DPIRD Digital Library
Not a member yet
10818 research outputs found
Sort by
1080 baiting information for pet owners
No full textA must for pest control, but a risk to domestic pets.
1080 is the brand name given to the chemical compound sodium monofluoroacetate. It is the synthetically produced sodium salt of fluoroacetate and produced as a white powder which is odorless and tasteless to humans. 1080 has been developed for incorporating into various bait formulations for the control of vertebrate pests including wild dogs, foxes, feral cats, and feral pigs
Land systems, soils and vegetation survey of the southern Goldfields and Great Western Woodlands of Western Australia
No full textThe southern Goldfields region is ecologically significant as it closely aligns with the Great Western Woodlands– the world’s largest intact Mediterranean-climate woodland ecosystem, dominated by Eucalyptus species and encompassing diverse mosaics of woodlands, mallee, shrubland, and grassland. The region has been subjected to significant ecological perturbations since European colonisation. Despite multiple land-use pressures on a unique environment, the region is the last large area in Western Australia (WA) to be comprehensively surveyed for biophysical resource condition to promote sustainable use.
This survey presents a comprehensive assessment of the biophysical environment of WA\u27s southern Goldfields region, covering 151,753 km². The survey maps land systems and refines soil-landscape zones at 1:250,000 scale. The accompanying report describes the geomorphology, soils and vegetation, offering new insights and revisions to existing physiographic data.
The survey advances prior studies by refining mapping in alignment with WA and national standards, thereby providing consistency in data presentation and analysis across regional and national scales and complementing the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia. This survey’s integration into WA’s hierarchical soil landscape mapping system enables data describing the southern Goldfields to be interpreted within broader regional, statewide, and national contexts.
Key contributions are: complete biophysical mapping that meets national and state standards a multidisciplinary explanation of key aspects of landscape evolution revised physiographic mapping that reveals patterns of erosion, deposition, and landscape maturity defining 101 land systems and 88 habitat types that summarise key elements of landform, geology, geomorphology, soil and vegetation characteristics.
The survey’s hierarchical mapping framework and associated biophysical information provides comprehensive baseline data and improves understanding of the region’s ecological processes and environmental pressures. It thus constitutes a valuable resource for agencies, companies, and individuals involved in strategic land-use planning, land management, monitoring, conservation and rehabilitation, and the sustainable use of rangeland habitats across the southern Goldfields region
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
Resource Assessment Report No.6: Western Rock Lobster Resource - 2025 update assessment
No full textExecutive Summary
The western rock lobster (WRL) fishery is considered sustainable with catches being slightly below those associated with the maximum economic yield (MEY) proxy (39% harvest rate), which ensures the large lobster biomass and economical catch rates are maintained. The marine environment continues to be the biggest driver in stock dynamics with post larval recruitment (puerulus) and adult behaviour, including catchability, strongly influenced by oceanic conditions. Recent seasons have seen strong Leeuwin Currents and warm ocean conditions. Over the past few seasons, puerulus settlement levels have been below average at numerous locations and it has been almost 10 years since there was a coast wide above average “spike” in puerulus settlement (2016). The spatial distribution of fishing suggests a possible southward concentration of the lobster stock with the northern end of Zone B potentially showing some signs of reduced productivity. This may be a short-term anomaly or part of a longer-term climate driven progression.
For the 2024/25 fishing season multiple lines of evidence indicate that the WRL resource is at an acceptable level of depletion (LOW risk of unacceptable stock depletion).
This assessment is based on empirical data from the commercial and recreational fisheries, fishery independent surveys and stock assessment models. In summary: Catch and effort data do not indicate a high level of lobster depletion in any region of the fishery. Catch rates remain well above historical levels throughout the fishery. The size composition of lobster measured through multiple surveys does not indicate a high level of lobster depletion in any region. Fishery independent recruitment surveys do indicate a recent period of below average recruitment, but this is most likely associated with unfavourable environmental conditions. Fishery independent surveys indicate that breeding biomass is well above historic levels throughout the fishery. A data moderate (Level 4) fishery wide model estimates that the resource is not over-fished and over-fishing is not occurring. The fine spatial and temporal scale (Level 5) integrated model estimates legal biomass and egg production are well above historic levels and harvest rates are below that used as a proxy for MEY (39%). A continuation of the current TACC (6800 t) will maintain high biomass levels throughout the fishery over the following five fishing seasons
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
An Australian chickpea pan-genome provides insights intogenome organization and offers opportunities for enhancing drought adaptation for crop improvement
No full textSummary
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important legume crop that has been subjected to intensive breeding, resulting in limited genetic diversity. Australia is the world’s second largest producer and the leading exporter of chickpea; the genomic architecture of its cultivars remains largely unexplored. This knowledge gap hinders efforts to enhance their genetic potential for production, protection, and stress adaptation. To address this, we generated high-quality genome assemblies and annotations for 15 leading Australian chickpea cultivars using single-tube long-fragment read technology. The pan-genome analysis identified 34 345 gene families, including 13 986 dispensable families enriched for genes associated with key agronomic traits. Comparative genomic analysis revealed ~2.5 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, nearly 200 000 insertions/deletions, and over 280 000 structural variations. These variations were found in key flowering time genes, seed weight-related genes, and disease resistance genes, providing insights into the genetic diversity underlying these critical traits. Haplotype analysis of key genes within the ‘QTL-hotspot’ region revealed the absence of superior haplotypes in Australian cultivars. Validation using Kompetitive allele-specific PCR markers confirmed these findings, highlighting the need to introduce beneficial haplotypes from diverse accessions to enhance drought tolerance in Australian chickpea cultivars. The genomic resources generated in this study provide valuable insights into chickpea genetic diversity and offer potential avenues for crop improvemen
Fisheries Management Paper No.286: Western Australian Octopus Resource Harvest Strategy
No full textHarvest strategies for Western Australia’s (WA) aquatic resources are formal documents developed to support decision-making processes that ensure the outcomes are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD; Fletcher 2002a) and Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM; Fletcher et al. 2012). Harvest strategies are a key component of all contemporary fishery management systems and a requirement for certification under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objectives of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA).
