Life Sciences Commons^™

Perennial Pastures For Western Australia, Geoff Allan Moore, Paul Sanford, Tim Wiley

Bulletins 4000 -

The aim of this project was to identify potential new perennial legumes and grasses to complement lucerne in phase farming and to identify the role and potential for perennial grasses in Western Australia.

Feeding And Managing Sheep In Dry Times, Ian Mcfarland, Mandy Curnow, Mike Hyder, Brian Ashton, Danny Roberts

Bulletins 4000 -

Feeding sheep is a significant cost to any sheep or mixed farm enterprise in southern Australia. The cost is usually managed by annually sourcing feed on-farm. However, this feed source can become scarce when we experience unusual dry spells within seasons (termed a 'dry season', such as a dry winter or spring), a late break to the season, a drought year, or even worse, successive drought years.

Climate change research suggests that southern Australia will experience higher annual temperatures and a decline in mean growing season rainfall (particularly winter and spring) over the coming decades. This will affect the productivity …

The Land Is In Your Hands : A Practical Guide For Owners Of Small Rural Landholdings In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Wa

Bulletins 4000 -

This Bulletin discusses various aspects of managing a small farm or property in Western Australia, including soil and land care, vegetation and plant control on farm holdings, water resource management, biosecurity, plant, animal and insect pest control and livestock management.

Growing Chinese Cabbage In Western Australia, John Burt, Dennis Phillips, David Gatter

Bulletins 4000 -

Chinese cabbage is a member of the Brassiceae family, which may be called brassicas, crucifers or cole crops. This includes various crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, turnips, swedes and weeds such as wild radish.

In general trade, the term Chinese cabbage can loosely be given to both the heading types (Brasssica rapa L. subsp. pekinensis) and to non heading types such as pak-choi (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis). This Bulletin deals with the heading type of Chinese cabbage. The Chinese name is Wong Bok, and this name is often used in Australia.

Wild Dog Management: Best Practice Manual, Peter Thomson, Ken Rose, State Wild Dog Management Advisory Committee

Bulletins 4000 -

Wild dogs (all wild-living dogs including pure-bred dingoes, hybrids, and domestic dogs running wild) are one of the major pest species impacting on grazing industries across mainland Australia. In this Manual, the text refers to dingoes where the information is derived from studies of essentially pure dingoes. Elsewhere the text usually refers to the more generic term, wild dogs. The information in this Manual is based on scientific studies, including detailed evaluations of techniques and strategies, as well as considerable practical experience from doggers, Department of Agriculture and Food staff and land managers. Much of this Manual focuses on sheep …

Ewe And Wether Trials - Tools For Benchmarking Your Sheep Genetics, Lock Butler

Bulletins 4000 -

Research and sheep productivity trial results demonstrate a huge variability in genetic productivity between flocks. For example a range of up to 2 kg clean fleece weight, 5 microns, 55 percentage points in lambing percentage and 20 kg live weight, can lead to big differences in gross margin between flocks.

There is an opportunity for genetic improvement, depending on your current ram source or sires performance. For example, Western Australian (WA) Wether Trial results suggest half the WA flocks could improve clean fleece weight per head by half a kilogram or more. The trial results suggest that this could occur …

Baby Boabs : The Exciting New Taste Sensation From The Kimberley In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Baby boabs are the seedling stage of the large boab trees found in the Kimberley region. The seed of the fruit found in pods attached to the tree is planted and then grown for approximately 16 weeks depending on the season. This produces a tuber up to 30 centimetres long, with fresh, succulent, edible leaves on top.

The boab tubers are very versatile and can be used in most dishes both raw and cooked. The texture of the tubers are crisp and crunchy like that of a water chestnut but with a refreshing taste that can adapt to the other …

Current Property Size Distribution Of Landholders In The Northam Advisory District, Jeff Russell

Bulletins 4000 -

The reason for conducting this short study was to gain a better understanding of the property size distribution of landholdings that exists within the Northam Advisory District (NAD). There has been some deal of conjecture as to the extent of property size within the district upon which some basic assumptions are being made for the viability of farming / agricultural industries in the district.

This outline may help to give a greater accuracy of the nature of the clientele of the district in decision making processes for district extension management and on ground activities.

Nematodes In Western Australian Vineyards, Vivien Vanstone, Neil Lantzke

Bulletins 4000 -

Nematodes are worm-like microscopic animals that live in the soil. There are numerous soil-inhabiting nematode species, but not all are harmful to plants. Some nematodes are plant-parasitic, feeding on and damaging roots, including those of grapevine. Feeding activities of these nematodes reduce the vine’s ability to take up water and nutrients from the soil, leading to lack of vigour, symptoms of nutrient deficiency, wilting, lower yield, vine decline and, in severe cases, vine death. Nematode feeding sites can also lead to entry of other disease-causing organisms (e.g. fungi or bacteria), resulting in rapid vine decline.

Nematodes can survive in the …

Phytophthora Diseases Of Cutflower Crops, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Phytophthora root rot is the most common soil borne disease causing plant death in native cut flower production. It is also a pathogen of exotic cutflower crops such as rose, lily, carnation, proteas and gerbera. The fungus, Phytophthora cinnamomi, the cause of jarrah dieback is the pathogen that first comes to mind when Phytophthora is mentioned. This has one of the widest host ranges of all Phytophthora species, particularly amongst native Australia species. P.nicotianae also has a wide host range, infecting a wide range of exotic, as well as Australian native flower crops. There are also a number of …

Sampling And Testing For Plant Pathogens, Aileen Reid

Bulletins 4000 -

There are many methods used in the laboratory to determine whether Phytophthora or other fungi are present in growing media, water supply and diseased plants. These include:

• filtering water for spores

• baiting for fungi in growing media and water samples

• examining diseased plant tissue microscopically

• direct culturing from roots and other plant parts to isolate the fungal pathogen in pure culture.

This bulletin outlines some of the procedures involved. Growers may be able to do some basic baiting of soil or water samples themselves to alert them of a problem but the procedures involved in isolating …

Brassicas From Western Australia At A Glance, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australia produces all of its domestic fresh broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Chinese cabbage requirements and is ideally positioned to service markets in Asia, the Indian Ocean region and beyond. Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei account for about 78 per cent of vegetable brassica exports from Western Australia. However, markets also exist in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and the Middle East.

Opportunities may also exist for supplying value added product such as fresh cut or frozen prepacked florets.The industry, supported by the Department of Agriculture and Food, is pursuing opportunities in productivity improvement, quality assurance and marketing which will …

Wine From Western Australia At A Glance, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australia continues to enjoy a growing international reputation for the production of premium quality wines. Accolades at international wine exhibitions and in publications are abundant. Natural advantages such as the climate and soils, ideally suited to the production of premium quality wine grapes in a clean environment, make Western Australia an ideal place to supply quality wine to domestic and international markets.