Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
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How to identify leafhoppers
No full textThese tiny plant-feeding insects are often considered pests due to the damage they can inflict on crops and gardens. Leafhoppers, treehoppers and spittlebugs (or froghoppers) are closely related to cicadas, and planthoppers are their more distant relatives. As their names suggest, most of them can hop
Evolution of agricultural emissions calculations in Australia: Methodological and calculator refinements and their impact on Western Australia’s agricultural carbon footprint
No full textGreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting is fundamental to positioning Australian agricultural products competitively in global markets, enabling supply chain stakeholders to make informed decisions, and understanding the trade-offs between market demands, policy requirements, consumer expectations, and intergenerational responsibilities.
Recent methodological refinements to emissions methodologies have enhanced the accuracy of GHG accounting in Western Australian (WA) agriculture. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has collaborated in these improvements through collaborative research with universities and federal agencies and advocacy for Western Australia-specific emission factors.
Methodological refinements have improved the accuracy of WA agricultural emissions estimates by 6% overall, providing more precise baselines that better reflect actual regional conditions. These improvements vary by industry, demonstrating the value of sector-specific research: feedlot emissions estimates are now 56% more accurate following adoption of Australian-specific models, while grain production estimates have been refined by 12–104% depending on regional rainfall and soil conditions. Rather than indicating instability, these adjustments correct previous overestimations and provide the agricultural sector with more competitive and realistic emissions profiles.
Continuously improving tools like the Environmental Accounting Platform (EAP), which allow retrospective updates, are essential for credible emissions tracking. Without such capability, stakeholders risk making misguided decisions and undermining progress, based on outdated information.
DPIRD continued investment in region-specific research ensures that emissions estimates reflect local realities and supports the sector’s transition to net zero by 2050
Minimum standards of maturity for table grapes 2025-2026
No full textThe table shows the approved minimum standard of maturity for each of the standard varieties listed when tested using the approved method. The approved method for testing these varieties is to test the brix (sugar level) of the fruit using a refractometer
Toward resilience in broadacre agriculture: A methodological review of remote sensing in crop productivity, phenology, and environmental stress detection
No full textHighlights
What are the main findings? Remote sensing methodologies for crop performance monitoring were systematically reviewed across the themes of productivity, phenology, and environmental stress. Advances and challenges were identified within individual themes and in their integration toward holistic monitoring.
What are the implications of the main findings? Emerging integration approaches offer pathways beyond monitoring toward decision-support systems for broadacre agriculture. Future directions of advancing resilience-focused applications of remote sensing are proposed. Abstract
Large-scale rainfed cropping systems (broadacre agriculture) face intensifying climate and resource stresses that undermine yield stability and farm livelihoods. Remote sensing (RS) offers critical tools for improving resilience by monitoring crop performance—productivity, phenology, and environmental stress—across large areas and timeframes. This review aims to synthesize methodological advances over the past two decades in applying RS for broadacre crop monitoring and to identify key challenges and integration opportunities. Peer-reviewed studies across diverse crops and regions were systematically examined to evaluate the strengths, limitations, and emerging trends across the three RS application themes. The review finds that (1) RS enables spatially explicit yield estimation from regional to paddock scales, with vegetation indices (VIs) and phenology-adjusted metrics closely correlated with yield. (2) Time-series analyses of RS data effectively capture phenological transitions critical for forecasting, supported by advances in curve fitting, sensor fusion, and machine learning. (3) Thermal and multispectral indices support the early detection of abiotic (drought, heat, salinity) and biotic (pests, disease) stresses, though specificity remains limited. Across themes, methodological silos and sensor integration barriers hinder holistic application. Emerging approaches, such as multi-sensor/scale fusion, RS–crop model data assimilation, and operational and big data integration, provide promising pathways toward resilience-focused decision support. Future research should define quantifiable resilience metrics, cross-theme predictive integration, and accessible tools to guide climate adaptation
