Murdoch University

The aim of this four-year (July 2010-December 2013) program in eastern and southern Africa is to improve farm-level food security and productivity, in the context of climate risk and change, through the development of more resilient, profitable and sustainable farming systems that overcome food insecurity for significant numbers of farm families in eastern and southern Africa. The program promotes the use of maize-legume technologies of adapted varieties and develops comprehensive agronomic packages that increase productivity and sustainable intensification of maize-legume cropping systems. The key focus areas of the program are farmer and stakeholder participation and economic evaluation of the new technologies. The program has a comparable set of activities in the five SIMLESA implementing countries in eastern and southern Africa. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) supports the program which is being managed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (as the commissioned organization) in collaboration with the NARS of Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), the International Center for Research for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation of Queensland (QDEEDI/QAAFI), and Murdoch University in Western Australia. Support for NARS researchers is provided through the participation of partner institutions (CIMMYT, ACIAR ASARECA, ICRISAT, QAAFI and Murdoch University).

SIMLESA has made significant progress during the first year and laid the foundation for stronger performance in the coming years. Most of the activities planned during the reporting period were
implemented and significant results produced in all the program countries. In Objective one, baseline surveys of 4,600 randomly selected households from and surveys of maize-pigeon pea,
maize-beans, maize-groundnuts, and maize-soybean cropping systems in 580 villages in five countries were conducted by a total of 101 enumerators (25 of whom were women). Community
level data was also collected from these villages to complement and provide a broader socioeconomic context for the farm household data. The surveys covered several districts
distributed in two agro-ecological zones in each country. The survey instruments and tools were developed by NARS staff, with additional input on gender provided by ASARECA staff. Data clearing,
verification and analysis is already underway to develop various research reports in the following period.

Under objective 2, a total of 215 on-farm exploratory, 13 researcher-managed trials and 14 participatory variety selection sessions were carried out in the five countries. Different treatments
of maize-legume intercrop and rotations were demonstrated in farmers' fields. The field days which took place to enhance farmer-to-farmer cross pollination of ideas, also created more interest in
community awareness initiatives. Local innovation platforms were established in four out of five countries and are showing promising results. Farmers reported challenges with weed and residue
management in some trial sites for testing agronomic and conservation agriculture systems in the target countries in the first year and this will be addressed in the following seasons.

Under Objective 3 farmers and stakeholders selected pre-released varieties suitable for their farming systems. The following maize varieties were selected: (Ethiopia-hybrids(BH661;BH543),
OPVs (Melkassa 2,Melkassa 6Q, Gibe 2 & Gibe 3); Kenya-hybrids (KH500-39E, KDH3, WH105, KH500Q, KH631Q, H624, H520, KH533A & KM0406), OPVs (KDV1, Embu Synth, KKSynth2, WS303 &
KM0403); Malawi-hybrids (MH26 & MH27), OPVs (ZM523, ZM623, ZM309 & ZM721); Mozambique-hybrids (CZH511 & Olipa), OPVs (ZM523, Tsangano & Chinaca) and Tanzania-hybrids (Selian H308,
Selian H208, SAH779, SAH638 & SAH636), OPVs (SA523 & SA525). Farmers considered some or all of the following factors when making their selections in the participatory variety selection (PVS) trials: yield level, early maturity, drought tolerance, pest resistance, medium height and palatability/taste. It was clear that farmers' active assessment and strong stakeholders' involvement (private seed companies, fertilizer companies, input dealers, local authorities, and extension) are key for the success of the PVS initiatives in both countries.

Under Objective 4, the ASARECA-SIMLESA team conducted a gender mainstreaming training workshop in Arusha, Tanzania. In addition, twenty-three NARS scientists participated in the M&E
framework development workshop in Nairobi, facilitated by ASARECA. Substantial progress was made in terms of capacity building under Objective 5. Five NARS and two ASARECA scientists attended a SIMLESA/ACIAR M&E and Impact Assessment (IA) workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Two NARS scientists from Mozambique attended a BECA Scientific writing workshop held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2010. Two scientists attended the BNF training workshop at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The first SIMLESA annual partners review and planning meeting and PSC meeting were held in March 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya. Sixteen SIMLESA researchers participated in the APSIM modeling training workshop from 19 to 24 March in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. All participating partners undertook their year 1 and some year 2 country planning meetings during the reporting period.

Six 4WD double cabin all-terrain vehicles were procured for use by the SIMLESA country teams in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique for field activities and research related trips. This has
substantially improved infrastructural constraints for the national programs and enhanced the ability to implement field activities in less accessible areas, often bypassed and unable to benefit
from farming systems research. Plans are underway to procure two vehicles for the Tanzania SIMLESA teams. Various pieces of research equipment have already been purchased for the country
teams and more is being procured. A number of students were selected for Ph.D. studies.

