Search

Context: Opportunity exists to expand serradella (Ornithopus spp.) use onto heavier, duplex soil types in permanent pasture environments of south-eastern Australia. This requires cultivars with appropriate flowering times and flowering-date stability (i.e. flowering at the same date in spring regardless of timing of the autumn break). Aim: This work examined evidence of variation in flowering date and flowering-date stability in the NSW southern tablelands for a widely-used French serradella (O. sativus) cv. Margurita. Methods: Seed (sourced from a commercial supplier) was sown 21 March 2019 (Canberra, ACT) and 231 individual plants were monitored for time to first flower. A subset of plants exhibiting 'early' or 'late' flowering were identified and their seeds collected. In 2020, seed from ~15 plants from each selection was sown in Canberra in late March and early May to represent an 'early' and a 'later' break of season (n = 3). Key results: In the early-sown treatment, 'early-flowering' selections typically reached the median date of first flower (50%-flowering) from mid- to late August, while 'late-flowering' selections reached 50%-flowering early- to mid-September. When sown later, the 'early-flowering' selections began flowering from mid- to late September, while the 'late-flowering' selections flowered mid-September to early October. The 'early' selections exhibited greater flowering-date instability than 'late' selections and flowered particularly early when sown early. This indicated diversity within cv. Margurita for flowering-time control (e.g. vernalisation and/or photoperiod requirements). Implications: Evaluating cultivars of serradellas for flowering date and flowering date stability in their target environment(s) is essential to ensure cultivars are suitably adapted to these environments. Serradellas (Ornithopus spp.) are a novel legume option for the permanent pasture environments of south-eastern Australia. This paper investigated evidence of variation in flowering time characteristics within a widely used cultivar of French serradella. We recommend that new cultivars of serradellas be evaluated for flowering time characteristics in their target environment(s) to assess whether the cultivars are suitably adapted to these environments. This is essential to maximise production, feeding value and facilitate effective grazing management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-purpose cropping (sowing crops with the intention of both grazing them during vegetative growth and harvesting grain thereafter) has become a widespread farming practice in southern Australia. This synopsis paper integrates research from a multi-institutional research project conducted at three nodes located near Hamilton (south-western Victoria), Wagga Wagga (southern NSW) and Canberra (ACT), and sets out 11 principles for the effective utilisation of dual-purpose crops in meat production systems to increase profit and manage risk. Dual-purpose crops can be used to overcome feed quality gaps in late summer–autumn or feed quantity gaps in late autumn/winter. They provide large quantities of high-quality forages for grazing in summer, autumn and winter and can provide a substantial contribution to the annual number of grazing days on a farm. Utilisation of the high-quality dry matter provided by dual-purpose crops is most effective when directed at young growing stock for sale or future reproduction rather than reproducing adult ewes. For example, sale weight of yearlings per ewe was increased by 16% in systems at the Canberra node when dual-purpose crops were prioritised for grazing by weaners. Wool production was also increased in systems that included grazing of dual-purpose crops. Grazing crops in winter does not necessarily reduce supplementary feeding costs for winter or spring lambing. Modelling suggests that inclusion of dual-purpose crops does not substantially change the optimum time of lambing for sheep meat systems. Financial analysis of the experimental data from the Canberra node showed that although cash expenses per hectare were increased in the crop-grazing systems, the overall profitability of those systems over the life of the experiment was greater by AU$207/ha.year than that of the pasture-only system. Factors driving improved profitability included income from grain, higher income from meat and wool, and lower supplementary feeding costs. However, increasing the area sown to crop from 10% to 30% of the farm area in this Southern Tablelands system appeared to increase risk. In south-western Victoria, spring-sown canola carried risk similar to or less than other options assessed to achieve ewe-lamb mating weight. It is likely that at least part of the reduction in risk occurs through the diversification in income from the canola produced as part of the system. It was concluded that the grazing of cereal and canola crops for livestock production can be profitable and assist in managing risk. 