Issue No 12, July 1999.

NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the Advice on Publications Available.

27. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
Full Research Reports

A number of the research reports submitted to RIRDC are now available for downloading at the Web site:
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm

[The views expressed and the conclusions reached in these publications are those of the author/s and not necessarily those of persons consulted or the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole, or in part, on the contents of this report unless authorised in writing by the Managing Director of RIRDC. For various reasons, some of the reports are not complete; some graphics may be missing, etc.]

The list below includes those that deal with New Plant Products Industries:

The New Rural Industries Financial Indicators (99/38)
New Crops, New Products: New Opportunities for Australian Agriculture (UQ-33A)
First Australian New Crops Conference, The University of Queensland Gatton College, July 1996 (UQ-44A)
Emerging Opportunities in Agriculture Conference, Harden, October, 1997 (AST-1A)

Beverages

Review of the Prospects for the Australian Black Tea Industry (AGT-5A)

Cereal, Legume and Oilseed Crops

Production and Export of Buckwheat Grain and Value Added Products (DAV-86A)
Weed Control in Sesame (DNT-15A)

Developing a Herb and Spice Industry in Callide Valley, Queensland (DAQ-194A)
Australian Ginseng Crop Establishment Research (POP-1A)
Postharvest Handling and Packaging of Fresh Herbs (DAV-89A)
A Commercial Herb Industry for Northern NSW - An Infant Enterprise (UNE-30A)
Disease Control in Coriander and Other Spice Seeds (DAS-40A)

Second Hemp Workshop Proceedings (WS967-24)
World Hemp and Other Bast Fibre Manufacturing Developments (TA978-09)
Prefeasibility Studies of Hemp Products (PMP-1A)

Forage Crops

Duckweed - a potential high protein feed source for domestic animals and fish (BWM-1A)

Fruit, Vegetables and Nuts

Australian Longan Industry Strategic Plan (LGA-1A)
New Salad & Vegetable Crops from Australia’s Sub-Antarctic Islands (ANC-2A)
A Field Evaluation of the Productivity of Hazelnuts (USO-1A)
Evaluation of the Potential of Growing Tuber melanosporum on Mainland Australia (DPS-1A)
Tissue Culture Development of a Tropical Asparagus Super-Clone (DAQ-138A)
Boosting Durian Productivity (DNT-13A)
Market Opportunities And Research Priorities For Commercially Under-Exploited Tropical Fruits, Vegetables And Nuts (DAQ-W5967-19)
Potential for Establishing an Olive Industry in Australia (DAQ-210A)

Native Food Crops

Feasibility of a Sustainable Bush Food Industry in Western Queensland (DAQ-189A)
Prospects for the Australian Native Bushfood Industry (RPT-1A)

The accompanying notes have been extracted from the Executive Summaries of the specific reports.

This report reviews the approach used by stakeholders in industry, finance and agribusiness to undertake financial evaluation of rural enterprises. It develops a preferred methodology for new and emerging rural industries and includes eight case studies using this methodology.

Data was collected from a range of written and verbal sources. Written literature addressed financial evaluation guidelines, financial appraisal of rural industries and information about each of the eight case study industries.

Interviews were conducted with representatives of various rural and non-rural investors, to ascertain financial evaluation methodologies used. Interviews were also conducted with various industry experts, for each prospective industry.

The preference amongst practitioners and in the literature was for Discounted Cash Flow analysis. Analysis periods and discount rates were generally project and circumstance specific.

The methodology developed consists of two stages:

• Stage One: Preliminary Concept Screening, to ensure fundamental components are in place and to identify any data gaps and
• Stage Two: Financial Feasibility, to ensure the commercial worth of the prospect.

Stage One analysis is a static state assessment that gauges the financial worth of an opportunity in a typical year. Stage Two analysis is consistent with a full cash flow analysis.

The eight case studies used were cashew, coffee, Geraldton wax, lychee, olive, peppermint, tea tree and walnuts. Each of these studies generated a positive return from the Stage Two analysis.

Proceedings of the First Australian New Crops Conference held at the University of Queensland Gatton College, July 1996.

A report of the post-conference survey conducted among participants.

A feasibility study arranged by the ACT and SE New South Wales Zones of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology revealed there was a very strong demand in southern NSW for information about emerging agricultural opportunities, especially those with an export focus but a scarcity of accurate, farmer-relevant and objective information.

This one-day Conference was therefore held at Harden in Southern NSW and a Manual produced which summarised all the speakers' main points.

The Conference fulfilled the ‘Development’ rather than the ‘Research’ element of ‘Research and Development’ and provided a means of extending, to a commercial farm sector, the outcomes of existing research (some of which had been sponsored by RIRDC). It also provided an opportunity to hear from successful farmers who had adopted new agricultural enterprises relevant to southern NSW.