Interim report: covering period January to May 2009
A visit to the south central coast was held between February 9-26, 2009:
To visit field sites with potential for research
To attend the project inception meeting
Planning a visit to Australia of Vietnamese partners
To develop workplans for project activities
The following outcomes were developed at the inception meeting:
A project committee was established to review the directions, progress, gaps and overlaps and determine adjustments; comprising:
- Dr Gamini Keerisinghe ACIAR
- Australian Project Coordinator Rob Summers
- Australian Project Leaders, Richard Bell, Allan McKay, Peter Lane, Peter Slavich
- Vietnamese Project Leaders, Hoang Minh Tam, Nguyen Xuan Ba, Nguyen Duy Duc
- VAAS nominee
- Vietnamese partners, Phan Thi Giac Tam (plus IAS nominee, SOFRI nominee, RDCAH nominee,)
Project locations were identified through interaction with the Vietnamese partners after considering soil type, land use and the representative value of the site. The sites are:
- Ninh Thuan, Phuoc Dinh (Phuoc Nam Cashews)
- Phu Yen, An Chan
- Binh Dinh, Cat Hanh, Cat Hiep
An extension to the survey carried out by ACIAR Project SMCN-2003-035 "Improving the utilisation of water and soils resources for tree crop production in coastal areas of Vietnam and NSW" will include further information relevant to this project discussed below.
Workplans have been developed for the first 12 month showing the project activities and tasks, the responsible party, the timing of the activities and dependencies.
The contract was signed between the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and ACIAR with the commencement date of January 2009 and the final MSA agreements were signed 20 May 2009. At the time of writing the project had not officially started as this finalised agreement has not been received from Vietnam and the initial payments have been delayed.
Although no milestones or outputs have fallen due by 31 May 2009 progress has been made during and since the inception meeting:
Discussions at the inception meeting identified an opportunity to collaborate with NSW DPI as part of the ACIAR project SMCN 2003/035. The Vietnamese partners will be at a training course and present information at the Biochar Conference, Coolangata in May. In the following week Dr Hoang Minh Tam and Mr Nguyen Thai Thinh will travel to W.A. to meet the Australian research staff who were not at the inception meeting, discuss details of the project and visit research sites. The visit was originally scheduled for September 2010 (attendance of Australian staff has delayed the May visit to Vietnam by Australian partners to June).
Initial marketing survey information collected in site visits after the inception meeting detailed in the travel report Feb 2009 has enabled an initial analysis of the information requirements and strategy of collecting the baseline information of Component 1.
An assessment of the survey by SMCN 2003/035 was completed and gaps in the survey for the purposes of this project were identified for a follow-up survey. A draft of the farm survey has been constructed by the Vietnamese partners with input from Australian researchers and will be finalised in June 2009 for implementation.
The detailed work plans were developed for the diagnosis of resources constraints using soil investigation and omission experimentation approach.
A conceptual model of nutrient flow in the local farming systems was developed.
The trial list of forage species was developed for integration into the local cropping systems in discussion with Dr Tam when in Perth.
Dr Tam and Mr Thinh visited Esperance, WA to see study sites on impact of land use on soil carbon.
A database of nutritive characteristics has been commenced including the commencement of collection of available feed information and commencement of literature reviews of cattle performance at HUAF and IAS.
The data needs for the CPCNS is being evaluated for a training course and a farming systems workshop for the specialist and provincial team is being planned. This will be finalised in Hue and Quy Nhon in June 2009.
Collection of available cattle nutrition information has commenced to assess gaps and develop an experimental plan.
Pham Hung Cuong at UQ has completed his literature review and planning is well under way for his experiment.
Future visits are scheduled in June 2009 to discuss the field trial program and survey initiation and in September 2009 for a workshop on monitoring and evaluation for impact assessment.
2009/2010 Progress Summary
Effort has focussed on a farm survey of 180 households from the three study sites to obtain the information on human resources, education level, land resources, cropping systems, socio-economic system, area and yield of major crops/livestock and fertiliser/manure use for crop production. This is critical for the project to better understand local farming systems; identify the characteristics of farming systems that could be used to plan R&D activities at each study site; provide benchmark data on the current crop production and practices for the proposed future project impact evaluation.
Preliminary market mapping and value chains of selected agricultural products, including beef cattle, cassava, cashew nut and mango has been completed. The gathering of data and information on grain legume (peanut) markets and value chain has started. The farm and household economic structure and systems have been identified and will be included in the market chain analysis.
Soil constraints were investigated through: a detailed SCAMP assessment at 16 sites on the major soils in the study area; a nutrient omission experiment on peanuts and tissue analysis of cashews. Deficiencies of a wide range of nutrients were the primary factors limiting crop production. Al toxicity appears to be limiting growth and deficiencies in K and Mo were quite clear. N and P also were limiting production and the impact of Zn and B limiting growth in peanuts needs to be further investigated.
Within the survey program 91 samples were collected to quantify the organic matter resources and potential nutrient supplies being used and traded.
In the low rainfall region (Ninh Thuan) a field experiment evaluated sowing windows and crop legume species for cashew/legume intercropping. Results suggested that early September was the optimum window to intercrop legumes with cashew, and peanut crop yield was consistently higher across the 4 sowing dates than cowpea and mungbean (although cowpea showed some potential for this region). In the high rainfall Binh Dinh province the use of rhizobium strains, Mo and biochar were investigated and preliminary results suggest that use of the commercial strain of inoculant, NC92, could improve peanut dry matter at flowering when coupled with low applications of N fertiliser.
Forage nurseries were established in Jan/Feb 2010 in Binh Dinh as a collaboration of Components 2 and 3. Twelve forage species were included in the nurseries: 4 perennial grasses, 4 perennial legumes, 3 annual legumes and 1 tree legume. The perennial grasses, Mulato II and Signal, the perennial legume, Siratro and the annual legumes, Lab lab and Cavalvade, showed good establishment and vigour. The forage nursery will be a useful resource for producing plant material for use in the 'best-bet' stage of the project where best bet strategies for cattle production are introduced in the extension program.
Detailed benchmarking of cattle management factors has focused on 5 households from two villages in each study commune, a total of 30 households. The monthly or bi-monthly survey includes a combination of biophysical monitoring and questions regarding economics and labour allocations. The benchmarking process involved group discussions and interviews, including farmers, DARD representatives and commune leaders.
More specific cattle nutrition experimental objectives will be developed once the baseline work had been completed, and will be a major activity for the next 12 months. Farmer interviews have helped clarify the issues relevant to farmer profitability and suitable to be addressed by the project team. Although the details are still being developed, cattle nutrition experimentation will focus on the most profitable use of locally available feed components for growing and finishing cattle.
Importantly, good relationships are developing with DARD and commune leaders and extension officers, which will help the project to have impact beyond the life of the project. We have presented the objectives and process of the project to these stakeholders on multiple occasions, and they have expressed their support and a desire to remain involved and informed. In each commune we also have the extension officer involved in the benchmarking process, including liaising with farmers and participating in data collection.
Research is being carried out in Western Australia by the Department of Agriculture and Food, WA, Murdoch University, University of Western Australia and CSIRO. A survey of 100 sites was completed in south-west Australia to understand the role of organic carbon management in nutrient retention. Field experiments were established at Esperance in the South East of Western Australia on sandy soil. Compost is being compared with biochar made from straw or manure to examine their impacts on soil biology and the efficient uptake of nutrients from fertiliser.

