Improving information for the macadamia industry via an information "bank"

Macadamia growers are under increasing pressure to remain viable in an increasingly competitive global market. A key need is quick access to high quality information. Current industry information is poorly integrated, poorly updated, and because it is largely in hard-copy, is difficult to access efficiently. With the dramatic growth in the use of the internet by growers, as evidenced in a recent industry communications survey, an opportunity exists to address this problem through the development of a high quality, internet-based information ���bank���. The bank would bring together the macadamia information resources and collective knowledge of R&D and other relevant agencies into a one-stop information shop, aligned more effectively with grower needs.

Grazing for Healthy Coastal Wetlands: Guidelines for managing coastal wetlands in grazing systems.

Grazing for Healthy Coastal Wetlands has been developed to provide graziers, landowners and extension officers with information on managing grazing in and around Queensland���s coastal wetlands to maintain healthy coastal wetlands and productive grazing enterprises. It provides practical advice on how grazing and associated land management practices can be implemented to support the long-term health of coastal wetlands whilst maintaining production. The guidelines have been compiled from published literature, grazier knowledge, wetlands managers and the experience of extension and natural resource management professionals. They reflect the current knowledge of suitable management practices for coastal wetlands. They are designed to complement and be considered in conjunction with existing information resources including the EDGEnetwork Grazing Land Management series and best management practice guidelines from regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups. While the recommendations apply broadly to Queensland���s coastal wetlands, regional, catchment and landscape-scale variations in wetland characteristics and the objectives of the individual grazing enterprise should be taken into account in planning and deciding management actions for wetlands. An individual grazing property may even have a range of wetland types with different management needs and objectives which should be identified during whole of property planning. Specific land and wetland management advice should also be sought from local grazing extension officers and NRM professionals.

Cyanide poisoning in cattle from Dysphania glomulifera (red crumbweed): Using the internet for rapid plant identification and diagnostic advice: Case Report

A 300-strong Angus-Brahman cattle herd near Springsure, central Queensland, was being fed Acacia shirleyi (lancewood) browse during drought and crossed a 5-hectare, previously burnt area with an almost pure growth of Dysphania glomulifera subspecies glomulifera (red crumbweed) on their way to drinking water. Forty cows died of cyanide poisoning over 2 days before further access to the plant was prevented. A digital image of a plant specimen made on a flat-bed scanner and transmitted by email was used to identify D glomulifera. Specific advice on the plant's poisonous properties and management of the case was then provided by email within 2 hours of an initial telephone call by the field veterinarian to the laboratory some 600 km away. The conventional method using physical transport of a pressed dried plant specimen to confirm the identification took 5 days. D glomulifera was identified in the rumen of one of two cows necropsied. The cyanogenic potential of D glomulifera measured 4 days after collection from the site of cattle deaths was 18,600 mg HCN/kg in dry matter. The lethal dose of D glomulifera for a 420 kg cow was estimated as 150 to 190 g wet weight. The plant also contained 4.8% KNO3 equivalent in dry matter, but nitrate-nitrite poisoning was not involved in the deaths.

eResearch Archive: reaching global agricultural communities

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Library achieved a significant breakthrough in the provision of Open Access to Australian publicly funded research with the launch of its eResearch Archive (eRA). With more than one thousand publication records, journal articles, conferences papers and research reports now available to farmers, industry representatives, academics, researchers, students and members of the public throughout the world, the archive is the first web accessible multidisciplinary science institutional repository produced by an Australian government department.

SF06016 Low Chill Peaches Online

The aim of this project is to bring information on low chill stonefruit varieties to a user in a clear and friendly format to aid in that decision process. Low Chill Australia see this project as high priority for its members to be competitive by growing high quality, early season peach and nectarine fruit varieties. Data will be collated from grower surveys, breeder���s descriptions and literature, and entered into an Access Database and published on the web for stonefruit growers in tropical and sub-tropical regions across Australia. Links will be available from the Low Chill Australia and Summerfruit Australia websites.

Folate Content of Asian Vegetables

Folates are one of the most nutritionally significant vitamins. Natural sources of folate are reportedly more effective than supplementation or fortification with folic acid. Green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of folates which occur naturally in many forms or vitamers. With an expanding range of Asian vegetables and increasing consumer awareness and acceptance, it is timely to present information on the health attributes of these vegetables.

CattleTickBase: An integrated Internet-based bioinformatics resource for Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

The Rhipicephalus micro plus genome is large and complex in structure, making it difficult to assemble a genome sequence and costly to resource the required bioinformatics. In light of this, a consortium of international collaborators was formed to pool resources to begin sequencing this genome. We have acquired and assembled genomic DNA into contigs that represent over 1.8 Gigabase pairs of DNA from gene-enriched regions of the R. micro plus genome. We also have several datasets containing transcript sequences from a number of gene expression experiments conducted by the consortium. A web-based resource was developed to enable the scientific community to access our datasets and conduct analysis through a web-based bioinformatics environment called YABI. The collective bioinformatics resource is termed CattleTickBase. Our consortium has acquired genomic and transcriptomic sequence data at approximately 0.9X coverage of the gene-coding regions of the R. microplus genome. The YABI tool will facilitate access and manipulation of cattle tick genome sequence data as the genome sequencing of R. microplus proceeds. During this process the CattleTickBase resource will continue to be updated. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Australian Society for Parasitology Inc.

Changes in quality and bioactivity of native food during storage

Australian native foods have long been consumed by the Indigenous people of Australia. There is growing interest in the application of these foods in the functional food and complementary health care industries. Recent studies have provided information on the health properties of native foods but systematic study of changes in flavour and health components during processing and storage has not been done. It is well known that processing technologies such as packaging, drying and freezing can significantly alter the levels of health and flavour compounds. However, losses in compounds responsible for quality and bioactivity can be minimised by improving production practices. This report outlines research developed to provide the native food industry with reliable information on the retention of bioactive compounds during processing and storage to enable the development of product standards which in turn will provide the industry with scientific evidence to expand and explore new market opportunities globally.