Agricultural Science Commons^™

Bulletin 4265 - Termites, Peter Davis

Bulletins 4000 -

Termites are small, soft-bodied, social insects that feed on wood, grass, dead leaves, bark, humus, fungi or the dung of herbivore. They are commonly known as white ants, but are not related to true ants.

There are over 2300 species of termite of which about350 occur in Australia, and of these about 12 damage sound timber.

Bulletin 4272 - Growing Bananas In Carnarvon, Terry Hill

Bulletins 4000 -

The banana industry in Carnarvon began with small plantings. plantings in the 1940s. Since that time the industry has grown and become the mainstay of the region's horticulture industry.

In 1991, there were 360 ha planted to bananas and the industry was valued at $18.2 million. The major market for the crop is the Perth metropolitan area and Carnarvon remains the major supplier to this market. In recent years the development of a banana industry in Kununurra has resulted in increased competition, particularly in the winter months.

The industry is sited on land bordering the Gascoyne River, close to the …

Miscellaneous Publication 42/93 - Development And Dissemination Of Design Methods For Rangeland Paddocks Which Maximise Animal Production And Minimise Land Degradation, Shane Cridland, Mark Stafford Smith

Animal production and livestock published reports

Surveys of rangeland resources in Western Australia to date have shown that 23% of the area surveyed is in poor range condition. Poor condition is characterised by the loss of perennial vegetation allowing wind and water erosion. Approximately another 37% is in only fair range condition (Curry and Hacker 1990).

The loss of range condition is partly due to uneven use of paddocks by sheep and cattle. The areas close to water and the preferred pasture types are often over-utilised, while areas well away from water and less preferred pasture types are under-utilised. The result is that rangeland in good, …

Bulletin 4267 - Growing Macadamia Nuts, John Dick, Alec Mccarthy

Bulletins 4000 -

The macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia and M. tetraphylla) are native Australian trees that have been developed as a commercial food crop.

About two million macadamia trees are planted in Australia over 6000 hectares. These produce about 12,000 tonnes of nuts. New South Wales and Queensland account for 90 per cent of the trees.

Unfortunately, Western Australian conditions are different again to the eastern States. Therefore, local trials will be required before varieties particularly suited to this State's conditions can be developed.

Bulletin 4247 - Introduction To Commercial Mushroom Growing, Margaret Graham

Bulletins 4000 -

Mushroom cultivation began in Australia in the 1930s in the then incomplete and unused Circular Quay railway tunnel in Sydney. In the 1950s most mushrooms were grown in heaped or 'ridge-beds' of compost in disused railway tunnels.

In the last 15 to 20 years there has been considerable technical change in the method and degree of sophistication of mushroom cultivation techniques. Most growers have invested large sums of capital in specially designed and insulated buildings that control temperature, humidity and ventilation and where pest and disease prevention and control is less difficult.

The bag method also helps to alleviate pest …

Bulletin 4274 - Tree Planting On The High Rainfall Coastal Plain, Don Bennett, Richard George

Bulletins 4000 -

Careful planning can mean the difference between the success or failure of a tree planting program . Healthy , well-e stablished trees stand a better chance of survival, grow faster and are more resistant to insect attack. The need for time-consuming watering in summer is also eliminated.

The high rainfall coastal plain extends from Perth to Busselton and inland to the Darling Scarp. It receives about 800 to 1000 mm annual rainfall.

Site preparation is ideally started in summer. For a winter planting, decide before March where to plant, which varieties and how many trees to plant. Early planning allows …

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, …

Bulletin 4256 - Pecan Nut Cultivation, Aldo Labrosciano

Bulletins 4000 -

Pecans Carya illinoensis, an indigenous species to Northern America, are successfully grown between the latitudes of 25° and 35°. There is considerable variation in size and flavour of the 1000 or more varieties of the nuts.

Large scale production is concentrated in north America, Israel and South Africa. Plantings in Australia are in Victoria and New South Wales, and are developing slowly in Western Australia.

Pecans are well suited to Western Australian conditions where the soil is well drained. Though the trees are deciduous, they have no chill requirement and will flourish if water is not limiting.

