Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
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Blue aleurone and its management in barley
No full textA blue colouring in the aleurone layer of barley grain (the layer immediately below the husk) may be present in some varieties. While it is genetically controlled, it is also influenced by the conditions under which the crop is grown.
Australia is committed to supplying customers of malt, food, and feed grade barley with grain that has a white aleurone
Estimating the size of retained canola seed
No full textThe size of canola seed (or number of seeds per kilogram) is essential in calculating the seeding rate for the crop. The rate needs to be high enough to get good establishment and protect against pests, diseases, or other seeding issues.
To work out the seeding rate, the seed size or number of seeds per kilogram. This can be easily calculated by farmers who retained seed
Oats – essentials for growing a successful crop
No full textOats in Western Australia are grown for grain, hay, grazing, or silage. Each year, between 250,000 and 350,000 hectares are sown for grain production. This page provides essential management practices for growing a successful oat crop
Pastoral grasses and legumes as potential host plants for fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) development
No full textThe fall armyworm, Spodopterafrugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a highly polyphagous, migratory pest native to the tropical and subtropical region of Americas. Grass crops particularly corn have been most heavily impacted since S. frugiperda invaded Australia in 2020. In northern Western Australia, S. frugiperda is primarily a problem in dry season (May to October) crops when there are abundant host plants available in monocultures. During the wet season (November to April) it is not known what host plants may support larval growth and development. Accordingly, this present study undertook a no-choice feeding bioassay to assess larval and pupal development on several grasses and legumes that are present over the wet season in northern Western Australia to evaluate their potential as suitable host plants for S. frugiperda. Maize (control) and sorghum were the most suitable hosts for S. frugiperda development as they supported greater larval and pupal survival, heavier larvae and pupae, and shorter development period. Following maize and sorghum, pastoral grasses, particularly blue grass, and a weedy grass, barnyard grass, had comparable effects on larval and pupal development. Legume pastures (Cavalcade, butterfly pea, and siratro) were unsuitable hosts in this bioassay as very few larvae completed their development to adults. This study demonstrates the potential for rangeland pasture grasses and weedy grasses as wet season host plants for S. frugiperda. They provide the necessary green bridge for S. frugiperda populations to survive. It is recommended that pastoralists monitor their grass forage for S. frugiperda and consider management if significant reductions in biomass are detected
Feral pigs and their control with 1080 baiting
No full textFeral pigs are the descendants of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa), which were first brought to Australia by early European colonists. Feral pigs cause a range of agricultural and environmental damage in Western Australia (WA), so control measures are important
Powdery mildew and its management in wheat
No full textPowdery mildew is a fungal leaf disease that reduces yield and grain quality in susceptible wheat varieties. Disease is both stubble-borne and carried over on green bridge (secondary spread by wind borne spores). It has multiple, fast life cycles in a growing season and can be difficult to control once established. The best approach is an integrated disease management strategy.
With wheat area in Western Australia dominated by susceptible varieties, such as Scepter, powdery mildew remains a concern for growers statewide and has been particularly persistent and damaging in the Esperance Port Zone
Are you planting resistant weeds with your crop seed?
No full textKey messages
• West Australian (WA) grain growers have significant weed seed contamination in their crop seed.
• WA growers are sowing herbicide resistant weed seed into their cropping paddocks.
• Crop hygiene (harvest, seeding, transporting) is important to minimise spread of weeds.
Harvest is well underway throughout the WA grainbelt, and growers will be harvesting grain and collecting seed for next year’s crop.
However, this crop seed can be contaminated with weed seeds and, if seed cleaning operations are only partially effective, this weed seed may be sown into paddocks with crop seed in the following season
Lure specificity, phenology, and damage caused by Epiphyas moths (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Western Australian apple orchards
No full textMultiple Epiphyas species inhabit southwestern Western Australia, including Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a globally significant, polyphagous pest. This study evaluated the efficacy and specificity of lures designed for 3 Epiphyas species: E. postvittana, Epiphyas pulla (Turner), and the undescribed Epiphyas sp. (1) (Common). Additionally, the study sought to determine the presence and distribution of Epiphyas species in 3 significant apple-growing localities. Trapping, together with partial sequencing of the mitochondrial COI gene, found LBAM to be restricted to the Perth Hills and E. pulla, to apple orchards near Manjimup and Pemberton. This geographic disjunction remains unexplained. Epiphyas sp. (1) was not recorded despite using a specifically designed lure. The E. pulla and LBAM traps demonstrated superior efficacy in capturing their target species, while the catch in Epiphyas sp. (1) traps did not significantly differ between the 2. Both E. pulla and LBAM exhibited peak abundance from late spring to the end of summer (October–February), with variations in timing and peak catch of male moths across species, locations, and years. Surveys conducted in April during the harvest period (February–May), when moth traps caught an average of 1–1.8 moths/trap/week, found no Epiphyas larvae or damage on 140,400 mature apples or on 26,000 leaves. While E. pulla and LBAM traps effectively monitor their target moths, genetic identification of trap catch would be necessary if they co-occurred. Encouragingly, the results indicate that both species become relatively rare as harvest season approaches, and neither inflicts significant damage to mature apples under existing management
Overcoming barriers to climate-smart agriculture in South Asia
No full textDespite the promise of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to improve food security in South Asia, most CSA practices and technologies have not been widely adopted. We identify the key barriers to CSA adoption in South Asia and suggest strategies to overcome them to increase CSA adoption at scale
AI-ready datasets for proof-of-concept weed detection using drones
No full textHigh throughput surveillance is often the key to success of weed eradication programs, particularly for those inconspicuous in the landscape. Although remote sensing would be preferred to address this problem, it can be challenging and costly.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and becoming readily accessible, allowing to solve problems previously unsolvable with alternative methods, especially image analysis on diverse conditions, or surrounding environment variability.
This paper presents the process to plan, create, and manage imagery datasets for the detection of two declared species under eradication: skeleton weed (Chondrilla juncea) and rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) in Western Australia. It is currently implemented employing open-source software for annotating imagery, training detection models, and performing data versioning and experiment tracking.
This low-cost process enables Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within weed managing agencies to be intrinsically involved in developing high-quality datasets and model prediction results. This feedback process improves model’s predictive output, helping achieve eradication goals and allowing to keep up with the rapid innovations in AI developments