The System of Rice Intensification (SRI): Revisiting Agronomy for a Changing Climate

By modifying management of rice plants, soil, water and nutrients to improve growth environments, farmers can get higher-yielding, more vigorous and resilient plants nurtured by larger root systems and greater diversity/abundance of beneficial soil organisms. More productive phenotypes from available genotypes enhance farmers’ income and security while reducing their costs and water requirements

A comparison of theory and practice in market intelligence gathering for Australian micro-businesses and SMEs

Recent government sponsored research has demonstrated that there is a gap between the theory and practice of market intelligence gathering within the Australian micro, small and medium businesses (SMEs). Typically, there is a significant amount of information in literature about 'what needs to be done', however, there is little insight in terms of how market intelligence gathering should occur. This paper provides a novel insight and a comparison between the theory and practices of market intelligence gathering of micro-business and SMEs in Australia and demonstrates an anomoly in so far as typically the literature does not match what actually occurs in practice. A model for market intelligence gathering for micro-businesses and SMEs is also discussed

A comparison of supply integration and end-to-end communication theory and practice - an Australian perspective

The concept of supply chain integration and end-to-end communication are well established in supply chain theory. Typically, because of the depth of publications, an axiom has developed that all supply networks are fully integrated and have end-toend communication protocols. Recent research into Australian supply networks has highlighted a somewhat different scenario, where many networks are fragmented and lack the connectivity that would be expected. This paper offers a comparison of theoretical supply chain management and the actual practices found in Australian businesses. As a result of this grass root research, a scenario is offered that suggest there is a significant gap between the theory and practice of supply integration and communication that in turn, generate risk in these supply networks

The growth and carcass and meat characteristics of pigs raised in a free-range or conventional housing system

The growth performance and the carcass and physical and chemical characteristics of the meat of 24 Landrace X Large White pigs were compared when reared under a free-range or a conventional housing system. The free-range pigs had lower feed intakes and slower growth rates than the conventionally housed pigs. The free-range pigs also had a lower P2 fat depth and therefore yielded a carcass with a higher percentage lean meat. Housing systems had no effect on the weight distribution of the commercial cuts (as a percentage of cold carcass weight). The meat from the free-range pigs was slightly more reddish in colour, but apart from that housing systems had no effect on the water-holding capacity (WHC) of the meat, its initial pH (pH45) or its final pH (pH24). The meat from the free-range pigs had the same shear force (WBS) values as those of the conventionally housed pigs. Housing systems had an influence on the fatty acid composition. Stearic acid (C18:0) was significantly lower in the meat of the free-range pigs than that of the conventionally housed pigs while linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations were significantly higher. However, the moisture, fat, protein and ash contents as well as the mineral composition in the meat were unaffected by housing systems. It could be concluded that pigs raised in a conventional housing system produced meat with similar quality characteristics to that of pigs raised in a free-range housing system. Keywords: Free-range, Housing systems, Growth performance, Carcass yield, Physical quality, Chemical composition South African Journal of Animal Science Vol.33(3) 2003:166-17

Quantifying variation in the ability of yeasts to attract Drosophila melanogaster

Yeasts that invade and colonise fruit significantly enhance the volatile chemical diversity of this ecosystem. These modified bouquets are thought to be more attractive to Drosophila flies than the fruit alone, but the variance of attraction in natural yeast populations is uncharacterised. Here we investigate how a range of yeast isolates affect the attraction of female D. melanogaster to fruit in a simple two choice assay comparing yeast to sterile fruit. Of the 43 yeast isolates examined, 33 were attractive and seven repellent to the flies. The results of isolate-versus-isolate comparisons provided the same relative rankings. Attractiveness varied significantly by yeast, with the strongly fermenting Saccharomyces species generally being more attractive than the mostly respiring non-Saccharomyces species (P = 0.0035). Overall the habitat (fruit or other) from which the isolates were directly sampled did not explain attraction (P = 0.2352). However, yeasts isolated from fruit associated niches were more attractive than those from non-fruit associated niches (P = 0.0188) regardless of taxonomic positioning. These data suggest that while attractiveness is primarily correlated with phylogenetic status, the ability to attract Drosophila is a labile trait among yeasts that is potentially associated with those inhabiting fruit ecosystems. Preliminary analysis of the volatiles emitted by four yeast isolates in grape juice show the presence/absence of ethanol and acetic acid were not likely explanations for the observed variation in attraction. These data demonstrate variation among yeasts for their ability to attract Drosophila in a pattern that is consistent with the hypothesis that certain yeasts are manipulating fruit odours to mediate interactions with their Drosophila dispersal agent. © 2013 Palanca et al