Optimising woody-weed control

Woody weeds pose significant threats to the 12.3 billion dollar Australian grazing industry. These weeds reduce stocking rate, increase mustering effort, and impede cattle access to waterways. Two major concerns of woody-weed management are the high cost of weed management with respect to grazing gross margins, and episodic seedling recruitments due to climatic conditions. This case study uses a Stochastic Dynamic Programming (SDP) model to determine the optimal weed management decisions for chinee apple (Ziziphus mauritiana) in northern Australian rangelands to maximise grazing profits. Weed management techniques investigated include: no-control, burning, poisoning, and mechanical removal (blade ploughing). The model provides clear weed management thresholds and decision rules, with respect to weed-free gross margins and weed management costs.woody weeds, weed control, chinee apple, rangelands, grazing, stochastic dynamic programming, Livestock Production/Industries,

Bio-economic evaluation of pasture-cropping, a novel system of integrating perennial pastures and crops on crop-livestock farms

Pasture-cropping is a novel approach to increase the area of perennial crops in mixed sheep and cropping systems. It involves planting annual cereals directly into a living perennial pasture. There is interest in subtropical grasses as they are winter dormant and their growth profile is potentially well suited to pasture-cropping. However, a wide range of factors can affect the uptake of such systems. This paper assesses the relative importance of factors that can influence decisions to introduce pasture-cropping. In this paper the research question is: what factors predispose a farm to take up a new technology such as (1) subtropical grass and (2) subtropical grass that is pasture-cropped. The analysis uses the MIDAS model of a central wheatbelt farm in Western Australia. The results suggest the adoption of subtropical grasses is likely to be strongly influenced by soil mix; feed quality; and whether the farm is predominantly grazing or cropping and by the presence of meat versus wool producing animals. The same factors are relevant for subtropical grass that is pasture-cropped but in addition yield penalties due to competition between the host perennial and the companion cereal become important. The results suggest the level of forage production by subtropical grass is less important but this factor is likely to become more important if feed quality can be improved.Environmental Economics and Policy,

VNTR analysis reveals unexpected genetic diversity within Mycoplasma agalactiae, the main causative agent of contagious agalactia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycoplasma agalactiae </it>is the main cause of contagious agalactia, a serious disease of sheep and goats, which has major clinical and economic impacts. Previous studies of <it>M. agalactiae </it>have shown it to be unusually homogeneous and there are currently no available epidemiological techniques which enable a high degree of strain differentiation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis using the sequenced genome of the <it>M. agalactiae </it>type strain PG2. The PG2 genome was found to be replete with tandem repeat sequences and 4 were chosen for further analysis. VNTR 5 was located within the hypothetical protein MAG6170 a predicted lipoprotein. VNTR 14 was intergenic between the hypothetical protein MAG3350 and the hypothetical protein MAG3340. VNTR 17 was intergenic between the hypothetical protein MAG4060 and the hypothetical protein MAG4070 and VNTR 19 spanned the 5' end of the pseudogene for a lipoprotein MAG4310 and the 3' end of the hypothetical lipoprotein MAG4320.</p> <p>We have investigated the genetic diversity of 88 <it>M. agalactiae </it>isolates of wide geographic origin using VNTR analysis and compared it with pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Simpson's index of diversity was calculated to be 0.324 for PFGE and 0.574 for VNTR analysis. VNTR analysis revealed unexpected diversity within <it>M. agalactiae </it>with 9 different VNTR types discovered. Some correlation was found between geographical origin and the VNTR type of the isolates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>VNTR analysis represents a useful, rapid first-line test for use in molecular epidemiological analysis of <it>M. agalactiae </it>for outbreak tracing and control.</p

Enhancing livelihoods in farming communities through super-resolution agromet advisories using advanced digital agriculture technologies

