Grains Research & Development

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has grains research and development connections across Australia and with more than 25 countries worldwide – ranging from collaboration with Japanese flour millers involved with the udon noodle industry through to seeking out barley genes tolerant of acid soils on the Tibetan Plateau and commercialising department-bred lupin varieties for use in the Chilean salmon industry.

These research, development and extension linkages and partnerships underpin the department’s capacity to tackle grains issues of national and regional agricultural importance and deliver profitable management solutions to the state’s 4000 grain producers.

The department is committed to leading and contributing to specific priority areas of research and development through the Grains Industry National Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) Strategy.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) – a national organisation coordinating research and development of behalf of Australian grain growers is a key funder of the department's grain research, development and extension activities.

Major initiatives being undertaken through the GRDC-DPIRD partnership include developing solutions to frost and soil constraints, which together can cost the Western Australian grains industry hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production each year.

Grains Research and Industry Development Projects

Articles

  • With lupins being susceptible and grown in close rotation to canola, particularly in the northern WA wheatbelt, lupin growers are facing increasing pressure from sclerotinia stem rot (caused by

  • Information is provided here to assist management of diseases and viruses that occur in broadacre crops grown in Western Australia - cereals (wheat, barley, oats and triticale), pulses (field pea,

  • When selecting a wheat variety to implement in a farming system, it is important to be aware of the variety's disease package to plan management options. The disease resistance ratings for wheat va

  • Leaf spot diseases affecting wheat in Western Australia are septoria nodorum blotch, yellow spot and septoria tritici blotch.

  • This management strategy provides an opportunity to control weed seed set in the pasture and during harvest.

  • Doublegee or spiny emex is a significant weed in Western Australia. It is a vigorous annual herb with a strong tap root and a long, fleshy, hairless stem.

  • Stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) and leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) can be a significant threat to wheat crops in Western Australia in some seasons.

  • This long term project aims to evaluate the long term productivity, profitability and sustainability of lower input regenerative and intensive ag-tech systems against current district practice and

  • Integrated weed management (IWM) is a system for managing weeds over the long term, and is particularly useful for managing and minimising herbicide resistance.

  • Every grain grower has seen how well weeds grow when they have a blocked seeding tube creating extra-wide row spacing.