Life Sciences Commons^™

Options For Machinery And Labour, A F. Herbert

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

Machinery is one of the highest costs in farming today. It is not unusual for capital investment in machinery to be 20 to 30 percent of the total investment in the farm.

On an annual basis, expenditure directly attributable to machinery can be 40 per cent or more.

This article cannon be a panacea for everyone to reduce machinery costs - each farm is different. But some of the issues might be of help.

Matching Tractors And Implements, I W. Grevis-James

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

Tractor and implement matching involves balancing implement load characteristics with tractor output characteristics to obtain the best output from the combination. Too much or too little can be costly.

Crop Varieties For 1979, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

New crop varieties recommended for 1979 include two wheats, Tincurrin and Warimba, Moore oats and blackleg resistant Westro rapeseed.

Symptoms And Treatment Of Copper Deficiency Of Wheat, J W. Gartrell, R. F. Brennan, A. D. Robson

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

Copper deficiency in wheat is still common but may not be easily noticed.

Milling Wheat For Northern Areas, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

Miling - a new hard wheat variety for the north central medium and high rainfall areas including the Midlands region.

Lupin Yields Are Not What They Should Be : Viewpoint, M Ferguson, S. Trevenen

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

Mike Ferguson has been in charge of the Three Springs office of the Department of Agriculture since 1977.

Based on trials he has done and others he has seen, he believes farmers can greatly increase their yield of lupins.

Halo Blight Of Barley Confirmed In Western Australia, T N. Khan

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

Halo blight on barley has been confirmed in Western Australia for the first time.

What is it and how will it affect barley production in the future?

How To Select A Tractor, W T. Brown

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

A look at some of the factors to be considered when choosing a tractor for your farm. There is no one answer

Getting The Best From Tractor Tyres, J Quealy

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

The amount of pull a tractor develops depends largely on tyre efficiency and so with so many tyre size options for the one tractor model it is very easy to make the wrong decision on tyre fitment.

Tyre efficiency varies with tractor weight, soil conditions, inflation pressure and tyre size.

Hers we look at some of these factors and how changing them may affect efficiency.

Contour Cultivation : Cheap Erosion Control, T R. Negus, B. Barrett

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

Although the benefits of contour cultivation are well recognised, it makes cultivation more difficult, particularly if the paddock is split by contour banks and grassed waterways. However, a comparison east of Pingelly indicates that contour cultivation is little more expensive or time-consuming than ordinary cultivation.

Another Variety For Northern Areas : Illyarrie Lupin, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

The Department of Agriculture has released another new lupin variety for the northern agricultureal areas. It is a sweet narrow-leafed lupin named Illyarrie.

Fumigating A Farm To Control Grain Insects, J H. Moulden

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

During the past year, two major projects for control of grain insects were organised on Western Australian farms. Both excercises aimed to eradicate grain pests which would have seriously threatened grain exports if they had become established.

The fumigation was done jointly by the Entemology branch of the Department of Agriculture, and the Agricultural Protection Board.

Ryegrass Toxicity Organism Found On Other Grasses, D L. Chatel, J. L. Wise, A. G. Marfleet

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

Yellow slime disease caused by Corynebacterium sp. has recently been found in three grass species.

The diseased grasses were found in the field growing with each other and with affected toxic annual ryegrass.

Twenty-One Hints For Savings Of Seeding Time, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

The efficiency of machinery and labour during seeding operations has been studied by the Kondinin and Districts Farm Improvement Group and the Department of Agriculture.

The following specific hints were suggested.

Learning To Live With Spotted Alfalfa Aphid, M Grimm

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

The spotted alfalfa aphid which can devastate lucerne crops and perhaps also medic pastures, has been established in Western Australia since early 1978. However several methods of control are being developed, which could allow continued production of lucerne.

A New Tissue Test For Accurate Diagnosis Of Copper Deficiency In Cereals, J W. Gartrell, A. D. Robson, J. F. Loneragan

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

Copper deficiency in ceereals can now be accurately diagnosed using tissue analysis.

The Place For Annual Brome Grass, G W. Anderson

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

Grasses in the anual pastures of southern Australia are particularly important early in the growing season.

The main grass sown, has been annual rygrass, but concerns are emerging with 'annual ryegrass toxicity' and and 'in crop' competition.

This work looks at the role of annual brome grass in pastures.

Managing Water-Repellent Soils, D A. Mcghie

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

A study of water-repellent soils has led to some management recommendations.

Calibration Of Boom Sprays, J R. Peirce

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

Boom sprays have become increasingly common on Western Australian farms, allowing farmers to take advantage of modern herbicided.

Most boom sprays used on farms have 50 cm nozzle spacings and require calibrating regularily to ensure accurate herbicide application.

By following these steps, the boom will deliver accurate amounts of herbicide.

An Improved Rapeseed Variety : Wesway, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

Wesway, a new blackleg-resistant variety of rapeseed, has been released by the Department of Agriculture.

Seed of Wesway has been released to growerin the west Midlands, Great Southern and south coastal regions.

Perennial Pasture Measures Up, D A. Nicholas

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

In a trial at Manjimup, a pasture based on the perennial grass, Currie cocksfoot, gave substantially more production than a comparable annual pasture.

Breeding A Barley Resistant To Leaf Disease, T N. Khan, P. A. Portmann

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

In the last few years the Department of Agriculture has begun a programme to produce brley varieties resistant to the leaf diseases, scald and net blotch. These diseases cause substantial losses that may not be apparent to an individual farmer.

Replacing Farm Machinery, R Crossman

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

In talking of machinery replacement it seems implied that the replacement items of plant are bigger and therefore better than their predecessers. It is also implied that plant replacement is becoming more costly.

Before any decision to replace machinery, the reason for replacement should be carefully considered.

There may be alternatives to the bigger and better solution.