Agricultural production in India is highly vulnerable to climate change. Transformational change to farming systems is required to cope with this changing climate to maintain food security, and ensure farming to remain economically viable. The south Asian rice-fallow systems occupying 22.3 million ha with about 88% in India, mostly (82%) concentrated in the eastern states, are under threat. These systems currently provide economic and food security for about 11 million people, but only achieve 50% of their yield potential. Improvement in productivity is possible through efficient utilization of these fallow lands. The relatively low production occurs because of sub-optimal water and nutrient management strategies. Historically, the Agro-met advisory service has assisted farmers and disseminated information at a district-level for all the states. In some instances, Agro-met delivers advice at the block level also, but in general, farmers use to follow the district level advice and develop an appropriate management plan like land preparation, sowing, irrigation timing, harvesting etc. The advisories are generated through the District Agrometeorology Unit (DAMU) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) network, that consider medium-range weather forecast. Unfortunately, these forecasts advisories are general and broad in nature for a given district and do not scale down to the individual field or farm. Farmers must make complex crop management decisions with limited or generalised information. The lack of fine scale information creates uncertainty for farmers, who then develop risk-averse management strategies that reduce productivity. It is unrealistic to expect the Agro-met advisory service to deliver bespoke information to every farmer and to every field simply with the help of Kilometre-scale weather forecast. New technologies must be embraced to address the emerging crises in food security and economic prosperity. Despite these problems, Agro-met has been successful. New digital technologies have emerged though, and these digital technologies should become part of the Agro-met arsenal to deliver valuable information directly to the farmers at the field scale. The Agro-met service is poised to embrace and deliver new interventions through technology cross-sections such as satellite remote sensing, drone-based survey, mobile based data collection systems, IoT based sensors, using insights derived from a hybridisation of crop and AIML (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) models. These technological advancements will generate fine-scale static and dynamic Agro-met information on cultivated lands, that can be delivered through Application Programming Interface (APIs) and farmers facing applications. We believe investment in this technology, that delivers information directly to the farmers, can reverse the yield gap, and address the negative impacts of a changing climate

Crop Updates 2011 - Nutrition, Precision Agriculture & Climate and Forecasting

This session covers sixteen papers from different authors: Nutrition 1. Balance® used in conventional cropping practice with half of the upfront fertiliser rate can sustain crop yield and build soil biological fertility, Deb Archdeacon1, Andrew Gulliver2 and David Cullen2, 1Agronomica, Wellington Mill, WA, 2Custom Composts, Nambeelup, WA 2. Effects of potassium (K) supply on plant growth, potassium uptake and grain Yield in wheat grown in grey sand, Qifu Ma1, Richard Bell1, Ross Brennan2 and Craig Scanlan2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 3. Improving fertiliser management: redefining the relationship between soil tests and crop responses for wheat in WA, Wen Chen1, 2, Ross Brennan2, Geoff Anderson2, Richard Bell1 and Mike Bolland2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 4. Improved phosphorus and potassium management: redefining the soil test and lupin response relationships in WA, Wen Chen1, 2, Ross Brennan2, Geoff Anderson2, Richard Bell1 and Mike Bolland2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Western Australia, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 5. Converting phosphorus retention index (PRI) to phosphorus buffering index (PBI) for Western Australian soils, Peter Rees and Sandy Alexander, Summit Fertilizers 6. Variability of radiometric potassium and Colwell potassium relationships across the Great Southern, Frank D’Emden, Precision Agronomics Australia 7. Rotary spading and mouldboard ploughing of water-repellent sandplain soils fulfils promise, Stephen Davies, Craig Scanlan and Breanne Best, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Soil nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes are low from a grain legume crop grown in a semi-arid climate Louise Barton1, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl2, Ralph Kiese2 and Daniel Murphy1, 1 School of Earth & Environment, University of Western Australia, 2 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology & Climate Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 9. Mouldboard ploughing of sandplain soils – more grain, fewer weeds, Peter Newman Department of Agriculture and Food Precision Agriculture 10.What’s preventing growers from implementing precision agriculture (PA)? Roger Mandel1, Roger Lawes2 and Michael Robertson2, 1Curtin University, 2CSIRO 11. On how many paddocks does precision agriculture (PA) deliver a return? Roger Lawes1, Michael Robertson1 and Roger Mandel2, 1CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Floreat, WA, 2Curtin University 12. Demonstration pf precision agriculture (PA) principles in the Great Southern, Western Australia, Derk Bakker1, Jeremy Lemon1, Alison Lacey1, John Paul Collins1, Roger Mandel2, Frank D’Emden3, Glen Riethmuller1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Curtin University, 3Precision Agronomics Australia Climate and Forecasting 13. Statistical seasonal rainfall forecasts for south west Australia, Fiona H Evans Department of Agriculture of Food 14. How has changing climate recently affected Western Australia’s capacity to increase crop productivity and water use efficiency? David Stephens, Department of Agriculture and Food 15. Is Yield Prophet® a useful tool in Western Australia? — an agribusiness perspective, Caroline Peek, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. A season of Yield Prophet® — how it saw the dry, Tim Scanlon and Caroline Peek Department of Agriculture of Foo

