Coming to grips with Eradu-patch of lupins

Investigations by Bill MacLoud and Mark Sweetingham have confirmed that Eradu-patch of lupins is caused by apreviously undescribed fungal pathogen,\. They have developed strategies to minimise the spread of patches but choices are limited for control in lupin crop

Root disease under intensive cereal production systems

This Bulletin describes symptoms and control methods for the most commonly encountered cereal root diseases in Western Australia: rhizoctonia bare patch root lesion nematode take-all fusarium crown rot cereal cyst nematode common root rot pythium root rot Diseases caused by pathogenic micro-organisms can significantly reduce the yield of cereals. Some of these diseases are uncommon while others occur over a large area of the Western Australian wheatbelt every year. The most prevalent root diseases of cereals in Western Australia are rhizoctonia bare patch, root lesion nematode and take-all. Less widespread are fusarium crown rot, cereal cyst nematode, common root rot and pythium root rot.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1085/thumbnail.jp

Provision of free sustainable basic sanitation: the Durban experience

The cholera outbreak in August 2000 focused the government’s attention on addressing sanitation in South Africa as a matter of urgency. This led to a policy review, the promulgation of the National Sanitation Policy (2001) and finally to the development of a national strategy to eliminated the sanitation backlog over the next ten years. The cholera outbreak, together with the Millennium Development Goals for water supply and sanitation, have highlighted an urgent need for sustainable service delivery in this country.In Durban, the eThekwini Municipality (EM) is attempting to ensure an effective barrier against the spread of disease among the newly incorporated, under-serviced rural communities of the Municipality. These challenges are being addressed through an innovative, sustainable approach in the provision of free basic water supply (200 litres/household/day), and a urine diversion toilet, together with health and hygiene education that promotes hygienic behaviour practices. According to the Strategic Framework for Water Services, Water Service Authorities (WSAs) should not only provide the water services necessary for basic health and hygiene. The municipalities are also required to provide services, which support sustainable livelihoods and economic development. This paper reflects the process followed in meeting the above challenges as well as the lessons learned

Evidence review of the potential wider impacts of climate change mitigation options: agriculture, forestry, land use and waste sectors

A report prepared for Scottish Government. Greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation is a central policy objective in Scotland. The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 sets an interim 42% reduction target for 2020 and an 80% target for 2050 across all sectors of society (1990 baseline). As a priority policy area, it has become vital to better understand the co-benefits and adverse impacts arising from mitigation actions on our environment, economy and society. Integrated assessment is key in prioritising environmental actions, reducing adverse impacts and enhancing positive co-effects. This report aims to summarise evidence on the wider impacts (WI) of GHG mitigation options (MO) in the Agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry sectors (ALULUCF) and those related waste management. The key findings of the review, are a summary of the wider impacts and an overview of the challenges in quantifying and monetising these impacts

Crop Updates 2011 - Cereals

This session covers eleven papers from different authors: OPENING, NEW CROP VARIETIES & DECISION SUPPORT Opening 1. Overview of the 2010 season, David Bowran, Director, Practice and Systems Innovation, Department of Agriculture and Food, 2. My experience in a drought as a farmer and consultant, Bill Crabtree, Morawa, Western Australia 3. Meeting the productivity and sustainability challenges to Australian agriculture until 2030, Peter Carberry, CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship New Crop Varieties 4. National Variety Trials (NTV) wheat variety performance – captivity vs broadacre, Peter Burgess, Kalyx Agriculture 5. WALAN2289 – a new lupin variety to replace Mandelup in the system, Bevan Buirchell, Department of Agriculture and Food 6. The strengths and pitfalls of different grades of new wheat varieties in Western Australia Ben Curtis, Sarah Ellis, Brenda Shackley, Christine Zaicou, Department of Agriculture and Food, 7. Yield performance of temperate and tropical rice varieties in the Ord River Irrigation Areas (ORIA) Siva Sivapalan, Penny Goldsmith and Gae Plunkett, Department of Agriculture and Food Decision Support 8. A new phenology model (DM) for wheat, Darshan Sharma, Mario D’Antuono, Brenda Shackley, Christine Zaicou, Ben Curtis, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. PeatFax Map and the Weed Seed Wizard: tools to help with crop protection, Art Diggle1, Peter Mangano1, Sally Peltzer1, Michael Renton2, Bill Macleod1, Fumie Horiuchi1, George Wyatt1 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2University of Western Australia 10. Soil management calculator for predicting phosphorus losses under cropping systems in Western Australia, Geoff Anderson1, Richard Bell2, Ross Brennan1 and Wen Chen2, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University 11. Tools to assist growers understand the impacts of management decisions in the high rainfall zone, Penny Riffkin, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Hamilto

Scaling up early action: Lessons, challenges and future potential in Bangladesh

‘Forecast-based early action’ (FbA) is emerging among humanitarian and disaster risk management practitioners as an approach that can reduce the impact of shocks on vulnerable people and their livelihoods, improve the effectiveness of emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts, and reduce the humanitarian burden. • This paper investigates the technical, economic and institutional challenges to scaling up FbA in Bangladesh. Taking a political economy approach it examines the structures and policies around disaster management in the country, options for financing, and the forecasting infrastructure and dissemination systems. • The concept of FbA is not new to Bangladesh but triggers for action are often unclear. The Cyclone Preparedness Programme has long used forecasts to trigger early warning, preparedness and evacuation. However, in most other cases triggers for action are determined more subjectively. • The risk of ‘acting in vain’ is a major perceived barrier to scaling up FbA. Taking early action when forecasts prove inaccurate has potential implications for accountability and perceived misallocation of limited resources. But if targeted at poor groups, actions could anyway help to enhance resilience. • Institutional incentives and finance are still skewed towards relief. Post-disaster response is seen as more visible and defensible, forming a barrier to early actions. Scaling up of FbA could help to reform prevailing cliental biases in relief by making targeting and delivery of aid more transparent, equitable and needs-based. • Value for money? Stakeholders are demanding for better evidence on the (cost)-effectiveness of FbA approaches. Pilots in Bangladesh suggest improved food security, reduced lending costs and lower anxiety/depression among those taking early action before disasters. • Forecasting is limited but has future potential. Tidal influence makes it difficult to forecast flooding in the southern and coastal zones, while the inaccuracy of cyclone forecasting leaves a limited window for early actions. Riverbank erosion and flash flood forecasts have future potential, along with efforts to improve impact-based forecasting