|
 Key
long term strategies
-
Plant breeding and species selection
to maximise yield and tailor extracts to deliver characteristics with known
markets
-
Crop agronomy and management
systems to improve production efficiency, encourage scale and produce known
characteristics in the final product
-
Proof of efficacy/safety for
innovative uses of plant extracts, primarily for existing crops and Australian
native species
-
Building skills in the research
community to provide on-going R&D capacity to support industry development
(with a focus on testing capabilities to meet, for example, regulatory
requirements, counter safety concerns)
-
Development of novel crops and/or
products with considerable production and market prospects
-
Foster communication and networking
that builds industry capacity to cooperate to develop the markets, manage
industry risks, and attract new entrants to build critical mass
Background
World markets for
essential oils and herbal medicines have been growing strongly. The increasing
acceptance of alternative medicine and the search for plant based substitutes
for oil based and other synthetics is supported by strong research investment
in Europe and the United States. The growth in global and domestic markets
provides opportunities for the Australian industry. The program represents
a diverse range of crops with widely different production and market environments.
The main markets for essential oils are industrial (solvents, fragrances),
cosmetic and health (fragrances, topical applications), and food manufacturing
(flavouring). The main markets for plant extracts are medicinal herbs (herbal
medicines), phytochemicals (pharmacological), and industrial (insecticides,
agri-chemicals).
Production is throughout
Australia, with Tasmania and the south-west of Western Australia as the
major areas of production, particularly for perennials and tree crops.
Large scale production is limited to a few crops, notably eucalypts, sandalwood
and lavender. ABS trade data reports essential oils exports of $26.8m in
2003–04 and imports of $22.7m.
Australian species present
considerable potential for new products but they often face considerable
regulatory barriers and marketing difficulties. Essential oils and plant
extracts offer a high value use of land and water resources that can be
complementary in mixed farming systems. Essential oils from trees such
as eucalyptus oil and sandalwood offer an additional product for producers
growing for wood products and carbon credits. Plantation production also
has environmental benefits in reducing the pressures from wild harvest
such as with sandalwood and mountain pepper. Such crops can also assist
in addressing dryland salinity issues when utilised in the right locations.
R&D is critical to improving
the profitability of essential oil and plant extract industries. Quality
is critical, and higher yields are needed to reduce costs. The competitive
edge often comes from tailoring products to the exact requirements of the
market which are dynamic. Species selection and breeding are important
inputs, as is optimising production systems to deliver the characteristics
required. New products and uses can give Australian producers a first mover
advantage.
Some
Key Performance Indicators
Performance indicators
include:
-
Number of varieties identified/developed/selected
and the increase in yield of these varieties
-
Dissemination and use of information
on the impact of crop management and harvesting time on the characteristics
of a specific number of products
-
Dissemination and use of information
on production systems that provide for improvements in productivity of
a target level for specified crops
-
Number of registrations of products
for use (across the range of registers) that have received support from
the Program
-
Number of researchers and research
labs providing services to the industry
-
Industry participation in the
Industry Partnerships Program and growth in industry organisation membership
Strategies
for 2007–08
-
To develop a new five-year R&D
plan for the Essential Oils and Plant Extracts Industries
-
To develop commercially viable
techniques for the production of marketable extracts of artemisia, through
the investigation of ways to maximise the yield of artemisinin, the anti-malarial
compound
-
To develop and fine tune best
practice procedures for commercial production of essential oil crops through
detailed high quality crop manuals and their adoption
-
To develop a database of DNA
fingerprints for economically important species and chemotypes of medicinal
herbs to ensure quality assurance
Expected
key outputs for 2007–08
-
A new five-year R&D Plan
-
Knowledge of the levels and
anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of saponins, flavonoids,
coumarins and diterpenes in Dodonaea viscose var Angustifolia
-
Quality assurance protocols
to minimise pesticide residues in essential oils
-
Guidelines for increased yields
from
peppermint crops through improved micronutrient nutrition
Expected
key outcomes in 2007–08
-
Improved lavender varieties
available to industry
-
Improved flow of research information
to growers
Improvement of peppermint
crops through establishment of improved nutrition and nursery stock
New
projects being funded or under consideration in 2007–08 include:
| Project
No |
Title |
Researcher |
Phone |
| PRJ-000013 |
Biotransformation
of terpenes – Value adding to essential oils (Phase I)* |
Dr
Melissa Straffon |
03
9545 2398 |
| PRJ-000017 |
Aroma
and flavour products from plant waste* |
Professor
Robert Menary |
03
6226 2723 |
| PRJ-000012 |
Control
of plant pathogens using extracts from northern Australian plants* |
Dr
Shamsul Bhuiyan |
08
8973 9712 |
| PRJ-000018 |
Management
of postharvest diseases using Australian essential oils* |
Dr
Elena Lazar |
02
4348 1935 |
| PRJ-000021 |
Develop
Australian standards for oil of Australian Lavandin cultivars* |
Dr
Ian Southwell |
02
6624 2453 |
| PRJ-000019 |
Spatial
analysis of plant-host relationships in tropical sandalwood |
Dr
Liz Barbour |
08
9404 5491 |
| PRJ-000020 |
Production
of TALGA lavender industry newsletter |
Ms
Tere Bonner |
07
4686 1191 |
Note: An asterisk (*) indicates
that the Corporation is still to finalise amendments to the project.
Research
budget:
$429,116
AgFacts
- Agricultural information from around Australia
In an effort to bring you the
latest and most comprehensive collection of agricultural information from
around Australia, we have compiled this list of links to fact sheets produced
by State agricultural departments and research agencies. Each agency retains
full copyright and we ask you to respect that copyright and to contact
each organisation before using their material for other than personal,
educational or any other fair dealing purpose.
Eucalyptus
oil mallees (AGWEST Farmnotes)
Essential
oils - information on essential oils and the industry (Vic NRE
Ag Notes)
Eucalyptus
oils (Vic NRE Ag Notes)
Jojoba
(Vic NRE Ag Notes)
Lavender
growing for oil production (Vic NRE Ag Notes)
Lavender
oil (Vic NRE Ag Notes)
Peppermint
(Vic NRE Ag Notes)
Essential
oils (Vic NRE Ag Notes) |
