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Ground Cover
SPELLING
Use Australian spelling – ʻsʼ not ʻzʼ in ʻorganisationʼ, ʻglobalisationʼ, ʻcriticiseʼ, ʻanalyseʼ and so
on – BUT adhere to a particular organisationʼs spelling of its own name (for example, World
Health Organization, Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia).
ALSO: signalled, travelled, modelled (rather than signaled, traveled, modeled); focused (not
focussed); ageing (not aging); judgement (not judgment)
Spelling from the Macquarie Dictionary is to be used as standard, unless words are
specifically listed in this style guide.
STYLE
•
All copy is generally in the present tense, except if reporting a particular moment in
time, for example someoneʼs speech at the launch of a book or at a conference.
Peopleʼs comments can generally be regarded as having some currency and
longevity, thus use of the present tense is fine.
•
For consistency, prefer ʻ“[quote],” Dr Smith saysʼ to ʻ“[quote],” says Dr Smithʼ (which
is close to saying ʻsays heʼ/ʼsays sheʼ), UNLESS you are going on to describe Dr
Smith, for example ʻ“[quote],” says Dr Smith, who is leading the project to identify ...ʼ
or ʻ“[quote],” says Dr Smith, director of the Nanotechnology Institute ...ʼ
•
General
o Organisations: the GRDC, the FRDC, FWPA, AWI, CSIRO – refer to
individual style guides for lists of commonly referred to organisations, or the
website of the organisation
o Always write “grower” not “farmer”
o Registered trademarks etc need to be used with commercial herbicide names
etc. For example Roundup® …
•
Common words to delete/replace
o Over – as in “over 90,000 people attended”; use “more than”
o About/around – “about $40,000” NOT “around $40,000”; around is a
circuitous journey
o Like – use “such as”
o Currently – usually unnecessary
o Principle/principal – frequently confused
o Prestigious – as in “prestigious journal”, “prestigious award”; delete
o Last/past – last means very last, “over the past year” means the one just
ended
o Per annum – use “a year” or “per year”
o Do not use “thus” or “hence”
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•
Abbreviations
o NSW, SA and WA are OK (prefer spell out at first mention. NEVER Tas or Vic
or VIC)
o Do not use wasnʼt, isnʼt, doesnʼt, canʼt, itʼs etc.
o GM OK without spelling out at first mention – fine in headlines
o R&D OK; RD&E needs to be spelt out at first mention (research, development
and extension)
o NO e.g., i.e. or etc. – write out in full: ʻfor exampleʼ, ʻthat isʼ, ʻand so onʼ
o Always use ʻthe USʼ and ʻthe UKʼ, NOT ʻthe United Statesʼ or ʻthe U.S.A.ʼ or
ʻthe United Kingdomʼ etc.
o Acronyms should all be spelt out at first mention. They should NOT be used in
precedes (unless due to space constraints)
•
Break-out stories – these should be able to ʻstand aloneʼ as stories, therefore all
ʻspell-out-at-first-mentionʼ rules apply
•
Bullet style is as follows
o
o
o
item a; lower case first letter, semi colon at the end of the phrase
item b; and
second-to-last item semi colon followed by word “and”
item c. full stop at end
o
unless the bulleted list follows a heading (perhaps a numbered heading, with
no colon at the end), in which case each bulleted point ends in a full stop
since the list cannot be considered one sentence. (However, the style of ʻKey
pointsʼ in Ground Cover is not to end each bulleted item with a full stop.)
•
Captions:
o Full stop where they are sentences, no full stop for just names
•
Dates:
o unspaced en dash between span of years and months,
eg 2004–08, March–May
o unspaced hyphen between adjacent years, eg 2005-06, 1999-2000
o Day, month, year – 1 November 2004 (NOT “on the 15th of November..”
o 1960s, 1980s - NOT 1960ʼs, 1980ʼs
o 20th century, not twentieth century (except at the start of a sentence) or 20th
•
Ellipsis
o ( … ) – space on either side eg. “after a pause … the fish jumped”
•
Headings and precedes
o no PBR symbol in main headline – OK in precede
o no abbreviations, for example WANTFA, DPI etc – EXCEPT if space is an
issue
•
Hyphenation:
o no ʻhangingʼ hyphens – for example, “short and long-term” NOT “short- and
long-term”; similarly “two to three-year”
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•
Measurement
o spell out at first use in an article (millimetres, kilometres, hectares etc) then
subsequent use is abbreviated (mm, km, ha – no space between figure and
unit of measurement); always singular (“3km” NOT “3kms”)
o °C (not ʻdegrees centigradeʼ)
21°C to 25°C (not 21 to 25°C)
minus 25°C except in tables (use en-dash with a space: – 25°C)
o MWh = megawatt hour(s)
o Convert imperial measures to metric – entering, for example, ʻ300lbʼ or ʻ90
milesʼ or ʻ20 inchesʼ (or ʻ20 inches in cmʼ) straight into Google will give you
the metric conversion.
o metric conversion (ha):
1 hectare (ha) = 10,000 square metres
1 hectare (ha) = 2.471 (2.5) acres
1 acre = .4047 (.4) hectares
o metric conversion (to tonnes):
1 US ton = 2000lb ≈ 907.18474kg (or 0.9 tonne)
1 [metric] tonne = 1000kg ≈ 2204lb
to convert US tons to tonnes multiply by 0.9
•
Money
o Figures in dollars are always assumed to be Australian dollars (no A$
required) unless stated otherwise.
o US$800, C$800 [Canadian] – include conversion to Australian dollars in
brackets (A$----) after any mention of other currency figure (letters before $
sign)
o converting currencies – e.g. US$ to A$ use http://www.xe.com/ucc/
o cents always written out – 19 cents, not 19c or 19¢
•
Numbers
o one to nine spelled out, 10 onwards written as figures
o the word ʻtoʼ between figures/numbers ie,150 to 180mm; not 150-180mm or
150–180mm
o 1000s – no comma until 10,000
o fractions sometimes OK eg, “an eight-year-old tree, an 8.5-year-old tree and a
nine-year-old tree were selected…”
o Peoples ages in figures (ʻClem Brown, 32, was cleaning his chimney…ʼ)
o ʻper centʼ not % except in tables
o Use an unspaced en dash for a minus sign; though ʻminus 30˚Cʼ can be
clearer than ʻ–30˚Cʼ
•
Plant Breederʼs Rights (http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/pbr_db/)
o add symbol to varieties that are ʻAcceptedʼ as well as ʻGrantedʼ but NOT
ʻTerminatedʼ or ʻCancelledʼ
o DO NOT use in headings
o DO NOT use in expressions such as “Kaspa-type chickpeas” or “the ʻJackieʼ
pathotype [of stripe rust]”
•
Quotations
o Double quotation marks for quoted speech; single quotation marks for ironic
or colloquial use of words or quotes within quotes – for example, “Cocacolonisation and the ʻdiabesityʼ epidemic …”.
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•
Rotations
o Are to be written: wheat/canola/wheat
•
Titles & names:
o titles not capitalised – “executive officer”, “manager wheat and barley
breeding”
o GRDC managersʼ position titles to be written as e.g. “Leecia Angus, manager
wheat and barley breeding, GRDC” – manager first
o individualsʼ names – in full first time (eg, Kim Hooper) then ʻMr Hooperʼ (Dr
Hooper, Professor Hooper, Mrs Hooper) throughout article UNLESS it is a
ʻprofileʼ of one grower – then use full name at first mention and first name only
thereafter
•
Web/email addresses
o In general, drop the ʻhttp://ʼ (unnecessary) and start straight in at ʻwww.ʼ BUT
leave the ʻhttp://ʼ if there is no ʻwww.ʼ in address for clarity, e.g.
ʻhttp://apps.uws.edu.auʼ, ʻhttp://zjh.dalang.gov.cnʼ DO NOT drop ʻhttps://ʼ
OMIT the ʻ/ʼ on the end of web addresses – ʻwww.google.comʼ NOT
ʻwww.google.com/ʼ
o In sentences, web addresses are best placed in brackets – “… at the FWPA
website (www.fwpa.org.au)” is better than “For … go to the FWPA website at
www.fwpa.org.au”
o Email addresses are always all lower case: capital letters are superfluous
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WORD LIST
A
ABARE = now ABARES
ABARES = Australian Bureau of
Agricultural and Resource
Economics and Sciences
adviser – not advisor
agribusiness – one word
agroforestry – one word
airseeder
AUSTRALIAN REGIONS – cap “definite
geographical places, regions, areas
and countries”, says The
Economistʼs online style guide; see
separate list of Australian regions,
such as the Wimmera, Western
District, Mid North Coast etc in styleguides/• other style guides &
glossaries
autosteer – one word
B
B-double [truck] – according to Macquarie
(cap ʻBʼ, lower case ʻdʼ)
beat sheet – two words
benchmarked, benchmarking
benefiting, benefited – NOT benefitting,
benefitted
biannual – not hyphenated
biodiesel
bioeconomy
bioenergy
biofactory, biofactories
biofuels – not hyphenated
biomass
biosecurity – not hyphenated
boomspray
box seat
break crop – noun, not hyphenated
broadacre
broadleaf [weeds] – one word
C
carbon dioxide – write out at first mention,
thereafter CO2
carbon dioxide equivalent = CO2-e
carryover – as in “to increase their yield
and reduce risks of carryover that may
affect subsequent crops”
cashflow
Central Queensland (CQ) – capped
Central West NSW [growers]
CENTURIES – write as 20th century, 21st
century etc, not ʻtwentiethʼ, not
ʻCenturyʼ
chaser bin – two words
chickpeas – (noun) one word, plural eg,
“chickpeas boost soil nitrogen); but
chickpea (adjective) – eg, “chickpea
varieties”, “chickpea flour”, “chickpea
markets” etc; types include desi and
kabuli
CIMMYT = International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (in Mexico)
co-existence
CONFERENCE TITLES – place in
inverted commas eg, “Sponsored by
the GRDC, the ʻPulses in the Feed
Industryʼ conference in …”
controlled traffic – NOT hyphenated use
