Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia
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Fisheries Occasional Publication No.146 - Yabbie Aquaculture in Western Australia, March 2024
No full textPolicy relating to the assessment of yabbie aquaculture proposals and principles for assessmenthttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fr_fop/1061/thumbnail.jp
Maggots cannot live on meat meal alone: production parameters for mass rearing of the ovoviviparous blowfly, Calliphora dubia (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
No full textThis study determined a cost-effective larval diet for rearing Calliphora dubia Macquart for use as a potential managed pollinator in Australia. This fly has potential as a pollination species to support honey bees (Apis mellifera). Larvae of C. dubia were reared mostly in meat meals with varying amounts of either whole egg powder, whole eggs (+ shell), bran flakes, skimmed milk powder, brewer’s yeast, or poultry oil. This was done from an economic and production perspective to support commercial rearing. Several laboratory-based studies determined the growth and output from various ingredient combinations. Larvae fed 90% meat meal and 10% whole egg powder developed rapidly through to pupation with a high pupation rate, adult size, and percent adult emergence. Given the high cost and difficulty in sourcing whole egg powder, media comprising mostly meat meals with the addition of bran flakes and whole eggs also supported rapid larval development, pupation rate, and adult emergence. The ideal amount of media/larvae was 0.5 g/larvae to support high pupation rates and adult emergence. Adult eclosion occurred over 4–5 days, even when larvae were laid and fed within 1 h on ample media. Commercial mass rearing would then require daily cohorts of larvae to ensure peak adult fly emergence over 1–2 days for release into a crop. Mass-rearing C. dubia should use meat meal as the base ingredient with bran flakes and whole eggs added and fed at 0.5 g of media/larvae. Based on the current media ingredient costs, rearing 1-m adult C. dubia would cost just over 342)
Trends in catch rates of sawfish on the Australian North West Shelf
No full textNorthwestern Australia is thought to have some of the world’s last remaining viable sawfish populations, although little quantitative data exists on their status or trends. This study examined 17 years of logbook bycatch records (n = 815) for green sawfish Pristis zijsron and narrow sawfish Anoxypristis cuspidata from a trawl fishery operating on the Australian North West Shelf. Incidental sawfish captures by the fishery are rare, occurring approximately once every 75 trawls (~199 trawl hours). To standardize catch rates and account for excess zeros in the data, we employed generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSSs) using a zero-inflated Poisson distribution.
For green sawfish, catch rates approximately doubled over the study period, while an oscillating trend was observed for narrow sawfish catch rates.
Reported captures occurred throughout the management boundaries of the fishery, which operates in mid-shelf waters from 48 to 121 m. A weak seasonal signal in catch rates was detected for both species, with the highest capture numbers occurring during autumn-winter, consistent with an expected inshore migration for parturition during spring-summer. Logbook trends were partly corroborated by independently verified data collected in a subset of years, which also showed an increasing proportion of green sawfish in the catch.
Our findings emphasize the importance of sawfish populations in northwestern Australia within the context of global conservation efforts for this taxon
What is the best fit for electric weed control in Australia?
No full textElectric weed control is a non-chemical weed management alternative that will apply to a range of agricultural systems. The current project assessed electric weed control via the continuous electrode-plant contact method (using a Zasso™ XPower).
A wide range of field trials in 2022 and 2023 investigated weed control efficiency, suitability of electric weed control for fence line control of glyphosate-resistant annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.), use for crop topping, fire risk, damage to the soil biota, or use for inter-row weed control in vineyards or lupin crops. Broadleaf weeds were controlled more effectively than grass weeds with electric weed control, although control of mature grasses like kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus Hochst. ex Chiov.) was still comparable to that achieved using herbicide. Likewise, electric weed control of glyphosate-resistant annual ryegrass was comparable to control by non selective herbicide (paraquat+diquat). There was a fire risk from electric weed control on completely dry plant residue, but there were zero fires when using the unit for field trials over winter and spring. There was no evidence of damage to the soil biota after using electric weed control (bacterial, archaea and fungal soil microbiome communities or free-living nematodes). Inter-row weed management with electric weed control caused no damage to neighboring plants. This technology has immediate applicability for controlling herbicide resistant weeds on fence lines or weed control in viticulture and horticulture crops, and future potential for inter-row weed control in broad scale grain cropping enterprises
Weed Seed Wizard case study - an early harvest versus a late harvest
No full textThe Weed Seed Wizard is a national collaborative project that uses paddock management information to predict weed emergence and crop losses now and in the future.
The Weed Seed Wizard is a computer simulation tool that: applies to all Australian grain growing areas helps growers understand and manage weed seedbanks on their farms uses farm management records to simulate how different crop rotations, weed control techniques, irrigation, grazing and harvest management tactics can affect weed numbers, the weed seedbank and yields uses farm-specific management and site-specific weather is multi-species
See www.dpird.wa.gov.au for further information on Weed Seed Wizard.
This case study considers two potential scenarios - an early harvest and a late harvest
Weed Seed Wizard scenario - herbicide resistance in wild radish in Moora, Western Australia
No full textThe Weed Seed Wizard is a national collaborative project that uses paddock management information to predict weed emergence and crop losses now and in the future.
