NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Unlocking Soil Potential (USP) partnership

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Unlocking Soil Potential (USP) is a $36 million partnership between the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW DPIRD).

It will help farmers grow more grain by addressing soil constraints across NSW, looking at both new technologies and traditional methods to make better use of water and nutrients in soils that limit crop growth.

The partnership will run for 5 years (2023 - 2028), using field trial sites, laboratories, and infrastructure across the state.

The problem

Many cropping soils in NSW have constraints that make it hard for plants to grow. These include:

  • Sodic and/or dispersive soils
  • Hard-setting or crusted surfaces
  • Acidic or alkaline soils, often with chemical toxicities
  • Low organic carbon limiting nutrient cycling and microbial functions

Most cropping farms have more than one of these soil constraints, which can be particularly challenging to rectify when they occur deeper in the soil (sub-soil).

Our research

As part of the partnership, researchers are trialling 4 types of cutting-edge technologies, known as Next Generation Soil Technologies (NGST), to tackle these soil constraints:

  1. NGST 1 - Chemically-balanced organic amendments
  2. NGST 2 - Engineered carbon-based composites
  3. NGST 3 - Nano-structured lime and gypsum (liquid and solid forms)
  4. NGST 4 - Novel amendments to boost soil organic carbon

New ways to apply these treatments, like high-pressure liquid injection, are also being investigated.

Field trial sites (and key constraints)

  • Bellata - Sodic dispersive soils
  • Caroona - Sodic, alkaline soils
  • Trangie - Hard-setting or sodic soils
  • Condobolin - Hard-setting, acidic soils
  • Methul - Acidic soils
  • Lockhart - Sodic soils

The team

The USP partnership is led by NSW DPIRD’s Dr Lukas van Zwieten and includes the following researchers:

  • NSW DPIRD: Dr Kattie Weigh, Rick Graham, Dr Tendo Mukasa Mugerwa, Dr Murray Hart, Branko Duric, Leigh Jenkins, Ashlea Webster, Dr Sean Murphy, Kathi Hertel, and Dr Shihab Uddin.
  • University of Newcastle: Professor Ajayan Vinu, Dr Kavitha Ramadass, Dr Gurwinder Singh, Harleen Kaur, Ajanya Ruban, and Reshma Gigi.
  • University of Adelaide: Dr Luke Mosley, Dr Henry Lutu, Will Tucker, Dr Shervin Kabiri, Dr Julian Taylor, Dr Max Knowling, Dr Sam Rogers, and Dr Olena Kravchuk.

The USP acknowledges the contributions of our trial co-operators: Maylan Agriculture, Penberthy Farming, Tara View Farming, and Bender Agri Pty Ltd.

We also collaborate with industry partners like Carbon Powered Technology Mineral Products Pty Ltd (CPTMP), CHT Australia, and Precision Seeding Solutions (PSS Ag) for field site evaluations.

For more information about the USP, please contact:

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au