CTF at second mention; adjective
might be hyphenated: controlledtraffic farming?? “Controlled Trafic
Farming (CTF) Conference”
cooperation, cooperative – but co-op in
the case of e.g. a growerʼs cooperative
coordination, coordinator
corn – no, in Australia itʼs maize
crossbred – one word
D
daylength – one word
debugging – one word
deep-ripped – as in “it was deep-ripped to
450mm to ensure there was no
residual traffic compaction”
Delta T – cap ʻDʼ, no hyphen as on BoM
website; the difference between the
wet and dry bulb temperatures –
used to measure the relationship
between temperature and humidity
direct-drilled
disc seeder
DNA – OK to use acronym
double-knock = two controls of the same
weed germination
dryland
dry-matter [production]
E
earthworm
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eastern Europe – no cap on ʻeasternʼ;
[from The Economistʼs online style
guide:] “Europe's divisions are no
longer neatly political, and are now
geographically imprecise, so use
lower case for central, eastern and
western Europe. But North, Central
and South America are clearly
defined areas, so should be given
capitals as should Central, South,
East and South-East Asia.” ?
e.g. – do not use abbreviation, spell out
followed by a comma
ellipsis: space followed by … followed by
space
email – one word
El Niño, El Niña – with accent on ʻnʼ
end-uses
etc – do not use, replace with “for
example…” or “and so on”
evapotranspiration
F
Far North Queensland
farmer – do not use, use “grower”
farmgate – one word
feedgap = one word
feedgrains – one word and plural (like
grains)
feedlot – but NOT “feed lotter”, use “lot
feeder”
fenceline
field-tests, field-testing
fields – DO NOT use; Australia has
paddocks
flat-fan nozzle
flaxleaf fleabane
flowchart – one word
focusing, focused – NOT focussing,
focussed
foregoing
four-wheel drive – only four-wheel
hyphenated
fuelled – not fueled (US)
G
genebank
GENUS – italicised eg, ʻThere are more
than 1000 species of Acacia. One of
the best known is Acacia baileyana.ʼ
Also Eucalyptus. Family eg,
Myrtaceae is not italicised. (See gov
Style Manual p130)
glasshouse – one word
GM – OK to use without first using
Google Earth
Google Maps
Grain & Graze = a research program run
by MLA, GRDC, AWI and Land &
Water Australia
grainbelt – one word
grain fill – 2 words
grain growers – two words
grain growing – two words
grain legume – donʼt use, the preferred
term is ʻpulseʼ
ground cover – two words
groundwater = one word
Group A [herbicide] – similarly Group B,
C, D, I, M, N etc; but “herbicide
groups A, B and N”
GS = growth stage; no space between
initials and number e.g. GS30
H
hardpan
hard-seeded – also hard-seededness,
soft-seeded
hay-freezing – a weed control strategy
hay off – correct
hectares – ha, after it has been spelt out
in the first usage
high input levels – rather than high-input
levels or high input-levels
high-rainfall zone = HRZ
holistic – not wholistic
homemade – one word
I
ICARDA = International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry
Areas
i.e. – spell out: that is
in-crop
infrared – not hyphenated
intercropping – one word
International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA)
International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center = CIMMYT (in
Mexico); not ʻCentreʼ
internet – not capped
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inter-relate – hyphenate
in vitro, in vivo – in italics
J
K
km – after it has been spelt out in the first
usage; not kms
knife-point – a no-till method
knife-rolling
knockdown = one word
L
landrace
life cycle – two words
lot feeder – rather than “feedlotter”
M
maize – not corn (US)
the Mallee
marker-assisted selection
marketplace
megawatt = MW
Merino – capitalised
micro-arrays
microelement
micronutrient
microorganisms = one word
mid-infrared (MIR) – also near infrared
(NIR)
midsummer
mL – for millilitres; preferred by the
Macquarie dictionary and clearer
than ml
[a] money-maker
moratoria – not moratoriums
mother bin – two words
mungbean – one word
N
nanoparticles
nationwide
night-time
north-east, north-west – hyphenated
Northern Mallee – both capped
north-west – hyphenated
no-till – hyphenated; refers to a system of
farming
O
off-farm
offshore
omega-3 [fatty acid]
on-farm
online – one word
outperform – one word
overwinter
P
per cent – two words
phosphorus – NOT phosphorous
plant-available water capacity = PAWC
postdoctoral
post-harvest
pre-breeder, pre-breeding – keep hyphen
for easier reading
precision-farming [techniques]
pre-emergent
preventive – not ʻpreventativeʼ
program – not programme (unless thatʼs
the formal name of something e.g.
