Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA): Research LibraryNot a member yet
10920 research outputs found
Sort by
Frost tools and support
No full textThe department plays a major role in addressing the impact of frost on Western Australian (WA) growers through a combination of on-farm research and development activities, and online tools and advice.
We lead the management program of the Grains Research Development Corporation (GRDC) National Frost Initiative, which is an integrated program that addresses genetic, management and environmental approaches to mitigate the effects of frost.
The objective is to provide the Australian grains industry with targeted research, development, and extension solutions to manage the impact of frost and minimise seasonal profit variability
Soil amelioration in Western Australian cropping systems: a review of the benefits, adoption, and value
No full textOver the past 17-years soil amelioration approaches have developed to include one-off (strategic) deep soil mixing or inversion tillage in Western Australian (WA) cropping systems. Deep ripping developments include increased ripping depth to 50-80cm, and topsoil inclusion or subsurface delving capability. Strategic deep tillage (i.e. mechanical amelioration) is applicable to ~13 M hectares of WA’s south-west agricultural soil consisting of deep sands, sandy earths, deep sandy duplex and ironstone gravel. Subsoil acidity, subsoil hardpans, topsoil water repellence, sodicity, poor fertility and low water holding capacity often constrain these soils. DPIRD researchers maintain a database of amelioration responses which contains more than 220 site-year inversion and deep mixing comparisons. Cereal grain yield increases range from 0.14-0.91 t/ha for inversion and 0.21-0.73 t/ha for deep mixing across a range of soil types and seasons after amelioration. Narrow-leafed lupin yield responses to deep mixing or inversion range from 0.19-0.54 t/ha and canola from 0.21-0.49 t/ha. Comprehensive grower surveys in 2020 and 2024 showed an increase in from 52 to 66 % of grower respondents undertaking strategic deep tillage, with 51 % ripping, 24 % mixing and 17 % inverting their soils in 2023-24. For growers using mechanical amelioration 97 %, regularly applied lime to manage soil acidity. A DPIRD-commissioned study by consulting firms Planfarm and Farmanco utilised deidentified client financial data to show growers who over the past 10-years had adopted ‘complete’ amelioration packages increased farm operating profit by $100 /ha/year and had 2.6 kg/ha.mm higher wheat water use efficiency than those who hadn’t. Increased value and resilience of WA cropping will come with improved spatial management of refined soil amelioration and profile reengineering practices
Does soil moisture impact electric weed control efficiency?
No full textWidespread herbicide resistance drives industry to look for alternatives to chemical weed management, like electric weed control. Electric weed control technologies pass an electric current through the plant foliage and into the roots and soil. It has been theorised that high soil moisture may reduce electric weed control efficiency. Wet soil has lower resistance than dry soil and increased opportunity for the electric current to dissipate out of the roots (i.e., electric ‘spray drift’). However, weed emergence and growth occur most rapidly in moist soil and growers are likely to require weed control in these conditions. The current research aimed to assess weed control by the continuous electrodeplant contact method (using the Zasso™ XPower with XPU applicator) in conditions of high or low soil moisture. In 2022 there was no difference in control of annual ryegrass, wild radish, and kikuyu at 21% and 25% volumetric soil water content. In 2023, control of annual ryegrass was reduced as volumetric water content increased from 9% to 16%. This research concludes that soil moisture can impact efficiency of electric weed control and should be considered during application. In wet conditions it may be necessary to reduce application speed, increasing the ‘dose’ of electric current received by individual plants
Understanding the impact of strategic deep-tillage practices on weed dynamics and pre-emergent herbicide efficacy
No full textStrategic deep-tillage (SDT) practices, including soil inversion (mouldboard ploughing), soil loosening (deep ripping), or soil mixing (rotary spading), disturb soil to a greater extent than crop sowing, addressing soil constraints (e.g., soil acidity, water repellence, or soil compaction). While not primarily intended for weed control, these practices influence weed demography and pre-emergent herbicide effectiveness. This research investigated SDT practices’ impact on weed dynamics and pre-emergent herbicide effectiveness in the first year post-amelioration under varied soil moisture and rainfall conditions
Herbicides
No full textHerbicides play a vital role in integrated weed management programs. Knowledge of the mechanisms and activity of herbicides will improve the impact and sustainability of herbicides as a weed management tactic. This fact sheet is a guide to the types of herbicides available and when and how they should be used
Spot form net blotch and its management in barley
No full textSpot form net blotch (SFNB) has become increasingly more common in Western Australia (WA) due to the widespread cultivation of susceptible varieties, such as Spartacus CL and RGT Planet.
