Macadamia & Avocado spray technology workshops

This report includes an overview of some key issues affecting the long term sustainability of orchard spraying practices for the avocado, macadamia and other orchard industries.

Spatial and temporal foraging patterns of Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), for protein and implications for management

Fruit flies require protein for reproductive development and actively feed upon protein sources in the field. Liquid protein baits mixed with insecticide are used routinely to manage pest fruit flies, such as Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt). However, there are still some gaps in the underpinning science required to improve the efficacy of bait spray technology. The spatial and temporal foraging behaviour of B. tryoni in response to protein was investigated in the field. A series of linked trials using either wild flies in the open field or laboratory-reared flies in field cages and a netted orchard were undertaken using nectarines and guavas. Key questions investigated were the fly's response to protein relative to: height of protein within the canopy, fruiting status of the tree, time of day, season and size of the experimental arena. Canopy height had a significant response on B. tryoni foraging, with more flies foraging on protein in the mid to upper canopy. Fruiting status also had a significant effect on foraging, with most flies responding to protein when applied to fruiting hosts. B. tryoni demonstrated a repeatable diurnal response pattern to protein, with the peak response being between 12:0016:00 h. Season showed significant but unpredictable effects on fruit fly response to protein in the subtropical environment where the work was undertaken. Relative humidity, but not temperature or rainfall, was positively correlated with protein response. The number of B. tryoni responding to protein decreased dramatically as the spatial scale increased from field cage through to the open field. Based on these results, it is recommend that, to be most effective, protein bait sprays should be applied to the mid to upper canopies of fruiting hosts. Overall, the results show that the protein used, an industry standard, has very low attractancy to B. tryoni and that further work is urgently needed to develop more volatile protein baits.

A comparison of the performance and biological efficiency of new knapsack sprayers and a controlled droplet application (CDA) sprayer for the control of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Field trials and laboratory bioassays were undertaken to compare the performance and efficacy (mortality of diamondback moth larvae) of insecticides applied to cabbages with three high volume hydraulic knapsack sprayers (NS-16, PB-20 and Selecta 12V) and a controlled droplet application (CDA) sprayer. In field experiments, the high volume knapsack sprayers (application rate 500-600 L ha-') provided better spray coverage on the upper and lower surfaces of inner leaves, the upper surfaces of middle and outer leaves, and greater biological efficacy than the CDA sprayer (application rate 20~40 L ha-'). The PB-20 provided better spray coverage on the upper surface of middle leaves and both Surfaces of outer leaves when compared with the Selecta I2V. However, its biological efficacy in the field was not significantly different from that of the other high volume sprayers. Increasing the application rate from 20 to 40 L ha - ' for the CDA sprayer significantly increased droplet density but had no impact on test insect mortality. Laboratory evaluations of biological efficacy yielded higher estimates than field evaluations and there was no significant difference between the performance of the PB-20 and the CDA sprayer. Significant positive relationships were detected between insect mortality and droplet density deposited for both the PB-20 and the CDA sprayers

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.

Analysis of the serological variability of Lettuce mosaic virus using monoclonal antibodies and surface plasmon resonance technology

A panel of 19 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was used to study the immunological variability of Lettuce mosaic virus (LMV), a member of the genus Potyvirus, and to perform a first epitope characterization of this virus. Based on their specificity of recognition against a panel of 15 LMV isolates, the mAbs could be clustered in seven reactivity groups. Surface plasmon resonance analysis indicated the presence, on the LMV particles, of at least five independent recognition/binding regions, correlating with the seven mAbs reactivity groups. The results demonstrate that LMV shows significant serological variability and shed light on the LMV epitope structure. The various mAbs should prove a new and efficient tool for LMV diagnostic and field epidemiology studies.

Response of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) to renovation in Australian dairy pastures

This study reports on the effect of oversowing perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) into a degraded perennial ryegrass and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) pasture to extend its productive life using various intensities of seedbed preparation. Sites in New South Wales (NSW), Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA) and Tasmania (Tas.) were chosen by a local group of farmers as being degraded and in need of renovation. Control (nil renovation) and medium (mulch and graze, spray with glyphosphate and sow) renovation treatments were common to all sites whereas minimum (mulch and graze, and sow) and full seedbed (graze and spray with glyphosphate and then full seedbed preparation) renovation were imposed only at some sites. Plots varied in area from 0.14 to 0.50 ha, and were renovated then sown in March or April 2000 and subsequently grazed by dairy cows. Pasture utilisation was estimated from pre- and post-grazing pasture mass assessed by a rising plate pasture meter. Utilised herbage mass of the renovated treatments was significantly higher than control plots in period 1 (planting to August) and 2 (first spring) at the NSW site only. There was no difference among treatments in period 3 (first summer) at any site, and only at the WA and NSW sites in period 4 (March to July 2001) was there a response to renovation. As a result, renovation at the NSW site only significantly increased ryegrass utilisation over the whole experimental period. Ryegrass plant density was higher at the NSW, WA (excluding minimum renovation) and Tas. (excluding full renovation) sites 6 months after renovation but this was only sustained for 12 months for the minimum and medium treatments at the NSW and Tas. sites, respectively, presumably due to reduced competition from naturalised C4 summer grasses [kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) and paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum)] in NSW At the NSW, WA and SA sites, the original ryegrass plant density was low (<35 plants/m2) compared with the Tas. site where density was around 185/m2. The response to renovating a degraded perennial ryegrass pasture varied between sites in Australia. Positive responses were generally small and were most consistent where renovation removed competing C4 summer grasses.

