Production & postharvest

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development contributes to the productivity, profitability and sustainability of plant-based agriculture. From broad scale dryland cropping systems to intensive irrigated production, we work with industry and business to address challenges in plant production through research and development, knowledge transfer and government policy settings.

Articles

  • Soil organic carbon (SOC) is inherently low in Western Australian soils – limited by climate and soil type – with some potential to increase through management.

  • Claying involves adding and incorporating clay-rich subsoil into water repellent topsoil to overcome the repellence.

  • Waterlogging causes significant reductions in plant growth in some years and some environments in the high rainfall (greater than 600 mm annual rainfall) areas of South West Western Australia.

  • Waterlogging is a common problem in the agricultural soils of south-west Western Australia in the wetter months of winter.

  • MySoil is a simple tool to identify soil types. Growers can use soil identification to improve soil management and reduce the impact of soil constraints.

  • If you are deep-ripping, ploughing or spading to remove subsurface compaction or another constraint, it is a good idea to incorporate lime in the same operation.

  • Confident identification of soil compaction to restrict crop or pasture growth uses diagnosis combining visual symptoms of plant, root and soil features.

  • Soil acidification is an inevitable and ongoing consequence of productive agriculture.

  • Liming to recover an acidic soil to an appropriate pH can result in significant production benefits, however a response to liming indicates that previous production has been lost due to an acidic t

  • The rate of soil acidification due to agriculture can be reduced but not eliminated. Liming will always be needed to prevent the soil from becoming too acidic.