Digital Commons Network^™

A Molecular Framework Phylogeny For Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae), Timothy A. Hammer

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae) is an Australian genus with over 100 species, most of which occur in arid Western Australia. Ptilotus has been a taxonomically difficult genus; despite rigorous morphological studies into the genus over many years, previous workers have found it difficult to delimit infrageneric groups due to inconsistent morphological variation. With the goal to establish a phylogenetic framework for the genus, 100 taxa were sampled, including 87 Ptilotus spp., and the ITS nrDNA and matK cpDNA were sequenced. The phylogeny was reconstructed using Bayesian, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses on separate and concatenated datasets. Morphological characters were assessed and …

Crop Updates 2009 - Cereals, Jeff Baldock, Doug Edmeades, Mark Seymour, Paul Carmody, Ian Pritchard, Alan Meldrum, Michael Robertson, Roger Lawes, Rob Sands, Peter White, Felicity Byrne, Andrew Bathgate, Kedar Adhikari, Tanveer Khan, Stuart Morgan, Alan Harris, P. Gaur, K. M. H. Siddique, H. Clarke, N. C. Turner, W. Macleod, S. Morgan, Chris Veitch, Tony Leonforte, Kith Jayasena, Geoff Thomas, Rob Loughman, Kazue Tanaka, Ravjit Khangura, M. Amjad, Richard Oliver, Dusty Severtson, Peter Mangano, John Botha, Brenda Coutts, Manisha Shankar, Kasia Rybak, Michael Baker, Andrea Hills, Shahajahan Miyan, Peter Portmann, Nicole Rice, Robert Henry, Jeff J. Russell, B. H. Paynter, Linda Price, Brenda Shackley, Vicki Scanlan, Darshan Sharma, Christine Zaicou-Kunesch

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty seven papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. Building soil carbon for productivity and implications for carbon accounting, Jeff Baldock, CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide, SA

2. Fact or Fiction: Who is telling the truth and how to tell the difference, Doug Edmeades, agKnowledge Ltd, Hamilton

3. Four decades of crop sequence trials in Western Australia, Mark Seymour,Department of Agriculture and Food

BREAK CROPS

4. 2008 Break Crops survey Report, Paul Carmody,Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Attitudes of Western Australian wheatbelt growers to ‘Break Crops’, Paul Carmody and Ian …

Vegetable Growing : A Guide For Home Gardeners In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

DAFWAs popular publication about vegetable growing for home gardeners.

Crop Updates 2008 - Cereals, Christine Zaicou, Shahajahan Miyan, Brenda Shackley, Steve Penny, Sarah Ellis, Darshan Sharma, Blakely Paynter, Jeff Russell, Andrea Hills, Glen Riethmuller, Bill Bowden, Paul Blackwell, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts, David Cox, Sally Cox, Jeremy Lemon, Paul Damon, Zed Rengel, Geoff Thomas, Ciara Beard, Anne Smith, Kith Jayasena, Sean Kelly, Rob Loughman, Bill Macleod, Raj Malik, Ravjit Khangura, Vivien Vanstone, Colin Hanbury, Mehreteab Aberra, Gordon Masnish, Brenda Coutts, Geoff Strickland, Monica Kehoe, Dustin Severtson, Roger Jones, Dominie Wright, Megan Jordan, Xinhua He, Eli Manyol, Song-Ai Nio, Imran Malik, Tina Botwright-Acuña, Len Wade, Nigel Metz, Linda Price, Dean Diepeveen, Leisa Armstrong, Peter Clarke, Doug Abrecht, Rudi Appels, Matthew Bellgard

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty four papers from different authors:

WHEAT AGRONOMY

1. Wheat variety performance in the Northern Agricultural Region in 2007, Christine Zaicou, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Wheat variety performance on the Central Agricultural Region in 2007, Shahajahan Miyan, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Response of wheat varieties to sowing time in the Great Southern and Lakes Region in 2007, Brenda Shackley and Steve Penny, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Wheat variety performance in the South Coastal Region in 2007, Sarah Ellis, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Flowering dates of wheat varieties in Western …

