Farm Productivity and Quality Enhancement Program

Flower Association of Queensland Incorporated

  • Project code: PRJ-002655

  • Project stage: Closed

  • Project start date: Friday, January 30, 2009

  • Project completion date: Wednesday, May 30, 2012

  • National Priority: NEPI-Industry building and connectivity

Summary

The project will trial a programme of soil amendments across Australia, involving a large range of different soils. The soil amendments will aim to provide farmers of Australian and South African natives (hereafter ‘Wildflowers’) with a consistent scientific approach to balance soil chemistry on a wide range of soils. Each soil amendment programme will be individually tailored to the soil in question.

Program

New and Emerging Plant Industries

Research Organisation

Flower Association of Queensland Incorporated

Objective Summary

This project aims to investigate a method of improving crop productivity and quality, using the one method of soil amendment across a wide range of soil and climatic types.
Trials to date have shown promising results using this method.

Objectives include:-
– to gain a data base of soil types and cropping across Australia
– to involve the wildflower industry as a whole in an experiential learning exercise, based on their farms, their crops, their soils and their climate zones
– to assess the impact of a new approach to maximising quality and productivity of wildflower crops
– to improve productivity and efficiency on wildflower farms
– to enhance the sustainability of the industry by driving demand and thus price for the product upwards
– to provide a network for industry communication and an impetus for working towards commongoals as a group
– to improve the image of Australian wildflower produce both domestically and internationally