Life Sciences Commons^™

The Rationale For Taxpayer Support For Primary Industry Research And Innovation In Western Australia, Ross Kingwell

Research Reports

During the 2000s a common view in government circles was that governments were over-investing in primary industry research and innovation. In agreement with this view, the Western Australian (WA) government lessened its support for primary industry research and innovation over the last decade. The impacts of this reduced support are seen clearly in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). In 2008–09 its agricultural staff count was 1518, yet by the end of 2017–18 this will be under 800, with remaining staff working mostly in regulation, biosecurity and corporate services rather than research. So great has been the …

Propagating Jujubes, Rachelle Johnstone

Research Reports

Jujubes can be propagated by various methods such as wedge/cleft grafting, whip grafting and bark grafting as well as budding. Local propagators have better success with budding but find that wedge grafting leads to a stronger tree. Most of the latest research into propagation is in micropropagation and tissue culture however this technique is mainly used for research and breeding new cultivars and not in a commercial capacity. Grafting can be more of an art than a science. Much of the success of grafting depends on not only performing a technically correct graft but performing the graft at the proper …

Growing Jujubes In Western Australia, Rachelle Johnstone

Research Reports

The Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is one of the most important fruit crops in China and has been commonly used as a traditional Chinese medicine and food for thousands of years. The jujube is widely grown in China with cultivation records going back more than 3000 years and can also be found in neighbouring countries. The jujube is a medium-sized tree, growing 7–10 metres high. The tree has shiny deciduous foliage and produces a fruit that is known as a drupe. The fruit varies in size depending on the cultivar, and it has a thin, dark red skin surrounding …

Preparing For A Changing And Variable Climate, Glynn Ward

Research Reports

Climate change has the potential to reshape the Australian wine industry. Regions will be differentially impacted and will respond according to their unique viticultural, environmental, economic and social characteristics. An industry forum and regional workshop series was held in Western Australia focusing on three wine regions: Margaret River, Pemberton and Mount Barker. Fine scale climate information (mesoscale maps) and overviews of current and emerging technologies and resources that can be used by the wine industry to plan for and manage the risks and opportunities resulting from a changing and variable climate were presented. The information indicated that the wine regions …

Production Of Biodiesel From Perennials, Henry Brockman

Research Reports

A scoping study funded through South West Catchment Council (SWCC)/National Action Plan (NAP) into the development of industries for saline land, identified three plant species suitable and potentially economically feasible for this environment. The main product of two of these plant species, is the production of bio-diesel. The mentioned plant species are Moringa oleifera and Pongamia pinnata. Both are tolerant to high salinity levels, waterlogging, frost and drought. Their pods are harvested, meaning that the trees keep on growing, using water and reducing the high watertable whilst sequestrating carbon. Bio-fuels must be sustainable, with these two plant species fitting all …

Pulse Industry Extension : Expanding Pulse Cropping By Targeted Extension Of Improved Varieties And Management Packages : A Final Report Prepared For The Grains Research And Development Corporation : Grdc Project Number Daw00100, Mark Seymour

Research Reports

The project aimed to overcome the barrier of harvesting field peas by promoting the role and value of semi-leafless varieties in combination with appropriate management in order to modify the attitude of growers and their advisers towards field pea [in Western Australia]." -- Project summary.

Alternative Oilseeds R&D For Biodiesel Production 2001, Paul Carmody, Howrd Carr, Anne Morcom, Graham Walton

Research Reports

There is a slow but growing realization that crude oil is our weakness component in Australia’s energy portfolio. Australia’s domestic reserves of heavy crude oil, which is essential in the production of petroleum diesel, it expected to reach exhaustion by 2012 on current usage patterns. A need to become more heavily dependant on import crude oil will impact on our balance of trade and further expose our transport and rural sectors to international oil price fluctuations.

Biodiesel is widely known an excellent alternative to mineral diesel and has been extensively demonstrated in the EC and the United States. It is …

Alternative Oilseeds R&D For Biodiesel Production, Paul Carmody, Howard Carr, Anne Morcom, Graham Walton

Research Reports

Biodiesel is widely known an excellent alternative to mineral diesel and has been extensively demonstrated in the EC and the United States. It is a renewable fuel made by reacting 20 parts of Canola oil with one part methanol or ethanol (grain alcohol), injecting hot water through the mixture and allowing to cool. The Biodiesel naturally separates from the water solution, with no further refining or processing required. Biodiesel has the same combustion properties as regular diesel with considerably lower levels of polluting emissions (appendix 1). Bio-diesel has been found to be a cleaner fuel than diesel, resulting in lower …

Farmer Crop Update Series - Western Region' Project Number Daw630, Nicole Kerr

Research Reports

The aims of this project are to:

• Provide regional forums for updating growers with the latest R&D in cropping systems and grain production.

• To foster participative R&D through effective interchange between agency based R&D groups, agribusiness R&D groups and grower based groups with potential to participate in R&D at a range of levels (from merely providing feedback to linking broadscale on-farm tests with the research).

