Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Research Objectives In Vertebrate Pest Control, A J. Oliver

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

The European rabbit, introduced into Australia in 856 by an early settler for hunting, caused massive losses to agricultural production in Western Australia in 1940s and 1950s.

In those years most of the country's recources and efforts allocated to vertebrate pest problems were aimed at controlling this animal.

Research and control measures by Commonwealth and State agencies, including the introduction of myxomatosis, were largely responsible for reducing the rabbit problem to the comparatively minor one it is now.

Today, the Agricultural Protection Board is involved in the control of a much wider range of mammals and birds which cause losses …

Alternative Land Uses, D A. Morrison, B. C. Mattinson

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

One aproach to minimise the high nutrient content and associated algal pollution of the Peel-Harvey estuarine system is to reduce phosphorus losses at their source. Farmers can do this by changing land use is such a way thar phosphorus run-off fromthe catchment soils into drainage is prevented or at least reduced.

The department of Agriculture is investigating the economics of alternative uses, particularly substituting forestry with Pinus pinaster or Eucalyptus globulus (Tasmanian blue gum) for present beef and sheep enterprises. P. pinaster is used for logging and E. globulus for pulping.

Rabbit Kitten Survival In The South-West, D R. King

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

In the South-West of Western Australis reliable winter rains allow the rabbit breeding season to extend through winter and spring, and thus a large number of kittens are produced each year.

Studies on the biology of rabbits at Cape Naturaliste (270 kilometres south-west of Perth) and Chidlow (40 kilometres east of Perth in the Datling Range) have shown that at these sites each doe produces about 30 and 27 kittens respectively a year. If all these youg rabbits survived, there would be a 15-fold increase in numbers. Within a short time the State would be covered "wall to wall" by …

Rabbits North Of Carnarvon, D R. King

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

In Westeern Australia rabbits are mainly a pest along the south-western coastal parts of the State, but there are populations north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Rabbits after crossing the Nullarbour plain from South Australia and colonising the South-West of the State, were reported to have reached the west coast near Geraldton by 1912 and then spread northwards.

There is little information on the biologhy of rabbits in the northan parts of their range, but pastoralists in some areas are concerned about erosion and damage to vegetation on their stations when rabbits reach high numbers.

The Agricultural Protection Board undertook …

Myxomatosis In Western Australia, D R. King, S. H. Wheeler

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

Since myxomatosis was introduced to Western Australia in the early 1950s rabbit plagues have ceased. However, myxomatosis has not proven to be the whole answer to the rabit problem.

Rabits continue to damage crops and pastures in many areas and resurgences of rabbit populations are reported from time to time.

Drs D.R. King and S. H. Wheeler of the Agricultural Protection Board's research section have been studying the way myxomatosis epidemics occur and spread in rabbit populations in a range of Western Australian environments. This research will provide data for planning effective control strategies intergrating the various control options available …

Feral Donkeys : An Assessment Of Control In The Kimberley, S H. Wheeler

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

Feral donkeys are one of the major limitations to increased pastoral production in many parts of the Kimberley area of Western Australia, where they compete with cattle for food. In addition donkeys are aggressive animals, driving cattle from watering points and better grazing areas. They eliminate perenial plants by overgrazing and therefore reduce the carrying capacity of the range.

Originally introduced as draught animals, donkeys were released when cars arrived; since then they have bred up to large numbers in many areas.

For several years the Agricultural Protection Board has undertaken a programme of donkey shooting from helicopters. Since this …

Algal Problems Of The Estuary, E. P. Hodgkin, P. B. Birch

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

The Peel-Harvey esturine system study began in 1976 because people living near Peel Inlet complained about the accumulation of water weeds and algae on the shores and the smell of hydrogen sulphide (rotton egg gas) that resulted from their decomposition. From 1974 efforts had been made to control this 'algal problem' by raking up the weed with tractors and carting it away. This 'cosmetic activity had little impact on the problem.

The immediate cause was obvious: a carpet of green algae covering about 20square kilometres of the bottom of Peel Inlet. From time to time this 'goat weed' floated to …

Algal Growth And The Phosphorus Cycle, Arthur J. Mccomb, K. S. Hamel, A. L. Huber, D. K. Kidby, R. J. Lukatelich

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

Larger algae and microscopic phytoplankton foul the waters of the Peel-Harvey estuarine system, upsetting the fishery and polluting the beaches.

These aquatic plants grow in response to phosphorus runoff from drainage, trapping phosphorus in the estuary and using it in their growth. When they die this phosphorus remains in the system to be recycled for further plant growth.

