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Weed Seed Wizard case study - Grower from Western Australia’s central wheatbelt
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 one grower in WA\u27s central wheatbelt
Rural Business Development Corporation 2024 Annual Report
No full textChair foreword
I am pleased to present the 2023-24 Annual Report of the Rural Business Development Corporation (RBDC). The role of the RBDC is to administer approved assistance schemes, carry out research and give advice to the Minister for Agriculture and Food. As a board we are deeply committed to ensuring that the Corporation is responsive to the needs of the state’s regional and rural businesses and communities.
The Corporation’s support for rural businesses in WA, principally through the administration of financial assistance, remains as vital as ever. The past year has seen many of the state’s primary producers experience challenging seasonal conditions. The RBDC is pleased to be overseeing the 2024 Drought Response Interest Free Loan Scheme on behalf of the Western Australian Government. This scheme will enable businesses to cover the costs of stockfeed, water and transportation and complements the broader package of support to farmers. The Corporation was also represented on the 2024 Dry Season Taskforce and recognised this as an effective mechanism to share information and find ways to support the agriculture industry.
The RBDC has continued to administer the Australian Carbon Credit Units Plus stream of the Carbon Farming and Land Restoration Program. The program provides financial assistance for carbon farming projects that deliver Australian Carbon Credit Units in addition to one or more of the program’s five priority co-benefits. These include biodiversity and conservation, agricultural productivity, soil health, salinity mitigation and Aboriginal economic and cultural outcomes. With the third round of the program launched earlier in the year, it has been pleasing to see strong interest from the industry in new carbon farming projects.
I wish to acknowledge the contributions made by my fellow RBDC directors to the development of rural and regional intelligence and independent advice to support the minister.
I particularly wish to thank departing Director, Ms Tara Chambers, for her enthusiastic and pragmatic support to our operations since joining the board in 2019. I welcome the appointment of Ms Sue Middleton, who joined the board in 2023, and brings significant experience across agribusiness and regional development.
I thank the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Heather Brayford, for her close working relationship with the board and acknowledge the support provided to the RBDC from across the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Over the coming year the RBDC will be closely overseeing our current programs and continuing to examine opportunities for new supports to the industry. We will maintain our focus on collaboration with a range of key stakeholders to inform our advice to the Western Australian Government.
Andrew Clark Chai
Transcriptome-wide genetic variations in the legume genus Leucaena for fingerprinting and breeding
No full textLeucaena is a versatile legume shrub/tree used as tropical livestock forage and in timber industries, but it is considered a high environmental weed risk due to its prolific seed production and broad environmental adaptation. Interspecific crossings between Leucaena species have been used to create non-flowering or sterile triploids that can display reduced weediness and other desirable traits for broad use in forest and agricultural settings. However, assessing the success of the hybridisation process before evaluating the sterility of putative hybrids in the target environment is advisable. Here, RNA sequencing was used to develop breeding markers for hybrid parental identification in Leucaena. RNA-seq was carried out on 20 diploid and one tetraploid Leucaena taxa, and transcriptome-wide unique genetic variants were identified relative to a L. trichandra draft genome. Over 16 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 0.8 million insertions and deletions (indels) were mapped. These sequence variations can differentiate all species of Leucaena from one another, and a core set of about 75,000 variants can be genetically mapped and transformed into genotyping arrays/chips for the conduction of population genetics, diversity assessment, and genome-wide association studies in Leucaena. For genetic fingerprinting, more than 1500 variants with even allele frequencies (0.4–0.6) among all species were filtered out for marker development and testing in planta. Notably, SNPs were preferable for future testing as they were more accurate and displayed higher transferability within the genus than indels. Hybridity testing of ca. 3300 putative progenies using SNP markers was also more reliable and highly consistent with the field observations. The developed markers pave the way for rapid, accurate, and cost-effective diversity assessments, variety identification and breeding selection in Leucaena
Characterisation of common hypothetical surface peptides between protozoan parasites (Perkinsus olseni) originating from different geographical locations
No full textPerkinsus olseni and P. marinus are classified as notifiable pathogens by the World Organisation for Animal Health and are known to cause perkinsosis in a variety of molluscs globally. Mass mortalities due to these parasites in farms and in the wild have been a recurrent issue. Diagnosis for these protozoans is currently done using Ray’s fluid thioglycollate medium method followed by optical microscopy or molecular assays. Both require a high level of skill and are time-consuming. An immunoassay method would make the diagnosis of perkinsosis quicker and cheaper. The present study used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to investigate common hypothetical surface peptides between different geographical isolates of P. olseni, which could be used to develop immunoassays in the future. Two peptides were identified: POLS_08089, which is a 42.7 kDa peptide corresponding to the 60S ribosomal subunit protein L4; and POLS_15916, which is a conserved hypothetical protein of 55.6 kDa. The identification of peptides may allow the development of immunoassays through a more targeted approach
Hay – essentials for growing a successful crop
No full textExport hay fits into most of the accepted cropping rotations and helps reduce weed seed banks, overcome herbicide resistance, provides a break from traditional chemical regimes and good paddock preparation for the subsequent crop, and is an alternative profitable crop.
