Plant Sciences Commons^™

Lucerne Guidelines For Western Australia Principles For Integrating A Perennial Pasture Into Broadacre Dryland Farming Systems, Diana Fedorenko, Perry Dolling, Christopher Loo, Tom Bailey, Roy Latta

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Lucerne, often regarded as the queen of forages, has been used in agriculture for centuries. In Western Australia, however, its potential has never been fully realised despite its well-documented ability to dewater soils and reduce groundwater recharge. Over the years adoption has been limited by a range of factors including pests and diseases, soil acidity, grazing management and economics. During the last decade research has addressed these issues, paving the way for much greater impact at the farm and catchment level.

Skeleton Weed In Western Australia, Pocket Guide, State Skeleton Weed Committee, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Agriculture Protection Board

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The Skeleton Weed Program is a coordinated approach to eradicating skeleton weed in Western Australia. It is run jointly by the State Skeleton Weed Committee, the Department of Agriculture and the Agriculture Protection Board. It is funded through the skeleton weed levy collected from grain growers each harvest, and pooled in the Skeleton Weed Eradication Trust Fund.

Skeleton weed is targeted as a declared plant as it can drastically reduce crop yields (more than 1 tonne/ha in cereals) by competing for moisture and nutrients, mainly nitrogen. Its wiry stems impede headers and the sticky latex they contain cause machinery to …

Identifying Sub-Tropical Grass Seedlings, Brad Wintle, Geoff Moore, Phil Nichols

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There is considerable interest in growing sub-tropical (or warm season) perennial grasses for out-of-season green feed, especially on the south coast and in the northern agricultural region (NAR). They consist of two types: creeping grasses, which spread by either above ground runners (stolons) or below ground runners (rhizomes) and bunch grasses, which are tufted and do not spread by runners.

The main species sown include Panic grass, Rhodes grass, Kikuyu, Setaria, Signal grass, Digit grass, and Bambatsi panic and are often sown as a mixture, comprising 2 or more species. This bulletin describes how to identify these grasses at the …

Pasture Condition Guide For The Ord River Catchment, K Ryan, E Tierney, P Novelly

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This guide has been produced as a tool for assessing pasture condition over a range of pasture types in the Ord River catchment. A pasture type is a distinctive mix of plant species, soil type and landscape position. For example, the Mitchell Grass Alluvial Plain Pasture type is a mixture of Mitchell grasses and other species occurring on black soil alluvial plains.

Pasture condition is an important factor affecting the potential of the rangelands for animal production and is a useful indicator for the sustainability of production.

Exporting Vegetables In Bulk : Reducing Supply Chain Costs Without Compromising Quality, Helen Ramsey, Dennis Phillips

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Increased competition, a strong Australian dollar and increased production costs have seen Australian grown vegetables steadily lose their share in traditional export markets.

As competition increases, we need to investigate production and handling techniques that improve our price and quality competitiveness.

Improving the effi ciency of the supply chain to export markets is one way Australian growers can reduce production and shipping costs and improve product quality.

Crop Updates - 2009 Katanning, Murray Scholz, Peter Newman, Glenn Adam, Trevor Bell, Michael Whitehead, W. K. Anderson, C. Gazey, J. Andrew, R. Pearce, Bill Bowden, Wayne Pluske, Jeremy Lemon, D. C. Edmeades, J. J. Russell, B. H. Paynter, David Ferris, Abul Hashem, Catherine Borger, Stephen B. Powels, Qin Yu, Mechelle Owen, Roberto Busi, Sudheesh Manalil, Sally Peltzer, David Minkey, Raj Malik

Crop Updates

This session covers seventeen papers from different authors

1. GM canola – How will it affect the way I farm? Murray Scholz, 2008 Nuffield scholar, Southern NSW

2. Eight years of IWM smashes tyegrass seed banks by 98% over 31 focus paddocks, Peter Newman, Glenn Adam & Trevor Bell, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. The global economic climate and impacts on agriculture, profile on Michael Whitehead Rabobank New York

