Digital Commons Network^™

Survey Of Western Australian Agricultural Lime Sources, Chris Gazey, Dave Gartner

Bulletins 4000 -

As a service to WA wheatbelt farmers, to assist with cost effective management of soil acidity, a survey of agricultural lime availability and quality was conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.

The quality of agricultural lime surveyed varied widely between pits. High quality lime is available from limes and, limestone and dolomite sources. Twice as much of the lowest neutralising value lime surveyed would need to be applied compared to the highest to achieve the same increase in soil pH. Limes also varied in the distribution of particle sizes. Selecting limes with a high proportion of …

Diagnosing Crop And Pasture Problems With Detective Doug, Doug Sawkins

Bulletins 4000 -

There are numerous publications for diagnosing crop and pasture growth problems. Although they are excellent for experienced people, they can be time consuming and possibly misleading for the less experienced.

Many guidebooks assume that the user has already decided that their problem falls into the category covered by their particular guidebook, for example, a disease, pest or herbicide problem.

Guidebooks are often based on plant symptoms. However, in the field, symptoms vary and different problems can have similar symptoms.

This bulletin presents a problem diagnosis method that uses plant symptoms and paddock clues. It can be used to draw up …

Root Disease Under Intensive Cereal Production Systems, Bill Macleod, Vivien Vanstone, Ravjit Khangura, Ciara Beard

Bulletins 4000 -

This Bulletin describes symptoms and control methods for the most commonly encountered cereal root diseases in Western Australia:

• rhizoctonia bare patch

• root lesion nematode

• take-all

• fusarium crown rot

• cereal cyst nematode

• common root rot

• pythium root rot

Diseases caused by pathogenic micro-organisms can significantly reduce the yield of cereals. Some of these diseases are uncommon while others occur over a large area of the Western Australian wheatbelt every year. The most prevalent root diseases of cereals in Western Australia are rhizoctonia bare patch, root lesion nematode and take-all. Less widespread are fusarium crown rot, cereal cyst nematode, common root rot …

Wheat Variety Guide 2008 Western Australia, Christine Zaicou, Ben Curtis, Harmohinder Dhammu, Sarah Ellis, Dorthe Jorgensen, Shahajahan Miyan, Steve Penny, Brenda Shackley, Darshan Sharma

Bulletins 4000 -

This guide summarises performance characteristics of commercially available wheats and some pre-commercial lines. These lines have undergone testing in the National Variety Testing Project (NVT), Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) wide-scale crop variety testing (CVT) and/or variety specific agronomy projects. This information includes variety summaries (Table 1), agronomic, disease and herbicide tolerance characteristics (Tables 2 to 4), medium- to long-term yield performance by wheat grade and Agzone (Tables 5 and 6). A review of regional performance in 2007 is followed by a comprehensive summary of 2007 variety time of sowing experiments (Tables 7 to 14) and flowering …

Innovation, Research And Development, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

All other publications

The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia proudly plays a vital role In lhe strategic planning, production and marketing of the State's food and fibre industries. via three main criteria.

Innovation

Research

Development

The following are some recent examples of the department's many innovative R&D programs that are showcasing our scientific and technological breakthroughs on the world stage.

Producing Lupins, Peter White, Bob French, Amelia Mclarty, Grains Research And Development Corporation

Bulletins 4000 -

The book contains detailed information on lupin establishment, weed control, disease management and harvesting. It also provides an excellent background to the history of lupins in Western Australia, the development of the plant and its adaptation to the Western Australian environment

Tree Windbreaks In The Wheatbelt, Robert Sudmeyer, David Bicknell, Neil Coles

Bulletins 4000 -

Windbreaks comprising trees, or tree and shrub combinations, can offer many benefits on wheatbelt farms, particularly for protection of soil, stock, crops and pastures from damaging winds and erosion. Additional benefits include reduced evaporation from farm dams, reduced groundwater recharge, their use as nature conservation corridors and habitats, increased biodiversity including predators of crop and pasture pests, fire control, tree products and improved lifestyle and aesthetics.

