Western Australia
August 4, 2014
Updated advice on the best practices for growing vegetables commercially is now available online.
The Good Practice Guide was first released by vegetablesWA in 2007 and recently updated by the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Department research officer Rachel Lancaster said the guide was intended to help growers achieve high yields of good quality produce, with minimal impact on the environment.
“The updated version has been expanded to include information relevant to vegetable growers on the clay loam soils of the South West as well as those farming on the sandy soils of the coastal plain, including metropolitan areas and Gingin, for whom it was initially developed,” Ms Lancaster said.
“Topics covered include soil, nutrient, water and pest and disease management and managing biodiversity, waste, air quality and energy,” she said.
“The guide has also been extended to include irrigation system maintenance, readily available water, soil pH and liming, conducting an on-farm trial and preventing insecticide resistance.
“There is also detailed information on measuring and understanding soil characteristics, collecting water samples , fertiliser types, application and storage, and measuring irrigation uniformity – information that commercial growers need to know.”
Funding for the updated guide was provided by the Australian Government ‘Caring for our Country’ Program through vegetablesWA and the State Government.
The Good Practice Guide can be downloaded from the vegetablesWA website here.
More information about growing vegetables in Western Australia is available on the Department of Agriculture and Food website here or at agric.wa.gov.au.
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