ACIAR and the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) have agreed that an integrated research and development project on Sustainable and Profitable Crop and Livestock Systems should be developed for the South-central coastal region of Vietnam at a stakeholder workshop held in March 2008. This in turn led to the development of the current project which commencedoperation on 1 January, 2009.
The overall aim of this multi-disciplinary project is to identify and facilitate adoption of promising resource management practices for sustainable and profitable crop and livestock production systems best suited to local conditions that enable improved market engagement.
The project Baseline survey was concluded for the sandy coastal zone of the South Central region of Vietnam where people's livelihoods are largely dependent on crop and livestock farming in these inherently poor soils. The objective of this study was to gain better understanding of the local farming systems of the sandy areas in the focus communes of the three study provinces. Based on a diagnosis analysis and Participatory Rural Approach (PRA) works, villages from three communes were selected: Phu Kim and An Duc (Cat Trinh commune, Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province); Phu Qui, Phu Thanh and Phu Phong (An Chan commune, Tuy An district, Phu Yen province) and; Son Hai 1, Son Hai 2, Bau Ngu and Tu Thien (Phuoc Dinh commune, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province). By a targeting sampling method, 180 households from the three study siteswere chosen.Dependence on agriculture is the typical feature of the economy in all study sites. Most agricultural activities depend on rainfall: lack of water or drought was recorded in most study sites. There is a trend occurring in cropping patterns to more diversification. In the cropping systems, food crops including rice, peanut and cassava are the most popular. In the animal production systems, pig, buffalo, cattle and sheep are raised by most households. Average cattle numbers range from 3.5 (Cat Trinh and An Chan), to 14 (Phuoc Dinh).
Most farms are small, with little possibility for expansion. The only unused land potential is in sandy land in the lowlands and coastal strip. The crop productivity is still low due to infertile land and shortage of water. For most households, therefore few options exist to improve incomes other than increasing production from their limited agricultural plots. In order to reach this goal, the improvement of soil fertility based on the locally available organic resources as well as the application of appropriate farming systems in the sandy zone are very important.
Farming systems in Cat Trinh and An Chan communes are similar. Here, rice is still the dominant crop. By contrast, Phuoc Dinh commune is characterized by high proportion of cash crops like watermelon, chillipepper, tomato, peanut and little rice.Livestock mainly includes pig, cattle and poultry in three communes and there are also goat and sheep in Phuoc Dinh commune. However, the numbers of households with cattle was still small in all 3 communes.
In a follow up surveyin the same three communes, 91 organic materials were collected in 2009 to examine the existing practices of using organic manures, the characteristics of local organic amendments and to assess their potential contribution in supplying nutrients to crops. The samples included: cattle manure, buffalo manure, pig manure, sheep manure, plant samples (peanut stem, cassava leaf, corn leaf, straw) and ash from crops.Farmers in the selected communes utilize organic materials for various purposes such as fuel, soil amendment or animal feed, or else they are burnt on the fields. The surveyed households apply farmyard manure (FYM) for crops; however, amounts of FYM used for crops are very low compared with crops' nutrient requirements. There were no significant differences in characteristics (C, total P) of organic samples used by farmers in the 3 surveyed communes. However, each kind of manure and organic material has different characteristics depending on the animal type and amount of added materials, method and time of storage. Among different kinds of FYM, pig manure has better quality than others, followed by cattle manure, while peanut residues have good characteristics as compared with other plant residues.
The market analysis work has focussed on conducting and reporting value chain analyses for key agricultural products within the focus provinces of Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh. Value chain analyses have been completed for cashew, cassava, beef cattle and peanuts and reports have been circulated seeking feedback to DARD's and to project partners at the Annual Review meeting in February 2011. The mango value chain report has now been completed and will be circulated for feedback from the DARD officers (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development).
Further work is still required to develop detailed value chain improvement strategies based on the findings of the value chain analyses and discussions with DARD and project staff.
A successful value chain training workshop was held for component 1 staff and key DARD staff in HCMC in August 2010 in order to consolidate and standardise the methodology used for the project value chain analyses.
In July 2010, following requests from DARD and ASISOV management, a value chain analysis of sesame was programmed into the project. Sesame is a high value product in strong market demand and can potentially complement grain legume cropping on sandy soils in Vietnam. ASISOV staff have responsibility for conducting the sesame research which is valuable in focusing the ASISOV contribution to component 1.
An Excel-based farm economic model is being developed to allow the simple economic comparison of farm enterprises and farming systems economic performance. Data collected in a detailed farm economic survey of a small number of smallholders in the 3 focus provinces has been used to frame the model. The beta-version of the model is expected to be completed in July 2011. This is intended a simple tool for reviewing potential financial outcomes from value chain improvements and changes to on-farm cropping/livestock activities.
Soil constraints were investigated through: a detailed SCAMP assessment at 37 sites on the major soils in the study areas (11 in Ninh Thuan; 10 in Phu Yen; 15 in Phu Cat); four nutrient omission experiments on peanuts and tissue analysis of peanut, mango and cashews. Deficiencies of a wide range of nutrients were the primary factors limiting crop production. Deficiencies in K, S, Cu, B and Mo were consistently found in peanut in Phu Cat district.Even though many profiles are strongly acid, Al toxicity does not appear to be limiting growth. Nitrogen was also limiting production and the impact of hardpan development (10-25 cm) on growth in peanuts needs to be further investigated. Rhizobium inocuation was not able to overcome the need for 30 kg N/ha as a basal N application. Biochar improved peanut production on sands, particularly in combination with manure and NPK fertiliser.
Nutrient-balance exercises are considered as instruments to provide indicators for the sustainability of agricultural systems. Studieswere undertaken at field plot and farm levels in farming systems of South Central provinces to quantify inputs and outputs of macronutrients (NPK) over one year duration. Our results indicate that the N balances at the 30 studied farms were positive showing that 50 to 70 % of imported N, mainly as fertilizer, was not exported from the farm. Phosphorus balance was also always positive at farm level, accounting for 40 to 75% of P input. Potassium balance was positive in most of the farms. More detailed N-P-K balances were established for field plots representing the following cropping patterns over two growing seasons: rice - rice, rice - fallow, peanut - fallow, peanut + cassava, hot pepper, eggplant, forage. Nitrogen balance was largely positive for rice-rice plots; N imports were less than exports in the other cropping patterns. P imports exceeded P exports in all studied plots, whereas K exports always exceeded K imports, more especially for rice-rice and hot pepper, eggplant and forage. These results suggest that macronutrient losses occur in farms, out of the fields, especially for K. These are likely to be in managing crop residues, in farmyard manures processing, in animal faeces recycling. The economic and environmental consequences of nutrient imbalances warrant further attention to optimize nutrient cycling, and utilisation of organic resources, in local farming systems. In the case of K, negative balances at field level raise the question of impact of this element in limiting crop yield, and the mechanism of K loss.
In the low rainfall region (Ninh Thuan) two field experiments evaluated sowing windows for crop legume species under cashew/legume intercropping on granite sands. Results for 2009 suggested that early September was the optimum window to intercrop legumes with cashew, and peanut crop yield was consistently higher across the 4 sowing dates than cowpea and mungbean (although cowpea showed good potential). In 2010, the early September sowing was also best for mung bean and cowpea, but not for peanut. Cowpea appears the most promising legumes for this cropping system, but at least another year's testing is needed to validate these findings.
In the high rainfall Binh Dinh province the use of rhizobium strains, Mo and biochar were investigated and results suggest that use of the commercial strain of inoculant, NC92, could improve peanut dry matter at flowering only when coupled with low applications of N fertiliser. However, overall, 30 kg N/ha was the best treatment, out yielding Mo and or Rhizobium inoculation. Nodule formation on peanut, even with inoculation by NC92 and Mo supply, was slow on these sandy soils.
Forage nurseries were established in Jan/Feb 2010 in Binh Dinh. Twelve forage species were included in the nurseries: 4 perennial grasses, 4 perennial legumes, 3 annual legumes and 1 tree legume. The perennial grasses, Mulato II and Signal, the perennial legume, Siratro and the annual legumes, Lab lab and Cavalvade, showed good establishment and initial vigour. After 15 months and 5 cuts, Mulato II and Paspalaum atratum were the most productive forages. None of the legumes forages produced harvestable dry matter after the 3 rd cut due to severe waterlogging effects in the wet season, and Leucanea being initially harvested too severely. The forage nursery will be useful as a resource for producing plant material for cattle best bet activities.
A forage experiment was established to assess the most promising forages and expose farmers to the species. The experiment was located on 15 farms across three provinces, with each farm as a replicate. In addition to the researcher controlled plots, an area of each forage was available for farmer use and experimentation. The experiment was planted mid-2010, however short cutting too close to the base of the plants before the rainy season severely affected many of the replicates, including some which became completely submerged in the peak of the wet season. These conditions provided an opportunity to show the beneficial characteristics of Paspalum atratum, and also to demonstrate the potential benefits of not cutting the plants too short during the rainy season. The experiment is ongoing and is being assessed by harvests for yield, leaf to stem ratio, forage quality, palatability, and farmer assessment.
In Western Australia,research being carried out by the Department of Agriculture and Food, WA and Murdoch University has focussed on soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation, and on biochar and clay amendments of sands. A survey of 100 sites was completed in the south coastal region of West Australia to understand the effect of land use onSOC in sands. A comparison of SOC between perennial (> 10 years age) and annual pastures in the high rainfall zone of the south coast showed no difference in SOC. Modelling with Roth-C indicated that the perennial pasture system would need to be retained for 30 years or more before measureable increases in SOC were obtained. This suggests very slow accumulation of SOC on these sands.
Field experiments were established near Esperance in the south coastal region of West Australia on sandy soils. Compost was compared with biochar made from straw or manure to examine their impacts on soil biology and the uptake of nutrients from P fertiliser. Both P and biochar application increased wheat yield in 2010 but the effects were independent. Spading to mix clay into sandy soils was most effective in increasing serradella pasture yield when incorporated to 15 cm depth.
Cattle 'biophysical monitoring' activities were concluded in the three study provinces. Information was collected from 10 households per province, including cattle monitoring, feed monitoring, and household data, particularly information on income and labour for cattle production. In Cat Trinh and An Chan, cattle systems included cow-calf, growing and fattening, and was mainly undertaken by adults. In contrast, cattle production in Phuoc Dinh is predominantly the cow-calf system, and the children provide much of the labour for cattle husbandry. Cattle in Cat Trinh and An Chan typically lose weight in the dry season from April-June, when feed is scarce and of poor quality. There are many types of feeds for cattle. The roughages include rice straw, native grasses, sown grasses, peanut straw, water spinach, and maize stover. Supplements are also used, including cassava powder, rice bran, corn meal, rice grain, fishmeal, and urea. Cattle are often provided feed in their stalls after grazing. In Phuoc Dinh less crop residues are available, and even though some crop residues such as rice straw are transported into the commune, feed is often limiting, and cattle weight is seasonally dependent.
Approximately fifteen farmers in each province were chosen to be involved in the 'best-bet' research process. A plan was developed for each household, based on their resources, interests, and aspirations. All households receive regular visits to check on progress, help the farmers, provide encouragement, and answer questions. Best-bet activities include introduction of new forages, improved forage management and use, tree legume fences, forage preservation, controlled mating, preferential feeding, fattening techniques, and manure use. In addition to individual training workshops are being held to address these activities. For example, in March 2011 a workshop on forage planting and management was held.
A cattle feeding experiment was undertaken at IAS Ruminant Research and Training Centre (RRTC) in late 2010 and early 2011. The aim of the research was to assess the growth and nutrient digestibility responses of Brahman-cross cattle to concentrate supplementation. Twenty Brahman-cross cattle were fed a basal diet (rice straw and Guinea grass) and supplement at 0 - 2.4% of live weight. The supplement consisted of cassava chips, rice bran, crushed rice, fish meal, urea, and salt. Some chemical analyses are still being completed, and data analysis is being undertaken. Interim results suggest that live weight gain increased with supplementation up to 1.2% of live weight, and plateaued at greater levels of supplementation. Feed conversion ratio increased with the level of supplementation.
The data from five cattle feeding experiments undertaken at HUAF were compared with simulation results using the Large Ruminant Nutrition System (LRNS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictions of dry matter intake (DMI) andaverage daily gain (ADG) of Vietnamese Yellow (Vang) purebred and crossbred (Vang with Red Sindhior Brahman) bulls fed under Vietnamese conditions using two levels of solution (1 and 2) of the LargeRuminant Nutrition System (LRNS) model.The results showed that the model is able to sufficiently predict weight gain of such Vietnamese cattle.
Overall the project is running to the workplan and already generating preliminary results. Capacity building through scholarships, training researchers and extension officers has been ongoing. There has been strong participation from Vietnamese researchers, commune staff, farmers and importantly the officers of the regional DARDs. Assessment of the economic analysis of crops is highlighting potential improvements as are the investigations into plant nutrition which are already showing clear direction for research and extension. The farmer and regional participation in animal nutrition and husbandry extension and forage trials has seen adoption already beginning to spread.

