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Advice on Publications Available.Contribution from Peter Chudleigh and Katrina Bond, Agtrans Research, Brisbane.
This article is based on information from 'Developing New Agricultural Industries: Lessons from the Past' by Ian Wood, Peter Chudleigh and Katrina Bond. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Research Paper Series No. 94/1.
Pyrethrum is a perennial composite which is grown in both temperate and high-altitude tropical climates. The flowers are a source of a compound having wide-spectrum insecticidal properties but very low mammalian toxicity. The first attempts to grow pyrethrum in Australia go back as far as 1931 when CSIRO conducted trials at Canberra; in the 1940s both NSWA and CSIRO conducted further trials in NSW but these and other trials conducted in Tasmania failed to lead to a commercial industry.
The research which lead to the current industry was commenced by Dr R. Menary at the University of Tasmania in the late 1970s. The emphasis was on a plant improvement program and by 1980 a line of high yielding pyrethrum capable of being machine harvested had been developed.
In 1981 Commonwealth Industrial Gases (CIG) in conjunction with the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania agreed to support further R and D. Since then, improvements have been made to the mechanical harvester, an automated tissue culture laboratory has been established and transplanting technology has been developed. Commercial production commenced in 1983 and by 1992, an area of 1200 ha had been established in northern Tasmania. At that time the Australian production of 60 tonnes of refined product was second only to that of Kenya and was worth some $24 million.
The factors which were important in the commercial development of the pyrethrum industry were the development of high yielding synchronous-flowering clones, the development of a mechanical harvesting system and improved establishment and cultural practices.
These developments were the result of CIG's initiative and willingness to invest in R and D. CIG is estimated to have spent some $25 million in developing the industry, of which about half was considered as R and D. The Commonwealth Government's 150% R and D taxation allowance provided a strong motivation for the CIG investment. In recent years, the Horticultural Research and Development Corporation has provided funding support for several research projects.
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