Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Progress In Research On Noxious Weeds, Geoffrey A. Pearce

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

RESEARCH on noxious weeds has enabled the development of many practical methods for the control of these weeds.

Where the recommended treatments have been accepted by farmers, large scale operations have reduced the areas infested and stopped spread into new paddocks.

Establishing Pastures Under Wheat Crops, M L. Poole, J. W. Gartrell, D. A. N. Nicholas

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

RECENT surveys indicate that in the medium and high rainfall cereal and sheep areas as much as half the new pasture sown is sown with a crop.

In the drier wheatbelt areas the figure is 20 to 30 per cent.

Urea Drilled With Seed Affects Germination And Yield, M G. Mason, A. Loutit, J. A. C. Smith, D. Highman, P. Stallwood

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

Trials in 1968 at Burracoppin and York again showed it is safer to topdress urea just before seeding than to drill a mixture of seed and urea.

At all but the lowest urea rates, urea drilled with the seed reduced the number of plants emerging and surviving, and reduced final wheat yields.

The Setting And Control Of Disc Ploughs, P A. Taylor

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

THE trailed disc plough is the most commonly used tillage implement in Australian broadacre farming, yet it is considered in some areas to be difficult to set and to operate. These notes provide information resulting from C.S.I.R.O. research to assist operators in the control and operation of trailed disc ploughs.

Growing Barley For Grain In Western Australia : Varieties And Production Methods, H M. Fisher

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

BARLEY is an adaptable crop which can be grown successfully throughout the cereal areas of Western Australia. It is more suited to the wetter areas than wheat and tolerates the drier, shorter season of the eastern cereal districts better than oats.

The Making Of A New Pasture Variety, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

FARMERS who attend field days at Department of Agriculture research stations are reasonably familiar with the procedure for producing a new cereal variety. It involves a painstaking and tedious process of crossing, followed by many years of segregation, selection and testing for yield, disease resistance, and other characters.

Although there are many pitfalls, the procedure for the creation of a new cereal variety is at least fairly well systematised.

Until recently the making of a new pasture variety was far from a systematic undertaking.

Linseed : An Alternative Crop For The South Coast. 2. What Is The Future For Linseed?, R J. Doyle, R. J. Guyton

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

In a preceding article* we stated that the expansion of linseed in Western Australia was due primarily to the ability to sell on the export market at current ruling prices.

This is necessary because Australia's domestic needs are likely to be supplied in most years by Eastern States producers.

Recommended Crop Varieties, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

RESULTS of variety trials carried out in 1968 by the Department of Agriculture were considered by the State Wheat Advisory Committee and the State Coarse Grains Advisory Committee in making recommendations on leading varieties of wheat, oats and barley.

Details of the recommendations are set out below.

Recommendations on linseed varieties have been included in view of the growing significance of the industry and representations from farmers for consideration of this crop along with the cereals.

Lupins In Western Australia. 1. Species And Varieties, John Sylvester Gladstones

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

First in a series of articles on the varieties, cultivation and uses of lupins in Western Australia.

Lupins are ideally suited to the climate and soils of many districts of Western Australia and their cultivation here dates from the early years of the century.

However, although there were some 500,000 acres of lupins growing in the State in 1968, their cultivation in recent years has been largely limited to infertile sandplain soils where other legumes usually fail.

Nitrogen Fertiliser Survey, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

THE DECEMBER, 1968 issue of the "Journal of Agriculture" included, as part of an article on the economics of nitrogen fertiliser use, a lift-out section for farmers to complete and return to the Journal.

In the lift-out, farmers were asked to calculate their fertiliser costs and answer a series of questions about the use of nitrogen on their farms.

Simple Treatment Will Protect Farm-Stored Grain, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

WITH unusually large quantities of grain likely to be stored on farms this season, 1970 will be an important year for the control of pests in stored grain.

Infested grain from farms is responsible for almost all outbreaks of infestation in bulk storages, leading to costly treatment by the grain handling authority. Effective control on the farm would eliminate most of this.

A Comparison Of Methods Of Urea Application At Ajana, M G. Mason, R. J. Parkin, H. Patrick

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

Compared with urea application separate from the seed, urea mixed with wheat seed delayed and reduced wheat germination, and reduced wheat yields, especially at high rates of urea.

Yields were higher where the urea was topdressed immediately before seeding than where it was top-dressed either immediately after, or two weeks after seeding.

Recommended Cereal Varieties : 1969, H M. Fisher, J. T. Reeves, J. A. Parish

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

Cereal varieties widely recommended for growing in 1969 are Gamenya and Falcon wheats, Dampier and Beecher barleys and Swan oats.

Other varieties include the new wheat Darkan, which is recommended only for the higher rainfall areas, the rust resistant wheats Mengavi and Gamut, and Irwin oats for late sowing in northeastern districts.

Pasture Establishment In The Wheatbelt, M L. Poole

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

The value of legume based wheatbelt pastures is so great that considerable care is warranted during their establishment. Without such care patchy establishment or even complete failure is likely to occur.

IN THE WHEATBELT too many farmers still put less effort into their seeding of pasture species than their seeding of crops.

This may be because both compete for the farmer's time in the busy seeding period and it is the cereal crop which possesses the obvious cash value.

