Queensland, Autralia
February 20, 2007
Research has just started to find
ways of making Queensland’s major summer grain more attractive
to the feed and ethanol industries.
A Department of Primary
Industries and Fisheries plant breeder, Alan Cruickshank of
the Hermitage Research Station, near Warwick, said although
grain was now in short supply, growers wanted market insurance
for high production years by producing more attractive sorghum
for the stockfeed and ethanol industries.
Mr Cruickshank said the work was
supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and
involved researchers from the DPI&F, University of Queensland,
and Pork CRC.
He said sorghum was the premier
summer grain crop in Queensland and northern NSW and was
exceptionally well adapted to these environments in these areas.
The sorghum market was not as
expansive as it could be because the grain was not always the
first choice for livestock industries, particularly the pork
industry.
This was because the grain was
poorly digested in the small intestines of pigs, and so they
were fed less sorghum than other grain.
Ethanol yield from sorghum was
lower than expected because of its grain properties, Mr
Cruickshank said.
“The research aims to identify
genetic lines, commercial varieties, and management practices
that will provide sorghum grain with high starch digestibility
and intake for the pork industry and enhanced ethanol yield,” he
said.
“The nutritive value of the
ethanol production by-product, distillers’ grain, will also be
measured.
“We will find the key attributes
that determine the availability of starch in the grain, and then
develop a technique for selecting appropriate sorghums.
“We will also be identifying
sorghum lines and management practices that improve the
availability of starch for feed and ethanol uses,” Mr
Cruickshank said.
He said UQ researchers led by
Professor Ian Godwin would use complex laboratory analyses and
DNA techniques to find and understand the desirable
characteristics in grain and identify germplasm and varieties
containing them.
“An interesting innovation is to
develop and refine near infrared (NIR) technology to be able to
rapidly select suitable sorghums.
“The NIR research will be done by
Glen Fox at the DPI&F Queensland Grains Research Laboratory at
Leslie Research Centre.
“About 200 sorghum lines will be
examined. Some will be grown in different environments to see
whether this changes the attributes we’re looking for,” he said.
“The outcome of the research will
be diversified markets for grain sorghum and a closer
association with the bio-ethanol industry,” Mr Cruickshank said.
The project will finish in 2009. |
