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

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

  • All exposed parts are affected, more on one side with spray drift

    This category includes contact herbicides from a range of chemical groups that require uniform spray coverage to be fully effective.

  • Barley plant death from Fusilade® spray drift from neighbouring lupin paddock

    These are post-emergent grass contol herbicides used for annual ryegrass and/or wild oat control in wheat and barley or non-selective grass control in broadleaf crops.