Agronomy looking forward, thinking broadly.

Global trends in human population and agriculture dictate that future calls made on the resources (physical, human, financial) and systems involved in producing food will be increasingly more demanding and complex. Both plant breeding and improved agronomy lift the potential yield of crops, a key component in progressing farm yield, so society can reasonably expect both agronomy as a science and agronomists as practitioners to contribute to the successful delivery of necessary change. By reflecting on current trends in agricultural production (diversification, intensification, integration, industrialisation, automation) and deconstructing a futuristic scenario of attempting agricultural production on Mars, it seems the skills agronomists will require involve not only the mandatory elements of their discipline but also additional skills that enable engagement with, even leadership of, teams who integrate (in sum or part) engineering, (agri-)business, economics and operational management, and build the social capital required to create and maintain a diverse array of enhanced and new ethical production systems and achieve increasing efficiencies within them.

Control techniques and management strategies for the problematic Navua sedge (Cyperus aromaticus)

Navua sedge, a member of the Cyperaceae family, is an aggressive weed of pastures in Fiji, Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomons, and Tahiti and is now a weed of pastures and roadsides in north Queensland, Australia. Primarily restricted to areas with an annual rainfall exceeding 2500 mm, Navua sedge is capable of forming dense stands smothering many tropical pasture species. Seventeen herbicides were field tested at three sites in north Queensland, with glyphosate, halosulfuron, hexazinone, imazapic, imazapyr, or MSMA the most effective for Navua sedge control. Environmental problems such as persistence in soil, lack of selectivity and movement off-site may occur using some herbicides at the predicted LC90 control level rates. A seasonality trial using halosulfuron (97.5 g ai/ha) gave better Navua sedge control (84%) spraying March to September than spraying at other times (50%). In a frequency trial, sequential glyphosate applications (2,160 g ae/ha) every two months was more effective for continued Navua sedge control (67%) than a single application of glyphosate (36%), though loss of ground cover would occur. In a management trial, single applications of glyphosate (2,160 to 3,570 g ae/ha) using either a rope wick, ground foliar spraying or a rotary rope wick gave 59 to 73% control, while other treatments (rotary hoe (3%), slashing (-13%) or crushing (-30%)) were less effective. In a second management trial, four monthly rotary wick applications were much more effective (98%) than four monthly crushing applications (42%). An effective management plan must include the application of regular herbicide treatments to eliminate Navua sedge seed being added to the soil seed bank. Treatments that result in seed burial, for example, discing are likely to prolong seed persistence and should be avoided. The sprouting activity of vegetative propagules and root fragmentation needs to also be considered when selecting control options.

Tree growth relationships and silvicultural tools to assist stand management in private native spotted gum dominant forests in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Spotted gum dominant forests occur from Cooktown in northern Queensland (Qld) to Orbost in Victoria (Boland et al. 2006) and these forests are commercially very important with spotted gum the most commonly harvested hardwood timber in Qld and one of the most important in New South Wales (NSW). Spotted gum has a wide range of end uses from solid wood products through to power transmission poles and generally has excellent sawing and timber qualities (Hopewell 2004). The private native forest resource in southern Qld and northern NSW is a critical component of the hardwood timber industry (Anon 2005, Timber Qld 2006) and currently half or more of the native forest timber resource harvested in northern NSW and Qld is sourced from private land. However, in many cases productivity on private lands is well below what could be achieved with appropriate silvicultural management. This project provides silvicultural management tools to assist extension staff, land owners and managers in the south east Qld and north eastern NSW regions. The intent was that this would lead to improvement of the productivity of the private estate through implementation of appropriate management. The other intention of this project was to implement a number of silvicultural experiments and demonstration sites to provide data on growth rates of managed and unmanaged forests so that landholders can make informed decisions on the future management of their forests. To assist forest managers and improve the ability to predict forest productivity in the private resource, the project has developed: • A set of spotted gum specific silvicultural guidelines for timber production on private land that cover both silvicultural treatment and harvesting. The guidelines were developed for extension officers and property owners. • A simple decision support tool, referred to as the spotted gum productivity assessment tool (SPAT), that allows an estimation of: 1. Tree growth productivity on specific sites. Estimation is based on the analysis of site and growth data collected from a large number of yield and experimental plots on Crown land across a wide range of spotted gum forest types. Growth algorithms were developed using tree growth and site data and the algorithms were used to formulate basic economic predictors. 2. Pasture development under a range of tree stockings and the expected livestock carrying capacity at nominated tree stockings for a particular area. 3. Above-ground tree biomass and carbon stored in trees. •A series of experiments in spotted gum forests on private lands across the study area to quantify growth and to provide measures of the effect of silvicultural thinning and different agro-forestry regimes. The adoption and use of these tools by farm forestry extension officers and private land holders in both field operations and in training exercises will, over time, improve the commercial management of spotted gum forests for both timber and grazing. Future measurement of the experimental sites at ages five, 10 and 15 years will provide longer term data on the effects of various stocking rates and thinning regimes and facilitate modification and improvement of these silvicultural prescriptions.

