samples have been taken from multiple depths 0-10 cm, 10-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-90, 90-120, 120-150.

Soil samples were taken and frozen to stabalise the nitrogen content. Wet analysis will be completed on all depths within the plot for ammonium N. Samples 0-10 and 10-20 will be analysed for carbon content.

8-9 April
Soybean biomass samples taken.  They have now been ground and getting analysed for carbon and nitrogen.

Preliminary results:

Biomass yield - 8 t/ha

Trash biomass samples taken.  They have now been dried, ground and sent to be analyses for carbon and nitrogen.

Preliminary results:

Trash yield - 10.5 t/ha

SRDC has funded a research project led by BSES Limited looking at the water quality impacts of different destruction methods of legume cover crop and controlled traffic minimum tillage vs. conventional.  The project, investigated by Aaron Davis (ACTFR), Alan Garside (Agritrop), Rob Milla (DEEDI), Steve Attard (CSIRO) and Toni Anderson (BSES), will run for three years from 01/07/2009 until 01/08/2012, and will be situated at the Burdekin BSES Limited farm.

What has happened so far:

*      Selection of site - the site selected is situated on the Burdekin BSES Limited farm and has had four years of controlled traffic/minimum tillage with a comparison 1.52m system.

*      The previous crop was harvested green from the 22  to 25 September 2009.

*      Legumes planted 14 December 2009.

*      Plants emerge 21 December 2009.

*      The projects steering committee established - Members are: Aaron Davis (ACTFR), Alan Garside (Agritrop), Rob Milla (DEEDI), Steve Attard(CSIRO) and Toni Anderson (BSES).

*      Soybean bio-mass and cane trash samples were taken 8 and 9 April 2010 with assistance from Mike Hanks (DEEDI).

*      Soybeans on the spare land mulched 20 April 2010.