Landman Development And Evaluation In The Wallatin Creek Catchment - Final Report, Alan Hawkins

Natural resources published reports

The aim of the project was to evaluate and further develop the Landman farm planning procedure. The Wallatin creek catchment in the Kellerberrin shire of Western Australia was selected. This catchment is typical of a large area of the wheatbelt of Western Australia.

The landman farm planning procedure has a goal of sustainable farming. The outcome of the procedure is farm layout and farm management plans. The procedure however has components of personal development, technology transfer and development of problem solving skills at both individual and group levels. The process steps are; definition of objectives, collection of information, problem or …

Visions For Agriculture, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Agriculture reports

This workshop grew out of a conversation between Maurice Barnes, a Trayning farmer and member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Dryland Research Institute, and Steve Porritt, the officer in charge of the Dryland Research Institute at Merredin. Maurice was interested in the idea of posing the question 'What would agriculture be like if we had known as much about this landscape in 1829 as we know now?', to a group of farmers and others interested in the central wheatbelt and its future. Maurice saw this question as a first step toward achieving some shared vision for the future …

Worm Control In Sheep In Western Australia. Crack Down On Worms: An Information Guide For Advisers, Consultants, Livestock Personnel And Farmers, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock published reports

In Western Australia’s winter rainfall areas, the control of gastro-intestinal sheep worms is based on the strategic timing of drenches.

Sheep are drenched at a time that reduces the contamination of pastures with worm eggs and larvae in late summer and autumn. The timing of the drenches is particularly important for the control ofbrown stomach worms (Ostertagia species) and black scour worms (Trichostrongylus species)

Drenches given in late spring, when pasture is starting to dry off, and again in summer, successfully reduce pasture contamination in mid summer and autumn. A faecal egg count will determine the need and timing of …

Post-Shearing Losses Of Sheep Following Cyclonic Rains, M. Holm Glass, R. Jacob

Animal production and livestock published reports

Sudden unpredicted rainfall during summer has caused high mortality rates in newly shorn sheep on at least two previous occasions. These occurred at Darkan, Western Australia, in 1982 (Buckman 1982) and at Kybylolite in the south-east of South Australia in 1960 (Geytenbeek 1982).

Geytenbeek (1982) reported an average mortality of 8.3%, which was highest for sheep within five days of shearing. The mortality declined for animals shorn more than seven days before the rain.

Buckman (1982) reported an average mortality of 27.9% which was highest within 12 days of shearing. The losses related directly to the amount of rain received. …

Bulletin No 4237 - Growing Nashi In Western Australia, Allan Price

Bulletins 4000 -

Nashi is the Japanese word for Pear. It is used in this context to describe pears of Asian origins, developed from Pyrus pyrtfolia as distinct from European pears (Pyrus communis).

Nashi have originated from two major areas, Japan and Korea/China.

Bulletin 4241 - Chemical Control Of Insect Pests In Field Crops And Pastures, T. P. Quinn, G. P. Mangano, P. J. Michael

Bulletins 4000 -

Chemicals currently registered in Western Australia for use against pests of field crops and pasture are given in the table below. Trade names are listed alongside each chemical formulation.

Department of Agriculture Bulletin 4185 "Insect and allied pests of extensive fanning" will help you identify the pest(s) through coloured photographs, descriptions and keys. Information on the type of damage, life cycle and control is also provided. Further information is available in Farmnotes on specific pests and on pests of a particular crop.

The Poison Schedule for each product is indicated in the table. Extremely toxic chemicals are labelled as "dangerous …

'Living Soil' Seminar, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Agriculture reports

Provides an opportunity for farmers and those involved in the agricultural service industry, to focus on what happens in the soil. Seminar reflects the interest detected amongst farmers in knowing more about the things that influence plant growth and a genuine concern about the environment.

Bulletin No 4216 - Broadscale Boom Spraying, Roger Doyle, Gary Dorr, Des Gilbey, John Peirce

Bulletins 4000 -

For spraying to be effective it must do the job required at a minimum cost, with no unwanted side effects. It is impo1tant to use the right chemical at the right rate, at the right tin1e and in the best conditions.