Inheritance of resistance to root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei) in wheat landraces and cultivars from the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region.

The root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei causes substantial loss to bread wheat production in the northern grain region of Australia and other parts of the world. West Asia and North Africa (WANA) wheat accessions with partial resistance to P. thornei were analysed for mode of inheritance in a half-diallel crossing design of F1 hybrids (10 parents) and F2 populations (7 parents). General combining ability was more important than specific combining ability as indicated by components of variance ratios of 0.93 and 0.95 in diallel ANOVA of the F1 and F2 generations, respectively. General combining ability values of the 'resistant' parents were predictive of the mean nematode numbers of their progeny in crosses with the susceptible Australian cv. Janz at the F1 (R populations showed relatively continuous distributions. Heritability was 0.68 for F2 populations in the half-diallel of resistant parents and 0.82-0.92 for 5 'resistant' parent/Janz doubled-haploid populations (narrow-sense heritability on a line mean basis). The results indicate polygenic inheritance of P. thornei resistance with a minimum of from 2 to 6 genes involved in individual F populations of 5 resistant parents crossed with Janz. Morocco 426 and Iraq 43 appear to be the best of the parents tested for breeding for resistance to P. thornei. None of the P. thornei-resistant WANA accessions was resistant to Pratylenchus neglectus.

The bioeconomic potential for agroforestry in Australia's northern grazing systems.

Although agriculture generates 16% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, it also has the potential to sequester large quantities of emissions through land use management options such as agroforestry. Whilst there is an extensive amount of agroforestry literature, little has been written on the economic consequences of adopting silvopastoral systems in northern Australia. This paper reports the financial viability of adopting complementary agroforestry systems in the low rainfall region of northern Australia. The analysis incorporates the dynamic tradeoffs between tree and pasture growth, likely forest product yields, carbon sequestration and livestock methane emissions in a bioeconomic model. The results suggest there are financial benefits for landholders who integrate complementary agroforestry activities into existing grazing operations at even modest carbon prices.

Managing the grass-legume balance in Stylosanthes scabra cv. Seca pastures in central Queensland

The impacts of 4 grazing strategies (year-long grazing, summer grazing, winter grazing and winter grazing plus spring burning) on the grass:legume balance were studied between 2000 and 2006 in a pasture oversown with Stylosanthes scabra cv. Seca (Seca stylo) in central Queensland. Seasonal rainfall throughout the study was generally below average. Total pasture yields in autumn were higher in the 2 winter grazing than the 2 summer grazing treatments, largely reflecting the sampling time relative to when grazing occurred. There were few differences in Seca composition in autumn, although there was a clear trend for Seca composition to be reduced by winter grazing plus burning. Both the frequency of occurrence and plant density of Seca were higher under the 2 summer grazing treatments and there was also a trend for the density of juvenile plants (<5 cm height) to be higher in the 2 summer grazing treatments. Seca soil seed banks were generally low and were reduced in the winter grazing plus burning treatment in spring 2002. The frequency of the palatable perennial grass Pennisetum ciliaris (Biloela buffel grass) was reduced while that of the 'increaser' species Bothriochloa pertusa (Indian couch grass) and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (snake weed) increased in the 2 summer grazing treatments compared with the 2 winter grazing treatments. Burning in spring increased soil loss in treatments grazed in winter. Differences in Seca frequency and density but not composition were explained by the 2 summer grazing treatments promoting 'gaps' in the pasture which were then colonised by Seca plants and other 'increaser' species. It was reasoned that, with time, mature Seca plants in the 2 winter grazing treatments would die so that Seca composition would eventually become higher under summer grazing regimes than under winter grazing. It was concluded that limiting grazing to particular seasons can alter legume:grass balance and that a time-frame of 5-8 years with average to good rainfall would be necessary to achieve large shifts in composition.