This project was initiated to address the ongoing problem of poor reporting of animal diseases in PNG where veterinary or allied animal health resources are limited, livestock production is often at small holder or subsistence levels, and infrastructure is limited.
The main objective is to develop systems that are sustainable, simple to operate, provide a basic set of animal population data, and estimates of the impacts estimates of disease on the production system. The underlying methodology is based on the observation and reporting by farmers of the effects of disease on their own animals Templates are used to ensure consistency of reporting for populations and disease syndromes.
Project veterinary staff have completed five visits to PNG and established and monitored the major collaborator sites in accordance with the project milestones.
The National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) is the major collaborator in the project providing staff at Port Moresby, Rabaul, Goroka and Lae.
The Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) has provided transport and staff for the Women in Agriculture settlement participating sites at Port Moresby. Provincial Department of Livestock officers are assisting on-going contact with village livestock owners in Goroka and Rabaul.
The University of Goroka have provided a strong point of contact for the Goroka village livestock owners and designed the social survey of livestock owners. The University of Technology at Lae has assisted this design and students from the two institutions will collate and analyse the survey responses as part of their agricultural extension course work. There has been a degree of difficulty in obtaining the services of a skilled collaborator to assist in the design and validation of the social survey. Many of the resident PNG sociologists are fully engaged in work associated with the Millennium Development Goals. It is possible this is a reflection of the decline in investment in agriculture in PNG and will improve as the National Agricultural Development Program (NADP) funds are delivered. Valuable voluntary input into the survey has been supplied by Dr Gilbert Hiawalyer of United Nations Population Fund, Port Moresby.
The Lutheran Development Service (LDS) based in Lae facilitated a training program for agricultural trainers associated with the Yungpela Didiman program. This has resulted in reporting sites at Madang and Mount Hagen and in the future a village located near Teleformin in Western Province.
Two template reporting tools have been developed and revised after initial use at the project sites. Templates were developed for pigs and chickens as they were the most prolific of livestock kept in the project sites and also the animals that underpin the village livestock food and income streams. Goats were also considered but have been left out of the establishment phase of the project as they are limited in distribution and often associated with other development projects for their establishment and integration into PNG agriculture systems.
The templates enable village livestock owners to record information on chicken and pig populations, reproductive rate and end use of the livestock including sale at market or family food production. The templates also record syndromes of skin, intestinal, respiratory and nervous diseases.
A social survey designed to capture the attitudes of livestock owners to reporting disease and the keeping of livestock is in the process of finalisation for data gathering in mid 2009.
Initial visits to collaborators established collaborator sites at Port Moresby, Rabaul, Goroka and Lae. The collaborators include the major animal health and production government agencies as well as agricultural tertiary institutions and non government agencies. Subsequent visits have conducted training of collaborators and village livestock owners at the four sites and reviewed the use of the reporting tools
An employee of NAQIA is enrolled at James Cook University with support from an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) The student will use data generated from the project reporting templates to complete a masters program in animal health.
Planning for the Australian reporting component is underway with Screw worm fly being the target disease for northern Australia. The intention is to seek assistance from indigenous communities in northern Queensland to record potential screw worm fly wound sites on pigs captured or seen during hunting activities. Wild game harvesters have not been included as their activities are too ephemeral for a reliable reporting system for screw worm fly risk.
Discussions are also in train to finalise the support for analysis of data with Murdoch University. This component was delayed due to the temporary absence of the collaborator.
Priorities for the immediate future include the transfer of hard copy data to an electronic relational database and the analysis of the social survey against the available syndromic health data.