4. Lessons from five years of cropping systems research, W.K. Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Case study of a 17year old agricultural lime trial, C. Gazey, Department of Agriculture …

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Crop Updates 2009 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition, Soils, & Others, Wallace Cowling, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D'Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem, John Holmes, Jeromy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny, Peter Portman, Mark Slatter, Angus Maclennan, Andrew Wells, Bill Bowden, Wayne Pluske, Wen Chen, Geoff Anderson, Ross Brennan, Richard Bell, Hannah Rigby, Deborah Pritchard, David Collins, Katrina Walton, David Allen, Nancy Penney, Michael Robertson, Roger Lawes, Stephen Davies, Chris Gazey, Breanne Best, David Gartner, Quenten Knight, Joel Andrew, Ryan Pearce, F. C. Hoyle, A. Bennett, Rick Llewellyn, Ken Flower, Julian Krieg, Owen Catto, Cindy Parsons

Crop Updates

This session covers fifteen papers from different authors:

1. Performance of Canola Breeders Roundup Ready^® canola hybrid CHYB-166 in 2008, Wallace Cowling, Canola Breeders Western Australia Pty Ltd

2. The implications of GM glyphosate resistant lupin, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D’Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem,, John Holmes, Jeremy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny,Department of Agriculture and Food, Peter Portmann, Agriconnect

3. Nufarm Roundup Ready® Canola Systems Trials— 2008 Mark Slatter, Research and Development …

Crop Updates 2009 - Weeds, Catherine Borger, Abul Hashem, Mike Clarke, Aik Cheam, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts, Russell Quartermaine, David Nicholson, Mike Jackson, Bill Campbell, John Moore, Mario D'Antuono, Paul Matson, Peter Newman, Sally Peltzer, Dave Minkey, Stephen B. Powels, Qin Yu, Mechelle Owen, Roberto Busi, Sudheesh Manalil, Leigh Smith, Peter White, Fiona Evans, Pippa Michael, Siew Lee, Rob Grima, Glenn Adam, Trevor Bell, Steve Davies, Glen Riethmuller

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty three papers from different authors:

Herbicides

1. New pre-seeding grass selective herbicides – How well do they work in zero or no-till systems? Dr Catherine Borgerand Dr Abul Hashem, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Velocity®—An alternate mode of action for the control of wild radish in cereals, Mike Clarke, Bayer Cropscience Pty Ltd, Dr Aik Cheam, Department of Agriculture and Food, Dr Michael Walsh, WAHRI, University of Western Australia

3. Herbicide tolerance of new barley varieties, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts and Russell Quartermaine, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Herbicide tolerance of …

Crop Updates 2009 - Weeds, Abul Hashem, Mike Clarke, Aik Cheam, Michael Walsh, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts, Russell Quartermaine, David Nicholson, Mike Jackson, Bill Campbell, John Moore, Mario D'Antuono, Paul Matson, Peter Newman, Sally Peltzer, Dave Minkey, Stephen B. Powles, Qin Yu, Mechelle Owen, Roberto Busi, Sudheesh Manalil, Leigh Smith, Peter White, Fiona Evans, Art Diggle, Catherine Borger, Pippa Michael, Siew Lee, Rob Grima, Glenn Adam, Trevor Bell, Steve Davies, Glen Riethmuller

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty three papers from different authors:

Herbicides

1. New pre-seeding grass selective herbicides – How well do they work in zero or no-till systems? Dr Catherine Borgerand Dr Abul Hashem, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Velocity®—An alternate mode of action for the control of wild radish in cereals, Mike Clarke, Bayer Cropscience Pty Ltd, Dr Aik Cheam, Department of Agriculture and Food, Dr Michael Walsh, WAHRI, University of Western Australia

3. Herbicide tolerance of new barley varieties, Harmohinder Dhammu, Vince Lambert, Chris Roberts and Russell Quartermaine, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Herbicide tolerance of …

