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Sheep grazing Trigonella balansae had productivity, health and meat quality similar to sheep grazing subterranean clover or French serradella
No full textContext: An accession of the annual legume Trigonella balansae Boiss. & Reuter. has been selected for commercial release in Australia.
Aims: As part of a duty-of-care assessment, we tested the hypothesis that sheep grazing the trigonella accession will have liveweight, condition scores and wool production similar to those of sheep grazing two widely adopted annual legumes, subterranean clover (subclover, Trifolium subterraneum L. cv. Dalkeith) and French serradella (Ornithopus sativus Brot. cv. Erica). We also hypothesised that sheep grazing the three legumes will have similar meat quality and health, as indicated by blood plasma panel analysis.
Methods: Wethers (n = 6) grazed plots (n = 4) of three pasture species. Liveweight, condition scores and wool growth were measured, and a subset of animals were subject to blood sampling to assess health. Consumer sensory taste analysis was used to assess meat eating quality from two sheep per plot. Forage biomass, dry-matter digestibility, crude protein, fibre, mineral content and isoflavones were measured across the plant’s lifecycle.
Key results: There were no significant differences in liveweight, wool growth, wool yield or condition score that were associated with pasture species during the grazing period. There were differences in dry-matter digestibility, minerals and crude protein content of the pastures over time. As trigonella matured, it did not meet the minimum sulfur, phosphorus, manganese, molybdenum and copper requirements for mature sheep. We found some differences in indications of animal health; however, there were no significant systematic detrimental differences between sheep grazing trigonella and the other two species. In total, 2 of 24 individual sheep grazing trigonella had more than two plasma indicators of liver damage. There were no differences in meat tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall consumer acceptability.
Conclusions: The data supported the hypotheses. Under the conditions of this experiment, the pasture legumes had the same relative feeding value. Some care must be taken in interpreting the outcome as the trigonellacomprised only 18% of the dry matter on offer at the termination of grazing.
Implications: Results of this study will be considered during the commercialisation process for T. balansae
Improving farming system profitability, management of greenhouse gas emissions and climate resilience in the low and medium rainfall zones of WA: Grower Perspectives
No full textGrowers and industry in low and medium rainfall areas of the WA grainbelt were consulted to provide insight into key decisions around early sowing, system break options and understanding of greenhouse gas emissions on-farm. In all regions, soil moisture is a primary driver of seeding decisions. This is balanced against managing the impact of heat and moisture stress in the establishment window and the risk of frost, heat stress and terminal drought during grain fill. There was widespread interest in exploring system break options that are profitable and reliable. Growers want to understand the assumptions underpinning greenhouse gas emission accounting and the systems in place to measure and reward actions towards reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Feedback from this consultation has been used to guide the focus activities of the Western Australian Farming Systems DPIRD-GRDC 5-year co-investment
Insights for climate change adaptation from early sowing of wheat in the Northern Indo-Gangetic Basin
No full textEarly sowing of wheat has been proposed as an important crop management practice for reducing the threat of terminal heat stress – a threat which is likely to increase under climate change projections for the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) of South Asia, home to more than 400 million people. However, to date there is little empirical evidence for the impacts of early sowing on productivity and profitability outcomes. Using farm survey data collected from the Northern IGB in Nepal and remotely sensed climate data, this study assesses the factors associated with farmers\u27 early sowing decisions and the impact of sowing date on wheat productivity, costs, and returns. We used a quasi-experimental approach to assess the impacts of early sowing on outcome variables. We find that early sowing enhances wheat productivity (236–241 kg/ha; 10–11%) and profitability (US$ 54–55 ha−1). However, we also find that early sowing has heterogenous effects. Large farms (\u3e0.8 ha) and wheat plots receiving higher seasonal precipitation (\u3e90 mm) have the largest expected gains in productivity and profitability. The adoption of early sowing of wheat is associated with farm size, seasonal precipitation, and farmers\u27 crop management practices such as delay in harvesting of the previous season\u27s crop. Our findings suggest that early sowing can enhance wheat productivity and profitability, and reduce risk of terminal stress, which in turn can increase the sustainability of smallholder wheat production in the IGB under forecasted climate change
