Plant Sciences Commons^™

Seed-Bourne Virus Diseases In Annual Pasture Legumes, R A C Jones

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

No abstract provided.

Improving Lupin Pod Setting And Yield, R J. Delane

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

Western Australia's lupin production has grown twenty-fold since 1977. Lupins are now a valuable seed, feed and rotation crop on light-textured neutral and acid soils throughout southern Australia. Nevertheless, both experimental and commercial yields have been variable over sites and seasons. A major cause has been excessive flower and pod abortion on the main stem. Farmers have often commented on well grown lupin crops which appear to carry few pods

Murex Medic : A New Pasture Species, Dennis J. Gillespie

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

Murex medic (Medicago murex) is a new species of medic not previously used commercially anywhere in the world. The first variety, Zodiac, was developed by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and released to seed producers throughout Australia in 1988. Other varieties are being evaluated and further releases are likely in a few years.

Santiago Extends The Range Of Burr Medics, Clinton K. Revell, Michael Ewing

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

The release of Santiago follows an extensive Department of Agriculture testing programme conducted primarily in the 325 to 425 mm rainfall zone. Santiago substantially outperformed both Serena and Circle Valley and was the best amongst the large number of non-commercial medic varieties tested. About 500J000 ha were sown to burr medic between 1983 and 1988 and the Department of Agriculture expects that the release of Santiago will result in additional new plantings from

Post-Harvest Research On Ornamental Plant Material, Daryl C. Joyce

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

The rapid growth of commercial enterprises servicing overseas demand for native cut flowers and foliage from Western Australia has created a need for research and extension to support the industry. Post-harvest handling is a particularly important area because cut flowers and foliage are highly perishable and Western Australia is a long way from major markets. Markets such as The Netherlands, Japan and California demand high quality products

Rehabilitation Of Mined Areas And Control Of Dust At Kalgoorlie And Boulder, A E. Peterson

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

One of the lesser known roles of the Department of Agriculture is advising on aspects of managing and rehabilitating non-agricultural land. This advice and research is directed mainly at minimizing the effects of land degradation and providing land resource data and land capability assessment maps to assist regional planners.

Pests Of Native Flowers, W M. Woods

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

For millions of years native insects have used Australia's native plants for food and shelter. Today, we wish to cultivate these plants to produce beautiful flowers and foliage for export. However, the insects that live on the plants in the wild will attack those plants grown in cultivation, and these insects themselves will be attacked by their own predators and parasites. The challenge in floricultural entomology is to use this natural biological control as part of a cheap and effective pest management system.

Diseases Of Native Flowers, Peter Mcr Wood

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

The native flora of Australia has evolved in such a way as to render it resistant to many of the fungi and bacteria that commonly infect exotic cultivated flower crops. Many of our native plants have tough sclerophyllous foliage which makes it difficult for pathogenic organisms to gain access, particularly in their natural undisturbed habitats. Root tissue of these plants also tends to be woodier than that of exotic plants, thus making it less accessible as a food source for common rootattacking fungi such as Rhizoctonia and Pythium.

Broadacre Pest Control After Ddt, P J. Michael

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

DDT may no longer be applied to broadacre crops grown in Western Australia. It is being replaced by other more effective chemicals and with new methods of pest control. DDT was the most effective chemical for the control of several major broadacre pests in this State and farmers may well wonder why this change was necessary and how they will manage without DDT.

Wheat Payments And Protein Content, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

In recent years there has been increasing support from within the Australian wheat industry for the principal of wheat growers recieving payment for their grain according to market value.

Individual loads are now tested for quality characteristics such as hectolitre weight, unmillable material and moisture content.

At present, technology is not sufficiently advanced to enable rapid and accurate analysis of individual loads for all important quality factors.

A more practical system of quality assessment would be one based on allowances for various basic measures (such as hectolitre weight, unmillable material and moisture content), variety (to allow for genetic differences in …

Clover Infertility Of Sheep : Continuing Problem, N R. Adams, Keith Croker

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

Some varieties of subterranean clover, notably Dinninup, Dwalganup and Yarloop, contain compounds which act like the female sex hormone oestrogen. These plant oestrogens, or "phyto-oestrogens", interfere with the fertility of sheep and depress the percentage of lambs born.

Over the past 10 years our understanding of clover infertility has increased, and we can now gauge the extent of this residual problem. In fact, there is a widespread but low-level incidence of infertility which does not greatly affect individial farms but which has an important impact on the State's sheep production.

Effect Of Agronomic Practices On Wheat Protein Levels, M G. Mason

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

High grain protein levels are preferred for many end-uses of wheat. However, there has been little or no incentive for farmers to use practices which would increase protein levels, because wheat payments are made without a price differential for proteinlevel, except where wheat could qualify for the Australian Hard grade.

