Life Sciences Commons^™

It's Dipping Time, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

ANNUAL dipping is compulsory within six weeks of shearing.

Here are the main points to keep in mind for successful and trouble-free dipping.

Shot Hole Of Stone Fruit, R F. Doepel

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

SHOT hole of stone fruit is a serious fungal disease which occurs in orchards throughout the fruit growing areas of the State.

Successful control is based on routine applications of Bordeaux mixture at leaf fall and bud burst.

Honey Flora Calendar For September, R S. Coleman

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

A look at Flora available in September.

Dingo And Fox Baits, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THE Vermin Control Section of the Agriculture Protection Board has devised an effective method of preparing poison for impregnating dingo and fox baits. The method is recommended where it is not convenient to use commercial 1/2 grain strychnine tablets.

Fertilizers For Potatoes In Manjimup And Pemberton Areas, James P. Fallon

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

IN articles published in previous issues of the Journal each of a number of potato fertiliser trials carried out in the Manjimup and Pemberton districts has been discussed and results reported.

This article briefly summarises the results of these trials carried out over the past four years and makes definite recommendations to potato growers in these districts regarding quantities of fertilisers to be used on new Red Karri loam soils.

Rice Growing In The Ord River Valley, C B. Langfield

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

THE first commercial rice crop in the Ord River Valley was planted late in I960 and plans are in hand for some 35,000 acres of land to be subdivided for irrigation settlement by 1964, with rice as a major crop.

Identical Twins, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THE response to the Department's appeal for identical twin calves has been gratifying, and so far this year five sets have been located and collected.

In view of the rare occurrence of identical twinning, this indicates excellent co-operation from dairy farmers.

Control Of The Emu, C D. Gooding, J. L. Long

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

Vermin research officers C. D. GOODING and J. L LONG give the latest recommendations for control of the emu, based on a series of observations and poisoning experiments in the northern wheatbelt.

It Pays To Breed Your Own Pigs, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

ONE of the most important decisions to be made by a pig raiser is whether to purchase store pigs which he will fatten for market, or to breed his own stock.

Automatic Waterers For Day Old Chickens, P Smetana, W. Ward

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

ONE of the most tedious and time consuming tasks on a poultry farm is the provision of water to chicks from day old up to the age of three or four weeks.

Most poultry farmers use half-gallon glass fonts with metal bases for the first few weeks, until the chicks are old enough to use the automatic watering system usually situated along one wall of the brooder house.

This cumbersome glass font system can be replaced by the cheap and easily installed automatic watering system described below. This system has already been adopted by several local poultry farmers.

Plan For Quality In Silage, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

SILAGE making time is fast approaching in the South-West.

Last minute preparations before harvesting will help avoid delays at the time of making this valuable fodder, thereby reducing the amount of costly spoilage caused by hold-ups.

Honey Flora Calendar For October, R S. Coleman

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

Some of the Flora available in October

The Open Range System Of Pig Farming, S R. Dunstan

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

THERE are several satisfactory systems which can be employed in planning a piggery, but under West Australian conditions, the paddock system has much to commend it.

Grazing admits an animal to the healthy influences of sunlight and stimulates exercise. The digestive processes of the pig are also stimulated and this helps to bring about more efficient utilisation of the feed.

The Argentine Ant In Western Australia, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

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

IN November, 1954, was commenced one of the most ambitious insect control schemes ever launched in Australia.

The pest concerned was the Argentine ant (Iridomvrmex humilis) and the authorised expenditure was at the rate of £105,000 per annum for five years.

Pullorum Tested Poultry Flocks : 1961, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THIS year's pullorum tests of poultry flocks have revealed the lowest incidence of reactors since the tests began. Results are recorded below.

Palatability Of Forage Plants In North-West Sheep Pastures, R H. Collett

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

A DECLINE in carrying capacity has occurred in large areas of the Pilbara district of the North-West, due to the decrease in palatable plants and the increase in unpalatable ones.

The relative palatability of the various species to sheep is therefore a matter of considerable importance to pastoralists.

Root Lesion Eelworm (Pratylenchus Penetrans) In Vegetables, O M. Goss

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

ROOT lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus penetrans) have been found in many market gardens in the Balcatta-Osborne Park and Spearwood areas, associated with such crops as carrots, parsnips, swedes, lettuce, celery and rhubarb.

Trees Of Western Australia. 91. The Powder Barked Wandoo (Eucalyptus Accedens - W.V. Fitzgerald). 92. The Dongara Mallee (Eucalyptus Dongarraenis - Maiden And Blakely). 93. The Messmate Or Stringbark (Eucalyptus Tetrodonta F. Muell). 94. The Sturt Creek Mallee (Eucalyptus Odontocarpa F. Muell), Charles Austin Gardner

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

THIS species was originally named by W. V. Fitzgerald from specimens which he obtained from near Pingelly in November, 1903.

The name accedens is from the Latin accedo—to approach or come near—and is here used in reference to the supposed close approach of the tree to the common wandoo (Eucalyptus redunca var. elata).