PestFacts WA Issue 14 - August 2023
No full textPestFacts WA Issue 14 - August 2023 contents: Cabbage aphids have been increasing in canola Powdery mildew in multiple crop species Preventing grain staining in oats from Septoria avenae blotchhttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fc_pestfactswa/1011/thumbnail.jp
Protecting WA Crops Issue 29 - April 2023
No full textProtecting WA Crops Issue 29 - April 2023 contents: GRDC Perth Research Updates 2023 – Pathology and virology How long do sclerotinia sclerotia survive in WA? Insecticidal control of green peach aphid and turnip yellows virus: resistance threats, limitations, and future alternatives Meet Crop Protection team member – Jean Gallowayhttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fc_pwac/1002/thumbnail.jp
Protecting WA Crops Issue 33 - September 2023
No full textProtecting WA Crops Issue 33 - September 2023 contents: Aphid and Turnip Yellows Virus Management: Research Highlights Meet Crop Protection team member – Janette Pratthttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/fc_pwac/1006/thumbnail.jp
Life-history characteristics and mortality of the protogynous hermaphroditic frostback rockcod (Epinephelus bilobatus) from the eastern Indian Ocean
No full textThe frostback rockcod, Epinephelus bilobatus, is a small epinephelid (\u3c50 cm total length) with a limited distribution in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean (i.e., north-western Australia and parts of Indonesia). Although its fishery harvest in Western Australia is low (\u3c6 t year−1), its life history is not well known (i.e., reproductive biology, growth, and natural mortality) preventing assessment of its inherent vulnerability to overfishing. Samples of E. bilobatus were collected from ∼2000 km of the north-western Australian coast, comprising the Kimberley, Pilbara, and Gascoyne regions, between 2012 and 2022 to determine its life-history characteristics. Detailed histological analysis of gonads (n = 1460) identified that E. bilobatus is a monandric protogynous hermaphrodite. The length and age at which females matured was 278 mm LT and 2.5 years in the Pilbara region, and the lengths and ages at which they changed to males was 336 and 342 mm LT and 6.2 and 6.5 years in the Kimberley and Pilbara, respectively (i.e., less than 5% variation between regions). Based on histology, female E. bilobatus were in spawning condition in all months. However, the mean monthly gonadosomatic indices and proportions of developed/spawning females were highest (i.e., \u3e0.95 and 40%, respectively) for 5 months of the year (i.e., January to April and September). Marginal increment analysis confirmed the annual formation of one opaque and one translucent zone in the sagittal otoliths of this species. Epinephelus bilobatus had a moderate longevity (∼20 years) and attained a larger mean length-at-age in the cooler southern Gascoyne region compared to the more northern Kimberley and Pilbara regions. Three values of natural mortality (M) were used to assess the sensitivity of fishing mortality (F) in the Kimberley and Pilbara commercial trap fisheries, with all point estimates of F \u3c M, indicating that at the time of sampling, the harvest of this species over a long period (\u3e20 years) was sustainable for these contemporary fisheries
Aquaculture
No full textFishing and Aquaculturehttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/site_carousel/1057/thumbnail.jp
Oestrogenic subterranean clover guide. Identification and remediation
No full textSubterranean clover (subclover, Trifolium subterraneum L.) is an annual pasture legume that provides high quality feed for livestock. It is estimated to be sown over 30 million hectares across southern Australia, with cultivars developed for the low, medium and high rainfall zones. Unfortunately, some older cultivars contain high levels of phytoestrogen which can affect the reproductive system of sheep and cause other health issues. This became a significant issue for sheep producers from the 1940s as new land was cleared and sheep grazed subclover-dominant pastures. There was a collection of livestock issues observed and these were grouped together under the umbrella term of “clover disease”.https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1283/thumbnail.jp