It is just as important that both the sprayer and the way it is used allows you to meet this objective. This Bulletin will help you select the right boom sprayer, maintain it for efficient operation and use it efficiently and safely.

Miscellaneous Publication 39/91 - How To Eradicate Virulent Footrot From Your Property. A Farmer's Guide., Dianne Hopkins

Animal production and livestock published reports

The first thing to understand about virulent footrot is that it can occur on any farm in the medium to high rainfall zone.

People often associate footrot with properties managed by inefficient farmers. This is a belief based on fallacy. Many good farmers have found the disease in their sheep, including high profile stud producers.

Footrot can strike anywhere and without warning.

The important thing to remember is, that once it is found, getting to know the disease and understanding it will help you beat it. This manual, the video and your stock inspector will help you eradicate footrot from …

Bulletin No 4222 - Management Of Properties With Pesticide Residues - Information For Farmers With Properties Affected By Organochlorine Pesticide Residues, Farran Dixon

Bulletins 4000 -

This publication is produced by the Department of Agriculture to help farmers who have been affected by the pesticide residue problem. Some material from previous issues has been included, so that as much information as possible is contained in a single publication. We suggest you keep it as a convenient reference on any aspect of the residue problem.

All owners of affected land are urged to read this publication carefully. This applies to the owners of any land which has a soil organochlorine residue level greater than 0.1 parts per million (ppm).

A management notice will be issued for each …

Bulletin No 4225 - Dairying In Western Australia, Dean Maughan

Bulletins 4000 -

Dairying in Western Australia is a small though very efficient industry. In 1989/90, 480 dairy farmers produced 266 million litres of milk for an estimated return of $84 million. The retail value of milk and dairy products was estimated to be $250 million making dairying a very significant industry in the south-west of Western Australia.

Timing Of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application For Cereals, M G. Mason

Division of Plant Research : Technical Report Series

Results are presented for 206 trials carried out between 1959 and 1990, investigating the effect of time of application of nitrogen fertilizers on cereal grain yields. This set of data is the basis of recommendations made for timing of nitrogen fertilizer application for cereals in Western Australia. Attention is drawn to the variability of results obtained in different seasons and situations and the time of leaching rains.

Miscellaneous Publication 28/91 - Midas (Model Of An Integrated Dryland Agricultural System), David J. Pannell, Andrew Bathgate

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

MIDAS is a bioeconomic model of mixed crop/livestock farms in Western Australia. It selects farm management strategies which maximise profit subject to resource, technical and environmental constraints using the linear programming technique. This document provides a thorough documentation of the version of MIDAS developed for the "eastern wheatbelt" region. If you are learning to use MIDAS with the MARG menu driven system, you need to read the MARG manual as well as this documentation.

From early in the life of MIDAS, we gave a high priority to making the data and assumptions readily accessible in documentation and in microcomputer spreadsheet …

Miscellaneous Publication 17/91 - Mudas - Model Of An Uncertain Dryland Agricultural System: A Description, R. S. Kingwell, A. D. Bathgate

Farm Systems and Economics research reports

In the early 1980s, the Department of Agriculture developed a mixed integer whole-farm mathematical programming model of the dryland farming system in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia (Morrison et al. 1986). The model named MIDAS (Model of an Integrated Dryland Agricultural System) was constructed, tested and scrutinised by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, advisers, farm management consultants and farmers (Kingwell 1987a). The model described in some detail the biology and finances of the dryland farming system in an average season and calculated profit-maximising farm plans.

MIDAS remains an often used tool in research and extension, being applied to many …

Bulletin No 4219 - Chemical Control Of Insect Pests In Field Crops And Pastures, T. P. Quinn, G. P. Mangano, P. J. Michael

Bulletins 4000 -

Chemicals currently registered in Western Australia for use against pests of field crops and pasture are given in the following tables. Trade names are listed alongside each chemical formulation.

Department of Agriculture Bulletin 4185 "Insect and allied pests of extensive farming" will help you identify the pest(s) through coloured photographs, descriptions and keys. Information on the type of damage, life cycle and control is also provided. Further information is available in Farmnotes on specific pests and on pests of a particular crop.

