Improving fertiliser management: redefining the relationship between soil tests and crop responses for wheat in WA

Most soils in Western Australia (WA) are highly weathered with very low levels of phosphorus. WA soils initially contained adequate indigenous soil potassium for cropping but removal of potassium over time in harvested grain has gradually resulted in the some soils becoming potassium-deficient for grain production. Fertiliser costs represent a significant part of the variable costs of growing crops in WA. Chen et al. (2009) identified the need for updated soil test interpretations due to substantial changes in farming systems, fertiliser practices and crop yield potential. The aims of this study were (1) to compile experimental data containing the standard soil test measurements and observed wheat crop yield responses for both nil and fertilised treatments across different soil types and seasons from published or unpublished sources, and (2) to critically analyse soil test-crop response relationships to derive better critical soil test values in soils and environments suitable for wheat grain production in WA

Cultivation and use of bryophytes as experimental material

Bryophytes can be grown successfully if keptmoist, supplied with nutrients, and out of direct sunlight. They remain greener on peat than on sand. However, difficulties were encountered when attempting to grow mosses and liverworts in an unshaded glasshouse, in spring and summer. Even spraying hourly with water did not prevent scorching and desiccation. Growth can be measured using a variety of techniques; height measurement and shoot elongation from thread markers proved the most reliabl

Epitaxial growth and surface reconstruction of CrSb(0001)

Smooth CrSb(0001) films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on MnSb(0001) – GaAs(111) substrates. CrSb(0001) shows (2 × 2), triple domain (1 × 4) and (√3×√3)R30° reconstructed surfaces as well as a (1 × 1) phase. The dependence of reconstruction on substrate temperature and incident fluxes is very similar to MnSb(0001)

Seed Phosphorus in cereals and lupins.

Experiment 89SC21, effect of seed origin and seed phosphorus on growth of wheat. Experiment 89SC23, effect of seed phosphorus, seed size and seeding density on the growth of wheat at two soil P levels. Experiment 89GL32, effect of solution P supply on the early growth and nodulation of lupins grown from seed with three levels of P. Experiment 89GL33, effect of soil P supply on the early growth and nodulation of lupins. Experiment 89SC20, effect of seed origin and seed phosphorus on growth of lupins

Non-thermal Origin of the EUV and Soft X-rays from the Coma Cluster - Cosmic Rays in Equipartition with the Thermal Medium

The role of cosmic rays (CR) in the formation and evolution of clusters of galaxies has been much debated. It may well be related to other fundamental questions, such as the mechanism which heats and virializes the intracluster medium (ICM), and the frequency at which the ICM is shocked. There is now compelling evidence both from the cluster soft excess (CSE) and the `hard-tail' emissions at energies above 10 keV, that many clusters are luminous sources of inverse-Compton (IC) emission. This is the first direct measurement of cluster CR: the technique is free from our uncertainties in the ICM magnetic field, and is not limited to the small subset of clusters which exhibit radio halos. The CSE emitting electrons fall within a crucial decade of energy where they have the least spectral evolution, and where most of the CR pressure resides. However their survival times do not date them back to the relic CR population. By using the CSE data of the Coma cluster, we demonstrate that the CR are energetically as important as the thermal ICM: the two components are in pressure equiparition. Thus, contrary to previous expectations, CR are a dominant component of the ICM, and their origin and effects should be explored. The best-fit CR spectral index is in agreement with the Galactic value.Comment: ApJ accepted; 10 pages LaTeX; 2 figures and 1 table in PostScrip

Advanced solar concentrator mass production, operation, and maintenance cost assessment

The object of this assessment was to estimate the costs of the preliminary design at: production rates of 100 to 1,000,000 concentrators per year; concentrators per aperture diameters of 5, 10, 11, and 15 meters; and various receiver/power conversion package weights. The design of the cellular glass substrate Advanced Solar Concentrator is presented. The concentrator is an 11 meter diameter, two axis tracking, parabolic dish solar concentrator. The reflective surface of this design consists of inner and outer groups of mirror glass/cellular glass gores

Sensitivity of the structure of untripped mixing layers to small changes in initial conditions

An experimental study was conducted concerning the influence of small changes in initial conditions on the near- and far-field evolution of the three-dimensional structure of a plan mixing layer. A two-stream mixing layer with a velocity ratio of 0.6 was generated with the initial boundary layers on the splitter plate laminar and was nominally two-dimensional. The initial conditions were changed slightly by interchanging the high- and low-speed sides of the wind tunnel, while maintaining the same velocities, and hence velocity ratio. This resulted in small changes in the initial boundary layer properties, and the perturbations present in the boundary layers were interchanged between the high- and low-speed sides for the two cases. The results indicate that, even with this relatively minor change in initial conditions, the near-field regions of the two cases differ significantly. The peak Reynolds stress levels in the near-field differ by up to 100 percent, and this is attributed to a difference in the location of the initial spanwise vortex roll-up. In addition, the positions and shapes of the individual streamwise vortical structures differ for the two cases, although the overall structures differ for the two cases, although the overall qualitative description of these structures is comparable. The subsequent reorganization and decay of the streamwise vortical structures is very similar for the two cases. As a result, in the far field, both mixing layers achieve similar structure, yielding comparable growth rates, Reynolds stress, distribution, and spectral content

Thermal performance of multilayer insulations Interim report

Heat flux and optical property measurement for multilayer insulatio

Evaluation of lubricants for high-speed high-temperature applications Summary report

Rolling disks for evaluation of high speed, high temperature lubricant application