Talk to your local hay exporter about their requirements for hay produced for export before sowing oats for export hay. Hay exporters have different requirements, which will affect how you manage your crop
Tar vine and its management
No full textTar vine (Boerhavia coccinea) is a common summer weed species that depletes soil moisture and nutrients, reducing the yield potential of the subsequent crop. It also acts as a green bridge for crop pests and disease
Soil inversion to ameliorate soil water repellence
No full textOne-off soil inversion results in the burial of the water repellent topsoil in a layer that is typically a depth of 15 to 35 cm and brings to the surface a layer of wettable subsoil.
Other benefits include burial of herbicide resistant weed seeds, removal of compaction, improved access to nutrients, reduced disease risk, and incorporation of soil amendments such as lime.
Soil inversion should always be done when the soil is wet to more than the depth of inversion, and a crop or cover can be sown to reduce the risk of wind erosion.
Caution - Deep cultivation can increase the risk of wind and water erosion. Inversion tillage can also increase the efficacy and residual damage of some herbicides, resulting in crop damage.
Deep soil mixing and soil inversion using rotary spaders, large offset discs, mouldboards, and one-way ploughs typically removes all soil cover and completely loosens the soil to the depth of operation. This results in a high risk of wind and water erosion, especially when the soil is dry
European wasp information for local government
No full textThe department’s European wasp surveillance and eradication program is a yearly campaign, aimed at detecting the presence of this destructive pest as early as possible so that nests can be found and eradicated.
The continued success of European wasp surveillance and eradication program relies on surveillance in metropolitan Perth and regional areas, strong community awareness, and participation between residents, business owners, community groups, industry, and government
Recreational fishers’ attitudes to fisheries management and compliance
No full textRecreational fisheries policy decisions have social and ecological outcomes that depend on whether regulations are understood and meet expectations, which in turn enhances compliance. This study investigates perceptions of management and compliance among boat-based recreational fishers in Western Australia with consideration of demography (age, residence) and fishing behaviour (avidity, bioregion fished). Most respondents considered themselves to be informed about rules governing their fishing and there was strong support for current input and output controls, including area and seasonal closures and possession and size limits. There was less support for alternative regulations that are not currently in practice, such as annual catch or effort limits, particularly among avid fishers. There was high support for minimising illegal fishing and using penalties to ensure fishers follow regulations. Relative to infrequent participants, avid fishers had greater awareness of prosecutions for illegal fishing and were more supportive of prosecution and suspensions for illegally selling recreationally caught fish. There was near unanimous agreement that prosecution and suspensions were appropriate for obstructing or assaulting a fisheries officer whilst performing their duty. This study demonstrates an approach to understand views on fisheries policy and identify target audiences that may need deeper engagement to understand benefits of management decisions
Minimum standards of maturity for table grapes 2024-2025
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 refractomete