Life Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Black Point In Wheat, J M. Wilson

Technical Bulletins

Fungal staining (black point) of wheat can reduce the quality of grain. The most serious problem is a discolouration of products. Discolouration is a consequence of infection by microorganisms. The most likely cause in Western Australia is a species of the common fungus Alternaria. Infection and discolouration occur between flowering and grain maturity, and the optimum environmental conditions are probably consecutive days of high relative humidity together with warm temperatures.

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 …

Byenup Hill Catchment Report : Carlecatup Catchment Land Conservation District, Justin Hardy

Agriculture reports

The Byenup Hill Catchment is situated just west of Graham's Well which was a major watering point for early travellers. The area was first settled around 1890 and some of the names associated with early settlement are Hinchey, Dennis, Bilney, Holding and Gabette. Clearing with axes was a slow process and most of the sheep were run in the bush in areas free from poison bush. A reasonable number of trees were left standing and the last clearing was done in the 1980's. The first signs of salt appeared in the 1930's and advanced with increased clearing.

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 …

Review Of Bag And Size Limit Proposals For Western Australian Recreational Fishers., F. B. Prokop

Fisheries management papers

The Fisheries Department of WA and the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee (RFAC), which is the peak body representing recreational fishers in WA, have been very pleased with the response to the implementation of two year review of recreational fisheries. Fisheries, RFAC and the fishing community recognise that the two year review was the first step in the continually evolving process of management of recreational fisheries. Since the new bag and size limit regulations were introduced in December 1991, there have been many suggestions for refinement and improvement. This management paper includes the most common and best suggestions for future management. …

The West Coast Shark Fishery Draft Management Plan., D. A. Hall

Fisheries management papers

The main purpose of this report is to advance the development of a scheme of management for the commercial shark fishery off the west coast of Western Australia. There is considerable scientific concern over the biological status of commercially important shark stocks in this region, particularly dusky whaler (Carcharhinus obscura), thickskin (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and whiskery sharks (Furgaelus macki).

A Simplified Key For Assessing The Ecological Significance Of On-Farm Bush Remnants In The Wheatbelt, F Mollemans

Agriculture reports

Many farms today still contain areas of natural bush, yet there is little knowledge about the condition and value of this bush. There is also a wider interest by farmers in this bush because of its perceived value in assisting to combat on-farm salinity, and for diverse other reasons. As a response to the general interest by farmers and others in on-farm bush, a key, produced for use in a remnant vegetation survey of the southern wheatbelt (Mollemans,1992), and which may be used to assess the value of on-farm bush, is being reproduced here.

Sheep And Wool Industries Need To Improve Their Performance, Rob Kelly, Tim Marshall

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

Today in Western Australia, sheep are run at slightly higher stocking rates, are achieving greater lambing percentages (up JO per cent) and higher wool cuts per animal ( up 0. 6 kg greasy) than in the 1960s. When all components of production are considered, the productivity of sheep fanns has increased by 2. 7 per cent per year over the past 35 years.

The challenge of the next decade is to achieve substantially greater rates of improvement than for past years if the sheep and wool industries are to maintain their significant place in Western Australian agriculture.

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus In Cereals, Simon Mckirdy, Roger Jones

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

Worldwide, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) is the most widespread and damaging virus disease of cereals. It infects wheat, barley, oats and grasses and is transmitted by several aphid species. The virus is not seed-borne and to persist from one growing season to the next it must survive in over-summering grasses.

Barley yellow dwarf virus decreases grain yield and also causes shrivelled grain. Yield loss is greatest from infection early in the growing season.

Managing Bushland On The Farm, Penny Hussey

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

Since the time of European settlement in Western Australia, the replacement of native vegetation with crops and pastures has led to problems for both agricultural production and nature conservation. The most obvious of these are hydrological changes leading to salinisation and waterlogging, and the extinction of some native plants and animals.

Protection of remaining remnants of native bushland, together with revegetation, is increasingly seen as important ways of achieving sustainable agriculture and maintaining our unique wildlife.

War Against Codling Moth, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

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

Residents of the tiny town of Bridgetown, in Western Australia's south-west, are at the front line in the campaign to eradicate an outbreak of codling moth from the State.

The Agriculture Protection Board, Department of Agriculture, Western Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, and other agencies are involved in the eradication program.

An Update On The Biological Control Of Rabbits, Stuart Wheeler

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

When myxomatosis was introduced into Western Australia in the early 1950s, farmers, pastoralists and government alike thought it was an answer to the rabbit problem.

The disease was devastatingly effective in the short term and initially had a 99 per cent kill rate. With time, the virus declined in strength, and the surviving rabbits have multiplied.

There have been many recent reports about new forms of biological control for rabbits and potential improvements in old ones.

