

WA Barley - Pests, weeds and diseases
Western Australian barley growers have a world-wide reputation for producing a reliable supply of high quality, contaminant-free barley. Over 1,500,000 tonnes of barley are produced annually in Western Australia and sold for malting, shochu production, human consumption or stock feed. Approximately 85% of Western Australian barley production is exported and the industry is an important participant in the international barley trade, particularly in the malting barley trade where it offers around one sixth of the worlds' traded malting barley.
Barley is an important grain industry in Western Australia, second in production only to wheat. It is an integral part of cropping systems due to its high yields, timeliness of on-farm activities, particularly seeding and harvest operations, as well as rotational benefits offering a break in leaf and root disease cycles. It currently offers a good profit margin in comparison to other cropping options and this has led to the doubling of barley production in Western Australia over the past 15 years.
This barley-based website contains information on many aspects of barley production in Western Australia. Use the site map below to guide you to all of the information links provided.
- Barley Varieties
Characteristics
Disease resistance
Crop Variety Sowing Guide
Choice of variety
Barley variety classification
Variety descriptions
Variety suggestions and performance
- Marketing and Economics
Marketing barley
Economics of growing barley
- Consumer Products
Malt products
Brewing
Shochu
Stockfeed
- Crop Establishment
Paddock Selection
Crop rotation
Preferred rotations
Soil type
Problem soils
Acidity and Aluminium
Boron toxicity
Waterlogging
Salinity
- Seed selection and sowing date
Purchasing new seed
Growing your own seed
Buying seed from a neighbouring farm
Seed testing
Sowing date
- Seed rate, depth and spacing
Calculate seeding rate
Seeding depth
Row spacing
- Nutrition
Essential nutrients
Nitrogen
Phosphorous
Sulphur
Potassium
- Soil and plant analysis and trace elements
Soil testing
Plant tissue testing
Trace elements
Zinc
Manganese
Copper
- Nutrient toxicities and deficiencies
Boron
Soil acidity and aluminium toxicity
Nutrient deficiencies
- Barley leaf, head and root diseases
Causes of barley diseases
Chemical control
Effectiveness of management
Integrated disease management
- Barley leaf and head diseases: BYDV, smut, leaf rust
Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus
Covered smut
Loose smut
Barley leaf rust
- Barley leaf and head diseases: Scald and net blotches
Scald
Net-type net blotch
Spot-type net blotch
- Leaf and head diseases: Mildew, leaf spot, other diseases
Powdery mildew
Physiological leaf spotting
Other leaf diseases
- Root diseases: take all, Rhizoctonia, root lesion nematode
Take all
Rhizoctonia bare patch
Root lesion nematodes
- Other root diseases
Cereal cyst nematode
Fusarium crown rot
Common root rot
Pythium root rot
- Insects and Weeds
Insect descriptions (DAFWA website)
Plant damage (DAFWA website)
Field pests
Stored grain pests
Stored grain protection (DAFWA website)
Stored grain insects (DAFWA website)
- Barley weeds
Herbicides
Broad-leaved weeds
Grass weeds
Integrated weed management
- Herbicides Guiding principles for good herbicide use
Pre-sowing knockdown herbicides
Pre-emergence selective herbicide
Early post-emergence herbicides
Later post-emergence herbicides
- Threats to the WA barley industry
Fusarium Head Blight
Stripe rust
Wheat diseases
- Harvesting
Harvesting
Direct heading
High moisture harvest
Swathing
- Weather damage and varietal purity
Kernel discolouration
Germ-end staining
Fungal staining
Pink staining
Pre-harvest sprouting
Cleaved barley
Varietal purity
Grain quality
- Harvest damage
Colour
Grain size
Grain protein
- Post Harvest
Cleaning and grading
Grain drying
Aeration
On-farm storage
- WA Barley Industry
Barley production
Malting barley
Feed barley
Shochu
Western Region Barley Council
Malting Barley Quality Technical Sub-committee
- Research
Barley Breeding
Molecular Genetics
Doubled Haploids
Germplasm
Pathology
Agronomy
Quality evaluation
Industry development
Crop Variety Testing
FIRST COMPILED BY - Roslyn Jettner and Pam Burgess from contributions by officers of the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia.
UPDATED IN 2006 BY - Richard O'Donnell, Alaina Smith and Blakely Paynter
CONTRIBUTORS - R. Jettner, B Paynter, M O'Connell, J Moore, V Stewart, K Jayasena, L Price, A Tarr, C Li, S Gupta, C Grime and S Broughton. Information from The Barley Book, edited by Kevin Young, and Farmnotes prepared by officers of the Department of Agriculture and Food have been used in compiling this site.
PHOTO CREDITS - R Jettner, R Loughman and other officers of the Department of Agriculture and Food.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - We would like to thank the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Grain Pool Pty Ltd and the Department of Agriculture and Food for financial assistance in preparing this site.
Page updated: June 2006