At least 45 speakers, plus their exhibits, were brought from all over Australia (except WA and the NT) - and were all available in the one place at the one time so that 500 farmers and their partners could benefit from their collective experience.

The Conference opened with an plenary session and the registrants then broke up into ten smaller venues all running concurrently and each with a rotating panel of four speakers. Each speaker spoke for fifteen minutes every hour on their specialist subject and spent the rest of the hour in a separate nearby speaker ‘booth’ to talk, in depth, to farmers on an individual basis.

There were 40 subjects covered during these specialist sessions including new cereals, pulses, native foods and flowers, new lean lamb, rabbits, earthworms and so on.

Participants reported they liked having good individual access to selected speakers. The ten separate venues provided uncrowded Specialist Sessions (which averaged under 50 registrants per venue) which were repeated four times during the day.

The Conference Manual was presented to registrants on arrival. Many participants commented that they liked having the Manual available to them when arriving at the venue.

The Manual was edited by the Organisers of the event, Practical Public Relations, 10 Meymott Place, Latham, ACT 2601.

Black tea has been grown in Australia since the early 1930s. The industry is relatively small, supplying 5-10% of the tea consumed in Australia. Growth of the industry over recent years has been slow with most of the tea consumed in Australia having been sourced from developing countries.

RIRDC has supported R&D in the black tea industry in the past, with the most recent black tea project having been completed around four years ago. RIRDC Project DAT-29A ‘National Tea R&D Priority Setting Workshop’ was undertaken in 1994. RIRDC Project DAQ-122A ‘Assembly and Preliminary Evaluation of Imported Tea Clones’ was commenced in 1993. Additional projects researching aspects of black tea production were undertaken by various organisations prior to 1992.

This report reviews the prospects for the Australian black tea industry, providing an assessment of the current state of the industry in terms of production, processing, packaging and marketing, reporting on the prospects for future market penetration and development and assessing the future economics of production and likely growth.

Buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, is an annual summer growing broad leaf crop producing black triangular starch-rich seeds which are used in the manufacture of noodles (soba) and pancakes for human consumption. Buckwheat is not related to cereal wheat.

Buckwheat is widely grown across the Northern Hemisphere in Northern Europe, China, Mongolia and Japan. It grows best in cool climate, highland or coastal areas that have a reliable summer rainfall or irrigation.

There has been limited research completed and published on buckwheat in Australia, apart from research completed in Tasmania into buckwheat quality in terms of groat colour and temperature changes. Major research work on the genetics, breeding, physiology, ecology, biochemistry, food science and human health of buckwheat has been completed overseas.

Trials conducted as part of this project have shown that high quality, highly productive buckwheat can be grown so long as there is a high standard of crop management. Weeds need to be controlled. This can be achieved by sowing buckwheat into a weed-free seed bed with adequate moisture, since rapid, even germination and growth of buckwheat will out-compete weeds.

Adequate moisture must be available at the seed-filling stage for buckwheat to produce a high quality and quantity of grain. This project has also increased the awareness amongst farmers, manufacturers and consumers of buckwheat as a crop and as a nutritious grain. Many key growers and marketing companies are now involved in the Australian buckwheat industry.

Ballarat has been chosen as the site for a Japanese noodle factory, Hakubaku. Although not initially producing soba noodles, the prospect of obtaining fresh, locally grown buckwheat was a major reason for the company choosing Ballarat.

A Japanese garden and restaurant has also been built just outside of Orange, largely due to buckwheat being available in the district. Japanese, Canadian and Australian scientists have been able to establish links within the buckwheat industry to form the basis for a collaborative future approach to the science and production of the crop.

Emphasis in future will be placed on developing a quality assurance scheme for growing buckwheat, honeybee pollination and the nutritional requirements of the crop with a view to increasing the amount of buckwheat grown in both New South Wales and Victoria, to supply increasing export and domestic markets.

Sesame was very sensitive to pre-emergence herbicides whose effectiveness and phytotoxicity varied from season to season. Linuron, and perhaps diuron may be suitable for registration after further testing.

Suitable post-emergence herbicides chiefly affect grasses; broadleaf weed control will remain a problem if linuron or diuron prove unsuitable.

The relationship between crop and weed biomass at maturity was negatively linear; thus any weed growth will reduce yield.

Leaf area indices of crop and weeds up to 22 days after sowing were reliably estimated photographically.

The reliable prediction of yield losses at maturity from changes in early leaf area required more intensive research.

Although it was possible to predict the occurrence of yield losses at maturity from data recorded in the first month of growth, much more research is required to predict the economic benefits of weed control. The establishment of the negatively linear relationship between crop and weeds and the accurate measurement of early growth should, however, provide a solid basis for the prediction of economic losses and the need for weed control.