The project researches livestock owner reporting systems and tools for assessing management options for endemic and emerging livestock diseases of pigs and poultry at four sites in PNG. Disease reporting and information systems are important for any country dependent on livestock production for food security or export wealth generation. In most Pacific Island nations and in particular Papua New Guinea, the animal health systems are under-resourced at present, there is restricted capacity to undertake livestock surveillance or investigation in remote areas and systems to record and analyse livestock population health are not in general usage.
The project has encouraged the four major collaborators to refine the reporting structures and data collections systems. A major site for PNG livestock and agricultural production is the highlands based around Goroka. University of Goroka teaching staff in collaboration with National Agriculture Quarantine & Inspection Authority (NAQIA) personnel have been active in the progress of the social surveys and extension of the results into the teaching of agricultural science to their student agricultural teachers. The result is active incorporation of both the identified social constraints and the value of increased knowledge of dynamics of disease within livestock populations being incorporated directly into the agricultural education curriculum.
The second site coordinated by the Women in Agriculture at Eight Mile settlement in Port Moresby has identified the relative low risk of this settlement for animal disease epidemics. It was previously thought that populations of animals would be unstable but at least in this settlement the reported populations are low and tend to be mainly locally derived day-old chickens for sale at local markets.
The third site on the island of New Britain includes villages that were depopulated of chickens to control a Newcastle Disease outbreak in 2006. This site is coordinated by NAQIA and provincial livestock officers from the Department of Agriculture. Data have demonstrated no return of high mortality and therefore confirmed the success of the program for eradication of the disease.
The final site is coordinated by the Lutheran Development Service (LDS) based at Lae in Morobe province. Due to a number of factors related to remoteness, very few data sets have been obtained. This site has demonstrated the complexity of operating in remote areas; many villages are not able to reliably communicate with external advisors and in time the message is diluted and other priorities intervene to disrupt the flow of information. Improved contact with experienced animal health staff is essential in these situations to obtain useful data.
The development of templates has provided a tool to record baseline data on livestock populations and production. When the reports are compiled analysis of population trends is possible and spatial and temporal production parameters can be identified. The project has now collected data from each of the pilot sites and preliminary analysis is being undertaken by an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) student as part of a Masters in Tropical Animal Science at James Cook University.
A second focus of this project is to identify the attitudes of livestock owners to disease and reporting of disease. A social survey was developed and livestock owners who use the reporting templates were interviewed during the second half of 2009. Knowledge and attitude variations for each site were clearly obvious. The analysis is still being completed but early trends indicate knowledge of causation of disease by livestock owners is low and similarly associations between reporting of disease with expectations of better human or livestock health management outcomes was poorly recognised.
There remains an obvious need to increase capacity of adequate livestock husbandry and disease management advice. The increasing trends towards a cash economy to fund improvements in living standards and school fees for many livestock owners is placing a greater dependence on livestock for income generation rather than providing food for family or village sustenance. In time the systems developed from the project research can be used to prioritise funding programs and review benefits of husbandry or disease control interventions. To aid this transition a student at Unitech is using data generated by syndromic reports to identify production deficits in poultry. It is also the intention of project collaborators to develop proactive use of the templates to deliver a rapid appraisal of livestock performance in under resourced areas to guide funding priorities in the future.
At present the tool and reporting is providing a flexible base for development of animal disease surveillance and response strategy that involves livestock owners in the ownership of production and disease programs. The need for additional technical capacity to improve the quality and quantity of data is also clearly identified.

Animal health resources are limiting the collection and recording of animal health status of subsistence farming and agricultural projects in PNG, this project researches the systems required to meet these challenges.
The primary aim of the project is to research the tools and drivers required to improve the capacity for PNG to detect and manage animal diseases of quarantine, trade and food security significance.
Papua New Guinea is currently experiencing a rapid improvement in the economic forecast for wealth through the exploration of mineral and energy reserves. There is a consequential need to ensure food security for the increased population and increasing trend away from subsistence agriculture toward a more cash based economy.
PNG joined the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) in 2009 and in common with many other Pacific nations identifies that biosecurity and food security are major challenges to their economic development and success in improving nutritional status of their population.
The project methodology involves completion of simple checklists by livestock owners and animal health auxiliary staff to facilitate the collection and reporting of signs (syndromes) of disease. Data is collated and analysed to detect variations in syndromes as an indicator of potential change in the endemic disease prevalence.
Four pilot sites are being monitored to evaluate the validity of data from various production systems, animal health support networks and incentives on the provision of weekly reports of animal health.
The project is now based within Australia at the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at James Cook University in Townsville. The principal PNG collaborator is the National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) as the primary animal health and quarantine agency in PNG. NAQIA staff are actively involved in collation and analysis of data as well as coordination of project reporters at Port Moresby, Goroka, Lae and Kokopo in East New Britain. Other collaborations are with the University of Goroka to undertake research into the social aspects of livestock ownership and health monitoring, UniTech in Lae for research on use of data to determine production information and the Lutheran Development Service for access to remote villages.
Preliminary examination of the data reveals a substantial decline of participation rates over eighteen months of operation. The study of livestock owner's attitudes to health and production of their animals reveals a very low level of understanding of the causation of animal or human disease with a resultant failure by livestock owners to link reporting of disease to improvement in health or production from their livestock.
A mid term review of the project developed objectives for an extended project to evaluate incentives for reporting to improve the participation rates and use of trained animal health officers to validate the data records.
Incentives in the form of direct animal health advice and treatments are a potential method to establish the link between husbandry and health and to improve syndromic reporting rates by project participants. Pigs at the Goroka site were treated with antiparasiticals and effects on weight and skin diseases are being monitored together with participation rates in the program. NAQIA staff at sites in Port Moresby, Lae and Kokopo assists reporters with the collection of information.
A Masters student at UniTech Lae has initiated work on use of reporting templates to assist in the effective production of village pigs in Morobe province. This work builds on the identification of social drivers as a factor in failure to report disease undertaken in earlier project work.
Further development of the technique will depend on the ability to validate the data included in reports. An experienced NAQIA epidemiologist has returned from JCU following successful completion of ADS funded Masters program and will continue to identify methods to improve the validity of data collection methods.
In the next year the project will begin to include data from Australian sites to research the differences in social attitudes and potential for use of the tool for identification of change in disease distribution or risk. This is timely as we have seen the apparent change in distribution of equine arboviruses over the recent wet season and the potential to use this system to detect at risk populations and disease expression through change in observed syndromes is considerable.
This research is delivering alternatives to high cost single point temporal surveillance in remote areas such as the Pacific Islands and northern Australia. Collaboration with other projects and partners currently working on the social drivers for reporting livestock health and the demographic and climatic factors influencing movement of animal diseases in the tropical region has the potential to deliver a low cost monitoring system for changes in disease distribution or prevalence.