Crop Updates 2007 - Farming Systems, David Jeffries, A. Loi, B. J. Nutt, C. K. Revell, Yvette Oliver, Michael Robertson, Bill Bowden, Kit Leake, Ashley Bonser, Ian Maling, Bindi Isbister, Garren Knell, Alison Slade, David Stephens, Michael Meuleners, David Beard, Nicolyn Short, Rob Grima, Ingrid Richardson, Ruhi Ferdowsian, Geoff Bee, David Evans, Bob Gilkes, Senthold Asseng, Jim Dixon, Felicity Byrne, Mike Ewing, Dennis Van Gool, Louise Barton, Ralf Kiese, David Gatter, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Renee Buck, Christoph Hinz, Daniel Murphy, Cameron Weeks, Meredith Fairbanks, John Peirce, Brad Rayner, Sandy White, Paul Damon, Qifa Ma, Zed Rengel, Ed Barrett-Lennard, Meir Altman, Tracey M. Gianatti, Lindsay Bell, Ben Webb, Caroline Peek, Paul Sanford, Paul Blackwell, Glen Riethmuller, Darshan Sharma, Mike Collins, Frank D'Emden, David Hall, G. P. Manango, D. L. Steverson, Vanessa Stewart, Julie Roche, Peter Rutherford, Imma Farré, Ian Foster, Stephen Charles, Frances Hoyle, N. Milton, M. Osman, L. K. Abbott, W. R. Cookson, S. Darmawanto, Rob Sands, David Mccarthy, Paul Carmody, J. Russell, J. Eyres, G. Fosbery, A. Roe, Phil Nichols, Andrew Bathgate, Anne Wilkins

Crop Updates

This session covers forty papers from different authors:

1. Quality Assurance and industry stewardship, David Jeffries, Better Farm IQ Manager, Cooperative Bulk Handling

2. Sothis: Trifolium dasyurum (Eastern Star clover), A. Loi, B.J. Nutt and C.K. Revell, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Poor performing patches of the paddock – to ameliorate or live with low yield? Yvette Oliver¹, Michael Robertson¹, Bill Bowden², Kit Leake³and Ashley Bonser³, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems¹, Department of Food and Agriculture², Kellerberrin Farmer³

4. What evidence is there that …

Topcrop W.A. State Focus 2002-2003 Wheat Protein, Alison Slade, Jeremy Lemon

Bulletins 4000 -

The State Focus program is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) in conjunction with TOPCROP to provide grower groups with a new learning concept. The concept was developed in Victoria and has been adopted by South Australia and Western Australia.

Wheat protein was selected as the Western Australian State Focus in response to a wide-ranging consultation of grower groups, researchers and the TOPCROP West management group. As crop yield potential increases through matching varieties to growing season length, weed and disease control, and timely sowing systems, the crop’s demand for nitrogen increases. Unless the demand is matched …

Vegetation Trend In The Fitzroy Region. An Analysis Of 1995 And 1998 Ground Monitoring Data., Noelene Duckett, Paul Novelly, Ian Watson, National Landcare Program (Australia), Csiro

Research Reports

This document summarises the analyses carried out on the ground monitoring data from the Kimberley region of Western Australia as part of the Natural Heritage Trust project 953024 - ‘'Development of Information Products for Reporting Rangeland Changes.”

This project has been investigating ways of integrating rangeland trend information collated from Landsat satellite data and site-specific ground vegetation data. This has been carried out by extending and refining previous approaches developed by Agriculture Western Australia and CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences (e.g. Wallace et al. 1994). The principal objective of the project is to develop useful information products which …

Weeds Can Poison Crops, Aik Hock Cheam

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Weeds can interfere with the growth of a crop simply by competing with the crop for nutrients, moisture and light. But some weeds also release chemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of crop plants; the technical term for this is allelopathy. Aik Cheam outlines the problems caused by two common weeds and the discusses preventative measures.

Remnant Vegetation And Natural Resources Of The Blackwood River Catchment An Atlas, Shaun B. Grein

Agriculture reports

The Blackwood River is one of the longest rivers in the South-West of Western Australia, stretching 300 km from Moordjarrup to August. The catchment covers more than 28,000 square kilometres (2.8 million ha) from the Shire of Kent to the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. It incorporates 17 shires, more than 30,000 people, 18 Land Conservation District Committees (LCDCs) and 143 sub-catchment groups. Shires within the Blackwood Catchment cover 4.12 million hectares, over half of the total area of the shires that fall within the catchment boundary.

Canola : Golden Oil For Farmers And Consumers, Paul Carmody

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

It is feasible that canola could become Western Australia's fourth largest crop after wheat, barley and lupins by the turn of the century.

Without the stigma attached to its parent crop, rapeseed, canola has also become one of the most successful international agricultural product launches, proving itself not only a useful cropping alternative but a healthy oil for consumers. State Oilseeds Adviser PAUL CARMODY sets the scene.

Fast Tracking Barley Varieties Using Anther Culture, Sue Broughton, Penny Priest

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Breeding new varieties of barley or other cereal crops usually takes between 12 and 15 years. five years of that time may be needed to stabalise the new varieties so that they breed trueto type, but anther culture can reduce this delay to only eight months. This technology will allow the Department of Agriculture's barley breeding programme to respond more rapidly to changes in goals set by industry and to meet market demands.