The Callide Valley, Central Queensland has 11,000ha serviced by sub-artesian irrigation. Due to a series of events, irrigators in the area have had their useable water allocations reduced from 45,000 megalitres to 17,000 megalitres and their reliance on high return, high water-usage crops such as cotton and lucerne is changing.

The area lies on a major highway, is serviced by air and rail and is 120 km from a major container port. The climate is sub-tropical, sub-humid with a summer and winter cropping season. The soils in the area are young, fertile, well managed and alluvial and the farming population is reasonably progressive. Despite the reduction in available water, the Callide Valley is still able to have a major impact on the Queensland economy, since a wide range of sub-tropical and temperate crops can be grown.

This report identifies agronomic and business development steps taken to assist Callide Valley irrigators who wish to adopt a change in their management of scarce resources and outlook.

A desktop search, market feasibility study and screening trial indicated a demand for 69 species of herbs and spices and assessed the Callide Valley’s ability to grow these crops.

A community group comprising potential growers and businessmen was established to enable the initial findings to be further researched and developed and the principles behind the development of the Callide Dawson Herb Association Incorporated (CDHAI) are outlined in this report.

A series of agronomic trials, under differing irrigation regimes: rain-grown, sprayline, trickle and drip, using gross margins as a benchmark and researching only those species/varieties with medium to high market demand, identified 26 species of herbs and spices suitable for commercial production in the Callide Valley.

The establishment of a network of communications, both domestic and international, and a further market study/trip to Singapore and Malaysia, not only further determined market demand, but set up a client network and helped establish business contracts.

A strategic business development plan has led to the formation of the trading arm of CDHAI, CD Herbs Ltd.

As a result of the project five new industries have been targeted for initial development:

• Broad acre coriander production,
• Culinary herb (eg basil, parsley, coriander) for production and processing,
• Chilli production,
• Paprika production and processing and
• Liquorice production and processing.

Commercial production of coriander, culinary herb and chilli has commenced, and the establishment of a primary processing plant for culinary herbs is planned for late 1999.

A number of recommendations are made in the report for the future development of CDHAI and the herb industries in the area.

This report has already appeared in the Australian New Crops Newsletter, Issue #11: 58-62. The newsletter report is also accessible at the Australian New Crops Web Site:
http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/newslett/ncn11167.htm

Culinary herbs is a growth industry made up of a very diverse range of plant species, cultivars and plant parts. However, expansion is currently curtailed by a distinct lack of understanding of the specific postharvest handling and packaging needs of this wide range of plant products.

Wastage on domestic markets is high with some suppliers to supermarkets having to rotate stock every 24 to 48 hours to assure quality. Furthermore, many packers and exporters of herbs feel that their ability to export to overseas markets is severely limited by their lack of knowledge of handling and packaging requirements.

The first section of this report contains the results of a survey of the Australian culinary herb industry which identified the postharvest handling methods currently in use and the major postharvest factors limiting the expansion and sustainability of the industry.

Based on the survey results, all the published scientific and industry literature on postharvest handling and packaging of herbs was collated and reviewed and this comprises the second section.

The survey identified poor postharvest handling and a lack of knowledge of suitable packaging systems for herbs as the major factors contributing to wastage, poor quality and limited market opportunities. In particular, poor temperature and humidity management during handling, distribution and marketing were identified as key issues which need to be addressed.

The postharvest handling requirements of herb products is very diverse indeed. It appears that the industry is unaware of the specific needs of different species and at present most varieties are simply branded "herbs" and all are treated the same after harvest.

After examining and critically reviewing the published literature on postharvest handling and packaging of herbs it became apparent that some information exists on how to address these issues and this information has been made available in this report. However, there has been little research completed on the postharvest handling and packaging of culinary herbs.

The priority areas for research inputs to address the problems faced by industry have been identified and there is a substantial opportunity to add value to this industry. With the sudden increase in the production of minimally processed vegetables, there is an opportunity to supply minimally processed herbs in their own right as well as additives to minimally processed vegetable mixes. These products will require specific postharvest handling and processing requirements and this information appears to be unavailable in the public domain at present.

A number of these research and development issues are being addressed in a new project which is being funded by RIRDC and the herb industry. This project will develop postharvest handling and packaging protocols for problem herbs such as sweet basil as well as new herb products.

This project set out to overcome perceived constraints to the establishment of a commercial herb production industry in Northern New South Wales. Little information was available to local growers on agronomic and cultural aspects of commercial production in the field, seedling production, and harvesting, handling, processing, packaging or marketing of the final product.

