Life Sciences Commons^™

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.

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.

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 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.

Thirsty Cows Are Poor Milkers, S R. Dunstan

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

THE HOT summer weather is not far away, and now is a good time for the whole milk producer to attend to those points which will ensure that milk production is maintained at a high level during this period.

List Of Registered Stock Foods And Stock Licks 1960-61, H G. Cariss

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

All foods for stock sold in Western Australia are required by the Feeding Stuffs Act, 1928-1955, to be registered annually with the Department of Agriculture.

For the purposes of the Act, "Food for Stock" includes stock licks, which in turn embrace all preparations claimed to supply or primarily intended to supply mineral matter to stock.

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.

Castor Beans : Ricinus Communis Linn, T Pavy

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

MANY people have seen the wild castor oil plants around the metropolitan area, growing in rubbish dumps, and waste lands.

But they have not realised that the demand for castor oil has been increasing over the last 15 years.

Although one of its main uses is in the lubrication of jet engines, it is also used in plastics, special low temperature lubricants, hydraulic fluids, paints, varnishes, textiles and pharmaceutics.

Control Of Damping-Off In Seed Beds, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

"DAMPING-OFF" of seedlings is caused by a number of moulds, for example Pythium, Rhizoctonia, etc., which are common inhabitants of garden soils.

The Cornish Pasty, H M. Gloster

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

"Pastry rolled out like a plate, Piled with turmut, tates and mate, Doubled up and baked like fate, That's a Cornish Pasty".

If the average Australian woman was was asked for a description of a Cornish pasty, her answer would tally fairly accurately with the above lines.

Powdery Mildews Of Ornamentals, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

POWDERY mildews occur on a variety of ornamental plants.

As the name suggests, these diseases always appear as a greyish white powdery coating on the leaves. This is easily removed by rubbing or weathering, but beneath it a dark web-like discoloration of the leaf surface often develops.

Under some conditions these diseases can be very serious and cause considerable defoliation, stunting and malformation in such plants as Roses, Lagerstroemia (Crepe Myrtle), Hydrangea, Michaelmas Daisy, etc.

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.

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.

Establishing Saltland Pastures, C V. Malcolm

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

WITH the approach of winter, thoughts are turning to the seeding season. It will therefore be appropriate to discuss methods of establishing saltland pastures.

This discussion will be restricted to "bluebush," creeping saltbush, and old man saltbush. Seed of these plants is available from local stock firms.

Swine Erysipelas : A Newly Reported Disease Of Pigs In Western Australia, M R. Gardiner

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

RECORDED in Western Australia for the first time last year, swine erysipelas is a potential menace to the pig raising industry.

This preliminary description is given to help farmers recognise its occurrence. I t is not known how widespread the disease might be, and farmers' co-operation is needed to estimate its extent.

Any suspected cases should be reported without delay.

Chemical Poisoning In Animals. 3. Prussic Acid, H D. Seddon

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

HYDROCYANIC or prussic acid poisoning is a serious and not uncommon ailment of ruminants, and may be a cause of rapid death when pasture plants capable of developing dangerous levels of the poison are being grazed.

Is Your Water Supply Safe?, D C. Mickle

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

THERE can be no doubt in anyone's mind that the need for a clean, safe and adequate water supply is essential for the production of high quality milk and cream.

It naturally follows, that, even though every possible care has been taken in an endeavour to produce clean, germ-free milk and cream, contamination by bad water can render these efforts void.

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.

Avoid Losses From Poison Plants, Robert Dunlop Royce

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

E VERY country in the world has its poisonous plant problems, but in Western Australia we have more than our share.

Farmers in "Poison" districts can avoid serious stock losses if they can recognise dangerous poison plants, and have a knowledge of how the concentrations of toxic substances in these plants change with the seasons.

In this article, R. D. Royce, Officer in Charge of the Botany Branch, outlines the principles involved.

Bee Farming : Maintaining Productive Stock, R S. Coleman

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

EVERY bee hive must be a productive unit, headed by a young vigorous queen, to to make sure of the greatest possible return from capital invested in the commercial apiary.

Feeding For Egg Yolk Colour, P Smetana

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

ON July 3, 1961, the Western Australian Egg Marketing Board commenced paying a bonus to producers for yolk colour.

This is an extremely important step in the marketing of eggs and should have a widespread beneficial effect on the poultry industry of this State.