Case study Horticultural science

A new breeding strategy to reboot Australia’s passionfruit industry is being led by researchers at The University of Queensland.

There are several diseases and other physiological disorders of avocado fruit impacting the quality of product and eating experience for the consumer. Trees and fruit are pushed to their limits in terms of yields, productivity, biotic stress (diseases and insect pressure) and abiotic stress (floods, drought, low soil fertility etc).

Queensland possesses a world-class research and development capability. UQ is rated the number one agricultural research institution in Australia, and is among the world’s top five institutions in the 2017 NTU rankings. UQ and the Queensland government’s investment in QAAFI builds upon the capabilities of both organisations, to deliver substantial returns on investment across Queensland’s agricultural industries.

UQ scientists have joined forces to develop a breakthrough that has the potential to bolster global food security. An estimated 795 million people across the globe do not have enough food to lead a healthy life.

In March 2015, a banana farm in Tully in Far North Queensland went into lockdown. Harvesting of fruit was stopped and movement of plant material, soil, equipment, vehicles and people on and off the farm were restricted. More than 16,000 banana plants were destroyed.

QAAFI’s high impact science has solved a 100-year mystery regarding the sexual cycle of the fungus that causes black spot on the fruit of Queensland mandarins. Researchers can now induce the production of sexual spores of this fungus in the laboratory, allowing for inoculation and screening for resistance against the black spot disease.

Macadamias are the first – and so far only – Australian native food crop to see significant commercial development, and the home-grown nut’s flavour and nutrition attributes have generated a surge in popularity in recent decades.