These crops generate large amounts of inoculum, which is carried between seasons on infected stubble. Crops grown onto or located close to infected stubble are at greatest risk of infection. The disease can be effectively managed using a combination of varietal selection, crop rotation, and fungicides
Windmill grass and its management
No full textWindmill grass is a native species and the tenth most common summer weed species in the Western Australian (WA) grainbelt. It hosts pests and diseases and utilises stored soil moisture that would otherwise be available to the following crop
Fertiliser strategies to boost crop yield in re-engineered soil profiles
No full textSubsoil constraints such as compaction and acidity are prevalent in WA and hinder the development of deep root systems. Duplex soils, common in the region, exacerbate these challenges and lead to suboptimal yields. A field-based soil re-engineering experiment involving soil loosening and incorporation of ameliorants to a depth of 80 cm in a duplex soil profile with subsoil acidity and compaction, demonstrated that barley yields could be doubled by deep incorporation of lime, fertiliser, and clay compared to surface application of the same ameliorants. However, incorporating fertiliser to an 80 cm depth presents practical challenges to the annual replenishment of crop nutrients. To address this, two controlled environment experiments were conducted to develop fertiliser strategies for re-engineered soils based instead on surface banding and topdressing.
Results suggest that after increasing soil pH above the minimum target of 4.8 by incorporating lime and addressing soil compaction by loosening the soil, to 80 cm depth, barley yields of re-engineered soils can be maintained by surface application of inorganic fertiliser at increased rates. We found that 150 kg/ha of surface-applied N was enough to optimise barley grain yield, but higher barley protein could be achieved by applying more N. These findings help optimise fertiliser management practices of re-engineered soils, thereby contributing to the sustainability of broadacre cropping
2035 greenhouse gas modelling projections for the Western Australian grains industry
No full textKey messages: Greenhouse gas emissions from the Western Australian grains industry are expected to increase by 2035 due to industry growth. Average grains emission intensity is expected to remain relatively stable until 2035 due to low adoption of low emission practices. Strategies and potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are highlighted
Differences in fisher demographics and fishing behaviour from concurrent phone-recall and smartphone app surveys of recreational angling in south-western Australia
No full textTraditional methods for collecting robust samples of recreational effort and catch data from offsite mail or telephone surveys are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. Smartphone applications (apps) that allow recreational fishers to report their effort and catch are a potentially viable data collection tool, but may be biased. We evaluated demographics, effort, and catch of freshwater anglers in south-west Western Australia by comparing independent data from concurrent phone-recall and app-diary surveys for a 12-month period in 2017–2018. Survey modes differed, with higher proportions of app respondents angling in freshwater and being avid anglers. For both survey modes, unweighted mean effort (days fished) was higher in dams than rivers, but was higher from the phone-recall survey for dams and rivers. The unweighted distribution of kept and released catches (number of fish per angler) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and redfin (Perca fluviatilis) were similar between survey modes, with higher retention of redfin and higher release of rainbow trout. Kept and released rates of freshwater cobbler (Tandanus bostocki) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) were less common in both survey modes. Lower response rates and higher survey participation by avid anglers (≥20 days per year) from the app-diary survey may bias survey data. Such bias needs to be addressed when using digital data collection methods, along with improving recruitment and retention of app participants