Plant Biology Commons^™

Shot Hole Of Stone Fruit, R F. Doepel

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

SHOT hole of stone fruit is a serious fungal disease which occurs in orchards throughout the fruit growing areas of the State.

Successful control is based on routine applications of Bordeaux mixture at leaf fall and bud burst.

Avoid Losses From Poison Plants, Robert Dunlop Royce

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

E VERY country in the world has its poisonous plant problems, but in Western Australia we have more than our share.

Farmers in "Poison" districts can avoid serious stock losses if they can recognise dangerous poison plants, and have a knowledge of how the concentrations of toxic substances in these plants change with the seasons.

In this article, R. D. Royce, Officer in Charge of the Botany Branch, outlines the principles involved.

Potassium Deficiency In Medium Rainfall Areas, William John Toms

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

IT is well known that potassic fertilisers must be used for the successful growth of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) on many soils in the higher rainfall districts of Western Australia.

Recent investigations have shown that some soils in medium rainfall districts are also too low in potassium to grow healthy subterranean clover pastures.

Broom Millet In The Market Garden, James P. Fallon

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

WHEN we think of broom millet we usually regard it as a crop for growing either under flood irrigation or in summer moist swamps for the sole purpose of producing straw for brooms.

However, the particular characteristics of the broom millet plant make it adaptable for use in the market garden as an excellent windbreak and rotation crop.

Healthy Pastures, F E. Ryan

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

IN sweeping away forests to make room for pastures we have taken on the responsibility of maintaining these areas in a condition suitable for the growth of pasture plants.

This is done by a choice of suitable species, fertilising, cultivating, drainage, control of grazing and by weed and insect control.

Hoary Cress (Cardaria Draba (L.) Desv.), G R W Meadly

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

HOARY CRESS, known also as Hoary Pepperwort or White Weed, is a perennial plant native to t h e Mediterranean region and Western Asia.

It has spread as a weed to northern Europe including Britain, as well as to other temperate countries among which are North America, New Zealand and Australia.

Factors In Weed Propagation, G R W Meadly

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

I N crop and pasture plants, seed production and harvesting are of vital impartance.

In a negative way, the formation of seeds by weeds can be equally important.

Plants And Asthma, Robert Dunlop Royce

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

ASTHMA is defined in the dictionary as being a disease characterised by recurring attacks of difficulty in breathing, and the causes are stated to include the inhalation of dust, or the odour of plants, flowers or animals.

Hay fever is a similar condition and this too, is caused by plants, usually at the time of flowering, when large quantities of pollen are produced.

Strawberry Culture, K T. Whitely

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

WHETHER fresh or preserved, the strawberry finds universal favour and is regarded more or less as a luxury.

For the grower it offers the quickest cash return of all fruits, cropping in the first year. It is, therefore, very useful to a man trying to establish a fruit growing property with limited capital.

Hay For The Dairy Herd : Quality Or Quantity?, F E. Ryan

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

CONSERVATION of hay on dairy farms has increased in recent years but so far emphasis has been on quantity rather than quality and in some districts paddocks are closed up very early to increase yields per acre of hay.

Recent trials have shown that late closing of hay paddocks on dairy farms gives higher quality hay, more winter grazing and a better balanced pasture. The gain in quality more than compensates for any drop in yield.

Banana Cultivation At Carnarvon, J A F Lawson

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

THE banana is claimed by some authorities to be the first fruit ever used by man. Indeed, it is so widely scattered throughout the tropical countries of the world that it is very difficult to name its centre of origin.

For centuries it has been regarded as one of the most useful fruits for treating patients with digestive ailments, and over the last few decades it has been recommended by doctors, particularly for infants.

Although the protein content of bananas is low, the sugars of the ripened fruit are present in a most useful form, and the vitamin content, by …

Salt Land Management : Too Early To Graze Bluebush, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

M ANY people, including research officers in this Department, have examined bluebush and saltbush plantings in spring, and, finding nothing, have assumed failure.

Walnut Growing In The Bickley Valley, E L. Neave

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

WALNUTS require special conditions of climate and soil for satisfactory production and there are few places in this State where commercial plantings have been successfully established.

One small planting of interest is located in the Bickley Valley, in the hills close to Perth. The Bickley Valley is best known for its citrus and stone fruits

Minor Elements Can Be Overdone, L T. Jones

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

T H E term "minor elements" which is now commonly used and well understood by farmers and gardeners, refers to the five essential plant foods—copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum and boron.

These five essential plant foods are needed by all plants in minute quantities and it is relatively easy to use them in excess of actual requirements or even in toxic amounts.

In practice this is not usually a problem with cereals and pastures. The important exception is when zinc alone is added to a cereal crop low in copper and the extra zinc accentuates the copper deficiency, and poorer yields …

Toxic Annuals In Horticulture, Robert Dunlop Royce

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

THE number of poisonous shrubs and trees that are grown in gardens is very great, and several of these species have been discussed in detail.

It is probable that few people realise just how many of the commonest garden plants are in some way or under some circumstances, likely to contain a toxic principle.

Furthermore, this is not confined to the longer lived plants, but it applies equally to the annual plants, both summer growing and winter growing.

Stocking Rate And Pasture Management, B F. Carlin

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

FARMERS west of the Great Southern Railway, raising sheep and beef cattle, frequently associate soil deficiencies with difficulties in holding sub. clover in their pastures.