Experimental field trails, more extensive grower trials and searches of the literature for current commercial practices were conducted. Growers plots were used for initial harvesting trials and the industry partner, New England Natural Products Pty Ltd, purchased a Branco hydronically heated dehydrator for trials to determine the best cleaning and processing techniques. Grower material was also processed commercially.

The agronomic and cultural information covered nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser application to basil, sage, thyme and oregano crops and mulch treatments for plots of basil, thyme and chamomile. Mulches influenced weed control, soil moisture, soil nitrogen mineralisation, soil temperatures, plant growth, oil yield and oil composition.

The grower plots revealed information on field planting density and arrangement, dry matter and subsequent oil yield and costs of production. Initial information was available from these plots on germplasm suitability and some selection was possible within plant populations.

The product specification, network identification and market analysis were contracted to a consultant who provided some information. More information has been collected subsequently by the industry partner.

Essential oils were isolated via steam distillation and gas chromatography was used to determine the oil quality. Changes in oil composition were monitored where possible and related to the treatments which had been applied.

Production guides have been compiled for sage, thyme, parsley and basil from the literature and the results of this project. These guides cover planting stock propagation, sowing, fertilisers, water and light requirements during the growing stage, weed control, harvesting for different sections of the market, and processing and storage for minimal product deterioration.

Coriander is adapted to many areas of southern Australia and has the potential to become an important alternative crop. Production had reached 5,000 ha by 1993, but declined to less than 1,000 ha/year because of persistent disease problems, especially bacterial blight caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. coriandricola.

This project quantified the extent and economic impact of coriander diseases and evaluated the efficacy of current control practices. It also investigated important aspects of pathogen biology that were required for better disease management. This has resulted in recommendations for seed testing, crop rotations, varietal resistance and fungicides to control coriander diseases.

This report includes brief notes of the presentations made by a number of state representatives with the following recommendations for future research on hemp products:

• enlarge the terms of reference to include other non-wood fibre products but excluding cotton, wool and other animal fibres,
• extend the economic/market analysis of hemp to pulp and paper and to other non-wood fibres,
• include in the analysis of hemp the cost of provision and treatment of water for retting and
• encourage the funding of cultivar development by private companies.

There were also recommendations for the future role of RIRDC in hemp research.

This report summarises the findings of Carolyn Ditchfield, of Australian Hemp Resource and Manufacture, from her visit to the Flax and Other Bast Fibre Plants Symposium at Poznan, Poland, 30 September – 1 October 1997. Ms Ditchfield made the following recommendations:

• Form a national bast fibre industry association; this could overcome the current fragmentation in the industry and could provide co-ordination for information dissemination,
• Work to counter the use of outdated and out-of-context information which has often been a disincentive for those wishing to grow, process or manufacture bast fibre crops; standards for bast fibre products need to be reassessed and enforced to ensure imported products do not contravene standards to the disadvantage of the domestic industry,
• Determine the value and potential of the emerging global market for renewable, biodegradable, sustainable fibre products to ensure Australia is aware of global trends,
• Study the implications of using bast fibre crops as a CO₂ sink,
• Lobby to ensure that Australia increases the non-wood fibre content of all paper products produced in this country; Japan aims to achieve 10% non-wood fibre content by 2000,
• Create an industry strategy to ensure the short and long-term benefits of a bast fibre industry can be realised for Australian agriculture, processing, manufacturing and exporting sectors,
• Encourage wastewater management schemes using bast fibre crops; especially those using contaminated wastewater that cannot enter the food chain, and
• Encourage Australian industry to be proactive with innovation.

This report addresses three of the key issues identified by the Industrial Hemp industry in December 1995 at the conference 'Industrial Hemp: The Potential for an Industrial Hemp Industry in Australia' held in Melbourne and sponsored by the RIRDC and the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science:

• To assess the commercial and technical feasibility of products, such as particle board, geotextiles, compression moulded components (and insulation) requiring minimal processing,
• To assess the potential for utilising domestically grown hemp for the production of specialty textile products and,
• To identify the requirements for research and development for any products that may have been feasible.

The stem of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) comprises:

• an outer or bark layer, which represents one third of the mass of the stem (with half to one third of this mass consisting of long plant or bast fibres which are suitable for textile use and are the more important fibre for pulp and paper production),
• an inner core, which represents the remaining two thirds of the mass of the stem (consisting of much shorter fibres).

The limiting factors for the use of hemp as a raw material for either building products or textile products appear to be:

• uncertainty and seasonality of supply,
• high costs of product delivered to a mill for processing,
• high labour requirements for retting, scutching and hackling of fibre before textile use,
• processing wastage from the core fraction of the stem,
• coarseness of the fibre compared with other textile fibres,
• shortness of the fibre for textiles (too short), its length for pulping (too long),
• difficulty in field measurements of the amount of intrinsic fibre, the degree and uniformity of retting, the fibre length achievable and the impurities present.