'Step changes in meat production systems from dual-purpose crops in the feedbase' was a multi-institutional research program funded by Meat & Livestock Australia. This special issue of Animal Production Science includes key papers from that research program. This synopsis paper integrates research findings across the three nodes of the project and draws out 11 principles for the effective utilisation of dual-purpose crops in meat production systems to increase profit and manage risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the history of a proposal for an ideas-based museum of ecological concepts, a 'National Biological Centre' for Canberra in 1965, and its successors.2 The background to the proposal came from changing ideas about zoos in the 1960s, and the emerging discipline of human ecology. The mission of the centre was to explore the relations between humans, other life-forms and their physical environment through what its chief protagonist, Stephen Boyden, called a comprehensive 'bionarrative'.3 The centre was to facilitate the understanding of biophysical and social worlds as interrelated dynamic systems. The Biological Centre was conceived as a 'major cultural institution' for the nation, reflecting relations between science and society, and informing culture with science.4 Unlike traditional natural history museums and zoos, collections of objects (or animals) were not its primary mission. This paper considers how the 1965 proposal for the Biological Centre anticipated later 'museums of ideas', and reviews its relevance to new twenty-first-century museums of the Anthropocene, and how museums and related institutions can shed light on the role of science in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper scrutinizes criticisms of Mark Oliphant and his quest to build a cyclo-synchrotron in Canberra in the 1950s by analysing various portrayals of him, paying particular attention to the ways these portrayals, despite being written in different decades, are teleologically driven and reinforce a perception of failure. It addresses the key criticisms levelled at Oliphant: his 'difficult' personality, his perceived political naïveté and his inability to adjust to the new technological paradigm of Big Science. It questions whether these portrayals represent legitimate criticism or ideological positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: There is interest in using serradella (Ornithopus spp.) in permanent pastures of the high rainfall zone of south-eastern Australia. However, there is little information concerning levels of hardseededness or patterns of seed softening in these environments. Aim: This study quantified seed softening of serradella species in comparison with subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) in the Southern Tablelands and Central Slopes districts of eastern Australia. Methods: Mature seeds were placed in mesh pouches on the soil surface and were retrieved periodically to assess residual hard seed proportions throughout the growing season(s) in four experiments conducted over 2018 and 2019. Key results: Patterns of seed softening among adapted cultivars of subterranean clover were consistent: initially high proportions of hard seed, followed by rapid softening from mid-summer to the end of autumn with the remnant portion of seeds remaining hard. In contrast, diverse patterns of seed softening were observed among serradella cultivars, ranging from highly soft-seeded through to high initial hard seed portions that either softened rapidly or softened over a lengthy period. Rates of seed softening were faster in the warmer/drier environment of Cowra compared to the wetter/cooler environment of Canberra. Conclusions: The study revealed seed softening patterns among serradellas to be diverse and different to subterranean clover. This will affect management and suitability of serradella cultivars for permanent pastures. Implications: In permanent pastures, serradellas that soften slowly over several years are likely to have limited regeneration in the year after pasture establishment with a high potential for weed invasion. Serradella has many advantages as a pasture legume, however persistence and productivity in permanent pastures can be inadequate. This study quantified seed softening of serradella species in comparison with subterranean clover in the Southern Tablelands and Central Slopes districts of eastern Australia. Diverse patterns of seed softening were observed among serradella cultivars, in contrast to subterranean clover. Implications for pasture establishment of serradella in high rainfall zone permanent pastures is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraser Bergersen rose from humble beginnings in New Zealand to become a leading microbiologist who specialised in the physiology and biochemistry of legume nitrogen fixation. He and his family emigrated toAustralia in 1954.Virtually all of his careerwas spent in Canberra at CSIRO Plant Industry. In the 1970s, Bergersen and colleagues achieved world-wide prominence when they elucidated the role of leghaemoglobin in facilitating oxygen diffusion to the Bradyrhizobium bacteroids in soybean nodules and in the nitrogen fixation process itself. During the rest of his working life, Fraser Bergersen contributed greatly to understanding the role of oxygen, the mode of its delivery, and terminal oxidases in all forms of biological nitrogen fixation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]