Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Value Of Saltbush Questioned, Brian Warren, Tess Casson, Ed Barrett-Lennard

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

Over the last 20 years the Department of Agriculture has focused on finding plant species that can grow on salt/and to produce sheep feed, and on techniques for establishing plantations of saltbushes. Some research has been in response to farmer reports of success in using revegetated salt/and to provide autumn forage, while other work has resulted from the apparent importance of saltbushes in rangeland areas.

Objective measurements of wool production have been taken only recently. Three years research at Katanning indicates that while saltbush material is selected and eaten by sheep, its value for wool production is not high. It …

Nature Conservation In The Western Australian Wheatbelt, Max Abensperg-Traun

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

Growing concern about the survival of flora and fauna in the Western Australian wheatbelt prompted CSIRO scientists to start a long-term study to moniter trends in populations. Max Abensperg-Traun and his colleagues reportt on their findings so far.

Using Saltland In Pakistan : An Australian Connection, Ed Barrett-Lennard, Riaz Qureshi

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

Pakistan and Australia have a common enemy in salt. In each country millions of hectares of previously productive land have been affected by salt (or have the potential to become saline) because of inappropriate agricultural development. Since 1989 the Western Australian Department of Agriculture has participated in a research project in Pakistan which involves revegetation of salt land using Australian shrubs. Early results are very promising.

How Sustainable Is Grazing Sheep On Annual Pastures In The Woolbelt?, Don Mcfarlane, Richard George

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

Low wool prices have reduced the profitability of producing wool from clover-based annual pastures in the south-western woo/belt. The heavy reliance on one commodity is economically unsustainable for many farmers. But we should also consider how ecologically sustainable the practice is.

Shallow-rooted annual pastures contribute to widespread salinity in the area, annual legumes are acidifying the soils and making them water repellent, and bare, detached soils from heavy grazing cause sheet and rill erosion during autumn storms. In addition, stock are degrading remnant vegetation and destroying the soil's structure.

To counteract this degradation, the woo/belt needs more perennial pastures and …

Floriculture : A Blooming Business, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

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

Over the past 1O years, Western Australia's ornamental plant industry has experienced significant growth in value. The industry has expanded and adopted new technologies, but some enterprises have closed There have also been major changes reflecting the economic climate and conservation pressures.

The ornamental plant industry in this State is valued at more than $70 million annually. It encompasses three areas: nursery production, exotic cutflower production, and native cutllower production. The native cutflower industry is by far the largest growth sector.

Revegetating Salt-Affected Land With Shrubs, Ed Barrett-Lennard, Fionnuala Frost, Steve Vlahos, Norm Richards

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

The establishment of salt-tolerant shrubs such as saltbush and bluebush on salt-affected land reduces the risk of soil erosion, and can also fit into farm programmes as a profitable enterprise. Salt-tolerant shrubs can be used as forage for sheep in summer and autumn, when the availability of annual pastures is low or annual pastures are just beginning to emerge. This article describes three methods for establishing shrubs on salt-affected land and what affects shrub establishment.

Intensive Animal Industries In The Peel-Harvey Catchment, R W. Payne

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

The Swan coastal plain to the north and south of Perth is attractive for the intensive production of pigs and poultry for several reasons. It is close to markets, feed manufacturers and labour; has a less extreme climate than inland areas; and is underlain by a large reserve of high quality groundwater.

Because these are all intensive operations, large quantaties of nutrient-rich waste are produced over a very small area. They can severely damage ground and surface waters unless steps are taken to control the wastes which they produce.

This article oulines both the nature of intensive aniamal industries in …

Rangeland Surveys : A Basis For Improved Land Use, P J. Curry, Alan Payne

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

In mis 1988, the Department of Agriculture started a three-year programme to assist pastoralists in the Murchison River catchment to update land management planning of their stations. This Project, which is funded by the National Soil Conservation Program, will use interim results from a recent rangeland survey which has investigated and mapped the grazing recources throughout the region.