In other areas and farming systems such as intensive horticulture, man-made windbreaks may be used, but their higher cost makes them unsuited for broadscale agriculture. Man-made windbreaks can be effective in reducing evaporative losses …

Returns To Research And Development Investment Of Department Of Agriculture And Food Western Australia : Benefit Cost Analysis 2005-2006, Nazrul Islam, Francis Bright, Peter Coyle, Peter Eckersley, Louise Evans, Joseph Gaffy, Allan Herbert, Ross Kingwell, Emma Kopke, Peter Tozer

Bulletins 4000 -

Programs of the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia apply benefit-cost analysis to assist in the allocation of funds to those areas likely to make the largest contribution to the rural economy and thus to achieve the Department outcome of increased market competitiveness and profitability. To learn lessons from the completed projects the Programs also use ex post analyses. Information collected in the course of the ex post analyses can usefully improve the assessment of proposed projects.

Returns To R&D Investment Of Dafwa: Benefit Cost Analysis, 2005-2006, Nazrul Islam

Bulletins 4000 -

The primary outcome or objective of the projects that are assessed, is to increase the market competitiveness and profitability of agri-industry.

Returns To Research And Development Investment Of The Department Of Agriculture And Food Western Australia : Benefit Cost Analysis, 2006-2007, Peter Coyle, Editor, Roslyn Blanchard, Francis Bright, Paul Mattingley, Manju Radhakrishnan

Bulletins 4000 -

Strategic decision making is enhanced by the consideration of benefit cost analyses of many projects. Each year a selection of projects is evaluated to assist in the determination of the most appropriate allocation of funds. This is only one of the methods that are employed by the Department’s Executive to increase market competitiveness and profitability in agriculture and the pastoral industries. This report includes both ex post and ex ante analyses, as they are complementary processes.

Root Lesion And Burrowing Nematodes In Western Australian Cropping Systems, Vivien Vanstone

Bulletins 4000 -

Nematodes are common soil pests that feed on the roots of a wide range of crop plants in all agricultural areas of Western Australia, irrespective of soil type and rainfall. Nematodes multiply on susceptible hosts. Consequently, as nematode populations increase, crop production is limited. Cereal yield losses due to nematodes in Western Australia are in the order of 5 to 15 per cent per annum, but individual losses as high as 40 per cent have been recorded.

Nitrogen Management For Wheat Protein And Yield In The Esperance Port Zone, Jeremy Lemon

Bulletins 4000 -

This manual is part of a joint project between the Department of Agriculture and Food WA and the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA) with funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). Growers in the Esperance port zone have been concerned with declining protein levels in wheat and its impact on farm returns as well as strong messages from processors of Esperance wheat that they require higher protein in the wheat they mill and process.

The project entailed grower involvement in designing and executing field scale experiments using farmer machinery, grower workshops, field days and meetings to …

Annual Pasture Legume Options For Key Soil Types, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Grains Research & Development Corporation

All other publications

No abstract provided.

Field Pea In The Great Southern, Ian Pritchard, Rodger Beermier, Mark Seymour

All other publications

Semi-leafless field pea like Kaspa have lifted the benchmark set by the previous conventional varieties such as Parafield and Dunwa. Semi-leafless field pea have the same traits as conventional field pea: adaptation to a range of soil types; wide selection of weed control options (including crop topping); nitrogen input; disease break; and reduction in root lesion nematodes. Semi-leafless pea is easier to harvest and is less prone to pod shatter.

Producing Pulses In The Northern Agricultural Region, Peter White, Martin Harries, Mark Seymour, Pam Burgess

Bulletins 4000 -

Pulses, like most other temperate crops, are ideally suited to environments with mild temperatures, adequate rainfall and free draining soils that have a deep uniform profile, a medium to fine texture and slightly acid to neutral pH (6.5-7.5). Pulses when grown on these soils and in these environments produce reliable yields, are relatively easy to manage and achieve good returns on investment.

