Issue No 3, January 1995.

NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the Advice on Publications Available.

8. Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I have just returned from the 9th International Conference on Jojoba and Industrial Crops, held at Catamarca, Argentina from 25-30 September, 1994.

This Conference promised so much in its preliminary list of titles. Unfortunately, it was, to me, disappointing. There was virtually nothing new which could safely be recommended to farmers in answer to: "how can I diversify?"

In the course of almost forty years as an agricultural consultant, I have maintained a continuing interest in the potential of new crops and have participated in the development of many which are now well established; ranging from irrigated cotton to oilseeds, as well as jojoba.

Since 1973, and particularly since the Arid Lands Conference in Arizona in 1985, I have concentrated on the prospects of a small group of crops which showed out as having considerable potential in the Australian environment.

Of particular recent interest have been Vernonia (natural epoxy-oils) and Lesquerella (non-allergenic substitute for castor oil). The latter appears to be particularly well suited as an alternative crop in our southern wheat belt. In 1984, when in the USA, I obtained seed and expert guidance from leading researchers Drs Robert Perdue (Vernonia) and Anson Thompson (Lesquerella).

So far, my trials of both crops in Australia have been most disappointing. Both here and in the USA, development of Vernonia has been hindered by a shortage of certified seed. My six attempts to germinate Lesquerella in Australia have all failed.

The Conference program held promise of providing some answers regarding Lesquerella, but such was not the case. We have not been alone with germination problems. American research plots have been raised under the sprinkler technique used on lettuce, which is affordable on that crop but would be prohibitively expensive on a lower value grain crop.

Furthermore, my private enquiries in the USA after the Conference revealed a severe risk factor not mentioned in any research reports; namely, extremely slow early growth and extreme vulnerability to seed infestation. Perhaps this is why, to date, mechanically harvested Lesquerella has not attained the yield levels of research plots in 1988. Until these drawbacks have been overcome, Lesquerella regrettably cannot be recommended as a practicable alternative crop.

The US Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops (AAIC) was formed in 1989/90 as an outgrowth of the former US Critical Materials Program (CMP) at the end of the Cold War. Its early activities and research funding were mostly concerned with crops listed in the CMP.

The 8th Jojoba Conference held at Ascension, Paraguay in 1990 was the first occasion on which the two disciplines were joined together. Some saw this meeting as not too successful, because of the need to hold concurrent sessions and the concentration of a lot of attention on guayule. (It would seem that this attention paid to guayule, by both public and private research interests for some 15 years, has yet to prove an economic proposition for the ordinary farmer).

At the time of the Paraguay meeting, I was asked to recruit members for AAIC in Australia. I complained that the list of crops of interest was narrow and parochial, many of little interest to Australia. I suggested to AAIC that they should take account of other countries' interests and define their own objectives in a manner acceptable to people working outside the USA. So far, there has been no response and no action taken.

A regrettable feature of this recent conference in Argentina was, by and large, a deafening silence from the rostrum on the economics of the subjects presented.

I believe the approach of the Elsevier Publishing Co. in Europe has been more practical. Their 1993 conference in Italy on industrial crops gave more prominence to poster displays, of which over 40% were cognisant of the important bottom line, and addressed themselves to the economics of the potential crops.

If the US organisation is to retain credibility, I believe it must pay heed to the economic realities of new crops. The farmer, as the ultimate user of the information, needs to know.

A more recently formed group in the USA based at Purdue University in Indiana appears to have upstaged AAIC and has commenced what I have been advocating, by presenting demonstration and training facilities addressing farmers' interests. It seems to me that the ultimate test of effectiveness in new crop development must be achievement of commercial profitability.

Papers presented at the recent Catamarca Conference concerning Kenaf showed distinct promise for early expansion of its commercial uses. However, there was some private criticism that some of the highlighted technology was out-of-date.

The organisation of the Conference left much to be desired and compared unfavourably with its predecessor in Paraguay in 1990. It was held in a remote rural location which was costly to reach, yet well away from the main jojoba plantation areas. Sessions were held in an apparently empty resort hotel with only makeshift conference rooms separated by a time-consuming walk; a severe deterrent to those of us having an interest in moving between the concurrent sessions. The main program left little time for discussion, which was sometimes lumped into a block at the end of the session.

Presentation of spoken papers was often poor, and a rational assessment of the content of some of the papers for me will need to wait until the Proceedings are published.

Many of the slides were difficult to read, routinely out of focus and overloaded with detail. One slide presented briefly at the meeting had 196 pieces of information included.

An astonishing feature of the Conference program on industrial crops was the total absence of any reference to what could be the most rewarding of all development crops, namely Neem. Long-established in India, with multiple domestic end uses, it has lately come to prominence as the source of a human-safe organic insecticide. Both selection trials and processing have been happening in Australia for several years, with a recent large planting in North Queensland, but it should have a wide range of geographical adaption.

(The US National Academy of Science has recently brought out a BOSTID series handbook, worthy of careful study, in which the pros and cons of this interesting plant are thoroughly and objectively examined.)

However, there were positive points about the Catamarca Conference to compensate for these shortcomings. The presence of several senior officers of the USDA, particularly the experienced group from the Northern Regional Development Laboratory at Peoria, Illinois, afforded a useful opportunity for discussions beyond the scope of the formal sessions.

There were also bright spots in the form of the contributions of delegates from Canada and Scotland, outlining some very practical and effective systems which those countries have set up to assist in commercial development. A similar, recently formed organisation has also been instituted in New Zealand. Their positive approach has obviously been getting results, and deserves careful attention with a view to guiding development in Australia, and other places, along the right lines.

Lennox Davidson PhD
Wentworth Falls, NSW, Australia.

Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email: r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au

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originally created by: GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF