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.Ausbud is a cooperative with over 130 members who live in a wide area of Queensland and New South Wales: from Hughenden in the north to Quilpie in the west and as far south as Narromine.
Ausbud was formed for the purpose of growing and marketing Eucalyptus buds and foliage and now boasts approximately 150,000 trees and its own marketing company.
Species used
Basically a mallee eucalypt is used but work is now being done on local species: Eucalyptus torquata and Eucalyptus leucoxylon are two local species readily adaptable.
Planting and growing
Trees are purchased in tubes. They are about 15cm high when transferred to the plantation. Plantations follow the orchard style, with trees in rows. Trees are planted about three metres apart, in rows about five metres apart. This allows approximat ely 600-700 trees per hectare. All trees should be on trickle irrigation and are managed as in a professional orchard system.
Cutting
Trees are kept to approximately 2.5 m in height and will produce foliage for sale from between 18 months and two years. Buds will appear on trees in three to four years. Foliage cuttings are from 40 - 60 cm long and are prepared in 400 gram bunches . Buds are of similar length and prepared similarly or sold by stem.
Marketing
Bunches of foliage return approximately A$3.00 and a mature tree (three years) can easily return 10 bunches a year.
Foliage returns are approximately A$4.00 to 4.50 per bunch and a mature tree (4 to 4.5 years) can yield 10 to 15 bunches.
Foliage 10 x $3.00 = $30.00 x 150 trees per acre = A$4500.00 per acre gross (A$ 11,100 per hectare).
Buds 12 x $4.25 = $51.00 x 150 trees per acre = A$7650.00 per acre gross (A$18,900 per hectare).
Deduct expenses, wages, sprays, allow only 100 trees to produce per acre per year and nett figures will probably be approximately half the gross.
Both domestic and export markets are extremely bullish. The Asian market is undeveloped and the domestic market largely uneducated to our product.
Contact:Any claims made by authors in the Australian New Crops Newsletter are presented by the Editors in good faith. Readers would be wise to critically examine the circumstances associated with any claims to determine the applicability of such claims to their specific set of circumstances. This material can be reproduced, with the provision that the source and the author (or editors, if applicable) are acknowledged and the use is for information or educational purposes. Contact with the original author is probably wise since the material may require updating or amendment if used in other publications. Material sourced from the Australian New Crops Newsletter cannot be used out of context or for commercial purposes not related to its original purpose in the newsletter
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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GK; latest update 6 June 1999 by: RF