• To reduce research segmentation by fostering a climate of mutual benefit in R&D exchange. There is already emergence of research segmentation from proprietary research. However, apart from an initial proprietary advantage (within …

Wa Agricultural Growth And The State Economy Research Report Volume 2, Nazrul Islam, Helal Ahammad

Research Reports

The impact of state and national policies on the Western Australian (WA) agriculture can not be assessed realistically unless the distinctive characteristics of WA agriculture are taken into account. The objective of this paper is to develop and document an economic information base for WA agriculture by identifying and exploring the main characteristics of its production systems. The study reveals that agriculture plays a more important role in WA than in the rest of Australia (ROA). The share of WA in the national gross value of agricultural production and exports is much higher than her share in the national gross …

Asian Wheat Market And Food Experience For Growers : A Final Report For The Grains Research And Development Corporation Project Daw637, Ben Curtis

Research Reports

This project was designed to set up a course which would allow Australian wheat growers and their partners to get closer to the markets that buy their wheat in order to learn more about some of the quality issues that affect the end products. This form of education should assist the wheat industry to move with these changing markets to lean more about them and build some supply chain linkages. This will also help improve grower responsiveness to changing market needs and increase the production of quality wheat.

Vegetation Trend In The Fitzroy Region. An Analysis Of 1995 And 1998 Ground Monitoring Data., Noelene Duckett, Paul Novelly, Ian Watson, National Landcare Program (Australia), Csiro

Research Reports

This document summarises the analyses carried out on the ground monitoring data from the Kimberley region of Western Australia as part of the Natural Heritage Trust project 953024 - ‘'Development of Information Products for Reporting Rangeland Changes.”

This project has been investigating ways of integrating rangeland trend information collated from Landsat satellite data and site-specific ground vegetation data. This has been carried out by extending and refining previous approaches developed by Agriculture Western Australia and CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences (e.g. Wallace et al. 1994). The principal objective of the project is to develop useful information products which …

The Use Of Red Mud/Gypsum To Reduce Water Pollution From Sandy Soils Used For Vegetable Production, Ian Mcpharlin, W. J. Robertson, R. C. Jeffery

Research Reports

An important domestic and export vegetable industry is located on the sands of the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP) in Western Australia. The total value of the vegetable industry on the SCP was estimated at $90M in 1996/7 or about 50% of the total value of the industry. This vegetable production has been located on good quality sands such as the Spearwood and yellow Karrakatta sands, close to the coast, since the 1950s. However in recent years competition for this land for urban and industrial use has forced vegetable production onto soils with poorer water and phosphorus retention capacity such as …

Progress Report : 1996 / Cattle Industry Compensation Act Research Advisory Committee., J Allen, J Heatherington, M Norton, B Mackintosh, W Standing

Research Reports

The Cattle Industry Compensation Fund was established under the Cattle Industry Compensation Aet 1965. Monies received on cattle sales by the Commissioner for State Taxation are paid into the Fund and matched by State Government appropriation.

Funds are held to compensate producers for losses incurred in disease eradication programs, to promote and encourage scientific research for improvement of cattle health and promotion and for purposes that, in the opinion of the Minister, will promote and encourage the cattle industry

An Advisory Committee, established by the Hon. Minister for Primary Industry makes recommendations for funding on a project basis. The Advisory …

A Benefit Cost Analysis Of The Proposal To Eradicate Mediterranean Fruit Fly From Western Australia, Kingsley Thomas Fisher, Richard Bleakley, Neil Thomson

Research Reports

It is estimated that it would cost between $205M and $250M to eradicated Mediterranean Fruit Fly (MFF) from Western Australia (WA). While eradication would be beneficial for fruit growers, it is unlikely that benefits would outweigh costs. The most important factor influencing the economic outcome is, how the eradication program affects the export volume and price of fruit.

Flora Of The Quindalup Dunes Between Swan And Irwin Rivers, Western Australia, E A. Griffin

Research Reports

A study designed to determine the variation in the composition of the vegetation on the coastal Holocenes and deposits between Perth and Geraldton is described. The study was based on 545 sites at which descriptions of the geology, landform, soil and vegetation and a complete list of flora were made.The floristic composition of these sites varied considerably. Numerical classification showed some quite distinct communities and others which seemed part of a multi-dimensional continuum. Several factors appeared to be instrumental in the variation in composition. Landforms (incipient fore dunes, dunes or plains) were a major factor. So too were proximity to …

Central Wheatbelt Grain Legume Development Extension Program : Fieldpeas And Lupins, E E. Rowley, I Pritchard

Research Reports

The project aims to:

1) Collect integrate and extend to advisers, farmers and industry representatives technical information on field pea growing systems to optimize profit and reduce new enterprise failure risks.

2) Collect market and process information (prices and demand) for all types of field pea products, and to advise industry representatives and growers on the best options for the continued development of the field pea industry.

3) Identify areas within the field pea industry which require immediate research and industry action.

4) Conduct a field research programme on field pea agronomy within the central medium and high rainfall areas …

Examination And Development Of An Essential Oil Industry In The Ord River Irrigation Area Of North Western Australia, Jean M.V. Bonnardeaux

Research Reports

The project aimed at establishing an essential oil industry in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA). This industry is particularly suited to the ORIA where transport costs often prohibit the development of some agricultural products. The oils are concentrated and highly valuable. In addition, the ORIA with its abundant water and high temperatures presents a unique opportunity to grow a wide range of crops for the production of essential oils used by the food, medicinal and perfume industries. Australia has therefore an opportunity to initiate a new industry capable of replacing imports and gaining access to world markets representing a …

History Of The State Vermin Barrier Fences, Formerly Known As Rabbit Proof Fences, J S. Crawford

Research Reports

There is evidence of rabbits arriving in Australia as far back as 1788, and it is well known that others were liberated on islands around the coast, including some off the coast of Western Australia. However, they remained localised and it is now generally accepted that the rabbits which did spread originated from a small shipment of the wild type brought on the Clipper “Lightning” in 1859. They were released on “Barwon Park”, the property of Thomas Austin, near Geelong in Victoria, and within three years, had reached pest proportions