Variation In Wheat Protein Content : The Effect Of Environment, G B. Crosbie, Harry Fisher

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

Over the past 20 years, the average protein content of WesternAustralian wheat has ranged from 9.3 to 12.0 per cent, with a mean level of 10.4 per cent. At most grain receival points, in any one season, individual loads can often vary in protein content by as much as 5 per cent protein or more. Rainfall and soil fertility account for much of this variation.

Increasing Protein Content Of Wheat By Breeding, B R. Whan, Graham Crosbie

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

The most efficient means of increasing protein content of WesternAustralian wheat is by breeding new varieties with higher inherent protein in their grain. But is this possible without sacrificing yeild or other desirable characteristics?

Trends In Wheat Protein/Yield Relationships, G B. Crosbie, Harry Fisher, Bryan Whan

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

The major concern of wheat breeders in WesternAustralia has been to increase grain yield while maintaining quality at an acceptable level. There has been no concious effort to select for protein content. It is of interrest, therefore, to compare the relationship between yield and protein of varieties which have been prominent in Western Australia at various times, to see what effects yield increases have had on protein content and the extent of any variation which might exist.

The Potential For Skeleton Weed, John Dodd, F. D. Panetta

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

Since its introduction into Australia during the 900s skeleton weed has become one of the most economically significant weeds. Its presence in cereal crops in south-eastern Australia has caused suvere yield reductions and harvesting problems.

Skeleton weed was first found on a Western Australian farm in 963. Since then it has been the subject of an intensive eradication campaign organised by the Agricultural Protection Board and funded by an annual levy on wheat growers. Such campaigns, which rely mainly on volunteer searchers, do not exist in eastern Australia because the weed is so widespread it would be impossible to eradicate. …

Field Peas In The Wheatbelt, R J. French

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

Plantings of lupins in the Western Australian wheatbelt increased rapidly in the late 1970s and early 980s as improved varieties became available and farmers realised the benefits to be gained from growing grain legumes. Grain legumes are useful not simply as alternative cash crops. They provide 'fixed' atmospheric nitrogewn to following cereal crops and act as a cleaning crop to break cereal disease cycles. They are also valuable sheep feed.

In 1975, throughout the wheatbelt, the Department of Agriculture began a comparison of several alternative legumes. The crops included field peas, faba beans, chickpeas, lentills and various vetches. Field peas …

Potato Cyst Nematode, J M. Stanton

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

For many years, Australia has been the only large land mass in the world in which potato cyst nematode has not been found. However, in 1986, potato cyst nematode was found on four properties at Munster 10km south of Perth, Western Australia.

Potato cyst nematode is a minute worm like organism which attacks the roots of several plant species including potatos, causing very high yield losses. It is a very serious pest of potatoes throughout the world and strict quarantine controls are enforced in countries and potato-growing areas froo of nematode.

Gypsum Use In The Wheatbelt, M R. Howell

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

One of the limitations to crop productivity in the wheatbelt is the poor structure of heavy textured soils. Many years of clearing and cultivation have caused the loss of soil organic matter and breakdown of soil aggregates - particles of sand, silt and clay - in the surface layers. This has led to the development of unstable soils with poor physical properties.

Although loss of soil structure is a serious problem, it can be reversed by altering the tillage practices that caused the problem. This improvement in soil structure and return to productivity can be a slow process. However gypsum …

Peanuts In The Ord, D L. Mcneil, D. W. Bennett

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

The peanut industry on the Ord River Irrigation Area is expected to gross about $1.9 million at the end of the decade, a tidy return for an industry that only started truly commercial plantings some six yesrs ago.

At present the Ord River Irrigation Area produces about 2.5 per cent of Australia's total production, but it hopes to increase this to 7 per cent. High yields and plantings on non-staining soils make peanuts one of the most succesful crops grown on the Ord.

Research Into Lupin Root Diseases, M W. Sweetingham

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

increased yield from wheat after lupins, obtained without the need for applied nitrogen, has led many farmers to adopt a 1:1 wheat-lupin rotation. One of the advantages of lupins is the cleaning effect they have by reducing wheat diseases such as septoria and yellow leaf spot and root diseases, in particular take-all.

Before the present research projext started, little was known about lupin root diseases, or what effect lupins grown in close rotation with wheat might have on the build-up of root disease of lupins.

Lupin Processing : A New Development, R S. Coffey

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

For a number of years Grain Pool marketing representatives have approachd stockfeed manufacturers around the world in an attempt to broaden the market for Western Australian lupin seed.

