Agriculture and Food

Influencing factors of feed intake and digestion in prawns

This Project will investigate poorly understood mechanisms regulating feed consumption in prawns through a multi-disciplinary approach studying feeding behaviour, digestive physiology, nutritional needs and metabolism regulation. The expected outcomes are to better understand dietary factors and physiological mechanisms promoting feed consumption and return of appetite in juvenile prawns. This may lead to the application of new feed and feeding strategies to enhance aquaculture performance and sustainability.  

Optimizing carcase quality and animal welfare

This Project will investigate stunning factors in commercial beef processing facilities that may influence carcase quality, meat quality and/or animal welfare. The expected outcomes are to identify risk factors associated with stunning that influence meat quality and to support the claim that the Australian beef processing sector is continuing to improve welfare outcomes. This could provide evidence to bolster the ongoing social acceptance of the beef industry.

A cotton pangenome for enhanced genomic selection 

This Project will identify key representative lines of the Australian cotton breeding population to construct a cotton pangenome. The expected outcome is to construct a cotton pangenome using the lines which are most efficient in terms of labour and financial resources. This may help increase the accuracy of genomic selection and hence increase the rate of genetic gain. 

Repurposing & fortification of nutrient-rich waste streams

This project investigates the potential of the combined waste streams from the two industries to develop new ingredients for food applications. The expected outcome is a framework to develop products from reclaimed and fortified nutrient-rich fractions suited to their physico-chemical properties. The potential benefit is improved nutrient upcycling, reduced food waste and carbon footprint. 

Extending the shelf life of UHT plant protein beverages

This Project aims to improve understanding and overcome the negative effects of the secondary lipid oxidation products and Maillard reaction in UHT plant protein beverages. The expected outcome is a methodology to impede the negative impact of malodorous/browning reactions in high protein UHT beverages. This may lead to the extension of shelf life of these products furthering export opportunities.  

Crop disease management

This project aims to integrate novel automated disease surveillance technology into real-time management of crop diseases for improved yield and sustainability outcomes. The expected outcome is grower recommendations for crop diseases informed by real-time automated disease surveillance. The potential benefit is improved productivity and sustainability through reduced crop losses and chemical inputs.