Crop growth parameters were measured and harvest assessments undertaken each year at both Cambridge and Cressy. In year 1, wheat was grown at Cambridge and barley at Cressy. In year 2, barley was grown at Cambridge and wheat at Cressy. There were no significant differences in emergence or height and biomass at growth stage Z31 and Z71 at the Cambridge site (Table 4.8), despite the aerial photograph taken at growth stage Z71 showing colour differences between treatments (Plate 4.1). The differences evident in the individual plants from the 200 mm diameter core samples shown in Plate 4.2 was also not reflected in biomass and height results from quadrat samples taken at growth stage Z71.
Table 4.8 Wheat crop growth parameters at Cambridge for year 1 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB LSD(P≤0.05)
Emergence (no/m2) 63 53 46 46 ns Height Z31 (cm) 54.3 61.7 57.3 64.0 ns Biomass Z31 (t/ha) 1.99 1.34 1.75 3.21 ns Height Z71 (cm) 70.7 74.0 76.7 74.0 ns Biomass Z71 (t/ha) 3.86 3.29 3.94 6.13 ns
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Plate 4.1 Aerial photograph of the Cambridge site in November 2007 at growth stage Z71 (treatments LAB2, LAB5 and LAB-NIC not included in this analysis)
Plate 4.2 Wheat samples at growth stage Z71taken from 200 mm diameter core samples at Cambridge site in year 1
Specific plant growth parameters measured from the 200 mm diameter core samples showed that there were no significant differences in seed head diameter, length, shoot/root ratio or leaf number. However, tiller number for ADB was significantly higher than L+F and Control, with LAB greater than Control only (Table 4.9).
ADB LAB LAB5 LAB-NIC L + F Control LAB LAB2 L+F
Control L + F ADB LAB-NIC LAB LAB2 LAB5
LAB5 L+F LAB L+F LAB2 LAB-NIC Control LAB ADB
LAB-NIC ADB LAB LAB2 L+F Control L+F LAB LAB5
90 cm
60 cm
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Table 4.9 Wheat crop growth parameters at growth stage Z71 at
Cambridge for year 1 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB LSD(P≤0.05)
Seed Head Diameter (mm) 10.4 10.5 10.9 11.0 ns Seed Head Length (mm) 62.8 69.7 73.3 79.2 ns Shoot/ Root Ratio 4.7 3.0 5.7 5.3 ns Tiller Number (no) 16 c 9 a 11 ab 13 bc 4 Leaf Number (no) 4.9 4.1 4.5 5.1 ns
Note: different letters indicate significant differences between treatment means. There was no significant difference between the yields of LAB and L+F treatments, however both were significantly higher than control (). Similar results were found by Weggler-Beaton et al. (2003) with increases in wheat and barley yields from relatively low rates of biosolids comparable with increases from conventional N & P fertilisers. There were no significant differences in harvest index, weeds or heads per metre row for year 1.
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Table 4.10 Wheat harvest parameters at Cambridge for year 1 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB LSD(P≤0.05)
Harvest Index
(%) 51.2 54.4 52.9 48.3 ns
Weeds (%) 20.9 12.3 23.5 10.6 ns (0.09)
Heads per
metre row (no) 36 36 41 55 ns
Yield (t/ha) 1.7 ab 1.4 a 2.0 b 2.2 b 0.5
Note: different letters indicate significant differences between treatment means, harvest index is grain weight as a percentage of whole plant.
In the second year at Cambridge there were no significant differences between treatments for harvest index, weeds, seed heads per metre row or yield. Although the yield data suggest a difference between treatments, the standard deviations (shown in brackets) indicate why there was no significance.
Table 4.11 Barley harvest parameters at Cambridge for year 2 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB LSD(P≤0.05)
Harvest Index
(%) 55.1 52.5 52.9 53.0 ns
Weeds (%) 8.0 15.3 7.7 20.3 ns
Heads per
metre row (no) 77 57 83 69 ns
Yield (t/ha) 2.2 (0.8) 1.3 (0.1) 2.0 (0.6) 2.1 (1.3) ns Note: standard deviations from the means are shown in brackets.
At the Cressy site, plant height for the LAB treatment at growth stage Z32 was
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ADB (Table 4.12). However, by growth stage Z71, biomass for ADB was significantly higher than all other treatments except LAB.
Table 4.12 Barley crop growth parameters at Cressy for year 1 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB PM PSW LSD
(P≤0.05) Emergence (no/m2) 139 118 129 141 130 104 ns Height Z25 (cm) 16.7abc 15.0a 18.0c 17.3bc 17.3bc 16.0ab 1.9 Height Z32 (cm) 42.7bc 37.0a 39.0ab 44.3c 37.0a 36.7a 4.5 Biomass (t/ha) 11.2 c 8.3 ab 9.3 ab 9.8 bc 8.1 a 9.4 ab 1.5
Note: different letters indicate significant differences between treatment means. The visual differences shown on Plate 4.3 of plants at the Cressy site taken from a 200 mm diameter soil core at Zadoks 71 are not clearly defined relative to measured data from quadrats. However, note the subtle difference in height and density of PM relative to all other treatments. This is consistent with suggestions that the dissolved salts in PM can inhibit plant growth within the first 12 months of land application, after which time they neutralise (Aitken, 2007).
Plate 4.3 Barley samples at growth stage Z71 taken from Cressy site in year 1
Control L + F PSW PM ADB LAB
90 cm
60 cm
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In the first year at Cressy, all treatments yielded significantly higher than Control (Table 4.13). There were also significantly more seed heads per metre row for L+F than all other treatments except for ADB. There were no significant differences between treatments for harvest index or weeds.
Table 4.13 Barley harvest parameters at Cressy for year 1 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB PM PSW LSD
(P≤0.05)
Harvest Index
(%) 59.3 59.7 58.8 51.0 57.4 58.8 ns
Weeds (%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 ns
Heads per
metre row (no) 168
ab 134 a 199 b 151 a 158 a 138 a 36
Yield (t/ha) 6.1 b 5.5 a 6.5 b 6.5 b 6.4 b 6.3 b 0.4 Note: different letters indicate significant differences between treatment means, harvest index is grain weight as a percentage of whole plant.
There were no significant differences between treatments for any of the measured harvest parameters for year 2 (Table 4.14).
Table 4.14 Wheat harvest parameters at Cressy for year 2 in response to application of bio-resources to texture contrast soil
ADB Control L+F LAB PM PSW LSD
(P≤0.05)
Harvest
Index (%) 48.6 47.9 46.3 44.2 43.1 46.3 ns
Weeds (%) 3.6 2.1 1.8 1.6 3.6 3.3 ns
Heads per
metre row (no) 56 59 49 68 51 54 ns
Yield (t/ha) 1.76 1.82 1.65 2.04 1.68 1.80 ns
Note: different letters indicate significant differences between treatment means, harvest index is grain weight as a percentage of whole plant.
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