Agriculture Commons^™

2024 Western Australian Crop Sowing Guide, Brenda J. Shackley, Stacey Power, Blakely Paynter, Georgina Troup, Mark Seymour, Harmohinder S. Dhammu

Bulletins 4000 -

The 2024 Western Australian Crop Sowing Guide has been compiled by officers in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. It provides information to support variety decisions for each of the major crops for the upcoming season.

Environmental Weed Risk Assessment Protocol For Growing Non-Indigenous Plants In The Western Australian Rangelands, Geoff A. Moore Mr, Christine Munday Ms, Papori Barua Dr

Bulletins 4000 -

This bulletin is a post-border environmental weed risk assessment (WRA) protocol which is based on the Environmental WRA Protocol developed for the Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre (FFI CRC), but with some changes to reflect the different environment and objectives.

The WRA protocol was developed specifically as a post-border assessment of non-indigenous species that may have agricultural value in the WA rangelands and the risk that they may become environmental weeds. Weeds can occur in many land-use systems including agriculture, horticulture and forestry; however, the focus of this protocol is on the risk that non-indigenous agricultural plants may become …

Mosaic Agriculture: A Guide To Irrigated Crop And Forage Production In Northern Wa, Geoff A. Moore Mr, Clinton K. Revell Dr, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Christopher Ham Mr, Samuel Crouch Mr

Bulletins 4000 -

The Bulletin is a comprehensive guide for pastoralists, agronomists, agribusiness and the broader community on the growing of irrigated crops and pastures within a rangeland pastoral setting.

Dispersed irrigation developments on stations throughout the northern rangelands (sometimes referred to as mosaic agriculture) has created opportunities for the introduction of more productive forage species and pastoralists can now grow high quality forage for 12 months of the year. This can help to overcome the key constraint of traditional pastoral systems, the low quality of the feed over the dry season that typically results in stock losing condition.

2021 Western Australian Crop Sowing Guide, Brenda Shackley, Blakely Paynter, Jackie Bucat, Georgina Troup, Mark Seymour, Andrew Blake

Bulletins 4000 -

This edition of the 2021 Crop Sowing Guide includes the major crops grown in WA - wheat, barley, canola, oat, lupins and pulses. The publication aims to provide information to support growers with decisions on the best choice of variety for each of the major crops for the upcoming season. The lupin and pulse sections also include an agronomy guide summary to support management decisions required for these high-valued crops. Market feedback for barley has been provided by GIWA to help with the decision on what to grow.

Plant Diseases Impacting Oaten Hay Production In Australia - A Review, Kylie Chambers, Geoff J. Thomas

Bulletins 4000 -

In Australia, there are a range of fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens that infect oats, impacting on yield and quality of grain and hay crops. The overall impact of these diseases on oaten hay production is not well researched or understood, especially compared to that of other cereal crops. Export hay is evaluated on physical qualities such as stem thickness and greenness and nutritional qualities including water-soluble carbohydrates, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and dry matter digestibility. The colour/ greenness of oaten hay can be reduced by disease lesions, chlorosis and saphrophytic fungi growing on dead tissue all of …

Bioenergy And Carbon Farming Opportunities In The Pilbara, Robert Sudmeyer, Kim Brooksbank, David Rogers

Bulletins 4000 -

The Pilbara region covers 270 000 square kilometres of north-west Western Australia. Its main agricultural land use is pastoralism, with beef cattle grazing native pastures. Currently, only 24km² is under irrigation, with irrigated fodder the principal crop, but this could expand to 100km². This expansion has the potential to significantly broaden the economic base of the Pilbara.

Irrigation and the opportunities for changing land use and management may facilitate greater participation in the carbon economy by Pilbara land managers. Bioenergy feedstocks could be sourced from purpose-grown crops or agricultural wastes. Carbon farming activities may be facilitated by …

Making Better Fertiliser Decisions For Cropping Systems In Western Australia. Soil Test – Crop Response Relationships And Critical Soil Test Values And Ranges, Geoff Anderson, Ross Brennan, Richard Bell, Wen Chen

Bulletins 4000 -

The better fertiliser decisions for cropping project (BFDC) (2009-2012) was completed to provide comprehensive information to improve fertiliser decisions for the cropping industry in Australia (Speirs et al. 2013a). The WA component provides interpretation of results from crop nutrient application experiments for the WA cropping system, and developed a tool for estimating nutrient losses from cropping systems soils.

The BFDC-WA project aims to use the 4R principles by producing a series of bulletins on nutrient management for the cropping system of WA.