The Weed Seed Wizard is a computer simulation tool that: applies to all Australian grain growing areas helps growers understand and manage weed seedbanks on their farms uses farm management records to simulate how different crop rotations, weed control techniques, irrigation, grazing and harvest management tactics can affect weed numbers, the weed seedbank and yields uses farm-specific management and site-specific weather is multi-species
See www.dpird.wa.gov.au for further information on Weed Seed Wizard.
This Western Australian scenario is set in Moora between 2004 and 2008 and is a barley - wheat - lupin - wheat rotation with wild radish and annual ryegrass
Weed Seed Wizard scenario - glyphosate resistance in barnyard grass in Goondiwindi, Queensland
No full textThe Weed Seed Wizard is a national collaborative project that uses paddock management information to predict weed emergence and crop losses now and in the future.
The Weed Seed Wizard is a computer simulation tool that: applies to all Australian grain growing areas helps growers understand and manage weed seedbanks on their farms uses farm management records to simulate how different crop rotations, weed control techniques, irrigation, grazing and harvest management tactics can affect weed numbers, the weed seedbank and yields uses farm-specific management and site-specific weather is multi-species
See www.dpird.wa.gov.au for further information on Weed Seed Wizard.
This Queensland scenario is set in Goondiwindi between 2005 and 2008 and is a wheat - barley - sorghum - chickpea rotation with a long fallow between barley and sorghum. The main weed is barnyard grass
Incorporation of undissolved lime from previous applications can ameliorate subsoil acidity promptly and improve crop performance on sandy soils of the semi-arid regions of Western Australia
No full textBackground and aims
Repeated surface application of lime for managing subsoil acidity is slow and ineffective, resulting in an accumulation of undissolved lime (carbonate) in the topsoil. We investigated the impact of the incorporation of undissolved lime into the subsoil to improve acidity and crop performance. Methods
The undissolved lime in 2-cm layers of topsoil (0–10 cm) from three long-term experiments in Western Australia was measured. Both limed and unlimed topsoil with the acidic subsoil of the same profile was incubated at eight incorporation rates for six weeks, followed by growing barley and wheat in the incubated soil for two weeks to assess the impact on soil acidity and crop root architecture, respectively. Furthermore, a three-year-long field experiment was conducted following strategic tillage in limed and control plots to assess the impact on soil acidity and performance of wheat, canola and barley. Results
A significant amount of undissolved lime was concentrated in the topsoil, amounting to 1.7, 1.8 and 1.3 t/ha for the limed plots at Wongan Hills, Northam and Merredin, respectively. Incubation of 5–25% topsoil after incorporation with the acidic subsoil was enough to ameliorate subsoil acidity and to improve root length density by up to 13-fold depending on undissolved lime content in topsoils and soil type. In the field experiment, the incorporation of undissolved lime also significantly improved subsoil acidity and canola performance. Conclusion
We concluded that the incorporation of topsoil containing sufficient undissolved lime with acidic subsoil may offer a quick amelioration of subsoil acidity
Genetic diversity of soybean dwarf virus in two regions of mainland Australia
No full textSoybean dwarf virus (SbDV; family Tombusviridae, genus Luteovirus, species Luteovirus glycinis) is an RNA plant virus that is transmitted solely by aphids in a persistent, circulative and non-propagative manner. SbDV causes significant losses in cultivated Fabaceae, especially in subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) pastures of mainland Australia. SbDV isolates are classified into four phenotypically distinguishable strains: YP, YS, DP, and DS. Y and D strains differ primarily in their host range, and P and S strains in their primary vector species. Genetically, Y and D strains separate into two clades in every genomic region except for the N-terminal region of the readthrough domain (N-RTD), in which P and S strains separate. SbDV diversity in Australia has yet to be investigated, so in this study, 41 isolates were collected from six different host species across two production regions of Australia: the south coast of Western Australia (‘south-west’) and northern New South Wales/southern Queensland (‘north-east’). A near-complete genome sequence of each isolate was obtained, and together with all 50 whole-genome sequences available in the GenBank database, underwent phylogenetic analysis of the whole genome nt and the N-RTD aa sequences. At the whole-genome level, the isolates separated into D and Y clades. At the N-RTD level, most of the isolates separated into P and S clades. All south-west isolates and 11 of the 31 north-east isolates were in the Y clade, and the remaining 20 north-east isolates were in the D clade. Except for one isolate that fell outside the P and S clades, all south-west and north-east isolates were in the P clade, suggesting that they are transmitted by Acyrthosiphon pisum and Myzus persicae. Available biological data largely supported the phenotypic inferences made from the phylogenetic analysis, suggesting that genetic data can provide critical epidemiological insights, provided that sufficient biological data have been collected
Key stages in the growth and maturity of field pea
No full textMany farm operations rely on a clear understanding of the stage of crop development. This factsheet describes key growth stages of field pea, which will aid growers and their advisers in determining the appropriate timing for the application of herbicides, crop-topping, swathing, and harvest.
There is likely to be considerable variability in a crop, particularly at maturity and harvest. Therefore, it is often necessary to estimate the average or majority development stage of a crop. At first, this is best done numerically, but with experience it can be done by eye