An exploratory study on the commercialisation of heat pump-fluidised bed drying technology

Fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology offers distinctive advantages over the existing drying technology employed in the Australian food industry. However, as is the case with many other examples of innovations that have had clear relative advantages, the rates of adoption and diffusion of this technology have been very slow. "Why does this happen?" is the theme of this research study that has been undertaken with an objective to analyse a range of issues related to the market acceptance of technological innovations. The research methodology included the development of an integrated conceptual model based on an extensive review of literature in the areas of innovation diffusion, technology transfer and industrial marketing. Three major determinants associated with the market acceptance of innovations were identified as the characteristics of the innovation, adopter information processing capability and the influence of the innovation supplier on the adoption process. This was followed by a study involving more than 30 small and medium enterprises identified as potential adopters of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology in the Australian food industry. The findings revealed that judgment was the key evaluation strategy employed by potential adopters in the particular industry sector. Further, it was evidenced that the innovations were evaluated against a predetermined criteria covering a range of aspects with emphasis on a selected set of attributes of the innovation. Implication of these findings on the commercialisation of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology was established, and a series of recommendations was made to the innovation supplier (DPI/FT) enabling it to develop an effective commercialisation strategy.

Review: Near infrared spectroscopy of faeces to evaluate the nutrition and physiology of herbivores

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, usually in reflectance mode, has been applied to the analysis of faeces to measure the concentrations of constituents such as total N, fibre, tannins and delta C-13. In addition, an unusual and exciting application of faecal NIR [F.NIR] analyses is to directly predict attributes of the diet of herbivores such as crude protein and fibre contents, proportions of plant species and morphological components, diet digestibility and voluntary DM intake. This is an unusual application of NIR spectroscopy insofar as the spectral measurements are made, not on the material of interest [i.e. the diet), but on a derived material (i.e. faeces). Predictions of diet attributes from faecal spectra clearly depend on there being sufficient NIR spectral information in the diet residues present in faeces to describe the diet, although endogenous components of faeces such as undigested debris of micro-organisms from the rumen and Large intestine and secretions into the gastrointestinal tract wilt also contribute spectral information. Spectra of forage and of faeces derived from the forage are generally similar and the observed differences are principally in the spectral regions associated with constituents of forages known to be of low, or of high, digestibility. Some diet components (for example, ureal which are likely to be entirely digested apparently cannot be predicted from faecal NIR spectra because they cannot contribute to faecal spectra except through modifying the microbial and endogenous components. The errors and robustness of F.NIR calibrations to predict the crude protein concentration and digestibility of the diet of herbivores are generally comparable with those to directly predict the same attributes in forage from NIR spectra of the forage. Some attributes of the animal, such as species, gender, pregnancy status and parasite burden have been successfully discriminated into classes based on their faecal NIR spectra. Such discrimination was likely associated with differences in the diet selected and/or differences in the metabolites excreted in the faeces. NIR spectroscopy of faeces has usually involved scanning dried and ground samples in monochromators in the 400-2500nm or 1100-2500nm ranges. Results satisfactory for the purpose have also been reported for dried and ground faeces scanned using a diode array instrument in the 800-1700nm range and for wet faeces and slurries of excreta scanned with monochromators. Chemometric analysis of faecal spectra has generally used the approaches established for forage analysis. The capacity to predict many attributes of the diet, and some aspects of animal physiology, from NIR spectra of faeces is particularly useful to study the quality and quantity of the diet selected by both domestic and feral grazing herbivores and to enhance production and management of both herbivores and their grazing environment.

Climate change impacts on northern Australian rangeland livestock carrying capacity: a review of issues