Field observations and some trials in those districts indicate that in many paddocks the problem arises through undergrazing rather than a deficiency in the soil.

Safflower : An Oil Crop For The Kimberleys, D F. Beech

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

EXPERIMENTS with irrigated safflower carried out at the Kimberley Research Station have shown that the crop is well adapted to the local conditions.

In recent years yields of 2,000 to 3,000 lb. per acre have been generally obtained. Oil content of the main variety under trial varied between 33 and 35 per cent.

Locally produced safflower oil could help to make the Australian paint industry largely independent of imports.

Safflower meal is a protein-rich concentrate and could have considerable impact on the Kimberley cattle industry.

Safflower is likely to play an important part in the early development of irrigation agriculture …

Bluebush Seed Supplies, C V. Malcolm

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

A GREAT deal of publicity has been given of late to the value of bluebush (Kochia brevifolia) as a plant for some types of salt-affected land, particularly in the drier parts of the wheatbelt.

Obtaining seed supplies can be a problem, but fortunately large amounts of seed are not required since once a few bushes are established they will spread seed over the intervening areas.

Thus rates of 1 to 2 lb of seed per acre have been found quite satisfactory.

Tobacco Production In Western Australia, A E. Baker

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

THE annual consumption of manufactured tobacco in Australia is in the vicinity of 55,000,000 pounds.

Although the public is well acquainted with the use of tobacco for smoking, many people are unaware of the care and attention required to grow such a crop.

The following article attempts to outline the conditions and methods as applied to tobacco production in Western Australia.

Weeds Of Western Australia : Cape Tulip (Homeria Breyniana (L.) Lewis And H. Miniata Sweet), G R W Meadly

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

SOUTH Africa has provided us with a number of undesirable weeds including doublegee, Berkheya thistle, Guildford grass and stinking roger, but outstanding among the weed introductions from that country are two species of Homeria known as Cape Tulip.

The salmon-coloured flowers and long grass-like leaves are known to farmers in many localities extending from Geraldton to Albany and as far east as Bruce Rock and Merredin. Beyond the metropolitan area the largest infestations occur in the Northam, York, Beverley and Williams districts where thousands of acres of good land are affected.

Tobacco Seed-Bed Management, A E. Baker

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

A SUCCESSFUL tobacco crop depends initially on an ample supply of well-grown, disease-free seedlings available early in the planting season.

If planting is held up due to a poor supply of seedlings, the resulting crop will not be grown in the most favourable part of the season. Late-grown crops nearly always give low returns.

Hormone Sprays For Apricots, J E L Cripps

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

VARIOUS hormone sprays have been applied to apricots with the object of increasing fruit size and hastening maturity, and of these 245TA, the tri-ethanol amine salt of 245 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, has in general, proved the most successful.

The increase in fruit diameter obtained with this spray in Western Australia has varied between 5 and 15 per cent, and is due to an increase in the size of the cells within the fruit, not to the production of a greater number of cells.

Soursob (Oxalis Pes-Caprae L.), G R W Meadly

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

DURING winter and spring, the yellow colouration of paddocks is not always due to the flowers of the widely distributed Capeweed.

In some districts, particularly in the Avon Valley, the yellow-flowered soursob (Oxalis pes-caprae L.), has become firmly established.

The genus Oxalis contains 800 or more different species, the two main natural centres of distribution being South Africa and tropical and extra-tropical South America.

Afghan Thistle (Solanum Hystrix R. Br.), G R W Meadly

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

DURING the summer months it is usual to receive many specimens of a prickly plant with blue flowers similar to those of a potato. It is commonly known as Afghan Thistle or Prickly Potato Weed.

This plant is not a thistle, although it has the prickly foliage characteristic of many members of that group. The botanical name is Solanum hystrix which places it in the same family as the tomato, potato and tobacco.

Relatives also include weeds such as the thornapples, black nightshade and apple of Sodom.

The name Prickly Potato Weed, although somewhat unwieldy is therefore more appropriate than …

The Fruit Industry In Other Lands. 3. The United States Of America, Frank Melville

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

MY visit to the United States extended over a period of ten weeks and in this time fruit areas in New York State, Washington State and California were seen.

In addition, certain other activities were covered in other centres. Contact with Research and Extension personnel was made.

The Geraldton Strain Of Subterranean Clover, A J. Millington

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

THE cereal-growing areas of Western Australia form a narrow triangle extending about 700 miles from north to south, gradually increasing in width towards the south to about 150 miles.

Studies In The Mulga Pastoral Zone. 1. The Grazing Of Wandarrie Grass Associations, D G. Wilcox

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

THE establishment of the Wiluna office of the North-West Branch marked the commencement of a series of investigations into the pastures of the mulga zone.

Unlike the agricultural areas where a fund of knowledge exists on the growth habits of the pastures, the pastures of this area were completely unknown.

The preliminary investigations had to be aimed at forming an understanding of the reactions of the various plants to rain, to temperature and seasonal conditions and to grazing in an area of extremely low rainfall reliability.

The Budding Of Fruit Trees, T F. Herlihy

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

A LTHOUGH the principles of budding and grafting are basically the same—that is, t h e success depends upon the close contact of the cambium layers of both stock and scion—the operations are performed at different times of the year.