Audit Of Wa Agricultural Lime Quality 2013, Chris Gazey

Bulletins 4000 -

Applying agricultural lime is the most economical way of ameliorating low soil pH in broadscale agriculture in Western Australia (WA). In WA, agricultural lime is usually limesand from coastal sand dunes, crushed limestone from coastal deposits or crushed dolomitic lime (usually marketed as dolomite) from old lake and inland drainage systems. Other sources are Cretaceous chalk and lake bed marls.

WA agriculture is well serviced by lime suppliers, although the quality of lime varies markedly around the State, and cost does not always reflect quality as measured by neutralising value and fineness. Neutralising value and particle size distribution (fineness) are …

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 …

The Impact Of Tillage Practices And Crop Residue (Stubble) Retention In The Cropping System Of Western Australia, Geoff Anderson

Bulletins 4000 -

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

Farming For The Future Self-Assessment Tool (Sat), Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Danielle England, Rebecca Ashley Jones, John Noonan, Jon Warren

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australian produce is some of the cleanest, safest and most reliable in the world. It is also being produced in an increasingly sustainable manner as our primary producers adopt documented and industry agreed, current recommended practices. International markets and local consumers want to be confident that their goods have been produced in a sustainable manner.

Farming for the Future now gives Western Australian producers a process to demonstrate this. Farming for the Future is working with industry to identify relevant, scientifically valid and measurable sustainable practices. These on-farm practices are being aligned with business, community and government plans for …

Successful Cropping In The High Rainfall Zone Of Western Australia : Crop Research And Extension In The Zone, Narelle Hill, Heping Zhang Dr., Tim Trezise, John Young, Natahan Moyes, Laurence Carslake, Neil C. Turner Dr, Walter Anderson, Michael Poole

Bulletins 4000 -

This manual is a review of all the relevant and current information relating to cropping systems in the high rainfall cropping zone (HRZ) of Western Australia. It functions partly as the final report summarising research results and extension activities and discusses recommendations and potential outcomes of two 5-year GRDC-funded projects (DAW 673 and CSP 302), that aimed to increase the productivity of southern high rainfall cropping systems.

Subsurface Acidity, Mike Bolland, Chris Gazey, Amanda Miller, Dave Gartner, Julie-Anne Roche

Bulletins 4000 -

Productive agriculture increases the concentration of hydrogen ions in soil, which acidifies the soil.

Aluminium is a component of many soil constituents, including clays and oxides, and is also present on the surfaces of soil organic matter. As the concentration of hydrogen ions in soil increases, soil pH decreases, and aluminium starts to dissolve from the soil constituents, increasing the concentration of aluminium ions in soil solution.

As the concentration of aluminium ions in the solution increases, the aluminium in the soil solution becomes increasingly toxic to plant roots, reducing root growth. The smaller amounts of plant roots explore a …

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.

Scott Coastal Plain A Strategy For A Sustainable Future, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

The Scott Coastal Plain has significant attributes that make it an area of State and regional significance for agricultural production. The climate, availability of good quality groundwater for irrigation, and large lot sizes provide opportunities for mechanised horticultural production which other parts of the State may not have.

An estimate of the area that could be used for each agricultural land use has been developed, at a broad study area level. The figures presented in this report show that diversified production combining tree plantation and/or irrigation (cropping or hay/silage) with grazing enterprises provides for potential increases in gross margins and …

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, …

The Chickpea Book : A Technical Guide To Chickpea Production, Stephen Loss, Neil Brandon, K H M. Siddique

Bulletins 4000 -

The area of chickpea production in Australia has expanded rapidly in recent years especially in south-western Australia. This has been partly brought about by the keen interest of farmers and a concerted research effort and industry development by Agriculture Western Australia, The Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) and other institutions, in partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation and other industry funding bodies. Private consultants, grain traders and other industry groups have also contributed to the expansion of the industry.

Much of the local knowledge generated by these research and development projects has been published in various …

Managing For Stubble Retention, Linda Leonard

Bulletins 4000 -

One of the objectives of sustainable farming systems is to retain as much cover on the soil as possible – this helps to maintain soil structure and protects the soil from erosion.

Improving productivity, maintaining soil structure, and stabilising fragile soils are some of the desired aims of farming. Sound rotations, reduced tillage, effective use of herbicides, maintenance of ground cover and careful management of stock are part of the management process used in achieving these goals.

This Bulletin provides an introduction to stubble retention systems. Its purpose is to create an awareness of the benefits and principles of stubble …