MP29
| Location: Woomelang | Group: Birchip Cropping Demonstration Group |
| Australian Soil Classification: Episodic-Endocalcareous Epipedal, Grey VERTOSOL | |
| General Landscape Description: Lower lying plain within the Hopetoun Land System (Rowan and Downes, 1963). | |
Soil Profile Morphology:
Surface Soil
| A1 | 0-35 cm | Dark brown (7.5YR4/2); medium clay (sandy); surface cracking; strong very coarse blocky structure; strong consistence dry; pH 7.7; sharp and wavy change to: |  MP29 Profile |
| Subsoil | |||
| B21 | 35-55 cm | Reddish yellow (7.5YR6/6); light medium clay; moderate fine to medium prismatic structure; very firm consistence dry; pH 9.4; gradual change to: | |
| B22k | 55-80 cm | Reddish yellow (7.5YR6/6); medium clay; strong consistence dry; contains a common (10%) amount of soft carbonate; gradual change to: | |
| B31 | 80 cm+ | Pinkish grey (7.5YR6/2); heavy clay; strong medium prismatic structure; firm consistence moderately moist; contains patches of soft carbonate; pH 9.1. | |
Key Profile Features:
Soil Profile Characteristics:
 | pH | Salinity | Sodicity | Dispersion |
Surface (A1 horizon) | slightly alkaline | very low | sodic | none1 |
Subsoil (B21 horizon) | very strongly alkaline | medium to high | very strongly sodic | none2 |
Deeper subsoil (at 80 cm) | very strongly alkaline | very high | very strongly sodic | none2 |
| 1 Strong dispersion after remoulding 2 Probably due to high levels of soluble salts. | ||||
 |
Horizon | Horizon Depth (cm) | pH (water) | pH (CaCl2) | EC 1:5 | NaCl | Exchangeable Cations | |||
Ca | Mg | K | Na | ||||||
Meq/100g | |||||||||
A1 | 0-35 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 0.08 | | 9.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
B21 | 35-55 | 9.4 | 8.8 | 0.97 | 0.08 | 6.1 | 10 | 0.8 | 9.5 |
B22k | 55-80 | | | | | | | | |
B31 | 80+ | 9.1 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 0.23 | 4.7 | 9.9 | 1.1 | 11.2 |
Horizon | Horizon Depth (cm) | Field Capacity pF2.5 | Wilting Point pF4.2 | Coarse Sand (0.2-2.0 mm) | Fine Sand (0.02-0.2 mm) | Silt (0.002-0.02 mm) | Clay (<0.002 mm) |
A1 | 0-35 | 21.3 | 25.1 | | | | |
B21 | 35-55 | 50.7 | 36.3 | | | | |
B22k | 55-80 | | | | | | |
B31 | 80+ | | | | | | |
Management Considerations
Surface (A) Horizon
- The surface soil is sodic and disperses strongly after remoulding. This suggests that structural damage will occur if the soil is cultivated in a moist to wet condition. Raindrop action on exposed soil will also damage soil structure.
Subsoil (B) Horizons
- The subsoil is very strongly sodic and has a low exchangeable calcium to magnesium ratio. Soil structural conditions will therefore be unfavourable for plant root development.
- The level of soluble salts is medium to high. This may affect the growth of salt sensitive species (eg. chickpeas, lupins).
- The subsoil is very strongly alkaline. This indicates that certain nutrients (eg. iron, manganese, zinc and boron) may be poorly available to plants.
Comments from Landholder:
- After heavy winter rains water lies on surface.
- Gypsum has been applied.
Profile Described By: Mark Imhof and John Martin (23/1/93).
© State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) 1996 - .
This work, Victorian Resources Online, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria (Agriculture Victoria) as author, indicate if changes were made and comply with the other licence terms.
The licence does not apply to ‘branding’ or some ‘images or photographs’ that may be owned by third parties. We ask you to seek prior approval to use images using the VRO feedback form. Access to higher quality images can also be provided on request.
This page was last updated on .