Sustainable Grazing in the Channel Country Floodplains (phase 2) : A technical report on findings between March 2003 and June 2006

‘Sustainable Grazing in the Channel Country Floodplains’ was initiated by industry to redress the lack of objective information for sustainable management in the floodplains of Cooper Creek and the Diamantina and Georgina Rivers. The project has maintained links with the grazing community and has extensively drawn upon expert local experience and knowledge. The project has provided tools for managers to better anticipate the size of beneficial flooding arising from rains in the upper catchment and to more objectively assess the value of the pasture resulting from flooding. The latest information from the project has enabled customisation of the EDGENetwork™ Grazing Land Management training package for the Channel Country. In combination, these tools will assist in making earlier cattle stocking decisions, including when cattle may need to be mustered out of floodplain paddocks, how many additional cattle will be required to take advantage of the flood–grown pasture, and the timing of cattle turnoff. These will reduce costs by providing a greater lead time to plan cattle movements and purchases, and may enhance the sustainability of the resource base by better matching cattle numbers with the feed on offer.

A guide to the process of Mitchell grass recovery

In western Queensland, severe drought conditions began in late 2001 and did not generally ease until the 2008/09 summer. Despite the ability of Mitchell grass plants to become dormant during drought, a large proportion of plants appeared to be dead rather than drought-dormant by the end of the 2002/03 summer. Tillers and remaining leaves were blackened and unpalatable to livestock. The term Mitchell grass dieback was coined by producers and other observers to describe what had occurred, although most were confident that the grass would recover with the breaking of the drought. Mitchell grass plants generally failed to respond to widespread average summer rains in early 2004 (> 250 mm). Observation suggested that moisture had penetrated to a soil depth of about 60 cm and a response from plants was expected. When there was no general response, research into the reasons for this was initiated (NBP.348 'Mitchell grass death in Queensland: extent, economic impact and potential for recovery'; 2005-07). This included an investigation of discrete areas of pasture that had responded to the 2003-04 summer rain. Further declines in condition of Mitchell grasslands occurred between winter 2005 and winter 2006 and, by 2006, field surveys indicated that 53% of this pasture community was in poor (C) condition, primarily due to dieback. Measurements at some sites suggested practices such as wet season spelling and burning can pre-condition Mitchell grass pasture for greater resistance to drought-induced dieback. However, the casual mechanisms and the effective timing and frequency of these practices remained unclear.

Improving the quality of kikuyu by reducing the lignin content

Development of improved pasture grass via chemical mutagenesis and selection of mutations in lignin genes.

Improving productivity of rundown sown grass pastures

Project with MLA to implement recommendations from "Review of productivity decline in sown grass pasture".

Wet season resting - economic insights from scenario modelling

Pasture degradation, particularly that attributable to overgrazing, is a significant problem across the northern Australian rangelands. Although grazing studies have identified the scope for wet season resting strategies to be used to rehabilitate degraded pastures, the economic outcome of these strategies has not been extensively demonstrated. An exploratory study of the prospective economic value of wet season resting is presented using an economic simulation model of a 28000 ha beef enterprise located in the Charters Towers region of north-eastern Australia to explore seven hypothetical scenarios centred on the projected performance of a wet season resting strategy. A series of 20-year simulations for a range of pasture recovery profiles, stocking capacity, animal productivity responses, beef prices and agistment options are compared with a baseline scenario of taking no action. Estimates of the net present value of the 20-year difference in total enterprise gross margins between the various resting options and the 'do nothing' option identify that wet season resting can offer a positive economic return for the range of scenarios examined, although this is contingent on the assumptions that are made concerning the trajectories of change in carrying capacity and animal productivity. Some implications for management and policy making to support the practical implementation of wet season resting strategies are discussed.

Economic modelling of grazing systems in the Fitzroy and Burdekin catchments

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest reef system in the world; it covers an area of approximately 2,225,000 km² in the northern Queensland continental shelf. There are approximately 750 reefs that exist within 40 km of the Queensland coast. Recent research has identified that poor water quality is having negative impacts on the GBR (Haynes et al. 2007). The Fitzroy Basin covers 143,000 km² and is the largest catchment draining into the GBR as well as being one of the largest catchments in Australia (Karfs et al. 2009). The Burdekin Catchment is the second largest catchment entering into the GBR and covers 133,432 km².The prime determinant for the changes in water quality entering into the GBR have been attributed to grazing, with beef production the largest single land use industry comprising 90% of the land area (Karfs et al. 2009). Extensive beef production contributes over $1 billion dollars to the national economy annually and employs over 9000 people, many in rural communities (Gordon 2007). ‘Economic modelling of grazing systems in the Fitzroy and Burdekin catchments’ was a joint project with the Fitzroy Basin Association and the Queensland Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation. The project was formed under the federally funded Caring For Our Country and the Reef Rescue programs. The project objectives were as follows; * Quantifying the costs of over-utilising available pasture and the resulting sediment leaving a representative farm for four of the major land systems in the Burdekin or Fitzroy catchments and identifying economically optimal pasture utilisation rates * Estimating the cost of reducing pasture utilisation rates below the determined optimal * Using this information, guide the selection of appropriate tools to achieve reduced utilisation rates e.g. extension process versus incentive payments or a combination of both * Model the biophysical and economic impacts of altering grazing systems to restore land condition e.g. from C condition to B condition for four land systems in the Burdekin or Fitzroy catchments.

