The levels of copper, molybdenum and inorganic sulphate in some Western Australian pastures. A contribution to the study of copper deficiency diseases in ruminants

1962 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
AB Beck

Levels of copper, molybdenum, and inorganic sulphate are reported for samples of Western Australian pastures from areas where copper deficiency diseases in ruminants have occurred and from unaffected areas. The copper contents of the pastures were determined previously. It was found that the copper deficiency diseases commonly occurred where pastures contained less than 3 p.p.m. Cu in the dty matter during the growing period, while such diseases were absent where the pastures contained more than 6 p.p.m. Cu. Values between 3 and 6 p.p.m Cu were classified as marginal. The molybdenum and inorganic sulphate contents of the original pasture samples have now been determined. The molybdenum contents of the three classes of pasture were found to lie within the same range (0.1 to 4 p.p.m. Mo in the dry matter, with the majority less than 1 p.p.m.). These values are similar to those recorded by overseas workers for normal pastures. Inorganic sulphate contents of the three classes of pasture also lay within the same range (0.1 to 0.9 per cent SO4, with the majorio between 0.2 and 0.4 per cent). The results for the pastures examined suggest that in Western Australia the low copper level is the constant and the most significant factor associated with enzootic ataxia in sheep and falling disease in cattle.

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
PS Karlsson ◽  
JS Pate

Proportional allocations of current total dry matter (DM), N and P to early season asexual gemma production and late-season flowering and seed production were compared for eight pygmy rosette form and three micro stilt-form perennial pygmy sundews (Drosera spp.) in native habitat in south-western Australia. Mean allocations to gemmae for the smaller rosette species were 22% for DM, 60% for N and 38% for P versus 8, 20 and 23% (DM, N, P) respectively for the micro stilt forms. Allocations to mature fully formed seeds were extremely low, 1-8, 4.0 and 5.4% (DM, N, P) for the rosette forms, 0.7, 3-0 and 2.3% respectively for the micro stilt forms. The above values reflect the heavy bias towards gemma production, (8-52 propagules per plant per season across the 11 species) as opposed to that for seed (0-8 fully formed seeds per plant per season). Comparable information for the annual nongemmiferous pygmy sundew D. glanduligera showed end of season allocation of 66, 37 and 29% (DM, N, P) of total plant resource to inflorescences minus seeds, and additional amounts equivalent to 30, 59 and 69% to the 60 seeds produced per plant of this species in the study season. A detailed phenology of resource allocation across a full season of growth in second, third and fourth season plants of the rosette perennial D. closterostigma showed net seasonal losses in the total vegetative resource of N and of P in older plants attributable to apparent over commitment to asexual reproduction during the season of study.


1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 967 ◽  
Author(s):  
JF Loneragan ◽  
E Delhaize ◽  
J Webb

Ascorbate oxidase activity in leaf blades of various ages was examined in relation to copper supply to subterranean clover cv. Seaton Park grown in the glasshouse on a copper-deficient sand. At each copper level, ascorbate oxidase activity per g fresh weight was highest in the youngest leaf blades and declined steeply with age; activity per leaf remained relatively constant with leaf age. On either basis, and in leaf blades of each age category, ascorbate oxidase activity followed copper level. The activity per young folded leaf (YFL) was chosen as the most suitable criterion for a diagnostic test of copper deficiency. Ascorbate oxidase activity per YFL correlated closely with the response to copper of the dry matter yield of plant tops. Activity per YFL also correlated closely with copper concentrations in the youngest open leaf (YOL). These correlations held for Seaton Park subterranean clover when nitrogen was supplied either as NH4NO3 or by symbiotic fixation. Ascorbate oxidase activity in YFL of Mt Barker subterranean clover grown at varying copper levels in the field also correlated closely with YOL copper concentrations in the same plants. Moreover, subterranean clover plants deficient in any one of six other nutrients (nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, zinc) all had ascorbate oxidase activities above the suggested critical value for adequate copper supply. It is suggested that ascorbate oxidase activity in YFL can be used as a specific and sensitive test for the copper status of subterranean clover, with activities of = 50 nmol O2/min per leaf indicating deficiency, = 100 indicating sufficiency, and 50-100 indicating a marginal copper supply.


