As harvest winds down in the Mallee and planning for the 2014 cropping season gets under way, growers are being reminded to make their soil health a priority over the summer months.
For today’s grain growers, the traditional “quiet time” after harvest is a thing of the past.
To ensure the best start to the coming season, when the header leaves the paddock, summer weed control becomes a focus – as should maintaining soil health.
According to the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA), as well as being good for the environment, healthy soils are critically important to sustainable agricultural productivity, and maintaining ground cover over summer is one way to achieve this.
As well as minimising wind erosion, soil organic matter has an invaluable secondary role in supporting and stabilising soil structure, increasing water retention, storing nutrients, building diversity, resilience and resistance to disease and buffering chemical behaviour.
Source - http://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/
