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Ecological risk assessment for the Western Australian sea cucumber resource
No full textIn April 2024, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Department) convened an ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the fisheries that access the Western Australian Sea Cucumber Resource, which comprises a range of species from the class Holothuroidea. This document contains background information used to support the ERA risk scoring process, along with the scores from the workshop and a summary of the workshop discussions that were relevant to the scoring. This includes an overview of commercial fisheries that access the Resource, focusing primarily on the WA Sea Cucumber Fishery, and one fishing authorisation issued under the Aboriginal Community Fishing Licence Policy. This report also includes information about the recreational and charter fisheries that access the Resource, as well as the illegal fishing sector. The Department conducts ERAs as part of its Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management framework. Accordingly, this ERA considered the potential ecological impacts of harvesting the Resource including impacts on all relevant retained and bycatch (non-retained) species, endangered, threatened and protected species, aquatic habitats and the broader environment. Risk scores were based on available scientific information and expert knowledge. The assessment conforms to the AS/NZS ISO 31000 risk management standard, and to the methodology adopted by the Department, which uses a consequence-likelihood analysis for estimating risk. A broad range of stakeholders were invited to participate in the ERA workshop, including representatives of the commercial fishing sector, State and Commonwealth Government agencies, the conservation sector, universities, and Department staff including fisheries managers, scientists, compliance officers and biosecurity personnel. In this ERA, thirty-two ecological components were scored for risk. The vast majority (27) of ecological components were evaluated as low, negligible or zero risks, which do not require any specific control measures. There was one medium risk, which was assessed as acceptable under the current monitoring regime and control measures that will be in place over the next five years. One component was not assessed due to lack of information. The following three components were scored as high risks: i) the sandfish stock in the Kimberley region, ii) green turtle breeding populations in the Kimberley region, and iii) translocation of pest species via boats/gear. These high risks were due to the impact of foreign fishing vessels that are presently engaged in illegal harvesting of the Resource in the Kimberley region. A new assessment of Kimberley sandfish biomass based on fishery-independent surveys is scheduled for late 2024. This will help to understand the impact of illegal fishing on the Kimberley sandfish stock. No component was scored as a severe risk. It is recommended that the risks be reviewed in five years
Rabbit fencing to protect crops and pastures
No full textThis factsheet outlines the use of fencing to protect crops and pasture from rabbits.
Rabbits cause an estimated loss of $217 million each year to Australian agricultural production and cause significant environmental damage. In Western Australia (WA), areas of native vegetation, particularly on sandy ridges that would otherwise be subject to wind erosion, have been retained on farms. Bush remnants are a major refuge habitat for rabbits, which can cause considerable damage to nearby pastures and crops. A measure of rabbit control can be achieved by poisoning around bush remnants in late summer or autumn, prior to seeding. To be effective, this approach usually needs to be repeated annually. Rabbit densities and resulting crop and pasture losses can still be unacceptably high unless any remaining rabbits are removed. Clearing bush remnants to eradicate the resident rabbit populations is not an acceptable option and clearing permits are required before native vegetation can be destroyed. Bush remnants have intrinsic conservation value, and some are located along protected road reserve
Claying to ameliorate soil water repellence
No full textClaying involves adding and incorporating clay-rich subsoil into water repellent topsoil to overcome the repellence. Adding clay-rich soil provides a long-term solution to soil water repellence, and increases soil water holding capacity, reduces wind erosion risk, and may reduce frost risk.
Claying is best suited to medium to high rainfall environments in Western Australia, with higher crop and pasture yield potential
The de-domestication of Ornithopus sativus Brot. to develop cultivars with physical dormancy (hardseed)
No full textOrnithopus sativus Brot. (French serradella) is a forage legume that is well adapted to acidic coarse textured soils (sands) which are characterized by poor nutrition and an inability to retain water. During the process of domestication of O. sativus, there was an unintentional loss of seed physical dormancy (PY) thus compromising its self-regeneration after a cropping interval. Through mass screening of seed, we identified for the first time that heritable sources of PY exist in three populations of O. sativus. This rare genetic material was then incorporated into suitable genetic backgrounds of differing maturity through targeted hybridization. We demonstrated that the heritability of PY was dominant in the population of 97ZAF5sat but inconsistently recessive in the population of cv. Emena. Flowering time was variable in each source population, with a large variation in time to emergence of first flowers (95–175 days). Selection for early flowering maturity was heritable and stable. F6 generations selected for PY in different maturity classes were then evaluated in situ to establish whether PY would allow a proportion of seeds to survive in the soil through consecutive seasons exposed to a Mediterranean climate. The breeding lines FHS3, 7 and 23 remained dormant, thus viable, in the soil for up to 3 years, indicating the likelihood that O. sativus with PY could survive and persist in a ley farming system. The de-domestication program in O. sativus has resulted in commercially successful cultivars (most recently cv. Fran2o) suited to sustainable dryland agriculture in a Mediterranean climate
Sheep worm control in WA
No full textEffective, sustainable control of sheep worms involves a combination of planned stock and farm management, monitoring worm burdens using faecal worm egg counts (WEC), strategic timing of drenches and the genetic selection of worm resistant sheep.
Levels of drench resistance of sheep worms in WA are some of the highest in the world and without resistance management action at individual farm level, it will continue to worsen and spread.