the UNʼs World Food Programme
PROPERTY NAMES – place in inverted
commas eg, “The rotation on
ʻNorthwoodʼ is usually…”
pulses – use rather than ʻgrain legumeʼ
Q
R
R&D – closed up
rain-fed
re-bale, re-baling
record-keeping – as in “improved recordkeeping on weather…”
REGIONS, cropping – not capped:
southern region, northern region,
western region; BUT Northern
Panel, Southern Panel, Western
Panel
REGIONS, Australian – cap “definite
geographical places, regions, areas
and countries”, says The
Economistʼs online style guide; see
separate list of Australian regions,
such as the Wimmera, Western
District, Mid North Coast etc in styleguides/• other style guides &
glossaries
regrowth
REPORT NAMES – anything that is
published to be in italics;
program/project names to be in
single quotes
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resale
resowed/resowing – one word
right-hand [side] – only right-hand
hyphenated
road-test
ROTATIONS – ideally written
“wheat/chickpea” or
“wheat/wheat/chickpea” (rather than
wheat-chickpea)
Roundup® – add the registered trademark
symbol; glyphosate, Group M
herbicide
ROW SPACING – written eg, ʻ23centimetre (9-inch) row spacingʼ
ryegrass – one word
run-off – hyphenated
S
sandplain [country]
seedbank
seed-set
SGD = sheep grazing days
shelter-belt
soft-seeded
SOI = Southern Oscillation Index (note
caps); its five forecast phases are
capitalised – Positive, Rising,
Falling, Negative and Neutral
soil-borne – two words; note ʻeʼ on
south-east – hyphenated
south-west – hyphenated
SPECIES – are written eg, Ornithopus sp.
– genus in italics followed by sp. or
spp. (or sp.) NOT in italics
spray drift – 2 words
spraytopped – “the pasture is spraytopped
for grass seed set control”
state – always lowercase ʻsʼ
state-wide
stockfeed – one word
stock feeders – two words
stockpile, stockpiled
subclover – one word
subcontinent – better referred to as the
ʻIndian subcontinentʼ (if referring to
India)
subsoil – one word
subspecies – one word
subsurface
subterranean clover – not capitalised
subtropical – one word
sugarcane – one word
sulfur – NOT sulphur
T
TAFE – stands for technical and further
education; capitalised
take-all – (a plant disease) not capitalised;
there are several strains
think tank – two words
TILLAGE: no-till is always hyphenated;
zero till is only hyphenated when
followed by a noun;
tillers, tillering
timeline
TITLES – anything that is published to be
in italics; program/project names to
be in single quotes
timeframe
timeline
tine – use tyne instead
tonnes per hectare when first mentioned;
thereafter t/ha
top-dressing
Top End – OK
topsoil – one word
tradeability – with an ʻeʼ
tramlining – one word
trash – ʻcrop residueʼ is preferred
trialled
tyne – rather than ʻtineʼ
U
[the] UK – not “the United Kingdom” or
U.K.
underway
Updates [GRDC] – keep cap to avoid
confusion with verb, for example,
“Growers and advisers at the
Update…”
[the] US – not “United States”, or U.S. or
USA
V
variable-rate technology = VRT
vitamin A – lowercase “v” for vitamins
W
waterlogged – one word
watertable – one word
water use efficiency – NO LONGER
HYPHENATED; WUE
weatherproof
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webcams – one word
weed seed
wheatbelt – one word
whistle-stop tour
wholegrains – one word
windrowed, windrowers
wind speed
worldwide – one word
X
Y
yield-mapping – as in “Mr Baker began
yield-mapping in 1996…”
Z
Zadoks [growth stage] = a decimal growth
stage (GS) scale, which divides the
development of the cereal plant into
100 individual growth stages;
proposed by the Dutch
phytopathologist Jan C. Zadoks
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