1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 587 ◽  
Author(s):  
KHM Siddique ◽  
SP Loss

The growth and seed yield of 5 vetch (Vicia) cultivars representing Vicia sativa, V. benghalensis and V. villosa were compared at 8 sites over 2 years in south-western Australia. The vetches showed considerable potential as grain and forage legume crops in the low to medium rainfall areas of the Western Australian cereal belt. Cultivars of V. sativa showed the most potential in terms of dry matter and seed yield, and on average across sites and seasons both Languedoc and Blanchefleur produced over 2.5 t/ha of dry matter at flowering: Machine-harvested seed yields were over 1.6 t/ha. Cultivars of V. benghalensis and V. villosa produced considerably less dry matter at flowering and had lower harvest index (0.14-0.42) and seed yield < 4 t/ha) when compared with the V. sativa cultivars, possibly due to their poor growth rates and delayed phenology. Early Purple, an early flowering and maturing selection from the V. benghalensis cultivar Popany, showed improved adaptation and seed yield at many low rainfall sites. Nevertheless, Languedoc, Blanchefleur and Early Popany are all considered late flowering (up to 126 days) compared with grain legumes adapted to this environment, and further improvement in vetch species could be achieved by selecting for more rapid development. Both soft-seededness and non-shattering pods should also be high priorities for vetch selection and/or breeding programs. It is concluded that vetch species may have a role in farming systems in Western Australia for the production of fodder, hay, grain or green manure while providing the other rotational benefits of legumes on fine-textured neutral to alkaline and shallow duplex soils where narrow-leafed lupin is poorly adapted.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 523c-523
Author(s):  
Siegfried Zerche

Refined nutrient delivery systems are important for environmentally friendly production of cut flowers in both soil and hydroponic culture. They have to be closely orientated at the actual nutrient demand. To solve current problems, express analysis and nutrient uptake models have been developed in horticulture. However, the necessity of relatively laborious analysis or estimation of model input parameters have prevented their commercial use up to now. For this reason, we studied relationships between easily determinable parameters of plant biomass structure as shoot height, plant density and dry matter production as well as amount of nitrogen removal of hydroponically grown year-round cut chrysanthemums. In four experiments (planting dates 5.11.91; 25.3.92; 4.1.93; 1.7.93) with cultivar `Puma white' and a fixed plant density of 64 m2, shoots were harvested every 14 days from planting until flowering, with dry matter, internal N concentration and shoot height being measured. For each planting date, N uptake (y) was closely (r2 = 0.94; 0.93; 0.84; 0.93, respectively) related to shoot height (x) at the time of cutting and could be characterized by the equation y = a * × b. In the soilless cultivation system, dry matter concentrations of N remained constant over the whole growing period, indicating non-limiting nitrogen supply. In agreement with constant internal N concentrations, N uptake was linearly related (r2 = 0.94 to 0.99) to dry matter accumulation. It is concluded that shoot height is a useful parameter to include in a simple model of N uptake. However, in consideration of fluctuating greenhouse climate conditions needs more sophisticated approaches including processes such as water uptake and photosynthetically active radiation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742110096
Author(s):  
Oleguer Plana-Ripoll ◽  
Patsy Di Prinzio ◽  
John J McGrath ◽  
Preben B Mortensen ◽  
Vera A Morgan