Algal pollution in the estuary can be lessened by reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the system, increasing phosphorus losses to the ocean, or in some way blocking the trapping and recycling processes.

Soil Improvement With Bauxite Residues, W H. Tacey, S. C. Ward, K. J. Summers, N. J. Barrow

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

The sandy soils of the Peel-Harvey catchment hold water and nutrients very poorly. The Gavin ridges dry out quickly during rainless periods and this severely limits pasture growth. These ridges and the lower lying Joel and Coolup sands also lose a large proportion of the phosphorus, sulfer and potash fertilisers applied to them. Normally the sands lack clay materials to bind and hold the nutrients so rainfall leaches them out.

The Peel-Harvey Study Group, CSIRO, Alcoa and Murdock University have studied the use of a residue from bauxite mining to help overcome these problems. The treated residue has a texture …

Soil Acidity And Legume Nodulation, J G. Howieson, M. A. Ewing

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

Nitrogen is a basic constituent of protien and is essential to all forms of life. Many agricultural plants are legumes - a group of plants which, in co-operation with specialised soil bacteria, fix their own nitrogen from the air. When the legume dies, the organic matter breaks down anf the nitrogen becomes available to the following crops.

Soil acidity is a major factor limitimg the successful association between legumes and their beneficial soil bacteria in Western Australia.

Breeding Wheat Varieties For Acid Soils, I R. Barclay

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

Wheat varieties with improved tolerance of acid soils cold increase yeilds be perhaps 20 per cent or more over a substantialarea ofWestern Australia's eastern wheatbelt.

Aluminium toxicity is probably the main cause of poor root growth and therefore reduced yields on these soils.

Sources Of Lime In The South-West, I M V Brown

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

Many Western Australian farmers topdress or incorporate lime into their acid soils to neutralise them and to improve crop or pasture yields. Most use pulverised limestone or limesand which is cheap and relatively easy tospread.

Agricultural lime isdefined as "any fertiliser used principally for the purpose of reducing soil acidity and having calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate, or both, as its main ingredients".

Less extensive sources of liming material are found in scattered inland areas where deposits of calcrete have been formed by the weathering of calcium-rich rock and also in association with internal drainage systems.

Magnesite, generally formed by …

Soil Acidity In The Eastern Wheatbelt, W M. Porter, I. R. Wilson

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

In Western Australia parts of the sandplain of the eastern wheatbelt are very acid and produce poor crops, It was not until the late 1970s that the effect of soil acidity on the productivity of the sandplain soils was examined in any detail.

Since then researchers have learnt a great deal about the nature of soil acidity in the eastern wheatbelt sandplain soils and can suggest management options for farmers.

This article discisses the problem of the very acid soils. It does not deal with the moderately acid, medium textured soils of the eastern wheatbelt. Although the acidity of these …

Causes Of Soil Acidity, W M. Porter

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

The introduction of agriculture into australia has caused many of our soils to become more acid faster than they would have otherwise.

In Europe and other parts of the world, soil acidification is accepted as a normal by-product of a successful agricultural system. Lime* is widley used to neutralise the acids added as a result of agricultural practices.

In Western Australia, lime applications will be needed more frequently in the future, although maybe not in the same volumes as in Europe.

Soil Types And Drainage, Eric Bettenay, N. J. Schofield

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

At least 90 per cent of the phosphorus entering the Peel-Harvey estuarine system comes from land cleared for agriculture, most of it from the coastal plain. These soils are naturally deficient on phosphorus and sulfur and this is supplied in superphosphate, which contains about 10 per cent phosphorus and 1 percent sulphur.

However, rain leaches some of this applied phosphorus from the land into drains and rivers which flow into the estuary. In 1981, farmers in the Harvey River-Mayfields Drain catchment lost the equivalent of 1,300 tonnes of superphosphate into the estuary. Between them they have in effect spent $120,000 …

Sulphur Nutrition Of Pastures. Potassium Nutrition Of High Rainfall Pastures On Deep Sands, J. S. Yeates, M. F. Clarke

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

A. Sulphur - High Rainfall. 1. Sources, rates, time of application of sulphur to pastures - 80AL1, 80AL4, 80AL48. 2. Sulphur nutrition of pastures - 83PE36. 3. S sources and rates on sandy soils of the high rainfall areas - 84HA20, 84HA27. 4. Maintenance of S on pastures on sandy soils - 84AL35, 84HA19, B4HA26. B. Sulphur - Low Rainfall. 1. Sulphur on pastures - 82AL9, 82KA4. C. Potassium. 1. Sources, rates, time of application of potassium on high rainfall deep sand pastures - 80AL6.