Production Of High-Value Wheats : One Sustainable Answer To The Cost:Price Squeeze, Wal Anderson, Alan Peggs, Doug Sawkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Farmers and scientists alike over the past decade have sought to address the declining terms of farm trade (the cost.price squeeze) by increasing wheat yields in ways that will ensure both their economic and ecological survival. Nevertheless, costs have continued to increase as a proportion of the value of the product.

Many farmers have increased their wheat yields substantially and the industry as a whole is more conscious of the quality of its product.

Over the past 10 years or more there has been intense interest in, and considerable adoption of. conservation farming techniques such as minimum tillage, residue retention, …

Clearwing Moths Are Key To Dock Control, Kingsley Fisher

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Two clearwing moths imported from Morocco and France could be the key to controlling dock (Rumex pulcher) - one of the worst weeds of high rainfall pastures in southern Australia

The Impact Of Red Kangaroos On The Rangelands, Grant Norbury, Dale Norbury

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Kangaroos and other native animals should be maintained across their natural range, including areas set aside for pastoral use. But the added grazing pressure on native vegetation from sheep, cattle and feral animals, together with unnaturally high numbers of kangaroos, has seriously degraded much of our rangelands. Cattle and sheep numbers are relatively easy to control. The same cannot be said for kangaroos. Access to widespread man-made watering points has allowed kangaroos to continue breeding when normally a shortage of water would suppress reproduction.

Pastoralists complain that commercial kangaroo shooting is not always effective in preventing damage caused by kangaroos. …

New Yellow Serradella Varieties For Low Rainfall Pastures, Clinton Revell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Large areas of acidic, sandy soils in Western Australia's low and medium rainfall, wheatsheep areas are suited to the pasture legume, yellow serradella.

In the past, a lack of varieties with suitable maturity has limited the use of this species.

New varieties developed in Western Australia and significantly earlier in maturity than traditional types can now extend the use of yellow serradella into these regions.

Opportunity Knocks : Sowing Wheat Early In The North-Eastern Wheatbelt, Nicole Kerr, Doug Abrecht

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Farmers consider many factors in deciding whether to start sowing wheat, but the most important are the amount of rain and time of year. In this study we assessed the chances of farmers in the north-eastern wheatbelt (less than 325 mm rainfall) receiving enough rain to sow wheat early. In low rainfall areas such as this, where an early finish to the season is likely, it is especially important that farmers take advantage of all early sowing opportunities. The potential benefits of sowing wheat early generally outweigh the associated risks, particularly in lower rainfall areas. However, early sowing depends on …

Monitoring Western Australia's Rangelands, Ron Hacker, David Beurle, George Gardiner

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Rangelands, native pastures used for grazing domestic livestock, occupy about 100 million hectares or 40 per cent of Western Australia, extending from the tropical grasslands of the Kimberley to the arid shrub steppe of the Nullarbor Plain.

The rangelands are characterized by highly variable seasonal conditions. Carrying capacity can fluctuate dramatically from year to year. Grazing management requires a tactical approach from one season to the next because of the great variation in the capacity of the land to support stock.

Rangeland monitoring provides pastoralists with objective information on these changes to assist their management decision making. The Western Australian …

Biological Control Of Doublegee, Dane Panetta

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Doublegee (Emex australis) is one of the worst agricultural weeds in Western Australia. To date, however, biological control of this weed has proved elusive. Multiple releases of two weevils which attack doublegee have not led to insect establishment. For one of these species, further research has shown that doublegee control would probably not be achieved in the wheatbelt even if insect establishment were enhanced by growing its host during the summer months. A joint Western Australian Department of Agriculture/ CSIRO project is investigating the virulence and host specificity of an undescribed South African species o/Phomopsis fungus. Should this pathogen prove …

Early Sowing Of Ceral Crops In Low Rainfall Areas, R J. Delane, John Hamblin

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

One of the objectives of the Department of Agriculture's crop research in the low rainfall, northern wheatbelt is to develop crop varieties and management practices that will make best use of stored water on both sandplain and fine textured soils. Sowing a crop early will improve its water use efficiency and yiel in low rainfall areas.

Frost Injury To Wheat, S P. Loss

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Frost injury has not been a major concern to the Western Australian wheat industry despite causing spectacular but irregular crop losses on some farms.

The development of suitable herbicides, direct drilling technology and the adoption of early flowering varieties in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to wheat crops being sown and flowering earlier than previously. This resulted in an increase in the incidence of frost damage.

