Adventure Ausrama Blog

Wheat rust is continuing to destroy wheat crops. Up to 70 percent of a farmer's crop can wilt due to rust. A disaster is just around the corner as a third of the world's population in all climates relies on this commodity. Csiro, the University of Sydney, John Innes Centre (UK) and the National Institute of Agriculture Botany (UK) have identified three key genes that sustain the disease. Research has brought to light how the genes work in stripe rust. All three genes were cloned using mutational genomics. Editing of genes could make wheat genes that are susceptible to rust become active again. They could then fight the disease. Much more work needs to be done but the future looks bright. ch genes yu rust or wheat sh zhang fe resistance = an genes eh rust er wheat do zhang st resistance jo gene mi stripe al csiro re university = up genes by rust aa wheat so zhang ba resistance of gene bi stripe to csiro if university za research be sydney ob work et scientists l...

Chemistry: Weeds are becoming resistant to selective herbicides. Herbicides have officially been used since 1890, though common salt could have used to kill weeds for possibly a thousand years before. The first selective herbicide was identified in 1940. It later became 2,4-D compound and was released in 1946.  Seventy years later we face the problem of weed resistance to selective chemicals. Western Australia can no longer get significant kill of weeds growing around crops. It is costing farmers a fortune. Project Kangaroo has been initiated. It is managed by Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and receives assistance from Bayer of Germany. Money from growers is funding it: they are paying $45 million in levies. The Federal Government is promising money. Knowing how government has behaved recently the project might get a dollar! Wild radish and ryegrass are the main culprits affecting crops. Glyphosphate was used widely to control these weed...

No longer will Australian farmers waste their time working land that has no future. Satellite technology has improved to the point where moisture level of farmland can be determined. Waiting for rain that will make no difference is info that farmers can now 'bank' on. Measuring moisture level is now something done by computer, from aerial surveys. The labor-intensive, time-consuming chore is a thing of the past. Soil that has potential rejuvenation can be targetted. The cost is out of the reach of individual farmers at present but the price is falling. It is possible, if use of the new technology becomes widespread, that the output of certain crops can be estimated. Potential shortages will be foreseen and action taken in future plantings. When weather predictions are included the position of markets months ahead will be known. ✴ Technology by Ty Buchanan ✴ http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://advent...

Some scientists are condemning the "Hunter Gatherer" diet. The academics say that the consumption of carbohydrates that comes mainly from "grass" seeds, namely, wheat is normal for humans. This is absolutely incorrect. People only stopped wandering and took up crop farming 10,000 years ago. We have not had time to genetically adapt. Obesity is definitely caused by a high intake of flour from cereal and abnormal consumption of white sugar, particularly by children. Look at schoolchildren today. There isn't a skinny one amongst them. The girls have huge thighs and hardly any waist. The mind boggles just thinking about what their body weight will be when they reach their mid thirties. Only the very old today resemble people seen in the old black and white movies. Before the Second World War, people were very skinny. Mind you they did do a lot of manual labor, many working 12 hour days. If you burn a high amount of calories you can eat what you wa...

Australia is one the world's major producers of wheat. If climate change reduces national output there will be widespread consequences. The economy will suffer with the need to import wheat. Internationally, a wheat shortage will put prices up and many poor people will have to go without. On the positive side some regions of Australia will get more rain. People will still be able to "fatten up" on sugar and rice, despite research showing that sugar contains no nourishment whatsoever for the human body. Two centuries ago a group of British sailors was shipwrecked on the west coast of Africa. The ship was beached. Even though the ship had a full load of West Indian sugar they all died of malnutrition. Getting back to the main point. There will be competition for arable land pushing land prices up. There is also a link between the land and sea. Climate change will reduce the fish catch. Living in the bush will become impossible with farming failing to prop...

Important discoveries have been made in regard to early farming in Europe. DNA evidence shows that invaders from Turkey brought farming skills to western regions 8,000 years ago. They were not hunter gatherers from Germany as was originally believed. Hunter gatherers didn't suddenly take up farming. It was a learned skill that was passed on to the younger generation. The research has been so informative that the route invaders took is clear. An earlier movement of eastern people has also been identified. It took place 11,000 years ago. invaders moved through south-eastern Europe via the Carpathian Basin near present day Hungary into central Europe. The history of Man is fascinating and we do not have all the answers yet. Perhaps in the past a civilization equal to our own existed and all the knowledge they had has been lost. There are many mysterious things we do not know about ancient Egyptians.  Their culture faded only in recent times. http://www.adventure--australia.b...

Andrew Forrest chairman of Fortescue Metals Group has been a critic of the mining tax. This appears to be for mainly selfish reasons though he does claim that the tax will reduce investment in the mining sector. He does not come across as a caring person and worrying about the future economic welfare of other Australians seems to be far from his thoughts. It is odd that when people criticize others the name calling seems to apply more appropriately to the caller than the target. When he calls environmentalists "spoilt children" a good look at him shows he is the spoilt one. As well as mining he is a farmer, so he often faces harassment from greenies. Being a free society Mr Forrest has a right to say this, or say anything else that intends to bring all environmentalists down. However, a cursory glance at Andrew Forrest makes one feel that there isn't much in his almost empty head apart from a dollar sign. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.ty...

Sheep are not entirely "group" animals. They can be selfish. Each sheep seeks to get to the middle of the pack. The center of the flock is safest from predators. Individual sheep do not care about those on the outside being taken by wolves, for example. Flock behavior has been analysed. The group moves forward as individuals move away from the sheepdog to the center of the group. Flocks are not homogeneous. Sheep continue to struggle to get to the center as the flock as a whole moves. It is now believed that many wild group animals behave in this way. Wildebeests moving away from lions probably act in a similar manner. Pigeons, crabs and seals have been observed acting selfishly. Now the theory is proved. GPS tracking devices were attached to 46 sheep. Then an Australian Kelpie sheep dog took control of the flock. By monitoring sheep movement every second, the belief became solid fact. Sheep either move in a line from the sheep dog to the center of the flock, sca...