Serradella variety evaluation.

Trial 89ME83, 89ME84, 88ME88 and 87M62 Serradella variety trial.Korbelka, Mukinbudin, Woolocutty, South Carrabin annexe. Trial 88ME89 Serradella/Grass mixtures for acidic sandplain soils.North Bodallin. Trial 87M92 Management of Serradella pastures.South Carrabin annexe. Trial 87M64 Establishing Serradella under a cereal crop.South Carrabin annexe

Farm systems research involving new pasture species.

The effect of grazing on Circle Valley medic production. Effect of rotations on M. polyrnorpha production and persistence and cereal crop yields, 84 KA 35, 85 LG 44, 84 KA 37 Effect of tillage x gypsum x nitrogen on continuous cereal production, 84 KA 28. Effect of gypsum x seeding rate on the seed yield of three pasture legumes. Pasture species tolerance to grass and broadleaf herbicides. Undersowing cereal crops with burr medic

Pasture research programme for the medium rainfall zone of W.A. species selection and management related in particular to the ryegrass toxicity problem (Fund 492/0035).

Species evaluation, 85KA69, 85 KA 70, 85 KA 94, 85 KA 68. Small plot evaluation, 85 KA 89, 8S KA 90. Long term medic species evaluation, 82 KA 44, 82 KA 45. Drill run evaluation of M. polymorpha, 84 KA 38, 84 KA 39, 84 KA 40. Species characterization trials, 83 KA 66, 83 KA 67. Serradella evaluation, 85 KA 72, 85 KA 73, 85 KA 74, 85 KA 7

Pasture research programme for the medium rainfall zone of WA

Field Assistants: I.R. Rose S.P. Davis Soil Analysis: I.A. Pritchard. A. Screening trials M. polymorpha var brevispina. M. truncatula. T. cherleri - 84KA41, 84KA42, 84KA43, 84KA47. B. Large scale M. polymorpha evaluation - 84KA38, 84KA39, 84KA40, C. Long term Medic species evaluation - 82KA44, 82KA45. D. Species characterization trials - 83KA66, 83KA67. E. M. murex evaluation - 83KA45. F. Dwalganup replacement subclovers - 83KA69. Since 1981, the major emphasis of the Katanning pasture programme has been to select pasture species suitable for replacing ryegrass on soils where Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT) has been a major problem. These soils have traditionally been the hardsetting sandy loam soils of acid to alkaline reaction trend. Subterranean clover has failed to persist in these areas due to problems of burr burial, transient waterlogging and a lack of hardseededness. Screening work to date has successfully identified the species Medicago polymorpha var brevispina to be a suitable alternative to ryegrass and as such, a considerable proportion of resources were directed into a more detailed evaluation of the species

Pasture agronomy.

Trial 89ME82 a. Medic establishment. Establishing burr medic pastures with cereal cover.Merredin Trial 89SC19 b. Serradella - Potash response. Response of serradella to potash fertilizer.South Carrabin Trial 89M44 c. Serradella/Grass competition Effect of grass competition on production of serradella.Merredin Research Station. Trial 89SC HERB d. Herbicide tolerance of Serradella. Herbicide tolerance of Madeira serradella.South Carrabi

Medic variety evaluation.

Trial 89M57 Medic variety evaluation - rows. Merredin Research Station (Paddock T5) Trial 89ME71 Selection of early maturing M. murex. Nokaning. Trial 88ME86 Evaluation of Santiago in low rainfall areas. Mukinbudin. Trial 87M73 Medic variety evaluation - large plots. Merredin Research Station. Trial 86M65 M. polymorpha variety evaluation - large plots. Merredin Research Station. Trial 88ME84 Evaluation of burr medics on Morrel soils.Nokaning. Trial 88SC30 Selection of early maturing M. murex.Merredin

Rotational experiments.

Trial 82M47 a. Subterranean clover. Subterranean clover rotation trialMerredin Research Station. Trial 88ME83 b. Santiago burr medic Rotational systems for burr medicMerredin. Trial 89N29 Rotational systems for burr medic.Newdegate Research Station

Pasture species evaluation in the medium rainfall zone

The effect of mechanical defoliation on the production of legume species in the Katanning region - 84KA26. The effect of grazing on the seed production of legume species - 84KA27. The effect of gypsum and establishment techniques on Circle Valley medic - 84KA29. The effect of gypsum, tillage and nitrogen on cereal yields in a continous crop system - 84KA28. The effect of gypsum on cereal crop yield - Katanning, E. Garlick Kwobrup, D. Webse. Pasture probe evaluation. Aim: To determine the suitability of the Vickery single probe earth plate capacitance meter for determining pasture production

Exploring the anthelmintic properties of Australian native shrubs with respect to their potential role in livestock grazing systems

We measured in vitro anthelmintic activity in extracts from 85 species of Australian native shrub, with a view to identifying species able to provide a degree of worm control in grazing systems. Approximately 40% of the species showed significant activity in inhibiting development of Haemonchus contortus larvae. The most active extracts showed IC50 values of 60–300 mg/ml. Pre-incubation with polyvinylpolypyrrolidine removed the activity from some extracts, implicating tannins as the bioactive agent, while in other cases the pre-incubation had no effect, indicating the presence of other anthelmintic compounds. Plant reproductive maturity (onset of flowering or fruiting) was associated with increasing anthelmintic activity in some species. Variability was observed between plants of the same species growing in different environments, while variation between individual plants of the same species within a single field suggests the existence of distinct chemotypes. Significant activity against adult H. contortus worms in vitro was also demonstrated in a limited number of extracts tested against this life stage. Our study indicates that there is potential for Australian native shrubs to play an anthelmintic role in grazing systems, and highlights some plant biology factors which will need to be considered in order to maximize any anthelmintic effects.A. C. Kotze, J. O’Grady, J. Emms, A. F. Toovey, S. Hughes, P. Jessop, M. Bennell P. E. Vercoe and D. K. Revel

A Strategic Approach to Developing the Role of Perennial Forages for Crop-Livestock Farmers

A substantial proportion of Australian animal production from grazing comes from regions and farms where cropping is the major enterprise. Developing new and improved grazing systems for mixed farms where crop production is the major driver of farm management decisions presents a unique research and development challenge. In this paper we describe a multi-disciplinary farming-systems research approach (‘EverCrop’) aimed at improving farm profitability, risk management and environmental impacts through the development and integration of new grazing options. It has been used to analyse and target new opportunities for farmers to benefit from perennial species across dry Mediterranean-type and temperate regions of southern Australia. It integrates field experimentation, on-farm trialling, farmer participatory research, soil-plant-climate biophysical modelling, whole-farm bioeconomic analysis and evaluations of adoptability. Multi-functional roles for summer-active grasses with winter cropping, integration of forage shrubs and establishment of new mixes of perennial grasses in crop rotations to improve farming-system performance are identified, along with an analysis of uptake by farmers