Crop Updates 2010 - Farming Systems

This session covers twenty papers from different authors: Pests and Disease 1. Preserving phosphine for use in Grain Storage Industry, Christopher R Newman, Department of Agriculture and Food Farming Systems Research 2. Demonstrating the benefits of grazing canola in Western Australia, Jonathan England, Stephen Gherardi and Mohammad Amjad, Department of Agriculture and Food 3. Buloke barley yield when pasture-cropped across subtropical perennial pastures, David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food, Phil Ward and Roger Lawes, CSIRO 4. Is pasture cropping viable in WA? Grower perceptions and EverCrop initiatives to evaluate, David Ferris, Tim Wiley, Perry Dolling, Department of Agriculture and Food, Philip Barrett-Lennard, Evergreen farming 5. Best-bet management for dual-purpose canola, John Kirkegaard, Susan Sprague, Hugh Dove and Walter Kelman, CSIRO, Canberra, Peter Hamblin, Agritech Research, Young, NSW 6. Pasture in cropping systems – with and without sheep, Brad Nutt and Angelo Loi, Department of Agriculture and Food 7. Can technology substitute for a lupin break? Wayne Parker, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Canola row spacing with and without long term stubble retention on a sandy clay loam at Merredin, Glen Riethmuller, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. Impact of stubble retention on water balance and crop yield, Phil Ward1, Ken Flower2,3, Neil Cordingley2 and Shayne Micin1, 1CSIRO, Wembley, Western Australia, 2Western Australian No-Till Farmers Association, 3University of Western Australia Analysis and Modelling 10. Using POAMA rainfall forecasts for crop management in South-West WA, Senthold Asseng1, Peter McIntosh2,3, Mike Pook2,3, James Risbey2,3, Guomin Wang3, Oscar Alves3, Ian Foster4, Imma Farre4 and Nirav Khimashia1, 1CSIRO Plant Industry, Perth, 2CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, 3Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR), A partnership between the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, Melbourne, 4Department of Agriculture and Food 11. Adaption to changing climates and variability – results of the Agribusiness Changing Climates regional workshop, Anderson W3, Beard D3, Blake J3, Grieve R1, Lang M3, Lemon J3, McTaggart R3, Gray D3, Price M2 and Stephens D3, 1Roderick Grieve Farm Management Consultants, 2Coffey International P/L, 3Department of Agriculture and Food 12. Farmers’ management of seasonal variability and climate change in WA, DA Beard, DM Gray, P Carmody, Department of Agriculture and Food 13. Is there a value in having a frost forecast for wheat in South-West WA? Imma Farre1, Senthold Asseng2, Ian Foster1 and Doug Abrecht3, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, CSIRO, Floreat, 2CSIRO Plant Industry, Perth 3Department of Agriculture and Food, Centre for Cropping Systems 14. Does buying rainfall pay? Greg Kirk, Planfarm Agricultural Consultants 15. Which region in the WA wheatbelt makes best use of rainfall? Peter Rowe, Bankwest Agribusiness 16. POAMA – the Predictive Ocean-Atmosphere Model for Australia, Guomin Wang and Oscar Alves, Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research (CAWCR), A partnership between the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, Melbourne 17. Exploring the link between water use efficiency and farm profitability, Cameron Weeks, Planfarm and Peter Tozer, PRT Consulting Precision Agriculture 18. A plethora of paddock information is available – how does it stack up? Derk Bakker, Department of Agriculture and Food 18. Variable rate prescription mapping for lime inputs based on electromagnetic surveying and deep soil testing, Frank D’Emden, Quenten Knight and Luke Marquis, Precision Agronomics, Australia 19. Trial design and analysis using precision agriculture and farmer’s equipment, Roger Lawes, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Floreat 20. Farmer perspectives of precision agriculture in Western Australia: Issues and the way forward, Dr Roger Mandel, Curtin Universit

Crop Updates 2009 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition, Soils, & Others

