Name: Anna Sheldon

Project Title: Subsoil constraints to root growth and water use efficiency in northern grain soils.

Postgraduate Degree:  PhD

Country of Origin: Australia

Supervisors:  Assoc.Prof. Neal Menzies, Assoc.Prof. Bing So, Dr Ram Dalal
 

Project Outline: Crop plants growing in the heavy clay soils of the western Darling Downs are only able to exploit water from the surface 60 to 80cm of the profile.  This limits the amount of water available to the crop, restricting yield and permitting excessive drainage of water to the groundwater.  The cause of the root growth limitation is unknown, but could result from the soil's low pH, high salinity, high chloride content, high sodium saturation, or its high bulk density.  Accurate identification of the limitation to root growth may permit remediation strategies to be developed to improve crop yields in this area, and to reduce the risk of salinity development.

E-mail Address: s356236@student.uq.edu.au

Phone Number: 3366 9546