The key factor preventing the development of a hemp industry is the cost of hemp.

For the use of hemp as a pulping material, it was recommended that a meeting be held of plant breeding experts to discuss the potential to improve current productivity per hectare of hemp fibre by a factor of two to three.

If such productivity increases were feasible, then the adaptation of defibrators used in the pulping industry should be investigated to separate and pulp hemp fibre to suitable lengths.

For the use of hemp as a textile fibre, it was recommended that a study be commissioned to inquire into the possible reduction of hemp retting and fibre preparation costs. Steam explosion of hemp should also be investigated and costed.

If significant improvements in hemp retting and preparation costs were feasible, then larger scale textile markets could be exploited, and a feasibility study should be commissioned into the likely profitability of a hemp processing industry for textiles and conditions for retting and preparing hemp fibre appropriate for Australia should be investigated.

Hemp varieties with smaller diameter fibre (15 micron or less) should be sought since hemp fibre is too coarse.

If the costs of preparing hemp fibre cannot be significantly improved, its only use will continue to be as an exotic apparel fibre with a small niche market in Australia.

Duckweed is a small fast-growing, aquatic plant that floats on the surface of ponds. This plant can extract unwanted minerals such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, aluminium, iron, magnesium and sodium from polluted water, such as sewage or factory effluent, permitting the effluent to be re-used for land application or shed cleaning.

If effectively managed, by being protected from the wind, maintained at an optimal density by judicious and regular harvesting and fertilised to balance nutrient concentrations in the water, duckweed yields 10-30 tonne dry matter per hectare per annum.

Duckweed contains up to 43% crude protein, with higher concentrations of the essential amino acids, lysine and methionine than most plant proteins, 5% fat, a highly digestible dry matter, high concentrations of trace minerals and pigments and zanthophyll that makes duckweed meal an especially valuable supplement for poultry, fish and other animal feeds.

Commercialisation of Microlaena stipoides for Turf, Amenity and Forage Purposes (UNE-35A)

Microlaena is a native year-long green perennial grass which has a very flexible breeding system. Consequently, there are a large number of naturally occurring ecotypes adapted to a range of ecological conditions. Some of these with appropriate characteristics were further selected as a leafy forage type (Wakefield), as an attractive turfgrass (Griffin) or because of its attractive appearance and low stature, as a grass for low maintenance areas such as roadsides, parks and parts of golf courses (Shannon).

All of these varieties have the ability to grow on acid soils and survive droughts within the area of microlaena adaptation. These three varieties were registered under Plant Breeders Rights legislation in 1995 and a contract signed with Wrightson Seeds (Australia) Pty Ltd for their commercial seed production and marketing.

In October 1997 the Far North Queensland Longan Growers Association Inc (FNQGLA) proposed a research levy for the funding of research and development work in longans; a Strategic Plan was a prerequisite to the levy.

The longan industry is expected to comprise 72,000 trees by 2000 and be distributed from northern New South Wales to Far North Queensland.

Fruit enters the market from early January to early June. Production will expand dramatically and could reach 3600 tonnes within ten to fifteen years, representing an increase in industry value from $1 million in 1997 to $14 million. The export market will be critical if this expansion is to be viable.

Major issues in the strategic plan were: varieties, culture, pest management, post harvest, markets, market co-ordination, unplanned industry growth, industry cohesion and communication; action was devised for each issue.

Research planned, in order of importance were post harvest handling, factors affecting fruit set, new varieties and market research. The formation of an Australian Longan Growers’ Organisation, Longan Australia was thought to be a worthwhile step.

Three species of edible plant from Australia’s sub-Antarctic islands have been assessed for their suitability for production and sale in mainland Australia and Tasmania.

easily propagated by division
survives a wide range of temperature
grows best at about 13° C
can be grown either in hydroponics or in solid media
is visually appealing to consumers
can be consumed raw
scored highly for taste
is a rich source of potassium and a useful source of vitamin C, carotenoids and iron

has potential to become an environmental weed
is susceptible to aphid infestations

This species should be further investigated for potential pharmaceutical use.

seed germinates easily at ca. 20° C
stratification at lower temperature accelerates germination
optimum growth temperature is probably between 13 and 17° C
survives outdoors in Canberra
could be grown as either a sprout crop or a leafy vegetable crop
most likely use is as a garnish
can be consumed either raw or cooked
is visually appealing to consumers
scored highly for taste
contains high levels of potassium, and useful levels of carotenoids
contains high levels of vitamin C, even when cooked

is susceptible to aphid infestations

This species has significant potential and deserves further investigation.

can be propagated by rhizome cuttings
scored well for taste, but less well for texture
has higher starch content than the other species, but lower vitamin content
has high potassium content

grows very slowly
requires temperatures below 20° C
has less visual appeal than the other species
must be cooked to make palatable
cooking reduces its nutritional value
is susceptible to aphid, slug and snail damage

This species grows too slowly to be commercially practicable.