This article summarises each of the prospective methods and improvements, and assesses the potential usefulness of each.

Development Of The Export Wine Industry, Tony Devitt

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

In 1936-37, Australia exported 18.6 million litres of wine, a level not achieved again for 50 years. World War II, the price, quality and style of Australian wine all contribuited to the demise of our wine export markets.

Australia's 'new' wine industry, which surfaced in the 1960s, has re-established our position as a significant exporter of high quality wines that are competitvely priced and percieved tobe 'pure and of integrity.

Western Australia is well placced to have a significant role in the expansion of Australia's wine exports.

Floriculture : A Blooming Business, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

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

Over the past 1O years, Western Australia's ornamental plant industry has experienced significant growth in value. The industry has expanded and adopted new technologies, but some enterprises have closed There have also been major changes reflecting the economic climate and conservation pressures.

The ornamental plant industry in this State is valued at more than $70 million annually. It encompasses three areas: nursery production, exotic cutflower production, and native cutllower production. The native cutflower industry is by far the largest growth sector.

Do Farmers Really Want To Eradicate Sheep Lice?, Chris Hawkins

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

With the termination of Western Australia's Sheep Lice Eradication Campaign in 1993 farmers' views about the eradication of sheep lice are of greater relevance now than in the past. Lice control now rests with individual farmers and continuing local lice cell groups .

A recent survey of producers in the Moora Shire provides some key insights into farmers' thoughts about sheep lice and their eradication.

Saving The Catchments Of Albany's Harbours, Ashley Prout

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

Fertiliser, particularly phosphorus, running off farm land is a major source of nutrient entering Albany's harbours. Oyster Harbour, which has a large rural catchment, is especially at risk.

The build-up in nutrients in the harbours has caused nuisance algal growth since the early 1970s and subseuent death of more than half the seagrass beds, which are vital to the areas marine life.

The Department of Agriculture, at the request of the Environmental protection Authority, has developed and promoted catchment management plans that enable rural land holders to reduce the amount of run-off into the harbours without necessarily sacrificing farm productivity. …

Eradication Of Apple Scab, John Cripps, Ralph Doepel

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

The detection of apple scab in two orchards at Pemberton and New/ands in December 1989 ended Western Australia's 41-year, scab-free span for apple growers .

Without eradication orchardists would have had to apply up to 20 fungicidal sprays a year, at an annual cost of $1-2 million, to be able to market a high proportion of scab-free fruit. The industry chose eradication as the cheaper alternative, but the location of infected orchards at Pemberton in particular, with its high rainfall, suggested that it would be difficult .

Scab, or black spot, is the most serious fungal disease of apples in …

Agriculture's Economic Performance, Ross Kingwell

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

Changes within and outside of agriculture have affected the nature and econoicperforrmance of the industry. Some clear trends have emerged and they are discussed here.

As Australian economy grows and increasingly diversifies, agriculture will become a less important sector.

However, as long as agriculture fulfils its economic role, it will support and promote economic development elsewhere in the country.

Honeybee Pollination Of Crops, Lee Allan, V. Kesvan, G. Kleinschmidt, P. Anning

Bulletins 4000 -

Pollination of horticultural and agricultural crops is being recognised throughout Australia by quality growers who wish to improve crop quality and quantity, to increase their returns from produce sold on local and export markets. Some growers are able to target specific high value markets using planned pollination to maximise their income.

Esperance Land Resource Survey, Tim D. Overheu, P G. Muller, S T. Gee, Geoff Allan Moore

Land resources series

The climate, geology, landforms, soils, native vegetation and land uses of the Esperance agricultural district of Western Australia are described, while the soil landscapes of the survey area of about 336,000 ha, covered by the Esperance and Merivale 1:100,000 topographic map sheets, are described in detail. The survey area represents most of the features and problems of the district, especially those of the Esperance sandplain for more resource information. An appropriate mapping scale was chosen from a preliminary survey of five farms on the Esperance sandplain. The study identifies five major land systems which are divided into map units on …

Soils Manual North Stirling Land Conservation District, Justin Hardy, Peter J. Tille

Agriculture reports

The North Stirlings Land Conservation District is located between Katanning and Albany on the northern edge of the Stirling Ranges in south-western Western Australia. This manual has been produced to help you identify and map the soils on your farm. The manual has been compiled for the north Stirling Land Conservation District (L.C.D.) and a list of its members is included. As well as assisting you to identify soil types, the manual encourages everyone within the L.C.D. to use the same terms so that individual soil maps can be compared.