Clover, Bluegreen Aphid And Red Legged Mite Screening, Medicago Murex Evaluation, D J. Gillespie

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Clover scorch: In spite of poor seasonal conditions, adequate levels of clover scorch developed in the test plots to readily identify susceptible clovers. Of the 333 introductions tested, 23% scored 3.0 or less indicating a high level of resistance. Bluegreen aphid screening: Two hundred and twenty four randomly selected subterranean clovers from all Western Mediterranean collections were tested for resistance to BGA in Nov/Dec of 1983. The susceptibility of annual legumes to Bluegreen aphid. Red legged earth mite screening: Results of two preliminary experiments to develop techniques for mass screening for RLEM resistance in subterranean clover were reported last year. …

Lupin Growth And Water Use; Wheat, Barley, Pea, Rob Delane, J. Hamblin, A Bishop Ms

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

84C16/84C17 Lupin Growth and Water Use. 84C19 Effect of Density and Nitrogen on Growth and Yield of Uniculm and Tillering Wheat. 84C20 Maturity, Nitrogen and Density Effects of Barley. 84C21 Wheat Variety Trial. 84C18/23/28/33 Pea Research in the Geraldton Region. 84C32 Effect of Terra Sorb on Wheat Yield.

Cereal Crop Tolerance To Herbicides, D Bowran, R Madin, A Lindsay

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

The 1984 experimental programme was a continuation of that started in 1981. The programme was aimed at evaluating the major herbicides in current use for cereals as well as new herbicides against the recommended varieties at three main sites, these being Wongan Hills, Merredin and Mt Barker. In addition Stage 4 breeding lines were evaluated against the same herbicides but only at Wongan Hills. The herbicides used and their rates and time of application are presented in Table 1. Herbicides were applied at both the recommended and twice the recommended rates of application, except in the breeding line trial where …

Phosphorus Nutrition Of High Rainfall Pastures - Peel Harvey Estuarine System Study, J S. Yeates, D M. Deeley, M. F. Clarke, R A. Deyl, G. Cockerton

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

1. Field experiments. A. Sources, rates, time of application of phosphorous on high rainfall Pastures - 80AL2, 80ALS, 81AL5, 81AL6, 81KE2, 81MA4, 82AL10, 82HA31, 82HA32, 83HA26, 83HA27. B. Soil test calibration curve trials. 82HA20, 82HA26, 82HA29, 83HA20, 83HA21, 83HA22, 83HA23, 83HA24, 83HA25. C. P sources and rates on sandy soils of the high rainfall areas - 84AL33, 84AL34, 84HA18, 84HA25. D.Maintenance P trials - 84AL32, 84HA17, 84HA24, 84HA28. 2.Glasshouse Experiments. 84GL5 - 1. Phosphorus sources on subterranean clover on sandy soils. 2. Soil test calibration experiment.

Lupins Wheat Rotation Long Term Rotation Trials, I Rowland, W Hawkins

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Long term rotation trials - 66M29, 67Cl3, 67N4, 68E5, 68SG5, 73SG16.

Lupins Wheat Rotation - 80TS3, 82TS2, 82M26.

Ecology Of Skeleton Weed (Chondrilla Juncea) In Western Australia, F D. Panetta

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

For the first time a laboratory for conducting this type of research has been established in South Perth, and it has been possible to type plants from mature leaf material. This obviates the necessity of waiting for plants to seed to be able to identify them. A total of six new collections were identified as belonging to either the broad-leaf or narrow-leaf forms, the locations for which are given in Table l.l..

Seed viability. To determine the amounts, viability and dormancy status of seeds produced by field-grown plants during summer and autumn months. Time course of seed production by field-grown …

Pleiochaeta Soil Survey, M Sweetingham

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

1. Pleiochaeta soil survey - Moora District, March 1984. 2. Lupin root rot trials - 84A40, 84BA26, 84GE50, 84GE56, 84MO82, 85NO59, 84WH28. 3. Fungicides for Rhizoctonia patch control - 84E25, 84E28. 4. 83WH29 : Effect of rotation on wheat diseases. 5. Root disease in long term wheat-lupin rotation trials - 68E5, 79GE37, 80TS2, 81LG29, 82M26.

Soil Acidity And Liming In The Lower Great Southern, R N. Glencross, M. G. Clarke

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

In the 375 to 750 millimetre rainfall area of the Lower Great Southern, reports of loss of subterranean clover from established pastures, reduced carrying capacity for sheep and increasing soil acidity lead to the establishment in 1981 of a research programme into the effects of soil acidity on pasture productivity in that region.