Turnip yellows virus resistances differ in effectiveness against three diverse isolates
No full textTurnip yellows virus (TuYV; species Turnip yellows virus, genus Polerovirus, family Solemoviridae) is one of the most economically important pathogens of canola (syn. oilseed rape, Brassica napus L.) worldwide. Despite this, there are few cultivars with TuYV resistance available to canola growers. Several sources of quantitative resistance have been identified in Europe and Australia in varieties of B. napus and its progenitor species B. oleracea and B. rapa. These resistances were identified and examined in studies using only a single isolate of TuYV, which is a highly diverse virus. In this study, we evaluated the resistance responses of eight such varieties when challenged with three genetically diverse TuYV isolates under greenhouse conditions. Plants were inoculated with TuYV using its vector, Myzus persicae, and the infection response was measured by comparing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay absorbance values with those of a susceptible control variety. The resistance response of each variety differed from highly resistant to highly susceptible primarily depending on the TuYV isolate but also the experiment and time after inoculation. A spectrum of resistance specificity was observed, with some varieties being moderately to highly resistant against all three isolates and other varieties being resistant to one isolate and susceptible to the other two. This demonstrates that previous approaches to resistance phenotyping using a single TuYV isolate can result in the development of strain-specific resistance that is ineffective when deployed against the broader virus population. Resistance screening programs should challenge lines against a range of locally common virus strains to increase the likelihood of identifying durable resistance
Fisheries Research Report No. 355: Recreational fishing for Western Rock Lobster in 2024/25: estimates of participation, effort and catch
No full textThe Western Rock Lobster (WRL) (Panulirus cygnus) is the most commonly caught Rock Lobster (RL) species in Australia. Catches from the commercial and recreational sectors are required to determine and monitor Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), Total Allowable Recreational Catch (TARC) and the proportion of Allowable Harvest Level (AHL) achieved. The TARC is evaluated annually based on a 5-year average.
Data for the recreational sector are obtained using phone-recall surveys to provide annual estimates of participation, fishing effort and retained catch (by numbers) from recreational fishers who hold a RL licence. Average weight, obtained from boat ramp surveys, are used to convert estimates of retained catch by licensed fishers from numbers to recreational harvest (by weight). Tour Operator Returns (Charter Logbooks) provide a census of annual participation, effort and retained catch (by numbers) from charter fishing (where fishers are not required to hold a licence). Random length samples of WRL from tour operators are used to convert the retained catch from numbers to weight.
This report provides estimates of RL recreational fishing participation, effort and catch for 2024/25 (1 May 2024 – 30 April 2025). Participation in the RL recreational fishery (all species) by RL licence holders (aged five years and older) in 2024/25 was 63% of licence holders or was 32,376 licensed fishers (95% CI 31,176 – 33,577). The proportion of licensed fishers actively fishing in 2024/25 was steady (i.e., the 95% CI overlapped between survey years) compared with 2018/19 – 2023/24.
Statewide fishing effort for RL recreational fishing (all species) by licensed fishers in 2024/25 was 486,679 days fished (95% CI 447,555 – 525,803), of which 79% or 383,258 days (346,006 – 420,509) was by potting and 21% or 103,421 days (86,313 – 120,529) by diving. This was steady compared with 2018/19 – 2023/24. Most fishing effort in 2023/24 occurred in the Metro-West Coast region (69%).
The recreational harvest of WRL by licensed fishers in 2024/25, based on an average weight of 624.2 g was 455 t (95% CI 407 – 502) in 2024/25, of which 77% or 349 t (311 – 385) was by potting and 23% or 106 t (74 – 138) by diving. This was steady compared with 2018/19 – 2023/24.
Recreational harvest of WRL from tour operators in 2024/25 was 22 t (based on an average weight of 521.5 g) and has increased annually from 9 t in 2018/19 to 20 t in 2023/24. The majority of the recreational harvest in 2024/25 from tour operators was by potting (97%).
