Boron deficiency was first recorded in Australia in the 1930s in apple trees growing in Tasmania and New South Wales. Subsequently the deficiency was found in a wide range of pasture and crop plants. Crops with higher boron requirements such as lucerne, sunflowers, rapeseed, cauliflower and apples are most likely to respond to boron. Pine trees, which are commonly used in tree lots and as windb...

The ACP guidelines state that ‘Containers must drain well with no internal recesses which could trap the product’ yet a number of containers do not meet this standard. The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA)’s basic requirements state that containers ‘should drain well and facilitate easy and effective rinsing to maximize product residue removal’. This falls short of the ‘must’ in our o...

A beef herd submodel was created for integration with other farm components to form a whole-farm model capable of simulating a wide range of beef production systems. This herd submodel determined the best available feed or feed mix to meet the fiber, energy, and protein requirements for each of up to six animal groups on the farm. The groups comprised any combination of cows, nursing calves, yo...

Biotechnology is offering farmers new crop production opportunities and challenges. Prior to selecting a transgenic variety, farmers must consider the cost of the technology fee, possible yield drag, potential pest infestations, possible reductions in pesticide costs, refuge requirements to minimize the development of insect resistance, and adjustments in cultural practices. Moreover, crop segr...

mills are able to accept chopped cane. In the past three years several locally developed whole stalk harvesters and imported chopper harvesters have come into use in many areas of the South African sugar industry. The Experiment Station therefore conducted time and motion studies during the past two seasons to assess the performance of these harvesters while operating under local field and crop...

Precision agriculture technologies are an integral part of many crop production operations. However, implementation for N application has lagged, primarily due to lack of a viable system for variable N rate decisions. Active canopy sensors have been developed as a tool to determine plant N stress deficiency and provide an on-the-go decision for implementing variable rate. There are two general ...

Your tillage system is important to the long-term sustainability of the farm enterprise. Matching a crop tillage system that is suited to your farm resources can provide both economic and environmental benefits. It is important to evaluate your land and determine what options would be appropriate. Several questions have arisen regarding new approaches or options in tillage systems compared to a...

Over the next 50 years, considerable stress will be placed on worldwide crop production by a combination of factors, including an increased human population, an increase in the crops used per person, and a number of environmental issues. Given current trends, it will be necessary to approximately double yields worldwide during this time period, and meeting this challenge will require a consider...

The existing technology of carbon dioxide regulation methods are incomplete and time consuming. It is difficult to manage and not environmentally friendly. Carbon dioxide regulation systems in greenhouse can only set carbon density thresholds relying on human experience. They cannot meet the practical requirements of the carbon dioxide density accurately; hence result in negative effects on cro...

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a crop well adapted to the environmental conditions prevailing in the Mediterranean Basin. Nevertheless, the increasing international demand for olive oil and table olives in the last two decades has led to expansion of olive cultivation in some countries of the southern hemisphere, notably in Argentina, Chile, Perú and Australia. While the percentage of world produc...