This Octopus Resource Harvest Strategy (Harvest Strategy) has been developed and revised in line with the Harvest Strategy Policy for Aquatic Resources (Department of Fisheries 2015; Fletcher et al. 2016) and is consistent with relevant national harvest strategy policies and guidelines (e.g. Sloan et al. 2014; Department of Agriculture and Water Resources 2018a, b). It establishes the specific set of decision rules that determine the appropriate harvest levels for all sectors to meet the ecological, economic and social objectives established for the resource.
The publication of this Harvest Strategy is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of the Octopus Resource transparent and provide a basis for informed dialogue on management actions with resource users and other stakeholders (Department of Fisheries 2015).
The Harvest Strategy provides guidance for decision-makers but does not derogate from or limit the exercise of discretion required for independent decision-making by the Minister for Fisheries, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, the Department)
Lethal and sublethal effects of cotton expressing single and pyramided proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) on Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
No full textThe susceptibility to proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) can vary among lepidopteran pest species. While Bollgard 3 cotton (BG3) effectively controls the primary pest Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in Australia, its effectiveness against other pests, such as Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) and Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), is unknown. This laboratory study assessed the survival and development of H. armigera, S. litura, and S. frugiperda larvae when fed foliage from a non-transgenic cotton variety (CC) and 3 transgenic cotton varieties: Bollgard (BG1) expressing Cry1Ac, Bollgard II (BG2) expressing Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab, and Bollgard 3 (BG3) expressing Cry1Ac, Cry2Ab, and Vip3A. Pyramided Bt cotton had greater negative effects on survival and development of all species compared with CC or BG1. The proportion of H. armigera that eclosed as adults was very low when larvae fed on BG2 or BG3 compared with BG1. Eclosion rates of S. litura and S. frugiperda on BG3 were much lower compared with BG2 and BG1. This study demonstrates that BG3 has greater efficacy against a wider lepidopteran pest complex compared with previous Bt cotton products. Despite efficacy in the laboratory, S. litura larvae are reported to be surviving in BG3 fields, suggesting other factors are influencing field efficacy. As BG3 production expands across tropical northern Australia, preserving the susceptibility of S. litura and S. frugiperda to BG3 proteins is crucial. This study identifies the need for further research on field survival and resistance management strategies for secondary pest species
Citrus gall wasp control
No full textCitrus gall wasp (Bruchophagus fellis) is an Australian native insect from northern NSW and Queensland and is now established in most Perth suburbs. It affects all citrus species, particularly lemons and grapefruit, and will be an ongoing pest to manage for Perth gardeners, like other common pests. It has not been found in commercial citrus orchards in Western Australia yet
Rural Business Development Corporation Annual Report 2024-25
No full textIn this report, the Rural Business Development Corporation is referred to as ‘the Corporation’ or ‘the RBDC’. The RBDC is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia (WA), established under the Rural Business Development Corporation Act 2000 (Act). The Act preserved and continued the body corporate established by the Rural Adjustment and Finance Corporation Act 1993.
What we do
The RBDC administers approved assistance schemes on behalf of the WA Government for the benefit of rural industry and regional communities. Approved schemes may provide financial assistance by way of loans, grants, or other financial incentives. The Act allows the RBDC to administer assistance schemes that are approved by both the Minister for Agriculture and Food and the Treasurer. The RBDC can also provide advice to the Minister on a range of rural issues. The RBDC works with farmers, fishers and foresters, and liaises with industry organisations and other stakeholders to ensure evidence supports its advice and actions. The RBDC supports viable and sustainable primary producers and small businesses in rural and regional WA