Drugs For Worm Control. 1. Sheep Drenching Trials With Mk 360, M R. Gardiner, J. Craig

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

DRENCHING sheep with drugs designed to eliminate parasites has become an established practice in the higher rainfall districts of Western Australia.

has been tested in many trials, and their is little doubt that drenching sheep clinically affected with worms—the so-called "tactical" drench—is valuable and necessary.

However, there is usually less general acceptance of the value of "strategic" drenching— the prevention of clinical parasitism by giving the drug at certain specific times, pre-determined by a knowledge of the numerical rise and fall of the various parasites within the animal body.

Potassium Deficiency In Medium Rainfall Areas, William John Toms

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

IT is well known that potassic fertilisers must be used for the successful growth of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) on many soils in the higher rainfall districts of Western Australia.

Recent investigations have shown that some soils in medium rainfall districts are also too low in potassium to grow healthy subterranean clover pastures.

Preparation Of Vegetables For Market, James P. Fallon

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

PROFITS in commercial vegetable growing depend as much on proper harvesting, handling and marketing as on good production practices.

Many gardeners who are experts as producers are perhaps not so expert in presenting their produce in a manner which will command the most favourable return.

Correcting Cobalt Deficiency, Laurence C. Snook

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

COBALT is essential in the food eaten by sheep and cattle. As little as one part of cobalt in 10,000,000 parts of food appears to be adequate.

But if this mere trace is missing, ruminants will waste away and die, even when the feed appears excellent In every other way.

Third West Australian Random Sample Egg Laying Test : 1959-1960, R H. Morris

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

AS part of the poultry improvement plan for Western Australia, the Department of Agriculture inaugurated a random sample laying test for commercial grade chickens at the Poultry Research Station, Herdsman Lake, in 1957.

The results of the first test appeared in the May-June, 1959 issue of the Journal of Agriculture and those of the second test in the June, 1960 issue.

Citrus Growing In The Home Garden, Frank Melville

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

ALTHOUGH well suited to our climate, citrus trees do not always thrive in the metropolitan area because of the unsuitable soil conditions in some suburbs.

Lemons can usually be grown successfully and grapefruit are worth persevering with, but oranges and mandarins are better suited to the loamy soils of the Gosnells, Guildford and Hills districts.

Minor Elements Can Be Overdone, L T. Jones

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

T H E term "minor elements" which is now commonly used and well understood by farmers and gardeners, refers to the five essential plant foods—copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum and boron.

These five essential plant foods are needed by all plants in minute quantities and it is relatively easy to use them in excess of actual requirements or even in toxic amounts.

In practice this is not usually a problem with cereals and pastures. The important exception is when zinc alone is added to a cereal crop low in copper and the extra zinc accentuates the copper deficiency, and poorer yields …

Baconer Carcase Competitions, H G. Elliott, S. R. Dunstan

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

TO further the implementation of its policy to foster the production of high quality bacon, the Australian Meat Board in 1960 again conducted for pig growers in Western Australia, its annual Baconer Carcase Competition.

Banana Cultivation At Carnarvon, J A F Lawson

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

THE banana is claimed by some authorities to be the first fruit ever used by man. Indeed, it is so widely scattered throughout the tropical countries of the world that it is very difficult to name its centre of origin.

For centuries it has been regarded as one of the most useful fruits for treating patients with digestive ailments, and over the last few decades it has been recommended by doctors, particularly for infants.

Although the protein content of bananas is low, the sugars of the ripened fruit are present in a most useful form, and the vitamin content, by …

Bare Patch And Poor Emergence Of Cereals : Factors Under Investigation. 2. Depth Of Planting, S C. Chambers

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

DEPTH of planting appears to have an important influence upon the emergence of a cereal crop. Increasing the depth by one inch within the range 1-5 inches, not only depressed the emergence counts of wheat seedlings, but also increased the number which emerged abnormally.

The Use Of Nitrogenous Fertilisers For Cereal Grain Production In Western Australia, William John Toms, G. H. Burvill

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

NITROGENOUS fertilisers have so far been little used in Western Australia for wheat, oats and barley grown for grain.

However, profitable results can follow their use under some conditions. Farmers who have seen field experiments are now interested in the use of nitrogenous fertilisers.Further interest will be stimulated by recent reductions in price.

This article answers common questions asked by farmers about nitrogenous fertilisers for cereals. It is based on over 100 experiments conducted by the Department of Agriculture during the past 30 years.

Potato Variety Trial, James P. Fallon, G. C. De Haan

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

DELAWARE has been the only variety of Potato grown commercially in Western Australia. This is due to the fact that in the past an early maturing variety with a short dormancy period has been required to suit both hill plantings and swamp crops.

However, with the advent of sprinkler irrigation and hence better control of moisture and growing conditions, the need for early maturing varieties has ceased to exist in some districts.

There has been consequently an increasing interest in testing varieties which have proved high yielding and of good quality in other parts of the world.