Teagasc Research News – Winter 2008

Extended grazing

Extending the grazing period of dairy cows up to 300 days a year, without showing a decline in milk yields is the subject of an article by Emer Kennedy and Michael O’Donovan, Teagasc Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre, in the latest issue of TResearch, Teagasc’s research and innovation magazine.

Irish dairy production pivots on pasture-based systems, as grazed grass is the cheapest feed source available and is cheaper by factors of 2.5 and 4.2 when compared to grass silage and concentrate, respectively. The competitive advantage of Irish dairy production over other European milk producing countries lies in maximising the proportion of grazed grass in the diet of the lactating dairy cow. Higher profits can be achieved by improving grassland management practices. Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre has set an ambitious target of a 300-day grazing season under optimal grazing conditions; however, all farmers should be targeting an increased number of days grazing regardless of location, says Kennedy.

Their studies have indicated that access time should be split into two separate periods (preferably after each milking) and that each period should be of at least three hours duration. Also, the animals should not be supplemented with additional feed (grass silage) when they return indoors as this will have negative effects on milk protein concentration.

Herbivore hitchhikers

A newly introduced species of beetle recently threatened Irish Eucalyptus plantations. Finbarr Horgan, a horticulturalist based at Teagasc Oak Park and Kinsealy explains how early identification of the beetle and intervention in its spread have been effective in reducing losses to Ireland’s expanding cut foliage trade.

In August 2007, producers of Eucalyptus foliage for the cut foliage trade that is worth €4 million to the South West, noticed moderate to severe dieback in some plantations. Dieback was restricted to Kerry and mainly affected green foliage species, particularly Eucalyptus parvifolia. Associated with this damage were dull green beetle larvae and brightly coloured adult beetles. Because damage was limited to eucalypts, which originate from Australia, it was evident that this was a newly introduced beetle, also of Australian origin. The beetle in question was identified as Paropsisterna gloriosa.

Awareness of the presence of this beetle and monitoring its spread enabled the introduction of simple intervention measures to manage Paropsisterna gloriosa during 2008. Nevertheless, the small pockets of beetles that still occur in Kerry will require continued monitoring.

The power of microscopy

The National Food Imaging Centre (NFIC) based at the Teagasc Moorepark Research Centre is the first of its kind in Ireland and comprises a suite of state-of-the-art imaging tools specifically chosen for studying food microstructure. This new imaging equipment builds on existing microstructure expertise in Teagasc and complements indirect analytical techniques for characterising food structure such as rheology, laser scattering and various spectroscopic methods. The NFIC, jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Teagasc, is now fully operational and provides a comprehensive range of light, confocal, electron and atomic force microscopes.

Teagasc Research Dr Mark Auty describes the range of equipment available to Irish food processors. "The new equipment strengthens the research and development capabilities of the Irish food industry by providing access to highly specialised microscopy techniques and expertise in food structure analysis. Any food or beverage product can be examined with minimal sample preparation. Typical applications include: powder characterisation, emulsion stability, phase separation, droplet sizing, microstructure of natural foods, microstructure of processed foods and packaging materials," said Dr Auty.

The NFIC is a key element of the recently launched Teagasc Vision programme and is currently integrated into two microstructure-based projects: 'Creaminess perception' and 'Optimisation and characterisation of protein nano-fibrils'.

Technology offers   

A new feature in this issue of TResearch is the promotion of novel technologies recently developed within Teagasc, which are targeted at industries that may be interested in them and in a position to further develop and/or exploit the technology.

The National Code of Practice for Managing Intellectual Property from Publicly Funded Research (Forfás, January 2004) encourages the successful commercialisation of research in Ireland and globally to enable Ireland’s future success as a knowledge-based economy.

In line with the recommendations therein, an important step in such commercialisation is marketing the unique benefits and commercial potential to industry in a non-confidential manner, in order to find a suitable partner to commercialise the technology.

The technologies featured involve two PCR-based assays with significant commercial potential for companies involved in food safety and quality testing.