Monjardinoa, M. and McBeatha, T.M. and Brennanb, L. and Llewellyna, R.S. (2013) Are farmers in low-rainfall cropping regions under-fertilising with nitrogen? A risk analysis. Agricultural Systems. pp. 1-15.
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Abstract
In low-rainfall cropping systems farmers typically apply low rates of nitrogen (N) to their cereal crops. However, farmers might benefit from using higher fertiliser rates on some soil types and adjusting the rate of N fertiliser applied during the growing season, because if seasons are favourable the crop demands more nutrients. Using a combination of crop simulation, probability theory, profit function and finance techniques to quantify the trade-offs between magnitude and variability in net returns, we found that the use of higher N rates (relative to the region’s average) on some soil types can reduce economic risk in a highly variable dryland environment like the Mallee region in south-eastern Australia. On some soil types, typically risk-averse Mallee farmers with low starting N seem likely to benefit from increasing their N rates up to 60 kg N ha−1 from the 15 kg N ha−1 currently applied, with less risk-averse farmers being more likely to benefit from in-season tactical N applications in seasons where there is rainfall within an application window of high crop N demand. On other soil types, commonly found within the same field, farmers are unlikely to benefit from increased N rates. We conclude that variable fertiliser rates based on soil-specific management zones have the potential to not only increase profit but reduce risk, based on a number of risk metrics.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | The authors are grateful to J. Ouzman, J. Kandulu, D. Gobbett and E. Qureshi (all from CSIRO) for technical assistance and expert advice with APSIM, @RISK and SERF, to M. Robertson, I. Fillery and R. Lawes (all from CSIRO) and A. Whitbread (now at the University of Gőttingen, Germany) for general guidance, and finally to two anonymous reviewers for very useful comments to this document. This study was financially supported by the Grains and Research Development Corporation as part of the national project ‘Economic assessment of nutrient use efficiency of the Australian grains industry’ (CSA00020). |
| Author Affiliation: | CSIRO, Australia |
| Subjects: | Plant Production Plant Protection |
| Divisions: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Depositing User: | Mr. SanatKumar Behera |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Jan 2013 09:21 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2013 09:21 |
| Official URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2012.12.007 |
| URI: | http://eprints.icrisat.ac.in/id/eprint/9326 |
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