However, the total value of a good pasture has to be assessed over a period of several years because of its …

Pasture Improvement In South Western Australia, J W. Malcolm

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

"There is no doubt that Australia's enhanced prosperity in the last 30 years has been dependent in no small measure on the use of legume-based pastures." E. M. Hutron, June, 1968. *

THE LAST 30 years have seen an increased interest in pasture improvement which has transformed much of Western Australia. Large areas have been sown to new and improved pasture species—as a result productivity of both livestock and cereal enterprises has risen.

Weed Control In Linseed, J G. Paterson

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

In 1967, almost 7,000 acres of linseed were planted in Western Australia. The area increased to more than 25,000 acres in 1968 and it is expected that some 40,000 to 50,000 acres will be planted in 1969.

FOR MANY years linseed has been a comparatively unimportant crop, recently been highlighted both as a "cleaning" and as a "cash" crop. Its value has

Weed Control In Pastures : A Practical Approach For Sheep Areas, Geoffrey A. Pearce

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

IN the past, chemical treatments for the control of weeds in pastures have been costly and severe on pasture, and have had to be repeated over a number of years. The method outlined in this article overcomes nearly all these disadvantages.

The Control Of Weeds In Cereals, Geoffrey A. Pearce

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

PRACTICALLY all broadleaved weeds found in cereals can now be killed with herbicides and with most, the farmer has a choice of chemicals.

Two more new products are now available and these have several advantages over other herbicides.

Chemical Ploughing, Geoffrey A. Pearce

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

PROGRESS in the field of chemical weed control has been spectacular in recent years. One field that is attracting interest is the idea of replacing cultivation with chemical sprays.

Linseed Production Survey : Esperance, 1968, R J. Guyton

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

A SURVEY conducted after the 1967 linseed season found that although most farmers understood the requirements of linseed growing there were several crop failures. These were associated with time of planting, soil type and insect control measures.

The Esperance district office of the Department of Agriculture conducted a second survey during December, 1968 and January, 1969

Oat Diseases In Western Australia, W R. Tweedie, W. A. Shipton

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

OVER ONE MILLION acres of oats are grown yearly in this State, making the crop next in importance to wheat.

Pathogenic organisms are responsible for considerable reductions in yield, yet losses can be minimized if control measures are taken.

Wren Wheat Unimpressive In West Australian Trials, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

WREN WHEAT, the subject of current controversy in the Eastern States, has been tested in trials in Western Australia and the results have indicated that it is not likely to yield well in this State.

Costs Of Grain Storage On Farms, P J. Hackett

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

GRAIN storage on farms has been commonly practised for intensive livestock production, for feed reserves, for seed purposes, and more recently to store excess grain.

For most of these purposes permanent storage facilities are required.

Lupins In Western Australia. 2. Cultivation Methods, John Sylvester Gladstones

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

While lupins are by and large plants of lighter and less fertile soils, important differences exist among them in their soil preferences.

There may also be some differences in climatic requirements. Present knowledge of these differences is summarized in the Table below.

Linseed : An Alternative Crop For The South Coast, R J. Doyle, R. J. Guyton

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

IN the over-17 inch rainfall zone of the south coast region of Western Australia animal production is the main farm enterprise.

Although farmers in the main cereal growing regions of W.A. crop about one-third of their cleared land each year, farmers in the south have been reluctant to crop more than about 12 per cent, of their cleared area.

Deferred Grazing Improves Soft Spinifex Association, H Suijdendorp

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

THE Pastoral region in Western Australia where Triodia pungens (soft spinifex) makes up most of the vegetation, covers an area of about 17,000 square miles in the Forrest and De Grey pastoral areas.

On the deeper granitic sands in much of the region, plant associations revert to a pure stand of soft spinifex after about five or six years' grazing. It is common practice to burn at this stage, to encourage the re-establishment of other species and the production of palatable spinifex regrowth.

Lupins In Western Australia. 3. Cultivation Methods Continued, John Sylvester Gladstones

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

THE characteristics of the lupin varieties grown in Western Australia were described in the first two articles of the series (Journal of Agriculture, August and September, 1969), together with recommendations for growing bitter sandplain lupins.

This article gives general recommendations for growing grain lupins, and discusses the main diseases and pests of lupins in Western Australia and their control.

The Long Term Effects Of Frequent Cropping, Stanley Thomas Smith

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

AGRICULTURALLY speaking, few Western Australian soils are more than 50 years old. We have the responsibility of preserving them for farming—not for one man's lifetime, but for centuries.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate that cropping and cultural practices do have some effects on the soil, and that these effects should be considered when choosing a farm rotation.

Fertility Build Up Under Northern Wheatbelt Pastures, M L. Poole

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

Experiments on two farmers' properties demonstrated that legume pastures increase the fertility of northern wheatbelt soils.

Crops on legume pastures had higher yields than crops on volunteer pasture.

The experiments also indicated the most productive legume species for each situation and demonstrated that nitrogen added by legumes has a residual effect in the soil.

Pasture Seed Production In Western Australia, B J. Quinlivan

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

Pasture seed production in Western Australia is an industry with a somewhat turbulent past. Booms and slumps have been the rule rather than the exception.

However, during the past few years there has been some degree of "stability"—if not in price, at least in terms of total production.