The Poison Schedule for each product is indicated in the table. Extremely toxic chemicals are labelled as "dangerous …

Bulletin No 4220 - Growing High Yielding Wheat Crops In The Central Wheatbelt, Michael Perry

Bulletins 4000 -

In this Bulletin we hope to provide you with what we believe is the best and most up-to-date information about growing wheat in your particular environment.

It is now more important than ever for producers to get the most out of their resources of land, labour and capital. The key to doing that is the knowledge to do even better what you probably do well already-growing wheat.

Bulletin No 4189 - Training And Care Of The Sheep-Dog, John Charlick, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Bulletins 4000 -

A well trained sheep-dog is a considerable asset to a farmer — in a recent Queensland Department of Primary Industries study, participating graziers estimated the value of a good working dog to be up to $20,000 a year.

Despite their value, dogs can be maintained cheaply. The Queensland study quoted $130 a year as the most any grazier spent on an individual dog — for dry food, vaccine and treatments for internal and external parasites.

This Bulletin aims to show how to train a sheep-dog from a raw pup to a highly useful and well trained, mature dog. The methods …

Miscellaneous Publication 33/91 - Markets For Western Australian Beef, Alan Peggs

Animal production and livestock published reports

In 1990/91 the Western Australian beef industry generated close to $172 million and was the State's third largest rural industry.

As at 31 March this year the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates the State's cattle herd at 1,651,000 head of which 108,000 head are dairy cattle. Of the beef cattle 832,000 are located in the agricultural area and 819,000 in the pastoral area.

The principal market for Western Australian beef is the domestic market. This market consumes around 65 per cent of the State's annual production. Export markets use close to 35 per cent with the principal markets being the …

Bulletin No 4176 - Agroforestry With Widely Spaced Pine Trees, Richard Moore, Peter Jenkins, Geoff Anderson, Phil Scott

Bulletins 4000 -

Combining a softwood timber crop with other forms of agriculture on the same land can make better use of available space, soil and water, and lead to higher productivity from farms.

This Bulletin outlines the potential benefits of, and a programme for, the growing of pine on farmland in Western Australia in conjunction with either pasture or another crop. The agroforestry system described has been well researched in Westem Australia.

The main objectives of agroforestry are to produce high quality timber while maintaining adequate pasture for either grazing or fodder cropping until the timber is harvested.

Farm Management Memo - Advice To Help Farming Through The Rural Downturn, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Historically, commodity prices cycle between a "boom and a bust" every few years. Farmers are often able to adjust their operations to reduce the impact of a downturn in commodity prices by:

• Increasing efficiency through reducing or maintaining input costs while maintaining or increasing production levels.

• Maximising returns through seeking price premiums on commodities (protein, noodle quality, finer wool, increased clean wool yield).

• Reducing overhead costs

• Seeking cheaper finance or refinancing costly loans

• Careful planning and management with a high degree of attention to detail.

• Seeking advice

Bulletin No 4191 - Inputs For Beefin, D. J. Barker, P J. May, R. G. Grieve

Bulletins 4000 -

BEEFIN is a computer model (Barker et at. 1986) that calculates profit maximizing diets for finishing cattle to a specified carcass weight and fat thickness. It predicts cattle growth, feed conversion ratio, final liveweight, number of days on feed and amount of available feedstuffs to finish the cattle to specification.

BEEFIN calculates an enterprise profit and loss budget and performs a sensitivity analysis on cattle and feed price changes. A sensitivity analysis of returns to assets, variable costs and per tonne of feed fed is also calculated.

Land Management Manual. Merredin Advisory District, F. Frost, M Howell

Natural resources published reports

Farming by soil type recognizes that each major soil unit has specific land use capabilities. 'When developing a farm management programme, understanding and appreciating the productive potential and degradation hazard of each soil unit ensures that production systems can be developed which are 'sustainable. The aim of this land management manual is to describe the climatic and geological features of the district and provide definitions of each of the major soil units and 'current management recommendations. The material is designed to be used as an information base for farm planners.

Thes oil units described are for the Merredin advisory district …