ALOSCA™ granular inoculant New inoculation technology for grain

and pasture legumes

Angelo Loi & Steve Carr (Bayclassic)

Crop and pasture legumes add enormous value to farmingprimarily through their :

-Ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen

-Weed control

-Wool and meat production.

Root nodule bacteria NITROGEN

Traditional inoculation

Nodulation failure

Rhizobium effectiveness

Uninoculated

Inoculated

Casbah (biserrula)

Thanks to the Centre for Rhizobium Studies we have some of the best strains in the world

Trifolium incarnatum cv Caprera

…and we can successfully grow the new pasture species recently developed in WA

Grain legumes

Old technology (peat based)

• Peat inoculants must be stored and transported at 4-6OC

• Best when inoculated onto seed and then sown immediately into moist soil

• Rhizobia die rapidly when exposed to high heat and when exposed to dry soils in southern Australia (>90% within 24hours)

• Rhizobia have sub-optimal performance when mixed with certain seed-applied fertilisers insecticides and fungicides

Why do we need ALOSCA to inoculate our pasture legumes

• Easy to do (mixing one bag of ALOSCA and one of seed)

• Reduce the risk of decreased rhizobium viability under stressful condition (eg. sowing in suboptimal conditions or dry autumn conditions)

• Be ready to sow when conditions are right• Undersowing and dry-sowing are possible due

the high viability of the rhizobium in the granules (over one year in the soil)

- Often a compromise between disease control (seed applied fungicides) and effective N fixation (conventional inoculation)

- Rhizobia die when inoculated seed is sown into dry soil & this cause a delay in nodulation- compromise yield

Grain legumes

Liquid inoculant

• Liquid-based inoculants generally have a shelf-life of less than six months

• Logistics of delivery on a large scale

• Liquid-based inculants have a limited inoculum delivery potential of several thousand cells per seed

- Western Australian company

- International patent

- Special clay combined to a novel technique

Improving inoculant technology

ALOSCA PEAT

UninoculatedALOSCA Peat

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

ALOSCA 20kg/ha

ALOSCA 10kg/ha

Peat inoculant Uninoculated

Inoculant treatment

no

du

le s

core

Faba beans

Nodulation score at 8 weeks for Faba beans sown with ALOSCA at Mullewa and Nyabing (average of both sites) Howieson et al 2004.

Pea rows at Nyabing

What happen when condition start to get suboptimal?

Peat and Liquid technology work very well under optimal moisture

and temperature soil condition

Summer temperatures on soil surface are very high

UninoculatedFresh peat

ALOSCA

6 weeks at high temperature

‘ALOSCA’ dry clay inoculant provides the

opportunity to sow legumes dry

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

Nil Granules Slurry

• ALOSCA granules sown at 10 kg/ha with faba beans produced better nodulation than normal practice

Nodule score on Faba beans at 10 weeks

ALOSCA

Traditional

Whittington’s farm (East Brookton)

Dry autumn conditions

Max Hawley (Pingrup): Faba beans seed production

ALOSCASandy: 165 %Clay: 114 %

ConventionalSandy: 130%Clay: 102 %

UninoculatedSandy: 100 %Clay: 100 %

ALOSCA SEED

Flexibility – capacity to mix ALOSCA with both seed and fertiliser

Same storageNo refrigeration needed

Burr Medic (4.7 pH)

Untreated

No nodules

ALOSCATop dressed 10 kg/ha

ALOSCADrilled 5 cm - 10 kg/ha

Remedial option for poorly nodulated pastures

Introducing improved strains in old pasture stands of sub-clover

ALOSCA has been tested in WA (2003-4)“Ballard Seed” evaluated ALOSCA at 12 demo sites in 2004

Up to 6 t DM1 t of seed

T. formosum cv Portolu inoculated with ALOSCAPaish & Wilson (Badgingarra)

Biserrula (Casbah) inoculated with ALOSCA granules at Tincurrin (Ballard Seed)

Yelbeni (yellow serradella) inoculated with ALOSCA granules at Hagboon’s farm

Summary

• ALOSCA: viable alternative to conventional inoculation

• Granules remain viable in the soils for extended periods in soils subject to wetting and drying cycles (ie false break)

• Research indicates equivalent nodulation (to conventional ) under optimal conditions- but SUPERIOR under adverse conditions

• Easy to handle

Summary cont.

• Option for seed applied insecticides (important for small seeded pastures)

• Current indications are that up to 1000 times the number of cells in ALOSCA are alive at sowing compared with conventional inoculation

• Enables effective nodulation under poor or dry sown conditions

• ALOSCA is compatible with seed applied fungicides

Max Hawley (Pingrup):

“ALOSCA granules: best thing since sliced bread”

Countrymen 31/7/03

Why pastures in the rotation?

• Nitrogen

• Weed control

• More sheep per ha

After:2003 - Santorini (yellow serradella)pH 4.2310 mm DM = 11t & >3t podsPotential water use over 500 mm15 sheep/ha

Trees to be planted

BeforepH 4.2 310 mmPoor sub-clover pasture4 sheep /ha2t of wheat (80-100kg of Urea)

Trees to be planted

2004 Wheat after serradella:a) 50Kg “Maps” 2.74 t/ha 11.4% (prot)

b) 50Kg “Maps” + 30Kg Urea 2.50 t/ha 10.7% (prot)

Tot. 10t DM (tops and roots) 3.5% = Tot. N org = 350Kg 350Kg of org. N = 700kg of Urea30% of this N will be available in the next year= 210Kg Urea (equiv.)

Biserrula (Badgingarra)

2004 Wheat after biserrula:a) Agstar 100Kg + Urea 40Kg 5.7 t/hab) Agstar 100Kg + Urea 110Kg + NS51 100 5.1 t/ha

Undersowing

Sowing

Hard Frenchserradella

pods Wheat

Fertilizer

ALOSCA granules (S) WheatEstablished

pasture

First year Second year

Hardseed breakdown of the pasture seed

Establishing cheap pastures

Grower survey

• Farmers asked to list for 2004– areas sown to pasture– pasture legume varieties used

• 156 responses• Mainly wheatbelt farmers • Total farm area in survey: 572,852 ha• 87% of respondents sowed new pastures in 2004• Area sown to new pastures: 64,470 ha

– Average of 26% of total area in pasture

Location of growers (156 respondents)

37%

44%

19%

North

Central

South

42% 38%55%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

North Central South

Mean proportion of arable land in crop or pasture

Pasture

Crops

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40%

of a

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wn

Cad

iz

Mar

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Eric

a

Cas

bah

Mau

ro

Cha

rano

Sant

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i

Yelb

eni

Subc

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Bala

nsa

clov

er

Med

ics

Prim

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Ros

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over

Luce

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Oth

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Summary of pasture varieties sown in 2004

Grower survey There is a strong interest in pasture improvement in

Western Australia;

An estimated total area of 1.3 mill ha of wheatbelt and mixed farming areas was sown to pastures in 2004;

Over 50% of all pasture legumes sown in 2004 have been released since 1996 and are derived from the WA NAPLIP/CLIMA programs;

Over 55% of species sown in 2004 were not the traditional species (subterranean clovers and medics)