Management of animal and animal product movement continues to be essential for the control of transboundary animal diseases (TAD). The focal TAD for this project: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), classical swine fever (CSF) and foot and mouth disease (FMD) remain strategically important for Indonesia and Australia. While HPAI, like CSF, is now endemic in regions of Indonesia and knowledge of risks to humans and poultry through this and other projects are better understood - it is clear that prevention of further HPAI spread and eradication from specific provinces (such as Bali) is reliant on identifying high risk poultry movements and formulating policy to restrict, manage and/or monitor these movements.
The recent appearance of rabies in Bali presents the reality of TAD disease spread through animal movement that will occur when risk mitigation strategies are not in place. Rabies as another zoonotic disease further demonstrates that implementation of risk assessment in a collaborative policy development process ensures protection of human as well as animal health.
This project is influencing policy on TAD control by:
Identifying animal movements that pose most risk for TAD transmission
Enabling application of risk management to decisions about reduction of risk associated with these movements.
In Indonesia the project is hosted by the DGLS from the Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) Denpasar and project activities in Bali/Lombok are conducted in collaboration with Udayana University and University of Mataram. Expert guidance on market and social research is provided by University of New England and Charles Sturt University, on HPAI by Murdoch University, and on policy development by NSW DPI.
For Year 1 project activities were focused in Bali and Lombok.
Investigation of the poultry market chain identified principle chains that involve different types of players and levels of biosecurity practice:
1. Movement of broilers and spent layers from contract and non-contract commercial farms through company collectors, slaughterhouses and poultry shops to vendors and customers
2. Movement of kampong chicken and duck from backyard farms to customers through individual collectors and vendors operating in villages and traditional markets.
Further investigation of poultry movement at 9 markets in Bali and 8 markets in Lombok showed low levels of biosecurity practiced by collectors and vendors and increased volumes of chickens and ducks traded during religious celebrations and festivals. Use of social network analysis has confirmed that markets in Bali vary in terms of disease spread risk.
At a Stakeholder Meeting in August 2008, government and industry representatives applied a risk management framework to HPAI control and rated risk for HPAI spread via poultry/poultry product movement as high to extreme but amenable to risk mitigation.
During Year 2 data collection commences for:
Nusa Tengarra Timor component lead by NTT Department of Livestock in collaboration with non-government agencies to conduct interviews on pig movement in West Timor, Flores and Sumba.
Australian component conducted by University of Sydney and NSW DPI - case studies of non-commercial pig producer practices in New South Wales.
An activity added to the project seeks to obtain data on the HPAI status of chickens and ducks at higher risk sections of the poultry market chain in Bali and Lombok through spatiotemporal analysis of outbreak and surveillance data, and testing of poultry and environmental samples at higher risk points along the poultry market chain.
Whilst project activities are largely on schedule, the quality of some activities may be impacted by insufficient time of lead team members to dedicate to the project and by limited access to HPAI outbreak and surveillance data.
Government agencies responsible for animal disease control and quarantine and industry stakeholders in Eastern Indonesia are committed to improved control of HPAI and CSF. Disease control programs that incorporate targeted movement, surveillance and vaccination activities that lead to lower HPAI and CSF occurrence will benefit all community sectors by increasing the availability of poultry and pork products, securing income for smallholder families and in Bali/Lombok reducing perceived risk from HPAI for the tourist industry. Linkages with AH/2006/169 will consolidate support for action on HPAI in Bali/Lombok and with AH/2004/020 and SMAR/2007/175 will strengthen contributions to guide decisions on CSF control in NTT.
For Australia, given the dire consequence of CSF or FMD for the Australian livestock industries, assessment of risk related to non-commercial pig movements will inform government and industry approach to exotic disease preparedness and response. Linkage with Australian Biosecurity CRC projects to host a national workshop on Enhancing Biosecurity for the Australian Pig Industry in 2010 will increase Australian exposure to project outputs.

Transboundary animal diseases (TAD) are spread through the movement of animals and animal products. The management of risk for TAD spread via these movement is therefore essential for goals of disease reduction and eradication to be achieved.
This project seeks to identify high-risk movements and associated factors for TADs - highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), classical swine fever (CSF) and foot and mouth disease (FMD) - that are strategically important for Indonesia and Australia.
Further we are working with government and industry to progress thinking on policy that will lower the risk for disease transmission, particularly in Indonesia for settings where, due to economic and cultural imperatives, prohibition will not cease movement. Learning about this risk management approach to animal health policy development can be applied to other TADs. For example there is some evidence of application to the current rabies control program in Bali. The recent introduction to Bali of this fatal zoonotic disease is vivid proof of ongoing TAD spread via animal movement and of the need to implement risk assessment in a collaborative policy development process to protect human as well as animal health.
This project is influencing policy on TAD control by:
Identifying animal movements that pose most risk for TAD transmission
Enabling application of risk management to decisions about reduction of risk associated with these movements.
In Indonesia the project is hosted by the Directorate General Livestock Services from the Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) Denpasar. In Bali/Lombok project activities are conducted in collaboration with Udayana University and University of Mataram. In Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) project activities are implemented by the Provincial Department of Livestock in collaboration with University of Mataram, Nusa Cendana University and local non-government agencies. Expert guidance on market and social research is provided by University of New England and Charles Sturt University, on HPAI and CSF by Murdoch University and University of Sydney, and on policy development by NSW Industry & Innovation.
Project activities continued in Year 2 in Bali and Lombok and commenced in NTT and Australia.
Investigation of informal poultry movement provided indicative information on types and numbers of poultry illegally entering Bali, the entry points and the economic and cultural drivers for this trade. Sequencings of five avian influenza viruses isolated from birds swabbed at live bird markets in Bali is expected to explain the source of the viruses. Evidence of a structured system for illegal poultry movement into Lombok was not found. Village-to-village movement of poultry within island was documented for both Bali and Lombok, and these movements for kampong chickens and ducks were predominately within subdistrict.
Investigation of the pig market chain in NTT defined an emerging commercial chain in West Timor and a non-commercial chain throughout NTT, identified peak demand periods and the principle routes for inter-island movement of pigs.
The Stakeholder Meeting for NTT component in August 2009 saw government and industry representatives apply a risk management framework to CSF control. Pig movement and pig marketing practices were determined to be key risks for CSF spread throughout NTT. Swill feeding was also identified as a common practice and highlighted the need for movement and use of pork to be considered in this project.
In Australia, investigation by University of Sydney and NSW I&I documented practices of non-commercial pig producers selling informally in New South Wales that included a lack of on-farm biosecurity and health records, and limited on-farm but regular off-farm pig movements.
The Australian component will conclude in October 2010 with a National Workshop held in collaboration with an Australian Biosecurity CRC project that will facilitate refinement of government and industry activities in light of risk assessment and extension findings.
The scale of field activities has led to some delays however the project remains on track for completion end of 2011. Over-commitment of lead team members is an ongoing risk to quality of project achievements.
Government and industry commitment to the control of CSF in NTT is steadfast. CSF control in this province incorporating targeted movement, surveillance and vaccination activities that leads to lower CSF occurrence will benefit all community sectors by increasing pork availability and securing income for smallholder families.
Whilst HPAI control remains a priority for government and industry in Bali/Lombok, the well established market system that provides for substantial market demand poses considerable challenges to standard quarantine practices. Furthermore rabies is now the dominate concern. Enhancement of HPAI and rabies control through application of risk management would benefit Bali/Lombok by reducing perceived risk for the tourist industry and actual losses of poultry and human life for local communities. Linkages with AH/2006/169 and AH/2006/166 are seeking to strengthen capability in these provinces.
For Australia, given the dire consequence of CSF or FMD for the Australian livestock industries, the risk assessment of non-commercial pig movements will inform government and industry approach to exotic disease preparedness and response.

