Seasonal Herbage Accumulation of Different Dairy Pasture Types in Southern Australia

Perennial ryegrass pastures, which are the mainstay of dairy feeding systems in southern Australia, are characterised by strong spring growth, little summer/autumn growth, and poor persistence. These limitations impose costs to farm businesses through the purchase of additional fodder to fill feed gaps, and regular re-sowing of pastures. The objective of the research reported here was to investigate the potential for alternative pasture types with different seasonal growth characteristics to improve the seasonal distribution of feed supply and overcome some of the limitations associated with perennial ryegrass

Milk Production Potential of Different Dairy Pasture Types in Southern Australia

The growth rate of traditional perennial ryegrass-based pastures commonly fails to meet herd feed requirements through winter and summer in non-irrigated dairy systems in southern Australia. Alternative pasture species can improve seasonal feed supply in this region (Tharmaraj & Chapman, 2005). However, the feeding value and milk production of these pastures must at least match perennial ryegrass if they are to be adopted successfully on dairy farms. This paper reports results of a comparison of the milk production potential of pasture types similar to those investigated by Tharmaraj & Chapman (2005) for their agronomic performance

Boronic acids for sensing and other applications - a mini-review of papers published in 2013

Boronic acids are increasingly utilised in diverse areas of research. Including the interactions of boronic acids with diols and strong Lewis bases as fluoride or cyanide anions, which leads to their utility in various sensing applications. The sensing applications can be homogeneous assays or heterogeneous detection. Detection can be at the interface of the sensing material or within the bulk sample. Furthermore, the key interaction of boronic acids with diols allows utilisation in various areas ranging from biological labelling, protein manipulation and modification, separation and the development of therapeutics. All the above uses and applications are covered by this mini-review of papers published during 2013