This session covers fifteen papers from different authors: 1. Performance of Canola Breeders Roundup Ready® canola hybrid CHYB-166 in 2008, Wallace Cowling, Canola Breeders Western Australia Pty Ltd 2. The implications of GM glyphosate resistant lupin, Art Diggle, Caroline Peek, Frank D’Emden, Fiona Evans, Bob French, Rob Grima, Sam Harburg, Abul Hashem,, John Holmes, Jeremy Lemon, Peter Newman, Janet Paterson, Steve Penny,Department of Agriculture and Food, Peter Portmann, Agriconnect 3. Nufarm Roundup Ready® Canola Systems Trials— 2008 Mark Slatter, Research and Development Officer, Victoria, Nufarm (0438 064 845) Angus MacLennan, Business Development Manager, New South Wales, Nufarm (0408 358 024) Cooperators: Monsanto, Nuseed, Pacific Seeds, Pioneer Seeds 4. Roundup Ready® canola—2008 Limited Commercial Release. Getting the system right, Andrew Wells and Mark Slatter, Nufarm Australia Limited (Reprint from 2008 GRDC Cropping Updates with Introductory note) NUTRITION 5. Fertilising in a changing price environment, Bill Bowden1, Wayne Pluske2 and Jeremy Lemon1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Back Paddock Company 6. Making better fertiliser for Western Australian cropping systems, Wen Chen1 2, Geoff Anderson1, Ross Brennan1and Richard Bell2 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University 7. The nitrogen fertiliser replacement value of biosolids from wastewater treatment, Hannah Rigby1, Deborah Pritchard1, David Collins1, Katrina Walton2, David Allen2 and Nancy Penney31School of Agriculture and Environment,Curtin University of Technology, Muresk Campus, 2Chemistry Centre of Western Australia 3Water Corporation of Western Australia 8. Fertilising to soil type (usually) pays, Michael Robertson, Bill Bowden and Roger Lawes, CSIRO, Floreat and Department of Agriculture and Food SOILS 9. Management of subsoil acidity and compaction using a combination of lime, deep ripping and controlled traffic, Stephen Davies, Chris Gazey, Breanne Best and David Gartner, Department of Agriculture and Food 10. Optimising gypsum applications through remote sensing and Variable Rate Technology, Frank D’Emden, Department of Agriculture and Food and Quenten Knight,Precision Agronomics Australia 11. Case study of a 17 year agricultural lime trial, Chris Gazey1, Joel Andrew2and Ryan Pearce3 1Department of Agriculture and Food; 2Precision SoilTech; 3ConsultAg 12. Soil organic carbon in WA agricultural soils, FC Hoyle and A Bennett, Department of Agriculture and Food OTHER 13. Is the no-till revolution complete in WA? Frank D’Emden1, Rick Llewellyn2 and Ken Flower3 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 3University of Western Australia 14. Progression Planning (The Concept), Julian Krieg and Owen Catto, Wheatbelt Men’s Health 15. Is the Department of Agriculture and Food still a primary source of cropping information? Cindy Parsons, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Crop Updates 2009 - Cereals