Wherever there was enough consumer interest to conduct a nutritional evaluation of the product, lupins were found to be non competitive for inclusion in both pig and poultry rations, while at the same price being acceptable as a cattle feed ingredient. The reason for this disparity proved to be the varying degrees of fibre digestability of lupins for the various livestock tested.

It became apparent that the fibrous lupin seed coat or …

Phomopsis-Resistanct Lupins : Breakthrough Towards The Control Of Lupinosis, W A. Cowling, J. G. Allen, P Mcr. Wood, J. Hamblin

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

Attemots to control lupinosis in sheep have been thwarted by the unpredictable occurence of the disease in the field. The complex interaction of the toxin-producing fungus (Phomopsis leptostromiformis) with its host (the lupin plant), together with variable weather and paddock grazing conditions, have made it difficult to predict when stock are in danger of contracting the disease. The risk of lupinosis discourages many farmers from growing lupins, despite the many potential benefits of including them in crop rotations.

A team of Department of Agriculture plant breeders, plant pathologists, and animal scientists set out in the mid 1970s to find resistance …

Reduced-Branching Lupins, R J. Delane, J. Hamblin, J. S. Gladstones

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

The flowering time of present narrow-leafed lupin varieties is now probably correct for most of Western Australia's grain growing areas. However lupin yields are frequently not as high as might be expected, in either low or high yielding sistuations, and further marked yield improvements seem theoretically possible. A likely reason for seed yields being below expectations is the growth and development pattern of present lupin varieties.

Some new lupin types in which branching is suppressed genetically - known as reduced-branching types - are being studied. These types could be useful in some lupin growing areas to help overcome seed yield …

Grazing And Management Of Saltland Shrubs, C V. Malcolm, J. E. Pol

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

areas of bare saltland on farms need not be unproductive etesores. Many Western Australian farmers are now successfully growing salt-tolerant or halophytic shrubs such as bluebush (Maireana brevifolia), saltbushes (Atriplex spp.) and samphires (Halosarcia spp.) on these areas.

Department of agriculture trials and farmers' experience indicate that if saltland is planted with recommended shrubs, it can provide two months' valuable grazing for sheep during autumn and early winter, a time when paddock feed is scarce. Research by the Department has also identified a range of salt-tolerant shrubs suited to the various types of saltland.

Grazing trials to …

Preventing Lupinosis With Phomopsis-Resistant Lupins, Jeremy G. Allen, W. A. Cowling

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

Lupinosis is one of the major livestock siseases in Western Australia. It is caused by stock eating toxins produced by the fungus Phomopsis leptostromiformis which colonises the stems of dead lupin plants.

In 975, the Department of Agriculture started a breeding programme to develop Phompsis-resistant lupins to overcome or control lupinosis. In the previous issue of this Journal the results of small plot evaluations of new lines of Phompsis-resistant lupins developed in this programme were reported. This article describes the first trial involving grazing of Phompsis-resistant lupins.

Barley Breeding Update, P A. Portmann

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

Barley production in Western Australia has increased over the past few years, peaking at 1.42 million tonnes in 1984. The European Economic Community, however, has flooded world markets for barley and over half of ourbarley was sold for feed to Saudi Arabia last year. Current prices therefore have declined as has the total area sown to barley in this State.

Despite this, the potential to increase barley yields is most promising. The Department of Agriculture has cross-bred lines in advanced stages of field testing which could increase yield by 10 per cent across the agricultural areas.

In the longer term, …

Increasing Wheat Yields Through Breeding, B R. Whan, R. Gilmour

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

With the current 'cost price' sueeze facing Australia's farmers, the development of new higher yielding varieties is moe important that ever. By growing higher yielding varieties, farmers can increase their returns at virtuakky no additional cost: for example a wheat variety that produces 5 per cent extra yield from 1 t/ha crop returns about an additional $8/ha. Farmers can therefore increase their production by growing improved varieties.

Serena And Circle Valley Medic Establishment, M A B Ewing

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

Since the commercial release of the burr medics Serens in 1983, and Circle Valley ayearlater, much has been learnt about the establishment and management of these pasture legumes. When sown on suitable soils and with appropriate establishment and management techniques, these medics have the potential to dramatically change farm profitability. This results from both increased production from livestock and from improved cereal crops grown in rotation.

Swathing Field Crops In The South-West, R Snowball

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

Swathing is a long established method of haarvesting field crops, especially in parts of Europe and North America. It involves cutting the crop when the seed is nearly mature and laying it in a swath or windrow to dry. when the crop has dried it is harvested using conventional harvesting machinery with a pick-up attatchment.

On the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, an area prone to strong moist sea breezes, swathing barley is a common practice. More farmers along Western Australia's south coast are also swathing barley to reduce losses from conventional harvesting. Pod shattering losses of lupins and field …