Horticultural Research at ANBG
February 1996
Horticultural research was re-established in the Living Collections Section of
ANBG in 1995. This is a progress report to let you know who we are are and what
we are doing.
People:
Iain Dawson is in charge of Horticultural Research
and is responsible for research projects (see below), fund raising, the seed store
and the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA). Susan Walker is Seed
Store Manager. The section is also heavily dependent on the services of volunteers,
particularly to run ACRA which is not directly funded by ANBG except to donate
half a day per week of Iain Dawson's time plus an office. At present Francois
Posthumus is revising, correcting and restructuring the ACRA computer database
with a view to establishing ACRA access through the internet. Marina Broseby will
be processing applications (mounting specimens, helping to write descriptions,
keeping the paperwork up to date). Colour coding for ACRA is done by Anna
Posthumus, who is also a volunteer guide. Colour coding has been neglected
by taxonomists so we don't have a good data set to compare new cultivars with.
Anna's goal is to colour code the entire flora! Anna also helps around the lab
and greenhouses as needed. Malavika Thakur spends one day per week making tissue
culture media and maintaining cultures. Thanks to all these volunteers for their
efforts.
Facilities:
Horticultural Research took over the Research
Cottage (formerly the Directors Residence) from the ANBG's Orchid Research
Group. They had to take almost all the equipment with them to Centre for Plant
Biodiversity Research (CPBR), so the lab has had to be re-equipped. This has been
a slow process but the lab is now fully functional. The only major piece of equipment
that is needed is a new laminar flow hood (for tissue culture) as the present
one, which was borrowed from the seed store, is far too small. The glasshouses
have also been overhauled. They are now equipped with automatic internal shade
screens that have the dual function of cooling on hot days and warming on cold
nights. We have also installed a new misting system, overhauled the boilers and
repaired the ventilators. At the time progress on this refurbishment and re-equipment
seemed slow (as we had to wait quite a while to evict the previous tenants because
of delays at CPBR). In mid winter things were quite desperate as we were losing
valuable plant material in the cold weather, and an extra trip to Northern Australia
had to be made to replenish stocks. However looking back I think we have achieved
quite a lot in a relatively short time.
Research Projects:
Horticultural research exists to support conservation and sustainable use of the
flora. As the research scientist's position is intended to be fully funded from
external sources (currently its about 65%) priority is given to projects that
can attract grants. As a result many projects that would benefit the Garden are
a low priority.
There are two current projects, both of which are funded by the Rural
Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) and relate to the
cut flower industry. The major one is to develop Haemodorum coccineum [
photo ] [ description
] [ drawing ] as a new cut flower.
This involves research at ANBG to maximise growth, develop propagation techniques
and control flowering as well as trial plantations. The original trial plantation
was at Gatton, in south-east Queensland. Unusual weather conditions (3 years of
drought followed by floods in Nov/Dec) have caused some problems with the crop.
The effects of the weather conditions can be seen with the growers major crop,
waxflower. In 1994 production was only 50% of a normal year. Last year it was
only 10%. However, from this month there will be another 5 plantation trials established
in northern Queensland which will reduce the risk in future and also help to establish
the crop more quickly in export markets. The original trial will also continue.
Research into propagation has included studies of seed germination and establishment,
propagation by division of the rhizome, and attempts at tissue culture. Seed germination
is easy but it is very hard to establish the young plants. Fortunately it looks
as though we have solved the establishment problem using a hydroponic system.
Growth in hydroponics is so good that it may be possible to use this as a method
for greenhouse production in southern Australia. Unlike Kangaroo Paws, the flower
colour doesn't change under glass so this looks even more promising. Some work
has also been done on the physiology of the species as it relates to winter dormancy.
The initial results from carbon dioxide assimilation studies look promising as
in controlled environment conditions some clones do not require a dormant period,
and can even be made to flower completely out of season.
Another important aspect of this research is market acceptance of the species.
In order to gauge its likely appeal over the next few months samples are being
sent to Japan by a Melbourne based exporter. Until now importers have only seen
photographs of the flowers.
The other RIRDC funded project relates to developing quality standards for flower
exports. Iain Dawson is also the ANCA representative on the Standards Australia
Committee for Horticulture, and so has some input on issues such as correct labelling
of bush-picked flower exports, pruning standards for amenity trees etc.
New initiatives are likely to include the development of sub-antarctic species
as food crops (the first stage of the grant application was successful), the improvement
of cut flower production through the use of grafted plants (a successful training
workshop was held in October), the development of suitable species for flower
production in southern New South Wales (there will be a meeting in June organised
by the Australian Flower and Protea Growers Assoc to explore the possibilities),
and the use of smoke to germinate seeds from the regional flora (a smoke machine
is currently being constructed). We also hope to get some funding to assist the
Community Grasslands Project (Murray
Darling Basin Commission) with grass seed storage, germination and establishment.
We may also be involved the Australian National University in a cost-benefit analysis
of the bush picked cut flower industry.
Australian Cultivar Registration Authority (ACRA):
Last year saw significant changes to the operation of the Australian Cultivar
Registration Authority (ACRA). Plant Breeders Rights applications outnumbered
Cultivar Registration applications by about 5 :1, and procedures for dealing with
all applications were changed to try and speed up the process. The latter involves
circulating applications to all committee members as they come in rather than
just on an annual basis. ACRA is also financially more secure, as donations are
being collected from all the major Botanic Gardens in Australia, and the accounts
have been audited for the first time in four years. A promise of $3000 has also
been given by RIRDC and HRDC to fund colour coding as this is so important for
the protection of breeders rights.
Professional Publications:
Propagation of some woody Australia plants from cuttings I A Dawson and R W King
Aust. Jo. of Experimental Agriculture 1994 34,1225-31.