Crop Updates 2009 - Cereals, Jeff Baldock, Doug Edmeades, Mark Seymour, Paul Carmody, Ian Pritchard, Alan Meldrum, Michael Robertson, Roger Lawes, Rob Sands, Peter White, Felicity Byrne, Andrew Bathgate, Kedar Adhikari, Tanveer Khan, Stuart Morgan, Alan Harris, P. Gaur, K. M. H. Siddique, H. Clarke, N. C. Turner, W. Macleod, S. Morgan, Chris Veitch, Tony Leonforte, Kith Jayasena, Geoff Thomas, Rob Loughman, Kazue Tanaka, Ravjit Khangura, M. Amjad, Richard Oliver, Dusty Severtson, Peter Mangano, John Botha, Brenda Coutts, Manisha Shankar, Kasia Rybak, Michael Baker, Andrea Hills, Shahajahan Miyan, Peter Portmann, Nicole Rice, Robert Henry, Jeff J. Russell, B. H. Paynter, Linda Price, Brenda Shackley, Vicki Scanlan, Darshan Sharma, Christine Zaicou-Kunesch

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty seven papers from different authors:

PLENARY

1. Building soil carbon for productivity and implications for carbon accounting, Jeff Baldock, CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide, SA

2. Fact or Fiction: Who is telling the truth and how to tell the difference, Doug Edmeades, agKnowledge Ltd, Hamilton

3. Four decades of crop sequence trials in Western Australia, Mark Seymour,Department of Agriculture and Food

BREAK CROPS

4. 2008 Break Crops survey Report, Paul Carmody,Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food

5. Attitudes of Western Australian wheatbelt growers to ‘Break Crops’, Paul Carmody and Ian …

Crop Updates 2009 - Farming Systems, Derk Bakker, Grey Poulish, Steve Lacy, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore, Alan Lord, Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter, Sean Kelly, W. K. Anderson, Gary Lang, David Mccarthy, Ruhi Ferdowsian, Ian Rose, Andrew Van Burgel, David Ferris, Rob Grima, Natalie Hogg, John Davis, Jarrad Martin, Pippa Michael, Robert Belford, Kawsar P. Salam, Roy Murray-Prior, David Bowran, Moin U. Salam, Tim Scanlon, Len Wade, Megan Ryan, Megan Abrahams, Chad Reynolds, Caroline Peek, Dennis Van Gool, Kari-Lee Falconer, Daniel Gardiner, Geoff Anderson, Siva Sivapalan, Tim Mcclelland, James Hunt, Zvi Hochman, Bill Long, Dean Holzworth, Anthony Whitbread, Stephen Van Rees, Peter Devoil, Yvette Oliver, Michael Robertson, Peter Stone

Crop Updates

This session covers nineteen papers from different authors:

Decision support technology

1. The use of high resolution imagery in broad acre cropping, Derk Bakker and Grey Poulish, Department of Agriculture and Food

2. Spraywise decisions – online spray applicatiors planning tool, Steve Lacy, Nufarm Australia Ltd

3. Testing for redlegged earthmite resistance in Western Australia, Svetlana Micic, Peter Mangano, Tony Dore and Alan Lord, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Screening cereal, canola and pasture cultivars for Root Lesion Nematode (Pratylenchus neglectus), Vivien Vanstone, Helen Hunter and Sean Kelly,Department of Agriculture and Food

Farming Systems Research

5. …

Wheat Variety Guide 2009 Western Australia, Ben Curtis, Steve Penny, Christine Zaicou, Harmohinder Dhammu, Sarah Ellis, Dorthe Jorgensen, Shahajahan Miyan, Brenda Shackley, Darshan Sharma

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This guide summarises performance characteristics of commercially available wheats which have undergone testing in the National Variety Testing Project (NVT), breeding organisations crop variety testing and Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) variety specific agronomy projects. This information includes variety summaries, agronomic, disease and herbicide tolerance characteristics and medium to long-term yield performance. A review of regional performance in 2008 is followed by a comprehensive summary of 2008 variety time of sowing experiments and observed flowering dates.