Grazing is a major land use in Australia's rangelands. The 'safe' livestock carrying capacity (LCC) required to maintain resource condition is strongly dependent on climate. We reviewed: the approaches for quantifying LCC; current trends in climate and their effect on components of the grazing system; implications of the 'best estimates' of climate change projections for LCC; the agreement and disagreement between the current trends and projections; and the adequacy of current models of forage production in simulating the impact of climate change. We report the results of a sensitivity study of climate change impacts on forage production across the rangelands, and we discuss the more general issues facing grazing enterprises associated with climate change, such as 'known uncertainties' and adaptation responses (e.g. use of climate risk assessment). We found that the method of quantifying LCC from a combination of estimates (simulations) of long-term (>30 years) forage production and successful grazier experience has been well tested across northern Australian rangelands with different climatic regions. This methodology provides a sound base for the assessment of climate change impacts, even though there are many identified gaps in knowledge. The evaluation of current trends indicated substantial differences in the trends of annual rainfall (and simulated forage production) across Australian rangelands with general increases in most of western Australian rangelands ( including northern regions of the Northern Territory) and decreases in eastern Australian rangelands and south-western Western Australia. Some of the projected changes in rainfall and temperature appear small compared with year-to-year variability. Nevertheless, the impacts on rangeland production systems are expected to be important in terms of required managerial and enterprise adaptations. Some important aspects of climate systems science remain unresolved, and we suggest that a risk-averse approach to rangeland management, based on the 'best estimate' projections, in combination with appropriate responses to short-term (1-5 years) climate variability, would reduce the risk of resource degradation. Climate change projections - including changes in rainfall, temperature, carbon dioxide and other climatic variables - if realised, are likely to affect forage and animal production, and ecosystem functioning. The major known uncertainties in quantifying climate change impacts are: (i) carbon dioxide effects on forage production, quality, nutrient cycling and competition between life forms (e.g. grass, shrubs and trees); and (ii) the future role of woody plants including effects of. re, climatic extremes and management for carbon storage. In a simple example of simulating climate change impacts on forage production, we found that increased temperature (3 degrees C) was likely to result in a decrease in forage production for most rangeland locations (e. g. -21% calculated as an unweighted average across 90 locations). The increase in temperature exacerbated or reduced the effects of a 10% decrease/increase in rainfall respectively (-33% or -9%). Estimates of the beneficial effects of increased CO2 (from 350 to 650 ppm) on forage production and water use efficiency indicated enhanced forage production (+26%). The increase was approximately equivalent to the decline in forage production associated with a 3 degrees C temperature increase. The large magnitude of these opposing effects emphasised the importance of the uncertainties in quantifying the impacts of these components of climate change. We anticipate decreases in LCC given that the 'best estimate' of climate change across the rangelands is for a decline (or little change) in rainfall and an increase in temperature. As a consequence, we suggest that public policy have regard for: the implications for livestock enterprises, regional communities, potential resource damage, animal welfare and human distress. However, the capability to quantify these warnings is yet to be developed and this important task remains as a challenge for rangeland and climate systems science.

Developing sustainable banana production systems: a case study from tropical Australia

The north Queensland banana industry is under pressure from government and community expectations to exhibit good environmental stewardship. The industry is situated on the high-rainfall north Queensland coast adjacent to 2 natural icons, the Great Barrier Reef to the east and World Heritage-listed rain forest areas to the west. The main environmental concern is agricultural industry pollutants harming the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to environmental issues the banana industry also suffers financial pressure from declining margins and production loss from tropical cyclones. As part of a broader government strategy to reduce land-based pollutants affecting the Great Barrier Reef, the formation of a pilot banana producers group to address these environmental and economic pressures was facilitated. Using an integrated farming systems approach, we worked collaboratively with these producers to conduct an environmental risk assessment of their businesses and then to develop best management practices (BMP) to address environmental concerns. We also sought input from technical experts to provide increased rigour for the environmental risk assessment and BMP development. The producers' commercial experience ensured new ideas for improved sustainable practices were constantly assessed through their profit-driven 'filter' thus ensuring economic sustainability was also considered. Relying heavily on the producers' knowledge and experience meant the agreed sustainable practices were practical, relevant and financially feasible for the average-sized banana business in the region. Expert input and review also ensured that practices were technically sound. The pilot group producers then implemented and adapted selected key practices on their farms. High priority practices addressed by the producers group included optimizing nitrogen fertilizer management to reduce runoff water nitrification, developing practical ground cover management to reduce soil erosion and improving integrated pest management systems to reduce pesticide use. To facilitate wider banana industry understanding and adoption of the BMP's developed by the pilot group, we conducted field days at the farms of the pilot group members. Information generated by the pilot group has had wider application to Australian horticulture and the process has been subsequently used with the north Queensland sugar industry. Our experiences have shown that integrated farming systems methodologies are useful in addressing complex issues like environmental and economic sustainability. We have also found that individual horticulture businesses need on-going technical support for change to more sustainable practices. One-off interventions have little impact, as farm improvement is usually an on-going incremental process. A key lesson from this project has been the need to develop practical, farm scale economic tools to clarify and demonstrate the financial impact of alternative management practices. Demonstrating continued profitability is critical to encourage widespread industry adoption of environmentally sustainable practices