This session covers twenty seven papers from different authors: PLENARY 1. Building soil carbon for productivity and implications for carbon accounting, Jeff Baldock, CSIRO Land and Water, Adelaide, SA 2. Fact or Fiction: Who is telling the truth and how to tell the difference, Doug Edmeades, agKnowledge Ltd, Hamilton 3. Four decades of crop sequence trials in Western Australia, Mark Seymour,Department of Agriculture and Food BREAK CROPS 4. 2008 Break Crops survey Report, Paul Carmody,Development Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food 5. Attitudes of Western Australian wheatbelt growers to ‘Break Crops’, Paul Carmody and Ian Pritchard, Development Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. The value of organic nitrogen from lupins, Alan Meldrum, Pulse Australia 7.The area of break crops on farm: What farmers are doing compared to estimates based on maximising profit, Michael Robertson and Roger Lawes,CSIRO Floreat, Rob Sands,FARMANCO Farm Consultants, Peter White,Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, Felicity Byrne and Andrew Bathgate,Farming Systems Analysis CROP SPECIFIC Breeding 8. Identification of WALAB2014 as a potential albus lupin variety for northern agricultural region of Western Australia, Kedar Adhikari, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. Enhancement of black spot resistance in field pea, Kedar Adhikari, Tanveer Khan, Stuart Morgan and Alan Harris, Department of Agriculture and Food 10. Desi chickpea breeding: Evaluation of advanced line, Khan, TN1, Harris, A1, Gaur, P2, Siddique, KHM3, Clarke, H4, Turner, NC4, MacLeod, W1, Morgan, S1 1Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, 2International Crop Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), 3The University of Western Australia, 4Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 11. Pulse Breeding Australia-Australian Field Pea Improvement Program (AFPIP), Ian Pritchard1, Chris Veitch1, Stuart Morgan1, Alan Harris1 and Tony Leonforte 2 1 Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, 2 Department off Primary Industries, Victoria Disease 12. Interaction between wheat varieties and fungicides to control stripe rust for grain and quality, Kith Jayasena, Geoff Thomas, Rob Loughman, Kazue Tanaka and Bill MacLeod, Department of Agriculture and Food 13. Findings of canola disease survey 2008 and its implications for better disease management in 2009, Ravjit Khangura, WJ MacLeod, P White, P Carmody and M Amjad, Department of Agriculture and Food 14. Combating wheat leaf diseases using genome sequencing and functional genomics, Richard Oliver, Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens, Murdoch University 15. Distribution and survival of wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella), vector of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, in the WA grainbelt during 2008, Dusty Severtson, Peter Mangano, John Botha and Brenda Coutts, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Partial resistance to Stagonspora (Septoria) Partial resistance to Stagonospora (Septoria) nodorum blotch and response to fungicide in a severe epidemic scenario, Manisha Shankar1, Richard Oliver2, Kasia Rybak2and Rob Loughman1 1Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, 2Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens, Murdoch University, Western Australia 17. Black pod syndrome in lupins can be reduced by regular insecticide sprays, Peter White and Michael Baker,Department of Agriculture and Food Variety performance 18. Incorporating new herbicide tolerant juncea canola into low rainfall cropping systems in Western Australia, Mohammad Amjad, Department of Agriculture and Food 19. Varietal differences in germ end staining of barley, Andrea Hills,Department of Agriculture and Food 20. Wheat variety performance in the Central Agricultural Region in 2008, Shahajahan Miyan, Department of Agriculture and Food 21. Barley variety identification using DNA fingerprinting, Peter Portmann, Agriconnect, Perth WA Dr Nicole Rice, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW Prof Robert Henry, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 22. Forecast disease resistance profile for the Western Australian barley crop over the next three years, Jeff J. Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food 23. Malting barley varieties differ in their flowering date and their response to changes in sowing date, BH Paynter and Jeff J. Russell,Department of Agriculture and Food 24. Market development for new barley varieties, Linda Price,Barley Australia 25. Response of wheat varieties to sowing time at Mt Barker, Katanning and Newdegate in 2008, Brenda Shackley and Vicki Scanlan,Department of Agriculture and Food 26. Flowering dates of wheat varieties in 2008 at three locations in Western Australia, Darshan Sharma, Brenda Shackley and Christine Zaicou-Kunesch, Department of Agriculture and Food 27. Agronomic responses of new wheat varieties in the norther agricultural region in 2008, Christine Zaicou-Kunesch, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Hypertension persisting after pre-eclampsia: a prospective cohort study at Mulago Hospital, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Pre-eclampsia/eclampsia usually resolves after delivery but sometimes hypertension persists and cardiovascular disease develops later. Our objective was to determine the incidence and maternal socio-demographic and obstetric risk factors for persistence of hypertension in women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study conducted from July 2009 to June 2011 at Mulago Hospital labour ward and postnatal clinics. We followed up 188 women admitted with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia until 3 months after delivery. Data was collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires, examination of participants and review of medical records. Stata (version12) software was used for data analysis. Univariable analysis was used to compute the relative risk of persistent hypertension at the 95% confidence level. This was followed by multivariable logistic regression analysis to determine factors independently associated with persistence of hypertension. RESULTS: 64 (34%) out of the 188 women analysed had persistent hypertension three months after delivery. Maternal age, gestational age at delivery and parity were predictors of persistent hypertension. CONCLUSION: The proportion of women with pre-eclampsia/eclampsia at risk of persistent hypertension at three months after delivery was high, with nearly one of three mothers remaining hypertensive. Follow up of mothers who develop pre-eclampsia is important so that early diagnosis and management of chronic hypertension can be made to avoid long term morbidity and mortality