School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Research Publications

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End date: 2018 × Start date: 2015 × Type: Report ×

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    Higher welfare labelling for eggs: A summary of findings from the project Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia
    Parker, C ; Carey, R ; Scrinis, G (The University of Melbourne, 2018)
    A summary of findings from the project Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia
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    Higher welfare labelling for chicken meat: A summary of findings from the project Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia
    Parker, C ; Carey, R ; Scrinis, G (The University of Melbourne, 2018)
    A summary of findings from the project Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia.
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    Enhancing the knowledge of wood properties and processing characteristics of PNG timbers - Testing of Basic Physical & Mechanical Properties
    Belleville, B ; Lancelot, K ; Galore, E ; Ozarska, B (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2018-12-21)
    Six  mechanical  properties,  namely  flexural  bending  strength  (MOR),  stiffness  (MOE),  compression strength parallel and perpendicular to the grain, shear parallel to the grain, and hardness were evaluated for 26 PNG species using 2,641 small clear specimens from 130 trees. Heavy  hopea  (Hopea  iriana)  always  offered  the  best  mechanical  properties  of  all  selected  species, providing significantly higher properties in all categories. Pellita (Eucalyptus pellita), Malas (Homalium foetidum), and Kwila (Intsia bijuga) are other species that usually performed significantly better than the average. PNG boxwood (Xanthopyllum papuanum), PNG mersawa (Anisoptera  thurifera),  and  Blackbean  (Castanospermum  australe)  usually  performed  above  average. Erima (Octomeles sumatrana), White albizzia (Falcataria moluccana), PNG basswood (Endospermum  medullosum),  White  cheesewood  (Alstonia  scholaris),  Pencil  cedar  (Palaquium  warbargianum), PNG quandong (Elaeocarpus sphaericus), and Wau beech (Magnolia tsiampacca) usually offered mechanical testing results below the average of the selected species. The impact of the position in the tree on the selected mechanical properties has also been assessed. Stiffness and bending strength tend to decrease or remain unchanged along the stem across all studied species. While shear and hardness testing results showed a similar trend to a lesser extent, the position in the tree had a much more limited impact on the compression strength properties. Further experiments where sampling would consider the radial position within the tree might accentuate observed trends. Therefore, segregating logs based on the position in the tree could be of interest where desired timber mechanical properties and costs associated with segregating is justifying optimum mechanical properties for the intended end use. The mechanical properties of species obtained from plantations and regrowth forests were lower than those found in the literature from old‐growth forests. Different factors including the  size  of  specimens  tested,  the  amount  and  provenance  of  tested  material,  and  some  adaptive traits for tropical tree species might explain some differences. However, comparisons  of  mechanical  testing  results  with  other  recent  studies  tend  to  confirm  a  reduction of physical and mechanical properties when comparing with timbers from old‐growth forests.
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    Technical Report for Maton Guitars
    Belleville, B ; Redman, A ; Ferhmann, J ( 2018-07-17)
    The present report outlined below forms part of ACIAR project FST/2016/151 – Advancing enhanced wood manufacturing industries in Laos and Australia. As part of the project, the University of Melbourne (UoM) and Department of Agriculture Fisheries (DAF) project staff work with Maton Guitars (MG) on various R&D areas nominated by MG that align with the objectives of FST/2016/151. Overall, the main research focus is on enhancing kiln drying efficiencies and utilisation of alternative species in their guitar manufacture. MG has identified the following specific sub-project as a high priority: Improving kiln drying efficiency and best practice. This will include assisting in setting up best practice drying for new kiln investments and running drying trials to improve drying efficiency and consistency. The report presents the results of moisture content profile and residual drying stress tests. The tests were conducted on blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) resawn billets taken from a batch which showed distortion. The ACIAR team conducted detailed moisture gradient testing and residual drying stress tests of 5 billets.
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    Understanding Apple and Pear Growers' Climate Change Adaptation Decision-Making
    Santhanam-Martin, M (The University of Melbourne, 2017-08-01)
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    Milestone Report 5.7 Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation in the Australian Tree Fruit Industry
    Santhanam-Martin, M ; Darbyshire, R (Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, The University of Melbourne, 2015)
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    Learning from the Alpine Valleys Dairy Succession Project
    Santhanam-Martin, M (Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, 2016)