Scoping study: management options for mealybug in persimmon

Mealybug contamination is a major hurdle for access to profitable export markets. This project seeks to review worldwide research into management options for mealybug in persimmon and other cropping systems.

Sources of vase life variation in cut roses: A review

n determining vase life (VL), it is often not considered that the measured VL in a particular experiment may greatly depend on both the preharvest and evaluation environmental conditions. This makes the comparison between studies difficult and may lead to erroneous interpretation of results. In this review, we critically discuss the effect of the growth environment on the VL of cut roses. This effect is mainly related to changes in stomatal responsiveness, regulating water loss, whereas cut flower carbohydrate status appears less critical. When comparing cultivars, postharvest water loss and VL often show no correlation, indicating that components such as variation in the tissue resistance to cavitate and/or collapse at low water potential play an important role in the incidence of water stress symptoms. The effect of the growth environment on these components remains unknown. Botrytis cinerea sporulation and infection, as well as cut rose susceptibility to the pathogen are also affected by the growth environment, with the latter being largely unexplored. A huge variability in the choices made with respect to the experimental setup (harvest/conditioning methods, test room conditions and VL terminating symptoms) is reported. We highlight that these decisions, though frequently overlooked, influence the outcome of the study. Specifications for each of these factors are proposed as necessary to achieve a common VL protocol. Documentation of both preharvest conditions and a number of postharvest factors, including the test room conditions, is recommended not only for assisting comparisons between studies, but also to identify factors with major effects on VL.

Use of phosphorus fertiliser for increased productivity of legume-based sown pastures in the Brigalow Belt region – a review

The Brigalow Belt bioregion of southern and central Queensland supports a large percentage of northern Australia's sown pastures and beef herd. The Brigalow soils were widely thought to have adequate phosphorus (P) for cropping, sown pastures and grazing animals, which has led to almost no use of P fertiliser on sown pastures. The majority of pastures established in the region were sown with tropical grasses only (i.e. no legumes were sown). Under grass-only pastures, nitrogen (N) mineralisation rates decline with time since establishment as N is 'tied-up' in soil organic matter. This process leads to a significant decline in pasture and animal productivity and is commonly called 'pasture rundown'. Incorporating pasture legumes has been identified as the best long-term solution to improve the productivity of rundown sown grass pastures. Pasture legumes require adequate P to grow well and fix large amounts of N to increase the productivity of rundown sown grass pastures. Producers and farm advisors have traditionally thought that P fertiliser is not cost-effective for legume-based improved pastures growing on inland areas of Queensland despite there being little, if any, data on production responses or their economic outcomes. Recent studies show large and increasing areas of low plant available soil P and large responses by pasture legumes to P fertiliser on Brigalow soils. The economic analysis in this scoping study indicates potential returns of 9–15% on extra funds invested from the application of P fertiliser, when establishing legumes into grass pastures on low P soils (i.e. lower than the critical P requirement of the legume grown). Higher returns of 12–24% may be possible when adding P fertiliser to already established grass/legume pastures on such soils. As these results suggest potential for significant returns from applying P fertiliser on legume pastures, it is recommended that research be conducted to better quantify the impacts of P fertiliser on productivity and profit. Research priorities include: quantifying the animal production and economic impact of fertilising legume-based pastures in the sub-tropics for currently used legumes; quantifying the comparative P requirements and responses of available legume varieties; understanding clay soil responses to applied P fertiliser; testing the P status of herds grazing in the Brigalow Belt; and quantifying the extent of other nutrient deficiencies (e.g. sulphur and potassium) for legume based pastures. Development and extension activities are required to demonstrate the commercial impacts of applying P fertiliser to legume based pastures.