This project seeks to identify high-risk movements and associated factors for the transboundary animal diseases (TADs) - highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), classical swine fever (CSF) and foot and mouth disease (FMD). Each of these TADs is a national priority disease for Indonesia and Australia, and each is able to be spread via the movement of animals and animal products.
We are working with government and industry to progress thinking on policy that reduces the risk of disease transmission, by using risk assessment to identify biosecurity practices that in combination will lower risk particularly in Indonesian contexts where animal movement will not cease due to economic and cultural imperatives. The benefit of a risk management approach to animal health policy is being realised and applied to other TADs such as preparedness for rabies entry to Lombok island from now infected neighbouring Bali island.
This project is influencing policy on TAD control by:
Identifying animal movements that pose most risk for TAD transmission
Enabling application of risk management to decisions about reduction of risk associated with these movements.
In Indonesia the project is hosted by the Directorate General Livestock Services from the Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) Denpasar. In Bali/Lombok project activities are conducted in collaboration with Udayana University and University of Mataram. In Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) project activities are implemented by the Provincial Department of Livestock in collaboration with University of Mataram and local non-government agencies. Expert guidance on market and social research is provided by University of New England and Charles Sturt University, on HPAI and CSF by Murdoch University and University of Sydney, and on policy development by NSW Industry & Innovation.
For Year 3 project activities continued in Bali and Lombok and in NTT, and were completed in Australia.
At the Stakeholder Workshop 22-23 July 2010 in Denpasar, Bali - the project findings on poor biosecurity practices along the poultry market chain involving live bird markets (LBM) in Bali and Lombok, including the systematic illegal entry to Bali, were stated by government and industry participants to agree with their knowledge of the market chain. Participants identified risk mitigation options for high risk practices and bird movements and requested further evaluation of social and economic impacts of alterations to LBM biosecurity. A proposed pilot trial at one LBM in Bali did not progress. Instead a pilot trial has recently commenced at one LBM in Lombok.
Investigation of pig management practices and CSF knowledge of pig sellers and buyers at markets and of pig farmers in villages across NTT found limited biosecurity practices and knowledge of CSF. Village to market transactions tend to involve across district movement of pigs with inter and intra island connections. Majority of village-to-village movements, without market involvement, occur within district.
The Australian component concluded with a National Workshop on 24-25 November 2010 held in collaboration with the Australian Biosecurity CRC 3.086R project. Government and industry stakeholders were informed of our findings that small-scale pig producers trading informally had an extremely low probability of exposure to FMD or CSF and low probability of spread off-farm. However, informal movement of pigs could jeopardize animal traceability in the event of a disease outbreak. A workshop recommendation applicable across the various livestock industries represented was: communication of the shared risk and shared responsibility for biosecurity - shared by the small and the commercial sectors of each industry.
During Year 4 data collection and analysis continues for:
Bali/Lombok component with evaluation of the impact of risk mitigation options on biosecurity practices and economic return via implementation of a pilot trial at a LBM.
NTT component on informal pig movement and on evaluation of social and economic impacts of CSF eradication. Reporting on risk assessment and evaluation of risk mitigation options impact on HPAI will be followed by implementation of a pilot trial.
The scale of field activities has led to some delays however the project remains on track for completion by early 2012. Over-commitment of lead team members is an ongoing risk to quality of project achievements.
Government and industry commitment to the control of CSF in NTT appears to be increasing and there is interest to develop a pig production and health initiative based on the findings of AH/2004/020 and this project in relation to CSF control and biosecurity practices. The resulting reduction in CSF occurrence will benefit all community sectors by increasing pork availability and securing income for smallholder families.
The realisation of shared risk and shared responsibility across industry sectors definitively places biosecurity extension and quality assurance for smallholders and commercial producers in Australia in the sphere of national exotic disease preparedness and response.

In the first year of this new ACIAR project on waterlogging, salinity and element tolerance of wheat, both Indian and Australian partners have successfully conducted field and controlled environment trials, exchanged and developed new germplasm, developed soil characterisation protocols, characterised germplasm to abiotic and biotic stresses, and identified further adaptive traits relevant to key interacting constraints in target environments. All work in India has been delayed by one year due to the late project start, however there is good progress towards achievement of milestones and project outputs.
The activities and outputs of this project have undergone small changes ever since the final stages of project approval; this is summarised in Sections 2 and 6 and detailed in Appendix 1. These changes will not affect the overall project aim of development of "elite germplasm" or the budget. In fact in several respects they have helped to streamline the project and focus work on the key objective of production of elite germplasm.
A key research strategy of this project is the formation of multi-disciplinary teams of physiologists, soil scientists, pathologists and breeders. These teams are now established at CSSRI, NDUAT, DWR, UA and DAFWA. Good progress has been made across project activities by these teams (Section 2 and Appendix 1) and as detailed by reports from each of the key project scientists (see individual reports in Appendix 2).
A second research strategy of this project is the comparison and development of new germplasm through two methods of Single Seed Descent (SSD) and Doubled Haploid (DH) production - this approach is well on track with populations now selected for the diverse environments targeted in India and Australia. The overall benefit of this analysis is that if the SSD approach is shown to be successful, then this frees up Indian partners from dependence on use of DH populations which until now have come largely from Australia and not been easily available in India. Trials in India have only just been harvested, so the analyses of experiments is still in progress (Appendix 2). A 2-page pictorial summary of project highlights in 2009/2010 is given in Appendix 3.
Germplasm exchange was first requested at the beginning of 2009, but this was unsuccessful until Dr. S.S. Singh, Project Director, DWR, provided the key support in 2010. This has now enabled crossing to be initiated in Australian Plant Quarantine in June, 2010.
There have been several publications relating to this work including aspects of soil characterisation, physiology and germplasm improvement (Section 3.4). Work is also currently under preparation for presentation at scientific meetings in 2010/2011 including the 8th International Wheat Conference (Russia), the 19th World Congress on Soil Science (Australia) and the International Society of Plant Anaerobiosis (Italy).
One of the most exciting aspects of this work is the support for extension of activities for development of molecular markers described at the Indo-Australian Program on Marker-Assisted Wheat Breeding (IAP-MAWB) meeting in New Delhi in 2010. This work is supported based on years of relevant data, development of unique populations (some of which have been mapped) and demonstration of the increasing importance of diverse element toxicities as a major factor affecting waterlogging tolerance in field environments (Section 8, point 5 and Appendix 3). Currently a Letter of Variation is under preparation to extend project work in line with IAP-MAWB activities.