Jerramungup "Moort Type" Soils - Soil Description, Analyses And Discussion, Tim Overheu Mr

All other publications

Hard Setting Grey Clays, colloquially termed Moort Clays by the Central South Coast farmers of Western Australia, fall into the typical class of Sunday soils (i.e. too dry to sow a crop on Saturday and too wet on Monday) - acknowledgment that these soils can be difficult to manage. The local soil name derives from the dominant endemic vegetation growing on this soil (Eucalyptus platypus ssp) usually with no competing understory vegetation. Moort clays are most often found on mid to upper valley slopes and depending on parent material and pedogenesis are often alkaline (sometimes acidic), hard setting, sometimes cracking, …

Progress Toward Eradication Of Virulent Footrot, Bob Mitchell

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

Western Australia is well placed to eradicate virulent footrot from the State's sheep and goat populations.

Between 1950 and 1993 the proportion of sheep flocks with footrot fell from about 15 per cent to less than 2 percent, and the 1990-92 outbreak has been turned around. One hundred and eighty properties (]. 7 per cent) of flocks, mostly in the high rainfall South-West, are in quarantine for footrot today.

This high level of footrot control is the result of strong support from the sheep industry and years of good cooperation between farmers and the Department of Agriculture.

Western Australia leads …

Production And Marketing Of Vegetables And Fruit, John Burt

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

Vegetable and fruit production in Western Australia is a diverse, high value industry. Up to 75 different crops are grown from Kununurra in the north to Albany on the south coast.

Our horticultural industries were worth $238,127,000 in 1990-.91, which represented 18 per cent of all crops produced in Western Australia.

Markets for horticultural produce are volatile. For most lines, produce has been well supplied for the past four years, owing to an increasing area of production, higher yields, improved postharvest technology and reduced consumer demand in the recent recession.

Controlling Wind Erosion In Field Pea Stubbles, Jeff Russell

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

The area sown to field peas in Western Australia's eastern wheatbelt has increased from 4000 ha in 1985 to about 35, 000 ha in 1992.

While field peas can be grown on soil types not suited to lupins, their stubble is highly fragile and prone to wind erosion, even at low grazing pressure. This is one reason why some farmers are hesitant to grow field peas.

Haroest losses of field peas can also be high; levels of JOO to 200 kg/ha of seed on the ground are not uncommon. For this reason farmers believe the stubbles should be grazed.

Farmers …

The Export Carrot Industry, Angie Galati, Allan Mckay

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

Carrots are the single most important horticultural export commodity from Western Australia.

In 1991-92, over 23,000 tonnes of carrots worth more than $12 million (fob) were exported. The State now exports about 70 per cent of its carrot production to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Middle East (see Table 1). These exports account for more than 90 per cent of Australian carrot exports. The State's carrot exports started in the mid 1970s. In 1977-78, only 2170 tofcarrots were exported, but exports have increased steadily since then (see Figure 1).

Export Of Rockmelons From The Ord River, John Bonnardeaux

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

The Ord River Irrigation Area and Carnarvon are the main production areas for cucurbits in northern Western Australia. Cucurbits are also grown in Derby, Broome and around Lagrange, south of Broome.

The area planted to rockmelons in the Ord River Irrigation Area has increased from 20 ha in 1980 to 425 ha in 1992.

Rockmelon production, the most important horticultural industry in the Ord River Irrigation Area, is worth about $9 million. It accounts for about 25 per cent of the Ord's dry season value of production

Mango Exports From Western Australia, Peter Johnson, John Gallagher, Terry Hill

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

The Department of Agriculture has been at the forefront in developing a mango industry in Western Australia.

In Camarvon, the Department is concentrating on developing an export industry, while in the Ord River Irrigation Area trials have identified suitable domestic and export varieties for that environment.

The effect of planting density, hedging and pruning techniques on yield is being examined. Research has also started on identifying superior selections of the Kensington Pride variety, the most commercially important variety in Australia. The aim is to improve fruit quality, bearing reliability, and to extend the production season..

Digital Information In The Peel-Harvey Catchment Area, Dennis Van Gool

Agriculture reports

This paper presents a summary of the main features of the digital mapping data available in the Peel-Harvey Catchment area. This type of information is essential for Geographic Information System (GIS) users to assess projects involving the use of digital data such as plotting of mapped themes, topological overlays, area calculations and reporting.

A Bright Future For Export Plums, Ric Engel, Glynn Ward

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

Western Australia's stone fruit industry is relatively small by Australian and world standards owing to its small domestic market and past uncertainties with export. However, the industry is expanding to take advantage of growing markets in south-east Asia. It has adopted new production and marketing technology and is developing new varieties to meet the demand.

The future for our export plums has never been as promising as it is today. This is linked to fruit quality because markets are fickle and highly sensitive to poor quality fruit.

The introduction of a Quality Management Program in 199~91 helped the State develop …