By combining agronomy research outcomes with other related wheat research this document provides current information to assist with variety choice and management for …

Management Of Merino Weaners For Optimum Production, Patricia Harper, Keith Croker, Danny Roberts

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Sheep mortality during the first year of life is a large problem on many farms and poses a significant animal welfare issue for Australian agriculture. Post weaning mortality is estimated to cost the Australian sheep industry more than $89 million annually through reduced income, poor productivity and increased management expenses (Sackett et al. 2006).

A high mortality rate among weaners reduces the number of surplus animals available for sale and the number of potential breeding replacements. This, in turn, affects the selection intensity for desirable traits and the flock’s rate of genetic improvement.

Ill thrift and poor growth of weaner …

Severity Of Root Rot In Mature Subterranean Clover And Associated Fungal Pathogens In The Wheatbelt Of Western Australia, Tim Scanlon, Tiernan A. O’Rourke, Martin J. Barbetti, Megan H. Ryan, Len J. Wade, Alan C. Mckay, Ian T. Riley, Hua Li, Krishnapillai Sivasithamparam

Journal articles

Pasture decline is considered to be a serious challenge to agricultural productivity of subterranean clover across southern Australia. Root disease is a significant contributing factor to pasture decline. However, root disease assessments are generally carried out in the early part of the growing season and in areas predominantly sown to permanent pastures. For this reason, in spring 2004, a survey was undertaken to determine the severity of root disease in mature subterranean clover plants in pastures located in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. DNA-based soil assays were used to estimate population density in the soil of a variety of soil-borne …

Soil Ph In Northern And Southern Areas Of The Wa Wheatbelt, Chris Gazey, Joel Andrew

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More than 80% of the topsoils sampled fall below the critical surface pHCaCl2 of 5.5 in the northern and southern wheatbelt study areas, with more in the south than the north. These results confirm soil acidity is a serious concern throughout the WA wheatbelt when considered in conjunction with the more intensive analysis of current soil pH throughout the Avon River Basin (2005–2008).

With low topsoil pH, it is likely that subsurface acidity is also a problem. For soil acidity to be managed, subsurface pH also needs to be known. In the Avon River Basin study, about half of the …

Survey Of Western Australian Agricultural Lime Sources, Chris Gazey, Dave Gartner

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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 …

Diagnosing Crop And Pasture Problems With Detective Doug, Doug Sawkins

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There are numerous publications for diagnosing crop and pasture growth problems. Although they are excellent for experienced people, they can be time consuming and possibly misleading for the less experienced.

Many guidebooks assume that the user has already decided that their problem falls into the category covered by their particular guidebook, for example, a disease, pest or herbicide problem.

Guidebooks are often based on plant symptoms. However, in the field, symptoms vary and different problems can have similar symptoms.

This bulletin presents a problem diagnosis method that uses plant symptoms and paddock clues. It can be used to draw up …

Report On Polyacrylamide, A Practice To Reduce Sediment And Insoluable Chemicals In Tailwater, Tara Slaven

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The main barrier to the adoption of PAM seems to the timing of the cost of outlay. This could add significantly to the initial crop establishment costs at a time of year when rowers receive no income. However, the partial and parametric analysis indicates that there re benefits from using PAM as part of the crop management cycle. These benefits are from ving water, retaining sediment on-farm and reducing the cost of delving drains. There are ther potential economic benefits including the retainment of phosphorus as a plant nutrient n-farm and subsequent yield increases.

Additionally, the off-site environmental impacts seem …

Vegetable Growing : A Guide For Home Gardeners In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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DAFWAs popular publication about vegetable growing for home gardeners.

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 …

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Lower Murchison River Area, Western Australia, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the lower Murchison River area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 2002 and 2003, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. This survey report presents …