Pulses can be grown very successfully in less ideal situations, but must then be managed carefully to ensure reliable yields. The different pulse species, and even different varieties of the same species, vary in how tolerant they are …

Feed Grain Report - Current And Future Demand In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Authors: Martin Barbetti, Pam Burgess, Dave Eksteen, Trevor Lacey, Reg Lance, Peter Metcalfe, Dane Robertson, Greg Shea, Sofia Sipsas, Mark Sweetingham, Graham Walton, Peter White, Anne Wilkins

Markets are rapidly changing and new industries are emerging at a faster rate than previously recorded in history. The livestock industry and related feed grain industry are part of this changing dimension. The Department of Agriculture Western Australia (DAWA) compiled this report to examine the supply and potential demand for feed grain and explore possible options to take advantage of opportunities that may be presented as a result of these changes.

This report …

2005 Crop Variety Sowing Guide For Western Australia, Jenny Garlinge

Bulletins 4000 -

The Crop Variety Sowing Guide attempts to present all the information that is necessary for you to make the best choice of variety for each of the major crops. As well as varietal characteristics and performance, it contains information on herbicide resistance, disease, agronomic factors, deliveries and marketing.

Much of the information presented this year is on the basis of the ‘Agzone’. This is an amalgamation of the traditional ‘region zone cells’which were coded H1 to L5 according to length-of-growing season zones from north to south (1 to 5) and rainfall regions, based on annual average rainfall, from west to …

A Million Hectares For The Future : A Final Report Prepared For The Grains Research And Development Corporation, Trevor Lacey

Research Reports

Final report -- Evaluation summary report for the "Million hectares for the future" pre-pilot workshops series -- Opportunities for the use of Million hectares workshops / products in future -- Workshop development process.
(En)
"The "A million hectares for the future" project has developed a series of workshops (based on adult learning principles) for use by industry facilitators working with farmers. They outline salinity hazards and management options to farmers as part of an environmental improvement systems." ... with farmers in Western Australia and South Australia" - - Project summary.

Tramline Farming Systems Technical Manual, Bindi Webb, Paul Blackwell, Glen Riethmuller, Jeremy Lemon

Bulletins 4000 -

Tramline farming improves farm production and efficiency by controlling traffic and confining compaction to permanent tramlines and reducing overlap. This manual will help you develop your farming system to get the tramline farming benefits. The manual contains information on the principles and techniques of implementing a tramline farming system. There are many options available, so you can tailor the system to suit your own farm.

In eastern Australia, controlled traffic farming (CTF) is another term used for permanent wheel track farming. The system is based on bare, straight tramlines. The term tramline farming is more commonly used in Western Australia …

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 …

Successful Field Pea Harvesting, Glen Riethmuller, Ian Pritchard

Bulletins 4000 -

Many thousands of hectares of field peas are harvested trouble free each year. Growers experience together with recent machinery innovations and modifications have solved the majority of harvesting difficulties. Optimum harvesting conditions are in a crop of uniform density on a level soil surface with the machine either working into or across the direction that the crop has been laid by the wind.

To make harvest easier the receival standard for moisture in pulses has been lifted to 14 per cent, which allows harvest to begin sooner when the crop is the range of 14 to 15 per cent moisture. …

Zone Management In Precision Agriculture By Matching Fertiliser Input To Crop Demand, Daya Patabendige, Mike Wong, Bill Bowden

Bulletins 4000 -

Growers in Western Australia who have been yield mapping since the mid 1990s have come to realise that grain yield varies across different zones of their paddocks in any given year, as well as between years depending on the seasonal conditions and crop type. This within paddock variation can be as much as tenfold. Higher yielding areas can be due to better growing conditions (which increases the demand for nutrients) and/or better nutrient supply (which reduces the need for some fertiliser inputs). Hence, it is essential to determine the cause of the variation before optimum fertilising strategies can be developed.

Sustainability Issues For Agriculture In Western Australia, Anne Bennett, Ross Kingwell, Ross George

Agriculture reports

This paper describes briefly the main challenges to the sustainability of agriculture in Western Australia and outlines some means of responding the the challenges: market-based approaches; agricultural and environmental research and development; accelerated adjustment; and global and national policy initiatives. Challenges include: land resource quality (salinity, soil acidity), biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, water availability, food safety, and pests and diseases.