Organic inputs, tillage and rotation practices influence soil health and suppressiveness to soilborne pests and pathogens of ginger.

A field experiment was established in which an amendment of poultry manure and sawdust (200 t/ha) was incorporated into some plots but not others and then a permanent pasture or a sequence of biomass-producing crops was grown with and without tillage, with all biomass being returned to the soil. After 4 years, soil C levels were highest in amended plots, particularly those that had been cropped using minimum tillage, and lowest in non-amended and fallowed plots, regardless of how they had been tilled. When ginger was planted, symphylans caused severe damage to all treatments, indicating that cropping, tillage and organic matter management practices commonly used to improve soil health are not necessarily effective for all crops or soils. During the rotational phase of the experiment, the development of suppressiveness to three key pathogens of ginger was monitored using bioassays. Results for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) indicated that for the first 2 years, amended soil was more suppressive than non-amended soil from the same cropping and tillage treatment, whereas under pasture, the amendment only enhanced suppressiveness in the first year. Suppressiveness was generally associated with higher C levels and enhanced biological activity (as measured by the rate of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis and numbers of free-living nematodes). Reduced tillage also enhanced suppressiveness, as gall ratings and egg counts in the second and third years were usually significantly lower in cropped soils under minimum rather than conventional tillage. Additionally, soil that was not disturbed during the process of setting up bioassays was more suppressive than soil which had been gently mixed by hand. Results of bioassays with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. zingiberi were too inconsistent to draw firm conclusions, but the severity of fusarium yellows was generally higher in fumigated fallow soil than in other treatments, with soil management practices having little impact on disease severity. With regard to Pythium myriotylum, biological factors capable of reducing rhizome rot were present, but were not effective enough to suppress the disease under environmental conditions that were ideal for disease development.

Post head-emergence frost resistance of barley genotypes in the northern grain region of Australia.

Post head-emergence frost causes substantial losses for Australian barley producers. Varieties with improved resistance would have a significant positive impact on Australian cropping enterprises. Five barley genotypes previously tested for reproductive frost resistance in southern Australia were tested, post head-emergence, in the northern grain region of Australia and compared with the typical northern control cultivars, Gilbert and Kaputar. All tested genotypes suffered severe damage to whole heads and stems at plant minimum temperatures less than -8degreesC. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, frost events reaching a plant minimum temperature of ~-6.5degreesC did not result in the complete loss of grain yield. Rather, partial seed set was observed. The control genotype, Gilbert, exhibited seed set that was greater than or equal to that of any genotype in each year, as did Kaputar when tested in 2005. Thus, Gilbert and Kaputar were at least as resistant as any tested genotype. This contrasts with trial results from the southern grain region where Gilbert was reported to be less resistant than Franklin, Amagi Nijo and Haruna Nijo. Hence, rankings for post head-emergence frost damage in the northern grain region differ from those previously reported. These results indicate that Franklin, Amagi Nijo and Haruna Nijo are not likely to provide useful sources of frost resistance or markers to develop improved varieties for the northern grain region of Australia.

Burning, then resting, reduces wiregrass (Aristida spp.) in black speargrass pastures

Wiregrasses (Aristida spp.) are becoming more prevalent, causing reduced productivity, in the black speargrass (Heterpogon contortus) pastures of south-east Queensland. Burning a native pasture of poor botanical composition (with a high proportion of wiregrass) in spring, and resting a heavily-grazed pasture also of poor composition, both improved the condition of these pastures. However, burning in late summer did not. Three months after burning in spring, relative density of wiregrass had decreased and that of a desirable species, black speargrass, had increased. However, this effect did not persist under continuous and heavy grazing. Resting increased threefold both the yield of pasture and the proportion of black speargrass, and decreased the proportion of wiregrass by two-thirds. Burning in late summer had no effect on the relative density of black speargrass but relative density of wiregrass increased. Selective grazing after burning in late summer kept this pasture in very poor condition for 14 months. These results suggest that the best way to increase the proportion of black speargrass and reduce the proportion of wiregrass in a pasture would be to burn in spring and then rest the pasture