Introduction: An association between schizophrenia and urbanicity has long been observed, with studies in many countries, including several from Denmark, reporting that individuals born/raised in densely populated urban settings have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those born/raised in rural settings. However, these findings have not been replicated in all studies. In particular, a Western Australian study showed a gradient in the opposite direction which disappeared after adjustment for covariates. Given the different findings for Denmark and Western Australia, our aim was to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and urbanicity in these two regions to determine which factors may be influencing the relationship. Methods: We used population-based cohorts of children born alive between 1980 and 2001 in Western Australia ( N = 428,784) and Denmark ( N = 1,357,874). Children were categorised according to the level of urbanicity of their mother’s residence at time of birth and followed-up through to 30 June 2015. Linkage to State-based registers provided information on schizophrenia diagnosis and a range of covariates. Rates of being diagnosed with schizophrenia for each category of urbanicity were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for covariates. Results: During follow-up, 1618 (0.4%) children in Western Australia and 11,875 (0.9%) children in Denmark were diagnosed with schizophrenia. In Western Australia, those born in the most remote areas did not experience lower rates of schizophrenia than those born in the most urban areas (hazard ratio = 1.02 [95% confidence interval: 0.81, 1.29]), unlike their Danish counterparts (hazard ratio = 0.62 [95% confidence interval: 0.58, 0.66]). However, when the Western Australian cohort was restricted to children of non-Aboriginal Indigenous status, results were consistent with Danish findings (hazard ratio = 0.46 [95% confidence interval: 0.29, 0.72]). Discussion: Our study highlights the potential for disadvantaged subgroups to mask the contribution of urban-related risk factors to risk of schizophrenia and the importance of stratified analysis in such cases.


1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
MDA Bolland ◽  
MJ Baker

Seed of 2 cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and 1 burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) with increasing phosphorus (P) concentrations (wheat 1.4-3.7 g P/kg dry matter, medic 3.3-7.9 g P/kg dry matter) were collected from field experiments with variable levels of applied superphosphate (wheat 0- 577 kg P/ha, medic 0-364 kg P/ha) in south-western Australia. These seeds were used in further experiments to examine the effect of seed P concentration on the subsequent dry matter (DM) production of seedlings and plants in 3 glasshouse pot experiments and 1 field experiment. Seed of the same size (wheat, 35 mg/seed; medic, 3.6 mg/seed) but with increasing P concentration produced substantially higher DM yields in the absence or presence of freshly applied superphosphate P up to 28-35 days after sowing in the pot experiments and 67 days after sowing in the field experiment.


1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
IC Potter ◽  
JW Penn ◽  
KS Brooker

The absence of marine records for M. dalli below latitude 31�S., together with data on gonadal stages and spermatophore deposition on females of this species in the Swan estuary, provide very strong indications that the western school prawn typically breeds in estuarine environments in south-western Australia. The 0 + recruits, which first appeared in samples in February, remained in the estuary during the following months and by November had reached a size suitable for exploitation. At this time they were approaching sexual maturity and were starting to move from the shallows to the deeper waters of the estuary where they remained for their second year of life. In contrast to Australian Penaeus species, M. dalli mates during the intermoult period when the shell is hard rather than immediately after moulting.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Woolley

Woolley’s Pseudantechinus, P. woolleyae, has remained virtually unstudied in the 30 years since its recognition in 1988 as a species distinct from P. macdonnellensis. It has a wide distribution in arid regions of Western Australia. What little is known of its biology comes largely from studies carried out over the years 1988–91 on one wild-caught female and her offspring, and a few specimens held in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. P. woolleyae is a seasonal breeder and young are born from late July to early October. They mature when ~7 months old. Both males and females are potentially capable of breeding in more than one year. Males have accessory erectile tissue that does not form an appendage on the penis.


1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Blowes ◽  
WA Heather ◽  
N Malajczuk ◽  
SR Shea

Native forest at Durras in south-eastern New South Wales and Jarrahdale in south-western Western Australia was examined for the presence of Phytophthora cinnamomi by two sampling and isolation techniques. With the lupin seeding baiting technique, randomly selected samples of soil and fine roots collected from the New South Wales site yielded P. cinnamomi when baited, while similar baiting of comparable samples from Western Australia failed. Direct plating of samples of upper roots and root collars of recently dead Banksia grandis from Western Australian sites yielded P. cinnamomi, while this organism was not isolated from comparable samples of chlorotic Macrozamia communis collected at the New South Wales site. The results suggest that the form of occurrence of P. cinnamomi and its association with disease in Australia vary in different situations. Viewing each situation independently might ensure the adoption of control/prevention strategies appropriate to all.


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