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

Bulletins 4000 -

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.

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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.

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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.

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 - 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 …

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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 …

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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 …

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 …

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

Bulletins 4000 -

DAFWAs popular publication about vegetable growing for home gardeners.

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

Bulletins 4000 -

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 …