Sustainable Beef Industry Improvement and Innovation

This project ensures Queensland's involvement in Beef CRC Project 5.4 Accelerated Adoption through Sustainable Beef Profit Partnerships (BPP). The project researches, develops and achieves measurable improvements in business and industry productivity, profit and efficiency.

Behavior Of High-Voltage Machine Insulation System In The Presence Of Thermal And Electrical Stresses

This paper presents the results on a resin-rich machine insulation system subjected to varying stresses such as electrical (2.6 to 13.3 MV/m) and thermal (40 to 155° C) acting together. Accelerated electro-thermal aging experiments subsequently have been performed to understand the insulation degradation The interpretations are based on several measured properties like capacitance, loss tangent, ac resistance, leakage current, and partial discharge quantities. The results indicate that the changes in properties are not significant below a certain temperature for any applied stress, Beyond this temperature large variations are observed even for low electrical stresses. Electrothermal aging studies reveal that the acceleration of the insulation degradation and the ultimate time to failure depends on the relative values of temperature and voltage stresses. At lower temperatures, below critical, material characteristics of the system predominate whereas beyond this temperature, other phenomena come into play causing insulation deterioration. During aging under combined stresses, it appears that the prevailing temperature of the system has a significant role in the insulation degradation and ultimate failure.

Integrated pest management and supply chain improvement for mangoes in the Philippines and Australia

This project will incorporate two strategies for improving industry sustainability in the Philippines and Australia: (a) developing improved field management and quarantine monitoring and detection of mango pests and diseases; and (b) working with selected mango supply chains to identify and test areas for improvement.

Improvement On Brooks Chromatic Bound For A Class Of Graphs

Brooks' Theorem says that if for a graph G,Δ(G)=n, then G is n-colourable, unless (1) n=2 and G has an odd cycle as a component, or (2) n>2 and Kn+1 is a component of G. In this paper we prove that if a graph G has none of some three graphs (K1,3;K5−e and H) as an induced subgraph and if Δ(G)greater-or-equal, slanted6 and d(G)<Δ(G), then χ(G)<Δ(G). Also we give examples to show that the hypothesis Δ(G)greater-or-equal, slanted6 can not be non-trivially relaxed and the graph K5−e can not be removed from the hypothesis. Moreover, for a graph G with none of K1,3;K5−e and H as an induced subgraph, we verify Borodin and Kostochka's conjecture that if for a graph G,Δ(G)greater-or-equal, slanted9 and d(G)<Δ(G), then χ(G)<Δ(G).

Tropical Hardwood Improvement - Base

Completed tree improvement project focussing on delivering improved mahogany varieties for the plantation industry in northern Queensland.

AV08000 Avocado rootstocks improvement

The avocado industry has supported the development and evaluation of new rootstocks for Hass and Shepard avocado. Field sites containing various rootstock/scion combinations have been established around Australia. This project will evaluate tree, fruit yield and and postharvest fruit quality attributes from these field sites.

National Strawberry Varietal Improvement Program - Subtropical Regions

Industry development by providing competitive wonderful strawberry cutivars to subtropical industry and purchasers .

Improvement and Maintenance of Turf Demonstration Plots

DEEDI have built and maintained a living library of turf grass selections of 138 different turf cultivars. Material is also preserved in tubs in a protected growing environment. The maintenance and ongoing upgrading of these plots requires significant resources to maintain their integrity. As the plots have been in place since 2000, they are currently in need of significant repair. This project will assist in the improvement and maintenance of the turf library for the benefit of the turf industry producers and Australian turf research more generally.

Feedback and clinical practice improvement: A tool to assist workplace supervisors and students

In work integrated learning, students may report difficulties applying theory learned at university to clinical practice. One contributing factor may be students' inability to engage in meaningful reflection and self-correcting behaviours. This paper reports the evaluation of a tool, process and resources developed to assist students to reflect on feedback and engage in self-assessment. Students were assisted to develop self-assessment skills by reflecting on, and engaging with feedback from previous workplace experiences to develop goals, learning outcomes and strategies to improve performance with mostly positive results. A secondary aim was to identify common learning strategies or barriers that impacted on student outcomes. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: 1) preparing for clinical learning; 2) relationships and engagement levels; 3) shared awareness, and; 4) developing clinical practice. Overall students felt the tool assisted them to narrow their attention on what needed to be improved. While supervisors believed the tool helped them to focus on specific needs of each student. Common barriers to clinical practice improvement related to a lack of opportunity in some settings, and lack of staff willingness to support students to achieve identified goals. Students and supervisors found the use of the tools beneficial and assisted students to demonstrate a greater understanding of how to apply feedback received to support their learning in the clinical environment.