Australia imports approximately $A10 million of hazelnut kernels per year but domestic production is small. Trials were established at Orange, Moss Vale (NSW), Myrtleford and Toolangi (Victoria) in 1995-6 to evaluate 24 varieties of hazelnut. Chilling hours, the number of hours of temperature in the range 0-7^oC, have varied between sites and seasons; Orange appears to receive sufficient chilling hours to meet the vernalisation requirements of all varieties whereas Moss Vale could be marginal for some varieties.

Nut and kernel characteristics, periods of pollen shed and female bloom, tree shape, etc have been recorded and the work is continuing.

Key findings relevant to the establishment of a Périgord black truffle industry on mainland Australia included:

• The edaphic and climatic requirements of the species can be met in several locations on mainland Australia especially where natural rainfall is supplemented by irrigation,
• There is a single window of opportunity to establish an industry based on the best technology available and a certification scheme to underpin the marketing of produce from mainland Australia,
• With pre-emptive action and appropriate controls, an industry on mainland Australia should be able to avoid problems of contamination and substitution by inferior species in the inoculation and marketing phases, respectively,
• Farmers in the locations identified expressed a keen interest in participating in the fledgling industry,
• There is international interest in Australian product which would be perceived to be free of the problems of polluted and contaminated soils present in many parts of Europe,
• There is market potential for fresh Australian truffles as a superior replacement for the expensive preserved truffles currently available in Europe, Asia and USA,
• The fresh Australian product would be available from March to September and thus would not challenge the traditional November to March fresh market overseas and
• Successful Asian markets could be established if the French, Spanish and Italian markets resist the entry of the Australian product.

This report also include advice of the establishment and development of the different stages of a Périgord black truffle industry on mainland Australia.

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a temperate perennial vegetable crop. This project aimed to develop a heat-tolerant tropical asparagus clone with early emergence characteristics, high yields and good spear quality through exploitation of the inherent variability of the crop.

The highest yielding clone produced 3.9% more marketable spears (by weight) than the standard industry cultivar, which was not sufficiently higher than the standard to justify commercial release, because of the cost of tissue-cultured plants (which required a 30% increase in production to remain viable).

The selection procedure could have been improved by increasing the period of data collection from one to at least two harvest seasons and by observing fern characteristics (such as height, stem diameter and number of stems per crown) during the growing period. Using this approach, the irregularities of spear production caused by temporal variation of spear flushes, would be avoided.

Durian has potential as a viable fruit crop in northern Australia. Current problems include the lack of high-yielding adaptable cultivars, difficulties with the identification of cultivars, a long juvenile period of 9-12 years, inadequate knowledge of the crop phenology and poor fruit set and development.

Plants and seeds of 45 plant species, durian cultivars and Durio species were introduced after a trip to Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia and collaboration commenced with the Department of Agriculture, Sarawak.

Polygonal graph analysis of leaf parameters has been shown to be useful in differentiating among durian cultivars. A multiple linear regression model was also developed to estimate leaf area in durian, based on non-destructive measurements of leaf length and mid-leaf width, as an index of growth and development.

Multiple rootstocks of precocious and dwarf Durio species or durian cultivars have been investigated to reduce the long juvenile period and enhance precocity. Such an approach may enable better root development, support against wind-throw and could introduce resistance to soil borne diseases with the use of appropriate rootstocks.

A crop phenology model for durian assisted with optimising crop management inputs and cultural practices, especially for assisted pollination fertilisation.

The maternal parent was found to influence fruit flesh colour, taste, flavour, basic fruit shape and spine length. The pollen parent had a metaxenia effect on fruit weight, size (length), rind weight, number of locules with fertilised ovules, number of well-formed arils per locule, number of arils per fruit, percent flesh recovery and sweetness (Brix). This stresses the importance of mixed clonal plantings.

Diagnosis of crop nutrient demand should be assessed from leaf and soil sampling done in November. Fertiliser scheduling should be adjusted with the crop phenology, nutrient requirement and yield produced. Nutrient norms developed can be used as guidelines for nutrition programs.

Market Opportunities And Research Priorities For Commercially Under-Exploited Tropical Fruits, Vegetables And Nuts (DAQ-W5967-19)

A workshop was held to determine which of a range of emerging tropical crops were worthy of further investment by research agencies and growers.Participants included representatives of grower groups, research agencies, marketers and other consultants.