Elsewhere in Western Australia's pastoral areas, information on the productive potential of each area - and the management problems inherent for each class of land - are being used to help pastoral managers of Soil Conservation Districts rehabilitate degraded areas. This information …

Field Peas In The Wheatbelt, R J. French

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

Plantings of lupins in the Western Australian wheatbelt increased rapidly in the late 1970s and early 980s as improved varieties became available and farmers realised the benefits to be gained from growing grain legumes. Grain legumes are useful not simply as alternative cash crops. They provide 'fixed' atmospheric nitrogewn to following cereal crops and act as a cleaning crop to break cereal disease cycles. They are also valuable sheep feed.

In 1975, throughout the wheatbelt, the Department of Agriculture began a comparison of several alternative legumes. The crops included field peas, faba beans, chickpeas, lentills and various vetches. Field peas …

Grazing And Management Of Saltland Shrubs, C V. Malcolm, J. E. Pol

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

areas of bare saltland on farms need not be unproductive etesores. Many Western Australian farmers are now successfully growing salt-tolerant or halophytic shrubs such as bluebush (Maireana brevifolia), saltbushes (Atriplex spp.) and samphires (Halosarcia spp.) on these areas.

Department of agriculture trials and farmers' experience indicate that if saltland is planted with recommended shrubs, it can provide two months' valuable grazing for sheep during autumn and early winter, a time when paddock feed is scarce. Research by the Department has also identified a range of salt-tolerant shrubs suited to the various types of saltland.

Grazing trials to …

Laser Levelling Land For Flood Irrigation, M D. Green, J. P. Middlemas

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

Since the introduction of laser levelling to Western Australia's South-West irrigation area five years ago, many farmers have benefited from this new and precise method of land-forming.

The use of lasser controlled earthmoving equipment to redevelop irrigated paddocks has led to improved irrigation efficiency and drainage. Less water is used for each irrigation, water is applied more evenly and less labour is needed. many older, grass-dominated paddocks have been reseeded to improve pasture species.

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.

Alternative Pasture Species For Deep Sands, D A. Nicholas

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

Although the climate of the swan coastal plain between Perth and Bunbury is suitable for growing a range of pasture species, some soil types greatly limit this range.

Pasture species commonly grown in the South-West, such as subteranean clover and annual ryegrass, can only be grown successfully on the better soils of the coastal plain - the loams, yellow sands and Joel sands. On the freely drained, deep, infertile Gavin sands such species rarely persist because of the soil's poor water holding capacity, and its water repellency and its poor ability to retain nutrients.

Erosion Risks With High Stocking Rates At Kojonup Trial, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

A pasture grazing trial at Kojonup dramatically illustrated the effects of Cyclone Alby. Severe erosion was evident on the heavily stocked plots while the more lightly stocked plots showed little damage.

Native Plants : Water Savers In The Garden, K S. Cole

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

The climate of Western Australia may be one of the best in the world for people but it is a difficult one for many of our imported, and common garden plants. as a consequence, some 70 per cent of our summer water usage is for gardens and lawns.

This is not the sort of statistic that we should accept easily or happily.

There is a solution to this problem: a new approach to home gardening is required.

The new garden is based on W. A.'s own colourful native plants, which are adapted to mild winters, hot dey summers and poor …

Forage Production From Shrubs On Saline Land, C V. Malcolm

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

In the first volume of the Journal of the Department of Agriculture in the year 1900, the results of experiments at Tulare Experiment Station in California on the growing of Australian saltbushes are reported.

Seed was first sent from Australia by Baron von Mueller in June, 1881. Three species of saltbush (A. semibaccata, A. numularia and A. vesicaria) are all reported to have grown well.

Although C. A. Gardner in 1929 suggested the growing of saltbushes for forage, the earliest and clearest recommendations are those of Teakle and Burvill in 1945.

Early research tended to concentrate mainly on the possibility …

Some Concepts In Rangeland Management, R B. Hacker

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

The arid and semi-arid zones of Australia occupy about 75 per cent of the land mass. The pastoral industries are located within these zones and, although productivity per unit area is low, the region nevertheless constitutes one of the nation's valuable renewable resources.

If properly managed, such a resource may be maintained as a productive asset indefinitely.

Water Economy For Lawns And Gardens, K S. Cole

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

Much of the summer water consumption occurs because it is widely believed that heavy summer watering is necessary. Householders often mistakenly water heavily to keep their gardens green and growing. Many may not realise that gardens can be kept vigorous and healthy with much less water than is commonly applied.