Phosphorus Nutrition, M D A Bolland, M J. Baker

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Trial No.: 84E31 Location: Esperance Downs Research Station.Results: Fertilizer: TSP = triple superphosphate; NCRP = North Carolina rock phosphate; DRP = Duchess rock phosphate. Cultivation: UC = fertilizer applied to the soil surface and left there: C = fertilizer cultivated into the top 10 cm of soil with a rotary hoe after application to the soil surface. Trial No.: 84M63. Location: South Bodallin (Merredin Research Station). Results: TSP = triple superphosphate; NCRP = North Carolina rock phosphate; DRP = Duchess rock phosphate. UC = fertilizer applied to the soil surface and left there; C = fertilizer mixed in to the …

Foliar Disease Of Wheat, A. G. P. Brown

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Wheat leaf diseases were at much reduced levels in 1984. This may have been caused by prolonged summer rain prematurely setting off dispersal of spores and also initiating microbiological breakdown of stubble residues. No survey was carried out in 1984 but a good indication of the seasonal effect can be gained by noting that in the spray-timing experiment at Badgingarra disease levels were extremely low until the end of August some 90 days after sowing. Timing of fungicide for Septoria and Yellow Spot control. 84BA32, 84GE59. Effect of Yellow-spot at Merredin (with S. Trevenen) 84ME57. Yellow-spot is common though not …

Control Of Black Spot; Peas, Potatoes, Lettuce, Eleanor M. Carter

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Please find attached summaries for all experiments completed as at February 1, 1985. Crop Trial number Title Status Peas - 84MT49 Control of black spot Completed. Potatoes - 84PE25 Varietal susceptibility - Powdery scab Completed 84MD46 Varietal susceptibility to soft rot Erwinia Completed 84PE31 Yield loss and disease damage of potatoes due to Erwinia species Aborted 84MD37, 84PE32, 84PE33: Incidence of soft rot Erwinia in potato/cauliflower rotations Completed 84MN31 Yield loss and disease damage of potatoes due to Erwinia species Continuing 84MN32 Varietal susceptibility to soft rot Erwinia Continuing 84MN33 Incidence of soft rot Erwinia in potato crops Continuing Lettuce …

Water Use Of Alternative Wheatbelt Crop Species, A P. Hamblin, M W. Perry, D Tennant, Neil C. Turner Dr

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

84M5, 84M6, 84M7. Location: Merredin Research Station Merredin, Western Australia. Three experiments were conducted to measure the productivity and water use of alternative wheatbelt crop species on contrasting soil types in a dry mediterranean environment. Crop species investigated were wheat, barley, cereal rye, narrow leafed lupin and field pea. These were grown on three contrasting soil types, a red-brown earth, a sandy loam over clay and a deep loamy sand; all soils occurring within close proximity to each other. Detailed measurements were made of meteorological conditions, dry matter production, leaf area, root growth, soil water profiles, light interception and plant …

Take-All Of Cereals. Rhizoctonia Patch Of Cereals, G C. Macnish

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Part 1. A. Take all of cereals: Effect of nitrogen sources on take-all. 76LG25 (N = 50kg/ha) 82NE34. 77E4 (N = 25kg/ha). 77MT19 (N = 45 kg/ha). B. RHIZOCTONIA PATCH OF CEREALS: Rhizoctonia patch on lupins - 82E17. Abbreviations used: D - Drilled with seed G.S. - Growth stage based on H. Fisher scale NA - Not available N – Nitrogen P - Phosphorus TA - Take-all TD - Topdressed D.D. - Direct drilled T.D.D. - Triple disc drill As - Ammonium sulphate An - Ammonium nitrate (Agran 34) Sn - Sodium nitrate Ag1 - Agras No. 1 Ag2 - …

Molybdenum Nutrition, M M. Riley

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

Field trials. 1. Residual value of Molybdenum on an acid soil - 81NO40. 2. Residual value of Molybdenum on an acid soil - 81M2. 3. Residual value of Molybdenum on an acid soil - 81LG12. 4. Residual value of Molybdenum on an acid soil - 83ME82. 5. Residual value of Molybdenum on and acid soil - 82NO7. 6. Residual values of different Molybdenum sources - 84ME10. 7. Residual values of different Molybdenum sources - 84GE49. 8. Molybdenum requirements of wheat and lupins - 83ME10. 9. Molybdenum requirements of wheat, triticale and lupins - 84ME8. 10. Forms and rates of soil …