News

Tiny thrips are a giant menace to fruit, vegetable and flower industries.

At present, this early in the winter crop growing season, starting soil water conditions and the seasonal rainfall outlook indicate that chances are similar to climatology (50:50) for an above average wheat yield during the 2017 wheat-growing season across most of Queensland.

New data from on-farm trials conducted across NSW and Queensland has the potential to help growers lift the yields of sorghum by providing guidelines on how to match hybrids and management that better suit local, and expected seasonal outlooks.

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.

A breakthrough in agricultural nanotechnology could help reduce food production losses to pests and pathogens, without the toxicity impacts of current chemical sprays.

Winter cereal cropping in northern Queensland has the potential to lift the total area planted to grain crops in Australia by as much as 50 per cent – from the 22 million hectares currently cropped to as much as 33 million hectares.

Climate change and extreme weather events are already impacting our food, from meat and vegetables, right through to wine. In our series on the Climate and Food, we’re looking at what this means for the food chain. The Conversation

Queensland’s macadamia industry is booming, with this year’s harvest expected to bring record returns for growers and the release of four new varieties that are predicted to deliver up to 30 per cent higher yields.

Michael Netzel (QAAFI) was invited by the UQ Global Engagement office to join the networking morning tea event with the Bavarian Ministry for Education, Science and the Arts and their accompanying academic delegation on Friday the 3rd of March

UQ beef researchers are taking on the ambitious task of DNA sampling 30,000 cows and heifers in their quest to boost the fertility of northern herds.

QAAFI researchers have discovered how to make more flour from the same amount of grain – a finding that could help avert food shortages around the world.

The genes of 50 top bulls have been sequenced in an effort to understand how genes from temperate cattle have influenced important production traits in the modern Brahman breed.

Results from a QAAFI study show the bran fraction of Australia’s only white coloured sorghum hybrid, Liberty, contains a broad range of ‘healthy’ phytochemicals – raising the grain’s potential for human health food markets.

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.

Special research measures were needed when environmental factors were discovered to trigger a prevalent but normally dormant defect in the wheat genome. When activated, the defect can cause a punishing downgrade of wheat grain quality.

Most people know that dietary fibre is important for human health and that cereal grains such as barley and rye are a reliable source of that fibre. However, exactly what constitutes dietary fibre is not nearly as well understood.

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, QAAFI, Qld Government, Functional Grains Centre at Charles Sturt University, are examining opportunities for increasing the value of Australian sorghum in China.

BioClay – an environmentally sustainable alternative to chemicals and pesticides – could be a game-changer for crop protection.

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.

After years of work Prof. Gilbert achieved a breakthrough relating to the biophysical mechanics of the disease, discovering that diabetes is uncontrolled glucose release.