Wheat

Wheat production accounts for 65% of total cereal production in Western Australia with about ten million tonnes generated annually in a rain-fed system across four million hectares of land.

About 95% of WA wheat is exported - predominantly to Asia and the Middle East - generating $2-5 billion in annual export earnings for the state.

Despite a decline in annual rainfall, the improvement in agronomic practices and development of new premium wheat varieties have enabled an increase in WA wheat yield over the past 30 years at a rate higher than world average.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has a strong research, development and extension focus on wheat production through its long history in wheat breeding - now privatised through Intergrain - and the development of wheat variety management packages for the state’s grain production zones.

Articles

Seed dressing and in-furrow fungicides for cereals in Western Australia

20 November 2013

Seed dressing and in-furrow fungicides contain active ingredients for the control or suppression of seed-borne diseases, some fungal foliar diseases and some fungal root rots in cereal crops.
Crop diseases: forecasts and management

11 December 2013

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,
Annual ryegrass

6 October 2011

Annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) is one of the most serious and costly weeds of annual winter cropping systems in southern Australia.
Wheat disease ratings

22 June 2014

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
Managing yellow spot and septoria nodorum blotch in wheat

5 December 2013

Leaf spot diseases affecting wheat in Western Australia are septoria nodorum blotch, yellow spot and septoria tritici blotch.
Capeweed reduces crop yield

4 February 2011

In Western Australia, competition from 7-90 capeweed plants per square metre in a wheat crop can reduce crop yield by 28-44% and net return by 25-76%.
Improving resistance to septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) in wheat

9 February 2016

Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) is a significant fungal disease of wheat. Resistant varieties would complement on-farm disease management practices to maintain grain yields under disease epidemics.
Wild radish

18 May 2012

Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) is highly competitive in crops and can cause a yield loss of 10-90%.
Smut and bunt diseases of cereal - biology, identification and management

13 December 2012

Cereal smut and bunt diseases are caused by fungi which parasitise the host plant and produce masses of soot-like spores in the leaves, grains or ears.
Managing stripe rust and leaf rust in wheat in Western Australia

13 December 2012

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.