Led by Agriculture Victoria and funded by GRDC, the four-year project targets “high phosphorus-fixing” soils.
These are soils that convert applied phosphorus into forms crops can’t use.
It’s a widespread problem across southern and western Australia, affecting the southern Mallee, Victoria’s high rainfall zones, SA’s Yorke and Eyre peninsulas, and the WA Wheatbelt.
The worst-hit are calcareous and alkaline soils in SA and western Victoria, and acid-gravel ironstone soils in several regions.
On these soils, yield losses of up to 50 per cent have been recorded, making phosphorus one of the costliest, most frustrating inputs growers face.
Project leader Dr Ashley Wallace said on-farm trials will compare liquid and granular fertilisers, study residual phosphorus, and look at how fixing potential varies across paddocks.
The goal is practical, “best-bet” management advice for advisers and growers.
The Birchip Cropping Group is one of several partners running trials, alongside SA and WA farming groups, private agronomists, and researchers from UWA, Adelaide University and La Trobe University.
Three PhD students will also study soil diagnosis, how fixation happens, and the role of crop type and moisture.
GRDC’s Dr Giacomo Betti said the project builds on a review that identified key research gaps.
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