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The University’s Ornamental Eucalypt Development Program (OEDP) has recently received $250,000 in funding from the Australian Government under its Entrepreneurs’ Programme, delivered by AusIndustry, and another $250,000 from four industry partners.
The funding will enable the Australian release of the first two selected designer eucalypts in 2016, along with continued monitoring of a trial in Spain and the establishment of four trial sites in the US, a key export market.
The researchers, led by Post-doctoral Fellow Dr Kate Delaporte and Dr Justin Rigden, ARI Commercial Development Manager, have developed a novel way of propagating new varieties of eucalypts from the OEDP that is fast, reliable and enables consistent production of plants with a particular flower colour, size and form.
According to Justin these are the first such hybrid ornamental eucalypt trees which can be propagated in this way─by growing clones of the trees in tissue culture, which enables the rapid and reliable production of thousands of plants in a relatively short space of time. It also enables cost-effective shipping in large quantities from the sterile growth media.
The four industry partners are Yuruga Nursery, Humphris Nursery, Australian Horticultural Services and, in the US, Ball Ornamentals.
Established in 1996, the OEDP has also been supported by AusIndustry, BioSA, Horticulture Innovation Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Playford Trust. Further information can be found athttp://agwine.adelaide.edu.au/research/plant-physiology/horticulture/eucalypt/
If you would like to know more you can read the full media release or contact Justin on +618 8313 4461 or justin.rigden@adelaide.edu.au.
(Image: Eucalypt hybrid developed through the OEDP program)