The 5-year average recreational harvest (for licensed and tour operators combined) was 490 t in 2024/25, which represents 4.6% of the AHL
Potential parasitoids for management of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J. E. Smith [Lepidoptera: Noctuidae]) in horticulture systems of tropical Australia
No full textThe fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a highly polyphagous pest, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas that invaded the Australian mainland in 2020. Since its incursion into Australia, management has largely relied on the use of different synthetic insecticides. Given pesticide resistance genes and reduced sensitivities to a variety of pesticides are already present in the population, there is a need to investigate alternative management approaches that can be incorporated into an IPM programme such as biological control. A fundamental step in establishing the potential of biological control is identifying the potential natural enemies that may be deployed in pest management. In this study, we undertook a series of surveys to identify potential parasitoids for fall armyworm and assessed parasitism rates in Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT). Approximately, 1900 larvae of fall armyworm were sourced from maize, sweet corn, okra and sorghum fields, reared and observed for the emergence of parasitoids. Ten species of larval parasitoids from five families were recorded during the surveys with Cotesia ruficrus (Haliday) (56.14%) and Exorista xanthaspis (Wiedemann) (50%) being the most abundant larval species in WA and NT, respectively. Other parasitoids found include four recently described species, Euplectrus frugiperdata Fagan-Jeffries, Chelonus trojanus Fagan-Jeffries, Coccygidium necatrix Atkin-Zaldivar & Fagan-Jeffries, Coccygidium mellosiheroine Atkin-Zaldivar & Fagan-Jeffries, and previously named species, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) and some unidentified Tachinidae. Two species of egg parasitoids, Trichogramma pretiosum (Riley) and Telenomus remus (Nixon), were recovered with field parasitism rates of 7.81% and 10.16%, respectively. Overall, the occurrence of potential egg and larval parasitoids in Australian horticulture systems provides a unique platform to develop a conservation or augmentative biological control approach to manage fall armyworm in Australia
How to find a skeleton weed
No full textPollen and pappus trapping and eDNA are two techniques that could compliment on-ground surveillance. Labour availability and occupational health and safety are impacting on-ground surveillance of skeleton weed in Western Australia. To compensate passive surveillance techniques are being developed
Procedures for rangeland condition assessment in the Pilbara and southern rangelands 2025
No full textThis report defines the procedures used in 2025 by DPIRD to complete rangeland condition assessment (RCA) in the Pilbara and southern rangelands region which has predominantly shrub-based pastures. For the rest of the pastoral estate, DPIRD uses the Procedures for RCA in the Kimberley which has grass pastures.
RCA is the process DPIRD uses to make systematic, station-level assessment of rangeland. Rangeland condition considers both the condition of pastures (defined in the ‘Pasture condition guides for the Pilbara’ and ‘Pasture condition guides for the southern rangelands including the Gascoyne, Murchison and Goldfields-Nullarbor’) and soils as determined by erosion, using the erosion assessment method on pastoral lands in Western Australia. The methods have evolved over several decades of practice and are unique to WA.
RCAs generally report on pastoral stations, which may contain one or more pastoral leases and, on occasion, include land with other tenure types that is used for pastoral purposes.
The data collected during an RCA are used to report on rangeland condition at the station and regional scales. The RCA aims to quantify the condition of rangeland landscapes and pastures and to use this and other information to assess the effectiveness of pastoral management. The RCA process is part of DPIRD\u27s regulatory compliance approach
Procedures for rangeland condition assessment in the Kimberley 2025
No full textThis report defines the procedures used in 2025 by DPIRD to complete rangeland condition assessment (RCA) in the Kimberley region which has grass-based pastures. For the rest of the pastoral estate, DPIRD uses the Procedures for RCA in the Pilbara and southern rangelands which have predominantly shrub pastures.
RCA is the process DPIRD uses to make systematic, station-level assessment of rangeland. Rangeland condition considers both the condition of pastures (as defined in the \u27Pasture condition guide for the Kimberley\u27) and soils as determined by erosion, using the erosion assessment method on pastoral lands in Western Australia. The methods have evolved over several decades of practice and are unique to WA.
RCAs generally report on pastoral stations, which may contain one or more pastoral leases and, on occasion, include land with other tenure types that is used for pastoral purposes.
The data collected during an RCA are used to report on rangeland condition at the station and regional scales. The RCA aims to quantify the condition of rangeland landscapes and pastures and to use this and other information to assess the effectiveness of pastoral management. The RCA process is part of DPIRD\u27s regulatory compliance approach