Integrating crop improvement technologies for rapid genetic advance

This project developed a novel approach to integrating enhanced gene mapping technologies with crop modelling to enhance the rate of improvement in sorghum yield.

Maize germplasm enhancement and productivity improvement for tropical Australia

Maize productivity improvement for tropical and subtropical Australia.

National Mungbean Improvement Program

Develop new, high yielding, disease resistant mungbean varieties that will increase crop reliability and grower confidence in the northern region.

Integrating sorghum whole genome sequence information with a compendium of sorghum QTL studies reveals uneven distribution of QTL and of gene-rich regions with significant implications for crop improvement.

A comprehensive analysis was conducted using 48 sorghum QTL studies published from 1995 to 2010 to make information from historical sorghum QTL experiments available in a form that could be more readily used by sorghum researchers and plant breeders. In total, 771 QTL relating to 161 unique traits from 44 studies were projected onto a sorghum consensus map. Confidence intervals (CI) of QTL were estimated so that valid comparisons could be made between studies. The method accounted for the number of lines used and the phenotypic variation explained by individual QTL from each study. In addition, estimated centimorgan (cM) locations were calculated for the predicted sorghum gene models identified in Phytozome (JGI GeneModels SBI v1.4) and compared with QTL distribution genome-wide, both on genetic linkage (cM) and physical (base-pair/bp) map scales. QTL and genes were distributed unevenly across the genome. Heterochromatic enrichment for QTL was observed, with approximately 22% of QTL either entirely or partially located in the heterochromatic regions. Heterochromatic gene enrichment was also observed based on their predicted cM locations on the sorghum consensus map, due to suppressed recombination in heterochromatic regions, in contrast to the euchromatic gene enrichment observed on the physical, sequence-based map. The finding of high gene density in recombination-poor regions, coupled with the association with increased QTL density, has implications for the development of more efficient breeding systems in sorghum to better exploit heterosis. The projected QTL information described, combined with the physical locations of sorghum sequence-based markers and predicted gene models, provides sorghum researchers with a useful resource for more detailed analysis of traits and development of efficient marker-assisted breeding strategies.

Review of genetic improvement of pineapple.

World consumption of fresh pineapple has quadrupled in less than 15 years (Loeillet and Pacqui, 2009). This phenomenal event started around 1996 when the first dedicated fresh market pineapple, '73-114', was released by Del Monte Inc. This was the culmination of somewhere in the vicinity of 34 years of breeding and selection and comprised 24 individual parent combinations (Anon., PRI breeding records). This demonstrates the difficulty of breeding new pineapple cultivars but also the value of a successful program. The success of '73-114' and the competitive nature of world pineapple markets have provided impetus for pineapple breeding programs. However, the highly heterozygous nature and self-incompatibility of pineapple limit breeding strategy options. This review looks at the collective experience in pineapple genetic improvement both conventional and using biotechnology tools, with an emphasis on fresh market pineapple. It focus on relevant pineapple reproductive biology, breeding strategies, parent cultivars and the relevance of biotechnology.

Economic Analysis of Sugarcane Farming Systems for Water Quality Improvement in the Great Barrier Reef Catchments.

In this report we analyse the private financial-economic impacts of transitioning to improved sugarcane management in the National Resource Management regions of the Wet Tropics, Burdekin Dry Tropics and Mackay Whitsundays. In order to do so, we: 1) compare farm GMs; 2) present information on capital investment associated with the transition; 3) perform a net present value analysis of the investments and; 4) undertake a risk analysis for cane and legume yields and prices. It must be noted that transaction costs are not captured within this project.