Research into the reasons for the recent world-wide spread of the devastating animal disease, bluetongue, could have major implications for the long-term future of Australia’s sheep industry.
According to a senior epidemiologist at CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Dr Peter Daniels, bluetongue disease is spreading rapidly in Europe and new strains of bluetongue virus have been detected in Australia.
“While Australian sheep are cu
Reducing the amount of fat in lamb amongst the Navarra variety of sheep in order to breed weightier animals, suitable for market demands and with a lower production cost for the farmer, is the aim of the project being developed by a research team from Navarre Public University’s Department of Agricultural Production and Department of Health Sciences.
The Navarre breed – previously known as Rasa Aragonesa – is found in the midlands region of Navarre and the extensive Ebro river basin region
Although a yearning to surf was what first drove native Tucsonan Edward Glenn to Hawaii, what keeps him going back is his life-long interest in marine agronomy. Now, instead of hanging out in the waves, Glenn spends his time on the leeward side of the island of Molokai, working with the local community on sustainable aquaculture projects for the ancient fishponds that dot the island’s south coast.
Rather than growing fish, Glenn, Stephen Nelson and their colleagues are focusing on the
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute discover the normal prion protein may contribute directly to disease
In a surprising twist on a timely topic, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute are presenting evidence that mad cow disease prions cannot kill neurons on their own and that normal, healthy cellular prion protein may be a direct accomplice in unleashing neuronal destruction.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, is caused by prions, a
A system designed to optimise fertilising strategies for radiata pine plantations in the Green Triangle (SE South Australia and SW Victoria) is being jointly developed by CSIRO, the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC) and key softwood growers in the region.
According to CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products (CFFP) spokesman, Dr Barrie May, improved nutrient management practices could significantly increase the productivity of Australia’s radiata pine plan
Since traditional cultivation methods can erode soil, new research taps companion crops for weed control
Organic soybean producers may be able to use winter cereal rye as an inter-seeded companion crop to control weeds, according to research led by a Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) crop and soil scientist.
Traditionally, organic growers have used only mechanical cultivation to control weeds, but this method has been shown to cause soil erosion and lead to poo
Russia incurs significant losses as a result of breaking fishing rules. Satellite-based control over domestic and foreign illegal fishers is most efficient. Watching the industrial fishing vessels by satellite is already practiced in Kamchatka.
Joint effort of the State Committee for Fisheries of the Russian Federation, Basin Administration for Fish Conservation of the Federal State Office “Sevvostryvod”, and Kamchatka Centre of Communication and Monitoring (KCCM) has allowed for testing the
Physically damaged or chewed plants produce a volatile chemical that may serve as a primer to prepare nearby plants to defend themselves against insect attack, according to a team of researchers.
“We know that when caterpillars chew on plants, eventually the plants produce chemicals attracting wasps that are the natural enemy of the caterpillar,” says Dr. James H. Tumlinson, the Ralph O. Mumma endowed professor of entomology at Penn State. “Natural predators can be an effective method of bi
Research at the University of Leeds into herbal remedies in the farmyard could soon see pigswill garnished with garlic and cows chewing on cinnamon-flavoured cud. With an EU ban on antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed from 2006, alternatives need to be found urgently. The use of plant extracts, once dismissed as quack science, is attracting growing interest from the industry.
Dr Henry Greathead, researcher at the department of biology, is experimenting with essential oils from thyme as
In Europe, 8.5 million tons of tomatoes are cultivated annually. 1.5 million tons are sold directly to the consumer and 7 million are processed for products such as ketchup, sauces, etc. During this processing, some 40% of the tomato raw material ends up as residue mainly skin and seeds. The seeds, considered by the processing industry simply as waste or used as animal feed, is still an excellent source of nutrients such as carotenoids, proteins, sugars, fibre, wax and oils, these oils being nutritio
The aim of Navarre engineer Ana Zabalza Aznárez’s PhD thesis – entitled “The inhibition of the biosynthesis of amino acids in ramified chain and their use as a target-site for herbicides” – was to find out what effects herbicides produce on the metabolism of plants so as to enable a more rational use of them.
According to lecturer Zabalza Aznárez, herbicides have undergone considerable development since they began to be developed in the fifties of the last century in order to eliminate wee
NASA’s Earth satellite observing systems are helping the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) improve the accuracy and timeliness of information they provide about important crops around the world. FAS information is crucial in decisions affecting U.S. agriculture, trade policy, and food aid.
NASA and the University of Maryland are providing the FAS with observations and data products from instruments on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites and from the TO
Long-term research by CSIRO Livestock Industries has proved that selectively breeding sheep for worm resistance can significantly reduce Australian farmers’ traditional reliance on drenching products in high rainfall areas.
Coordinator of the Nemesis project, CSIRO’s Amy Bell, says that over a two-year monitoring period, merino weaners bred for parasitic worm resistance within the project’s demonstration flock required seven fewer drenches to maintain worm levels equivalent t
Most corn earworms cannot survive the cold of a Northeastern winter, but each summer this sweet corn pest arrives back in the cornfields of the northeastern United States more quickly than most people believe is possible. Now, a team of Penn State meteorologists thinks it knows how the small moths travel long distances so quickly, and perhaps can predict where and when they will appear next.
“For years, researchers have assumed that the moths travel in parcels of air,” says Matthew Welshans
A team of CSIRO Livestock Industries researchers are helping to make pigs healthier and happier, while fattening the bottom line.
Dr David Strom leads a team at CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), detecting and modulating immune responses in pigs.
“In Australia 20 per cent of fresh meat production is pork,” Dr Strom says. “World-wide there is more pork produced than any other livestock meat – accounting for more than 40 per cent of the world
Research at Harper Adams University College has shown how spraying wheat plants with milk can help to cure mildew disease.
South American research showed four years ago that milk could help in the fight against mildew disease on squash plants, and milk is used to treat this disease by some organic gardeners, as well as by grape vine growers in Australia.
Further research at Harper Adams, by Research Assistant Georgina Drury working with Dr Peter Kettlewell, and published in the cu
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