Although effective drench options are generally available, many sheep owners are unaware that resistance has reduced the effectiveness of worm control programs, and this can affect profitable sheep production
Bedstraw Eradication Program 2023-24: Annual report
No full textThe Bedstraw Eradication Program operates under the Biosecurity and Agricultural Management Industry Funding Scheme (Grains) Regulations 2010.
Approved Plans developed annually for each infested property in consultation with the Grains, Seeds and Hay Industry Management Committee (GSHIMC), the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the landholders detail management actions, estimated costs and timeframes of agreed actions. DPIRD implements the Program which includes 6 consecutive years of winter spray treatments, followed by a 3-year release protocol and post-eradication monitoring phase. Machinery inspections, quarantining, landholder compliance winter spraying and end of season double-knock herbicide treatments form the key components of the Approved Program
Control small weeds in crops
No full textIn an integrated weed management program, control of weeds should occur in the fallow, pre-sowing, early post-emergent, and in-pasture phases. Weed control can be achieved through killing weeds (particularly seedlings) with cultivation, herbicides, targeted weed control in wide-row cropping, targeted control of small patches of weeds, and biological control tactics
Significance of honeybee pollination in increasing seed yield of Trifolium alexandrinum (Fabales: Fabaceae) and its impact on economic sustainability of smallholder farmers
No full textA major limitation to producing high seed yields in berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is failure to set seed, predominantly due to lack of pollination. Despite the importance of berseem clover as a leading forage legume, the contribution of pollinators to seed set is scarce. In Pakistan, the honeybee population is declining mainly because of the extensive use of neonicotinoid pesticides and habitat fragmentation. This, combined with the region’s harsh environment and the use of inferior, locally bred genotypes, has resulted in low seed yields. Insufficient seed availability leads to limited forage supply, resulting in poor livestock nutrition, which subsequently impacts livestock health and productivity, and reduces farmers’ income. The present study estimated the seed production of 3 berseem clover genotypes resulting from honeybees [Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)] pollination in 2 growing seasons (2012–2014) in the central Punjab region of Pakistan. Experiments had 2 pollination treatments (open pollination and honeybee inclusion) and 3 seed genotypes, viz. farmer own-saved, market, and the improved variety cultivars. For both growing seasons, honeybee pollination resulted in significant increases in seed yields ranging from 35% to 67%, regardless of seed genotype. With the exception of the number of seed heads/m2, all seed yield parameters also increased significantly in response to honeybee inclusion. The combination of improved variety and honeybee inclusion resulted in the production of a maximum number of seeds per head (45.3), 1,000-seed weight (3.7 g), and estimated seed yield (375.5 kg/ha). In addition, the increase in estimated net income of seed ranged from PKR 82,485 Rs/ha (US1728/ha) with the use of honeybees as an insect pollinator across all the seed genotypes. Honeybee pollination has broader implications for mixed farming systems by playing a key role in preserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable agriculture. It also enhances the quality and quantity of berseem crops by increasing the production of high-quality seeds and forage leading to improved livestock productivity and family food security which strengthens the economic resilience of rural communities
Ord River Irrigation Area Strategy 2024-34
No full textThe ORIA Strategy 2024–34 sets a collective 10-year vision, identifying key areas for focus as well as defining key roles and responsibilities to drive the achievement of this vision.
It provides direction for government to continue to work alongside and support industry and the community to achieve positive development outcomes. As such, it has been developed in consultation with key stakeholders across local industry, Traditional Owners and community groups
Pangenome and pantranscriptome as the new reference for gene-family characterization: A case study of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) genes in barley
No full textGenome-wide identification and comparative gene-family analyses have commonly been performed to investigate species-specific evolution linked to various traits and molecular pathways. However, most previous studies have been limited to gene screening in a single reference genome, failing to account for the gene presence/absence variations (gPAVs) in a species. Here, we propose an innovative pangenome-based approach for gene-family analyses based on orthologous gene groups (OGGs). Using the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor family in barley as an example, we identified 161–176 bHLHs in 20 barley genomes, which can be classified into 201 OGGs. These 201 OGGs were further classified into 140 core, 12 softcore, 29 shell, and 20 line-specific/cloud bHLHs, revealing the complete profile of bHLH genes in barley. Using a genome-scanning approach, we overcame the genome annotation bias and identified an average of 1.5 un-annotated core bHLHs per barley genome. We found that whole-genome/segmental duplicates are predominant mechanisms contributing to the expansion of most core/softcore bHLHs, whereas dispensable bHLHs are more likely to result from small-scale duplication events. Interestingly, we noticed that the dispensable bHLHs tend to be enriched in the specific subfamilies SF13, SF27, and SF28, implying the potentially biased expansion of specific bHLHs in barley. We found that 50% of the bHLHs contain at least 1 intact transposon element (TE) within the 2-kb upstream-to-downstream region. bHLHs with copy-number variations (CNVs) have 1.48 TEs on average, significantly more than core bHLHs without CNVs (1.36), supporting a potential role of TEs in bHLH expansion. Analyses of selection pressure showed that dispensable bHLHs have experienced clear relaxation of selection compared with core bHLHs, consistent with their conservation patterns. We also integrated the pangenome data with recently available barley pantranscriptome data from 5 tissues and discovered apparent transcriptional divergence within and across bHLH subfamilies. We conclude that pangenome-based gene-family analyses can better describe the previously untapped, genuine evolutionary status of bHLHs and provide novel insights into bHLH evolution in barley. We expect that this study will inspire similar analyses in many other gene families and species