The workshop rated forty tropical crops according to their market potential and developmental prospects. The five highest scorers were analysed in more detail and the major research and development issues were identified and prioritised (in decreasing priority order):

Rambutan:

• Investigate best practice control of winged vertebrates,
• Establish optimum nutrition and water management systems for better fruit size and colour,
• Develop and implement national fruit quality standards,
• Develop integrated pest management systems,
• Conduct rambutan pruning and canopy management studies and
• Establish herbicide effects on rambutan flowering and yields.

 Mangosteen:

• Investigate use of rootstock and means to overcome juvenility and encourage precociousness,
• Investigate orchard management systems to achieve regular cropping cycles and
• Investigate causes of poor fruit quality and develop new techniques of detection of internal fruit quality problems by collaborative R&D agency research.

 Durian:

• Develop an integrated disease management system,
• Investigate appropriate post-harvest technology, including the detection of internal fruit quality problems and packaging,
• Investigate crop production and phenology cycles in relation to soil water management and climatic effects on flowering, yield and fruit quality and
• Produce a grower information kit.

 Longan:

• Conduct market research to determine key markets, market needs, supply profiles and to obtain economic data,
• Develop fruit quality management systems to resolve the issues of shelf life, sulphur dioxide and alternatives,
• Investigate orchard management systems (nutrition, irrigation, pruning) to optimise quality and yield,
• Evaluate cultivar performance across production areas and
• Investigate pest management systems.

 Abiu:

• Identify causes and overcome susceptibility to bruising (nutrition, cultivar selection),
• Compile a directory of current agronomic and post-harvest information and evaluate this information for each production region,
• Develop an Industry Strategic Plan and
• Conduct economic feasibility studies for each production region.

Spain and Italy are the main olive producing countries, with significant production in Greece, Turkey and Tunisia. Spain is the largest exporter of olive oil and Italy is the largest importer, obtaining the bulk of its supplies from Spain, Greece and Tunisia.

Spain is the largest exporter of preserved olives and the USA the main importer.

In Asia, potential exporting opportunities for olive products may be emerging in Japan, China and Hong Kong; whereas Malaysia, South Korea, Macau, the Philippines and Indonesia have also registered imports.

In the past, the European olive industry was considered inefficient because of fragmentation and traditional methods of growing, harvesting and processing olives. However, industry rationalisation, technological improvements and government assistance are likely to render this industry more competitive in the future.

Australia imported $94.8 million worth of olive oil and $20.6 million worth of table olives in 1996, mainly from Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco and Israel.

Potential users of olive products in Australia include consumers, the food service sector, importers/exporters and food manufacturing industries.

Factors affecting olive oil usage included:

• Price: consumers were satisfied with the quality and price of imported olive oils,
• Quality: most imported olive oil was ‘pure’ olive oil whereas the Australian industry is geared to the production of extra-virgin olive oil, which is perceived as a luxury oil and
• Health benefits: edible oils such as canola, grapeseed, sunflower and sunola have similar health benefits but are cheaper.

Positive factors that could favour the development of an Australian olive industry include:

• consumers’ general recognition of olive products,
• knowledge of the health benefits associated with olive oil,
• the likelihood that consumption for olive products will increase as consumers become more ‘cuisine educated’,
• the absence so far of established loyalty for any particular brand of imported products, providing an opportunity for consumer loyalty to be developed amongst Australian brands.

Negative factors:

• consumers perceive imported olive products to be of better quality and competitively priced,
• competition will be from imported olive oils and canola, grapeseed and sunflower oil and
• consumer awareness of Australian-produced olive products is low.

If the restaurant trade is to use more Australian olive oil, the price of Australian olive oil will need to be competitive.

Importers and exporters were prepared to distribute Australian olive oil but expressed concern at the high price. They also need to be assured of a reliable supply of consistent quality.

Most manufacturing firms’ needs for quality, availability and price are currently met by imported olive oil.

This report concluded that the costs of production of olive oil appeared to be higher than the price of most similar imported olive oils. Pickled olive production, on the other hand, appears to be price competitive, but more work on Australian production costs is needed before any definitive conclusion can be reached.

Suggested Initiatives:

• Promotional policies should be implemented to educate consumers on how to use each type of olive oil,
• The poor economies of scale in the current small and fragmented industry could be substantially improved if larger throughputs could be achieved,
• Co-operative action in the areas of production, processing, distribution and marketing should be considered,
• Quality assurance measures should be implemented and
• Product branding strategies are needed.

A small but rapidly expanding bush food industry is already established in western Queensland, with two companies identified as being directly involved and at least two traditional grazing properties supplying raw produce.

The major arid zone plants used are gundabluey wattle (providing wattleseed), bush tomato (dried bush tomato fruit) and quandong (dried or fresh quandong fruit). The major plants currently harvested in western Queensland are desert lime, native thyme, kurrajongs and bottletrees and wild orange.

As demand increases, a reliable supply of high quality produce is required, necessitating plantation production.