Research into frost indicates that most wheat producers face low to moderate risks of yield loss caused by frost. However, individual farms in particular years can suffer devestating widespread losses. Grost injury …

Flower : Predicting Flowering Times Of Cereal Crops, G A B Elliott, Stephen Loss

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

FLOWER is a computer program which predicts the flowering date of a given wheat or barley variety at a specified location and sowing date. Department of Agriculture agronomists, breeders and advisers are using the program to provide useful information on how the development of cereals responds to different environments across Western Australia's cereal growing areas.

Examination And Development Of An Essential Oil Industry In The Ord River Irrigation Area Of North Western Australia, Jean M.V. Bonnardeaux

Research Reports

The project aimed at establishing an essential oil industry in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA). This industry is particularly suited to the ORIA where transport costs often prohibit the development of some agricultural products. The oils are concentrated and highly valuable. In addition, the ORIA with its abundant water and high temperatures presents a unique opportunity to grow a wide range of crops for the production of essential oils used by the food, medicinal and perfume industries. Australia has therefore an opportunity to initiate a new industry capable of replacing imports and gaining access to world markets representing a …

Early Sowing : One Key To Improved Yields Of Cereal Crops, M W. Perry, Wal Anderson, Rob Delane

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Early sowing of cereal crops is one of the most important management practices through which Western Australian cereal growers can increase yields.

Researchers have long known that in theory early sowing should mean improved growth and water use efficiency - which both contribuite to increased yields. Application of this knowledge has had to await new tillage and herbicide technology, but recent research in the northan and central wheatbelt has now demonstrated the advantages of early sowing in practice. And more exciting yet, there is evidence that yield responses to weed control and applied fertilizers may also be greater in early …

The Use Of Permeability, Conductivity, Conductance And Resistance In The Description Of Water Movement In Soils And Plants, H Borg

Resource management technical reports

Permeability, conductivity, conductance and resistance are important parameters in the description of water movement in soils and plants. These terms are related, but not synonymous. Permeability is only a function of the flow pathgeometry of the medium, while conductivity also depends on the fluid involved. Conductance, in addition, takes the size of the medium into account. Resistance is simply the inverse ofconductance. By applying the definition of resistance, it isshown that Darcy's law and Ohm's law are equivalent. Conductance and resistance relate volume flow rate to a potential difference, but to relate volume flux (volume flowrate per unit area) to …

Trends In Wheat Protein/Yield Relationships, G B. Crosbie, Harry Fisher, Bryan Whan

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The major concern of wheat breeders in WesternAustralia has been to increase grain yield while maintaining quality at an acceptable level. There has been no concious effort to select for protein content. It is of interrest, therefore, to compare the relationship between yield and protein of varieties which have been prominent in Western Australia at various times, to see what effects yield increases have had on protein content and the extent of any variation which might exist.

The Potential For Skeleton Weed, John Dodd, F. D. Panetta

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Since its introduction into Australia during the 900s skeleton weed has become one of the most economically significant weeds. Its presence in cereal crops in south-eastern Australia has caused suvere yield reductions and harvesting problems.

Skeleton weed was first found on a Western Australian farm in 963. Since then it has been the subject of an intensive eradication campaign organised by the Agricultural Protection Board and funded by an annual levy on wheat growers. Such campaigns, which rely mainly on volunteer searchers, do not exist in eastern Australia because the weed is so widespread it would be impossible to eradicate. …

Research On Declared Plants And Other Weeds, G. A. Pearce

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Knowledge about weeds is necessary to assess their significance, devise control measures and to select those which are to be declared for the purposes of the Agricultural and Related Resources Protection Act.

Once a plant has been declared in Western Australia, all landowners must control and prevent its spread to new areas and work towards eradicating known infestations. The Act also declares plants which are prohibited from entering the State.

It is becoming more and more important to provide specific reasons for the declaration of a weed and its placement in a certain category. Such decisions require appropriate action to …

Trials Indicate Best Lupin Seeding Rates, G H. Walton

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Trials on the seeding rate of lupins have shown that for most crops, at least 80kg of seed per hectare gives best yields. However the yields varied considerably, and in higher yielding situations, lower seeding rates were better.

Lupin Wild Types Introduced Into Western Australia To 1973, G B. Crosbie, John S. Gladstones

Technical Bulletins

Collection site data, preliminary rating of field characteristics and disease reactions, and measurements of seed protein oil contents.

Subterranean Clover In W.A. 2. Characteristics Required For Agronomic Success, C M. Francis, B. J. Quinlivan, N. J. Halse, D. A. Nicholas

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Development of subterranean clover varieties is a rapidly changing scene, particularly in terms of farmer acceptance, disease and persistency problems. This is only to be expected, because this is an agricultural plant of only some 50 to 70 years standing, whereas many other pasture plants have been in common use for thousands of years.