The team behind Growcom's Hort360 program, the best management practice program for horticulture, has developed a new video case study which highlights how modern technology can be used on-farm to tackle drainage and soil health issues.
Strawberry and ginger grower John Allen grows around 600,000 strawberry plants and 28 hectares (70 acres) of ginger annually at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast.
The terrain is flat and the soil is a sandy Wallum-type soil, inherently infertile with poor drainage.
The significant challenges presented by the soil type prompted John to turn to technology for solutions.
He is now using electromagnetic soil mapping – EM38 technology – to generate maps which give a good analysis of the state of his soil profile down to a depth of 1.5 metres.
John is also working with Growcom to generate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for his property, mapping the density of vegetation across the farm.
When the NDVI data was overlaid with the EM38 soil profile information, it was clear there was a link between the state of the soil and the amount of crop able to be produced.
The clear message coming from the NDVI and EM38 work was the importance of soil health. As a result, John is putting in place plans to better look after his biggest asset.
He will move towards more green manures, more carbon-based fertilisers and mulches to build up organic matter and hopefully decrease runoff and nutritional leaching from the farm.
John said the technology had given him a better understanding of the limitation of his soil, which would allow him to make better management decisions about nutrition, irrigation and drainage.
The full video can be watched online on Growcom’s Youtube site: bit.ly/2f74jID.
Growcom's Hort360 program, the best management practice program for horticulture, is designed to give growers a 360 degree view of their farm business operations, identifying potential risks, capitalising on business opportunities and highlighting unnecessary farm expenses.
Soil management and water quality modules are currently being delivered in south east Queensland and all horticultural growers in the Lockyer, Bremer, mid-Brisbane or Pumicestone sub-catchments are invited to take part in identifying areas of high risk in soil and water quality management. As part of this process a free property map will be provided to participants.
To book a property visit contact Hort360 Facilitators Rowena Beveridge on 0417 783 313, email: rbeveridge@growcom.com.au or Anna Geddes on 0413 902 218, email: ageddes@growcom.com.au.
The sediment and nutrient management program is conducted in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
