After 7 weeks... my farm at Bywong has had very good rain in excess of 145mm in October.
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All demonstration plots have had no significant soil loss or erosion and there is no noticeable difference in the soil surface. The temporary fence seems to be restricting native grazing and I have seen no Kangaroos or Wallabies etc on the demonstration plots.
The green manure crop has germinated on all the plots and the different growth rates have been noticeable on each of the plots. I have not intervened with any of the demonstration plots since they were established.
From my observations, the breaking up of the soil surface and compaction seems to have the highest benefits. Variation Plot 1 which had the greatest soil surface penetration/ break up appears to have provided the best growing conditions for the green manure crop. Both the germination and growth seems higher in Variation 1. The Common Improved Plot germination and growth seems higher than that in Variation 2 plot. This is consistent with the soil compaction / surface breakup. My estimations based on my observation for both germination and growth are in the table below.
Demonstration Plot
|
Germination rate
|
Growth
|
Common Improved
|
70-80%
|
25- 35 cm
|
Variation 1
|
80-90%
|
45 – 55 cm
|
Variation 2
|
50-60%
|
15 – 25 cm
|