Samphire For Waterlogged Salt Land, C V. Malcolm, G. J. Cooper

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

For non-waterlogged and mildly waterlogged salt land a number of salt-tolerant shrubs may be used for forage production.

Areas which are highly saline and regularly waterlogged are not suited to these shrubs. However, during trials with shrub species, samphires (Arthrocnemum spp.) were found to volunteer and grow well on these sites.

Research into the use of samphires has shown that it is possible to harvest seed and obtain a seed sample suitable for sowing through a drill. Established samphire stands provide useful grazing in many parts of the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Potassium For Pastures, Walter Jacob Cox

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

IVIany pastures in the south-west of Western Australia are deficient in potassium or need regular dressings for maximum growth. This article indicates areas and situations in which potassium might be needed, shows how deficiency is diagnosed and gives recommended rates of application.

Plant Cover For Bare And Salt Affected Land, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

The contributions made by this State to land reclamation were recognised at an international level last year.

Mr. C. V. Malcolm, a research officer with the Soils Division, presented a paper entitled "Establishing Shrubs in Saline Environments" at a symposium on Useful Wildland Shrubs, Their Biology and Utilisation, at Utah State University, Logan, Utah.

The conclusion to Mr. Malcolm's review, set out below, summarises much of what is known about shrub establishment in saline areas.

Trickle Irrigation, B Swan

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

THE introduction of trickle irrigation has caused tremendous interest among commercial irrigators. While not a new concept, its application was formerly restricted to glasshouse and nursery use.

Wildflowers Of The Stirling Range, Alexander S. George

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

TWO hundred miles south-east of Perth, the Stirling Range rises abruptly from the surrounding plain. About forty miles long, it is a line of semi-isolated hills, rather than a continuous block.

There are many intriguing plants of diverse colour and form. Well over 400 species are known from the Range. A number of these are found no-where else, and some are restricted to one mountain.

Legumes Or Artificial Nitrogen?, N J. Halse

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

Choosing between legumes and artificial nitrogen is not the problem which many farmers are making it.

This article deals with the choice in the mixed cereal and sheep farms of the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Saltland Pastures, C V. Malcolm

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

FOLLOWING THE DEVELOPMENT of Agriculture in Western Australia considerable areas of highly productive land have become salt affected to the degree that normal crops and pastures cannot be grown.*

However, species and establishment methods are available which can bring at least some of this land back into production.

Paspalum Vaginatum : For Salty Seepages And Lawns, C V. Malcolm, I. A. F. Laing

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

PASPALUM VAGINATUM, aptly termed "sea shore paspalum" has an amazing ability to thrive in wet salty situations. It is also a good lawn grass.

Seed of the grass is not available but it may easily be established by planting pieces.

This article reviews where and how the grass may be used.

Pastures For The Pastoral Areas, D G. Wilcox, K. Fitzgerald

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

The pastoral areas lie generally outside the zone where cultivated crops are grown.

The rainfall is erratic and the basic pastures for sheep and cattle consist of native plants.

In some favoured areas however, and in particular situations, sown pasture species are becoming increasingly important.

West Midlands Development : Pastures For Sandplain Soils, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

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

TRIALS at the Badgingarra Research Station have indicated that many pasture species will grow in the West Midlands area.

Choice of the species most suited to any particular locality will be influenced by soil type, rainfall, grazing characteristics and possible ill-effects on stock.

The following species have been recommended.

Puccinellia : Outstanding Saltland Grass, C V. Malcolm, S. T. Smith

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

"Puccinellia" is a tussocky perennial grass with an outstanding ability to survive salty and waterlogged conditions.

Considerable areas of saltland in Western Australia are suited to its growth.

Seed is now available commercially and in this article the conditions to which the grass is suited are described and establishment and management methods are suggested.

Put Garden Rubbish To Work In A Compost Heap, W Dawson

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

THERE'S a surprising amount of mumbo jumbo written about the simple compost heap. By the time you've waded through all the instructions, you feel as if you ought to have prerequisites of a doctorate in soil chemistry or an unbroken ancestry of at least three generations of professional English gardeners.