Organic Wheat : A Production Guide, Steven Mccoy

Bulletins 4000 -

Many people believe that organic agriculture systems can only work in high rainfall regions. However, some of Australia’s most successful organic farmers are the experienced organic wheatbelt growers who produce cereal, pulse and oilseed crops in different regions and soil types across the country.

Wheat is the major organic cereal crop grown in Australia - predominantly noodle and breadmaking wheats for export markets.

Farming systems developed by modern organic wheat growers can differ significantly in concept, strategies and techniques from those used by conventional growers. Successful conversion to organic requires careful planning and integration of the whole farming system over …

Profitable Canola Production In The Great Southern And Lakes District, Paul Carmody, Ashley Herbert

Bulletins 4000 -

The Canola industry has rapidly grown with a 10 fold increase in area sown in Western Australia over the four years from 1996-99.

The driving force behind this increase in area can be attributed to the successful adoption of weed control technology in Triazine Tolerant Canola.

By knowing the model of the limiting factors, which are usually; weed control, fertiliser practices, blackleg management, variety selection, seeding dates, seeding depths, insect control and swathing, we can make the right decisions and achieve the targeted profit.

To produce yield to potential, all factors need to be optimised, otherwise yields will be decreased …

Profitable Canola Production In The Northern Grainbelt Of Western Australia 2001, Paul Carmody, Adrian Cox

Bulletins 4000 -

Canola is a member of the Brassicaceae family that also includes mustard, turnip, wild radish, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli.

It is a winter growing oilseed that can be produced in most arable areas of Australia where winter crops are currently grown. Originally known as rapeseed using the varieties B. campestris, the varieties of B. napus have almost completely replaced this earlier variety in all the areas where the crop is grown.

The swing to B. napus varieties was due to their superior yields, resistance to blackleg and better quality oil and meal. Canola can be grown on a wide variety …

Dealing With A Dry Season, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Farmers' approaches to adverse seasonal conditions whether they be frost, flood or low rainfall should be to acquire as much information as possible on the immediate agronomic and financial situations and make a judgement on the longer term implications for the following seasons. Once the information has been acquired, in consultation with advisers, it is necessary to construct and implement agronomic and business strategies to deal with individual situations.

The agronomic and stocking options for the dry season supplied in this booklet deal with questions and issues arising from the Year 2000 season, which has been characterised by a mid …

Pulse And Canola Frost Identification:The Back Pocket Guide, Craig White

Bulletins 4000 -

This field guide will help you identify the common symptoms of frost damage in pulse and canola crops. It also contains pictures of other plant symptoms often confused with frost damage in these crops.

Frost damage reduces crop yield and grain quality. Early identification of symptoms allows timely crop salvage decisions to be made.

Inspect pulse and canola crops between bud formation and during pod growth if right air temperature (recorded 1.2 m above ground) falls below 2 degrees celsius and there was a frost.

Check low lying, light coloured soil types and known frost prone areas first. Then check …

Profitable Canola Production In The South Coastal Region 2000, David Eksteen

Bulletins 4000 -

Why grow canola in the South Coast Region? Canola is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which also includes mustard, turnip, wild radish, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. It is a winter growing oilseed that can be produced in most arable areas of Australia where winter crops are currently grown. Originally known as rapeseed using the species B. campestris, the species of B. napus have almost completely replaced this earlier species in all the areas where the crop is grown.

The Wheat Book : Principles And Practice, W K. Anderson, J R. Garlinge

Bulletins 4000 -

Contents : Environment / revised by J. Cramb, J. Courtney and P. Tille - The structure and development of the cereal plant / revised by T.L. Setter and G. Carlton - Germination, vegetative and reproductive growth / revised by T.L. Setter and G. Carlton - Crop water use / D. Tennant - Nutrition / revised by M.D.A. Bolland, R.F. Brennan, J.W. Bowden, M.G. Mason, N.K. Edwards, M.M. Riley and S.W. Gartrell - Wheat in farming systems / revised by B. Bowden, P. Blackwell, P. Carmody, M. Ewing, R. Kingwell, R. L ghman, I. McFarlane, P. Michael, P. Nelson, I. Pritchard, …