Water Use Efficiency
Optimizing the Profitability of HRZ cropping in south west Victoria through improved water use efficient farming systems.
The Victorian higher rainfall (550mm+) Agro ecological zones have developed a reputation for reliable crop production, especially in recent times of changing climate, but yet are considered sub-optimal in efficiency of conversion of rainfall to grain produced. Water-use efficiencies in these regions can be extremely variable: resultant from climatic, environmental and agronomic constraints that limit productivity. Water use efficiency figures for the HRZ in Victoria have been calculated at 55% of the potential 20kg/mm/ha. This and other published Water use efficiency data is now considered vague and irrelevant, mainly due to the recent nature of large scale modern cropping techniques employed throughout the Glenelg Hopkins & Corangamite catchment regions.
This project is aimed at validating and integrating more profitable and sustainable crop production practices and technologies into full cropping/mixed farming systems, to improve whole farm water use efficiencies.
Links and Resources:
Project Summary- Extended details of WUE project -97.3kb
Identifying farm-scale opportunities to improve WUE -712kb
Field Crop Research -1.17MB
GRDC fact sheet topics
GRDC article- Fences fall as wool capital makes room for grain -390kb
French and Schultz 1 (1984) - 892kb
French and Schultz 2 (1984) - 497kb
Sadras and Angus (2006) - 939kb
GRDC WUE Newsletter- Issue 1 - 2.5 MB
Enquiries, information and comments to:
Ben O'Connor
Trainee Research Agronomist,
Southern Farming Systems
Ph. 03 5265 1685 or boconnor@sfs.org.au
