While Australian rural industries and research institutions are typically based more on a competitive
spirit than on active cooperation and coordination, there are a number of instances where a particular
industry or section of an industry has adopted a successful collaborative approach to the development
of new export or domestic industries
Collaborative research amongst groups of specialists located across the length and breadth of
Australia has the potential to be an effective catalyst to the development of cooperative arrangements
for continuous supply of perishable vegetables to satisfy domestic and export markets.
This publication, one of a number arising from the RIRDC project UCQ-10a, presents data from
cooperative trials on bitter melon run in the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales,
and illustrates how various institutes can cooperate in such ventures.