Brisbane’s bayside is home to a hothouse of agricultural science research and development with 75 staff at the Redlands Research Centre currently working across almost 50 projects and trials.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said many of the breakthroughs and cutting-edge practices in Queensland agriculture were a result of the ground-breaking partnerships conducted at Redlands.
“With laboratories, glasshouses, shade houses, extensive fields of rich red soil and reliable rainfall, Redlands attracts not just Queensland Government scientists, but also tertiary and private sector partners including the grains, legumes, horticulture and sports turf industries,” the Minister said.
“There’s a huge amount of work going on at the Centre, which is currently at full capacity with projects focused on combating fruit fly, plant disease resistance, sports turf development, converting food waste into protein products and renewable energy systems.
“Trials led by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are focused on reducing disease impacts and improving yields of staple crops such as capsicum, tomato, zucchini, barley, wheat and mung bean.
“This includes trials that are part of the $19 million national, multi-agency project Area Wide Management of Vegetable Diseases: viruses and bacteria.
“This Queensland-led project is continuing its diagnoses of what causes disease outbreaks in multiple districts across Australia and is providing valuable knowledge fundamental for development of disease management strategies.
“DAF is also leading a national collaboration to better understand the seasonal cycles affecting fruit fly activity and better target outbreaks of this pest.
“This broad sweep of work is another example of the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to supporting agriculture as a key economic pillar and safeguarding our reputation for clean green world class produce.”