A consensus genetic map of sorghum that integrates multiple component maps and high-throughput Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers

Background: Sorghum genome mapping based on DNA markers began in the early 1990s and numerous genetic linkage maps of sorghum have been published in the last decade, based initially on RFLP markers with more recent maps including AFLPs and SSRs and very recently, Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers. It is essential to integrate the rapidly growing body of genetic linkage data produced through DArT with the multiple genetic linkage maps for sorghum generated through other marker technologies. Here, we report on the colinearity of six independent sorghum component maps and on the integration of these component maps into a single reference resource that contains commonly utilized SSRs, AFLPs, and high-throughput DArT markers. Results: The six component maps were constructed using the MultiPoint software. The lengths of the resulting maps varied between 910 and 1528 cM. The order of the 498 markers that segregated in more than one population was highly consistent between the six individual mapping data sets. The framework consensus map was constructed using a "Neighbours" approach and contained 251 integrated bridge markers on the 10 sorghum chromosomes spanning 1355.4 cM with an average density of one marker every 5.4 cM, and were used for the projection of the remaining markers. In total, the sorghum consensus map consisted of a total of 1997 markers mapped to 2029 unique loci ( 1190 DArT loci and 839 other loci) spanning 1603.5 cM and with an average marker density of 1 marker/0.79 cM. In addition, 35 multicopy markers were identified. On average, each chromosome on the consensus map contained 203 markers of which 58.6% were DArT markers. Non-random patterns of DNA marker distribution were observed, with some clear marker-dense regions and some marker-rare regions. Conclusion: The final consensus map has allowed us to map a larger number of markers than possible in any individual map, to obtain a more complete coverage of the sorghum genome and to fill a number of gaps on individual maps. In addition to overall general consistency of marker order across individual component maps, good agreement in overall distances between common marker pairs across the component maps used in this study was determined, using a difference ratio calculation. The obtained consensus map can be used as a reference resource for genetic studies in different genetic backgrounds, in addition to providing a framework for transferring genetic information between different marker technologies and for integrating DArT markers with other genomic resources. DArT markers represent an affordable, high throughput marker system with great utility in molecular breeding programs, especially in crops such as sorghum where SNP arrays are not publicly available.

"On-the-go" NIT technology to assess protein and moisture during harvest of wheat breeding trials.

In this study, we investigated the application of “on-the-go” assessment of wheat protein and moisture under a breeding trial situation.

International advances in prawn farm recirculation technology

This report provides details of visits and investigations conducted during an international study tour by the author.

Improved hatchery and grow-out technology for marine finfish

To enhance the sustainability of marine finfish aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific (AP) region by improving hatchery production technology and facilitating the uptake of compounded feeds for grow-out.

Delivering information and technology to the mango industry - Stage 2

Access to relevant and timely information and training resources has emerged as a significant issue from the Delivering Mango Technology (DMT) project. This project will facilitate providing managing information and technology tools for growers. Using a range of methods, including workshops, events, and web based technology facilitated through the Australian Mango Industry Association’s (AMIA) website, DMT stage 2 will develop a high profile delivery vehicle to building industry knowledge and resources .

The application of DArTseq technology to pineapple

DArTseq technology is potentially the most appropriate system to discover hundreds of polymorphic genomic loci, scoring thousands of unique genomic-wide DNA fragments in one single experiment, without requiring existing DNA sequence information. The DArT complexity reduction approach in combination with Illumina short read sequencing (Hiseq2000) was applied. To test the application of DArTseq technology in pineapple, a reference population of 13 Ananas genotypes from primitive wild accessions to modern cultivars was used. In a comparison of 3 systems, the combination of restriction enzymes PstI and MseI performed the best producing 18,900 DArT markers and close to 20,000 SNPs. Based on these markers genetic relationships between the samples were identified and a dendrogram was generated. The topography of the tree corresponds with our understanding of the genetic relationships between the genotypes. Importantly, the replicated samples of all genotypes have a dissimilarity of close to 0.0 and occupy the same positions on the tree, confirming high reproducibility of the markers detected. Eventually it is planned that molecular markers will be identified that are associated with resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi (Pc), the most economically important pathogen of pineapple in Australia, as genetic resistance is known to exist within the Ananas. Marker assisted selection can then be utilized in a pineapple breeding program to develop cultivars resistant to Pc.

Harvesting, packing, postharvest technology, transport and processing

This chapter provides updated information on avocado fruit quality parameters, sensory perception and maturity, production and postharvest factors affecting quality defects, disinfestation and storage (including pre-conditioning), predicting outturn quality and processing.

Veneer Recovery Analysis of Plantation Eucalypt Species Using Spindleless Lathe Technology

The Australian hardwood plantation industry is challenged to identify profitable markets for the sale of its wood fibre. The majority of the hardwood plantations already established in Australia have been managed for the production of pulpwood; however, interest exists to identify more profitable and value-added markets. As a consequence of a predominately pulpwood-focused management regime, this plantation resource contains a range of qualities and performance. Identifying alternative processing strategies and products that suit young plantation-grown hardwoods have proved challenging, with low product recoveries and/or unmarketable products as the outcome of many studies. Simple spindleless lathe technology was used to process 918 billets from six commercially important Australian hardwood species. The study has demonstrated that the production of rotary peeled veneer is an effective method for converting plantation hardwood trees. Recovery rates significantly higher than those reported for more traditional processing techniques (e.g., sawmilling) were achieved. Veneer visually graded to industry standards exhibited favourable recoveries suitable for the manufacture of structural products.