QUT research

Agricultural research and development at QUT received a significant boost today with the opening of a new $8.6 million state-of-the-art glasshouse facility at Redlands.

Director of QUT's Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities Professor James Dale said the high-tech glasshouses at the new Queensland Crop Development Facility (QCDF) were crucial to the progress of three major research projects currently underway.

The most recently-launched project involves developing technologies to provide clean, green alternatives to fossil fuels.

Professor Dale has pioneered groundbreaking genetic technology that can economically convert plant waste into sugars which can then be used to produce ethanol - and all without compromising the sugar potential of the cane.

"It's the holy grail of biofuels," Professor Dale explained.

He said the five glasshouses at the new facility would accommodate all crop species, including trees, and could replicate specific environments using computer-controlled temperature settings.

They were vital, too, as they represented the final step before field trials in an international project designed to improve the production and nutritional value of bananas.

East African Highland bananas are the staple food of Uganda and their East African neighbours.

"But unfortunately these bananas are low in essential micronutrients and as a result vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia are major health problems," he said.

The project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to develop East African Highland bananas that are high in pro-vitamin A and iron.

"QCDF will be critical in assessing the first genetically modified bananas prior to their field trial later this year," he added.

QCDF is a joint project with investment of $5.6 million from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, QUT and the University of Queensland, with an additional $3 million in funding from the Queensland Government Smart State initiative.