Over 50% of graziers in 14 of the 21 shires in western Queensland have indicated an interest in either wild harvest or plantation production of bush foods. However, current levels of demand are basically fulfilled by activity already underway in various parts of Australia:

• wild augmented production (the watering of plants in the wild) of desert lime and native thyme may satisfy demand for the next 5 to 10 years,
• density of gundabluey wattle may be sufficient for wild harvest for many years,
• bush tomato plantings are believed to have been made on South Australia’s southern York Peninsula,
• at least one plantation of arid species has been established in South Australia’s Riverland and
• the feasibility of 3 plantations of arid zone species in far western New South Wales is being investigated.

If a bushfood industry is to be viable in western Queensland, effective regional research, development and marketing strategies, such as regional labelling and quality assurance programs need to be developed co-operatively between government agencies and those companies and properties already involved.

A preferred species analysis has been developed to allow the selection of preferred species for use within a western Queensland bush food industry.

Desert lime, kurrajong, native thyme and quandong are worth investigating further, as may be wild orange, gundabluey and bush tomato. A survey of graziers also identified other plants with food potential within western Queensland.

Further research is required into:

• soil and water requirements (quality and quantity),
• the areas suited to bush food plantations,
• plantation design based on polycultural and organic principles for optimum water use,
• cost benefit and economic analyses of existing bush food companies and properties,
• realistic returns from actual plantation establishment costs, maintenance costs, water usage and cost and harvesting and associated costs, and
• the current level of horticultural skills in western Queensland, and the development of training programs to increase skills for effective plantation establishment and maintenance.

This commissioned study evaluated the prospects of the Australian native bushfoods industry and hence the industry’s research and development needs.

Fourteen plant-species and their end uses are considered because they have definable farmgate or wild-harvested values, establishment costs and likely returns are explored and general budgets provided for Muntries/Munthari, Lemon myrtle and Illawarra plum.

Production issues of importance for the industry included:

• lack of genetically improved cultivars of most species,
• lack of cost-effective and environmentally sound management practices to support production,
• apparent over-planting of some species that may result in lowered prices unless demand is increased,
• farmgate prices that are unlikely to be acceptable to larger scale market outlets and the food industry and
• lack of product quality and food safety information.

Bushfood produce and products are generally marketed through:

• retail speciality food stores,
• distributorships largely supplying the hospitality/catering sectors,
• tourist outlets in major department stores and airports and
• larger end-users such as airlines and resorts.

Significant processing issues for the industry included:

• the supply of several species currently traded as raw produce, by bushfood processors, appears to exceed likely demand,
• the high cost of some raw produce reflects the high cost of collating the produce from the wild,
• seasonal variability and the consequential need to warehouse supplies incurs significant costs,
• there is a need to better understand growth potential and market-share for both domestic and export markets; and
• there is an urgent need to promote bushfoods and educate people, organisations and businesses about their use.

Main stream manufacturers are tentative in their opinions as their knowledge of bushfoods is currently limited. Nevertheless, they have identified several bushfoods having potential providing that they are offered in a suitable form, quantity, quality and price.

Relevant issues raised by such manufacturers included:

• Australian bushfoods would be more acceptable if offered to mainstream manufacturers as a puree, ground/dried product, essence or flavour,
• consistency of quality and supply must be guaranteed with specified minimum quantities as determined by individual manufacturers,
• price per kilogram must allow a competitive shelf price since novelty alone is not enough,
• the produce or product supplied must be appropriate and safe for food use and
• promotion and education are needed if demand is to be increased.

The wholesale/retail sector (wholesale fresh, speciality retail/wholesale, and convenience retail) universally thought the price of bushfoods to be too high and hence demand was limited. The sector also unanimously highlighted the need for promotion and education.

Particular wholesale/retail issues arising included:

• a variety of packaging and extent of shelf life is required to cover varied end-uses,
• being an Australian product is not enough to justify high prices,
• the positioning of a product in one market may damage its placement in another and
• being unique and Australian is not necessarily helpful in marketing.

 Possible complementarity with the wine and tourism industries is explored.

Food standards are recognised as a major issue for the bushfoods industry with regard to public health and safety, consumer choice and product standards. The relevance of the ANZFA Food Standards Code is therefore considered at some length. Compliance with Safe Quality Food 2000 Standards will be a major marketing advantage for the industry.

In order of priority, the industry’s R&D needs are argued to be:

• Safe food, toxicology and food standards,
• Industry, promotion and consumer education,
• Genetic improvement of cultivated species,
• Agronomy (including pest, weed and disease management),
• Marketing images,
• Food technology and
• Post-harvest handling and packaging.

Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email: r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au

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originally created by: GK; latest update 17 October 2001 by: RF