In the first year of this new ACIAR project on waterlogging, salinity and element tolerance of wheat, both Indian and Australian partners have successfully conducted field and controlled environment trials, exchanged and developed new germplasm, developed soil characterisation protocols, characterised germplasm to abiotic and biotic stresses, and identified further adaptive traits relevant to key interacting constraints in target environments. All work in India has been delayed by one year due to the late project start, however there is good progress towards achievement of milestones and project outputs.
The activities and outputs of this project have undergone small changes ever since the final stages of project approval; this is summarised in Sections 2 and 6 and detailed in Appendix 1. These changes will not affect the overall project aim of development of "elite germplasm" or the budget. In fact in several respects they have helped to streamline the project and focus work on the key objective of production of elite germplasm.
A key research strategy of this project is the formation of multi-disciplinary teams of physiologists, soil scientists, pathologists and breeders. These teams are now established at CSSRI, NDUAT, DWR, UA and DAFWA. Good progress has been made across project activities by these teams (Section 2 and Appendix 1) and as detailed by reports from each of the key project scientists (see individual reports in Appendix 2).
A second research strategy of this project is the comparison and development of new germplasm through two methods of Single Seed Descent (SSD) and Doubled Haploid (DH) production - this approach is well on track with populations now selected for the diverse environments targeted in India and Australia. The overall benefit of this analysis is that if the SSD approach is shown to be successful, then this frees up Indian partners from dependence on use of DH populations which until now have come largely from Australia and not been easily available in India. Trials in India have only just been harvested, so the analyses of experiments is still in progress (Appendix 2). A 2-page pictorial summary of project highlights in 2009/2010 is given in Appendix 3.
Germplasm exchange was first requested at the beginning of 2009, but this was unsuccessful until Dr. S.S. Singh, Project Director, DWR, provided the key support in 2010. This has now enabled crossing to be initiated in Australian Plant Quarantine in June, 2010.
There have been several publications relating to this work including aspects of soil characterisation, physiology and germplasm improvement (Section 3.4). Work is also currently under preparation for presentation at scientific meetings in 2010/2011 including the 8th International Wheat Conference (Russia), the 19th World Congress on Soil Science (Australia) and the International Society of Plant Anaerobiosis (Italy).
One of the most exciting aspects of this work is the support for extension of activities for development of molecular markers described at the Indo-Australian Program on Marker-Assisted Wheat Breeding (IAP-MAWB) meeting in New Delhi in 2010. This work is supported based on years of relevant data, development of unique populations (some of which have been mapped) and demonstration of the increasing importance of diverse element toxicities as a major factor affecting waterlogging tolerance in field environments (Section 8, point 5 and Appendix 3). Currently a Letter of Variation is under preparation to extend project work in line with IAP-MAWB activities.

In this second year of project research on waterlogging, salinity and element tolerance of wheat, Indian and Australian project scientists have successfully conducted experiments in pot, microplot, field station and farmers' fields; exchanged, developed and initiated new crosses including Single Seed Descent and Doubled Haploid populations; identified detailed element constraints (deficiencies and toxicities) of soils from our target environments; and begun to confirm the significance of adaptive traits to individual constraints, e.g. bicarbonate/carbonate tolerance, to grain yield in the field.
Appendices and one attachment to this Report provide detailed information on progress for the period of 2010/11:
Appendix 1: Detailed achievements against activities and outputs/milestones.
Appendix 2: Detailed reports from project scientists.
Appendix 3. Selected photographs summarising research highlights and challenges for 2010/11.
Appendix 4: Letter of Variation to ACIAR Project CIM/2006/177 (new MAS work)
Attachment: Experiment Information Sheet (EIS) documents 2010/11
Multi-disciplinary teams of breeders, physiologists and soil scientists are performing well at partner institutions located at CSSRI, NDUAT, DWR, UA and DAFWA. Abbreviations: CSSRI, Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (Karnal, India); DWR, Directorate of Wheat Research (Karnal, India); DAFWA, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (South Perth, WA); NDUAT, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology (Faizabad, UP, India); UA, University of Adelaide (Adelaide, SA); MdU, Murdoch University (Murdoch, WA). During this period a new major activity was also developed, approved and initiated with Murdoch University (MdU) being: "Letter of Variation for ACIAR Project CIM/2006/177: MAS for waterlogging, salinity and element tolerance of wheat in India and Australia (part of the Indo-Australian Program on Marker-Assisted Wheat Breeding (IAP-MAWB))." This activity now makes our project consistent with other ACIAR projects in the IAP-MAWB, and it captures the benefits of extensive phenotyping and genotyping capacities in the project (Appendix 4). A comprehensive list of all experimental work by each project scientist is presented in the Attachment: Experiment Information Sheet (EIS) documents 2010/11.
In India, screening protocols in pots, microplots and field station trials have confirmed the ability to validate results using these diverse approaches at CSSRI (Appendix 2(2)). At NDUAT, farmers' field trials (Appendix 2(5)) have confirmed field station results and they have also identified and confirmed theoretical predictions from UA of Zn deficiencies in some soils at high pH (Appendix 2(7)). DWR has led the coordination of running bi-plot experiments in five locations/environments through collaboration of all Indian partners. Such measurements are still being calculated, and they will be helpful in evaluating the genetic variation of diverse Indian and Australian germplasm and help identify potential parental material for breeding programs. DWR also leads project research to characterise parental material and develop germplasm with abiotic stress tolerance for selected disease resistance including stripe rust, leaf rust and Karnal bunt resistance.
In Australia, work at UA focuses on characterisation of germplasm for tolerance to bicarbonate/carbonate and demonstration that this trait is significantly correlated to grain yields of wheat varieties in the field in alkaline sodic soils with pH>9. Supporting work on soils continues to develop methods for measurement of element toxicities (Al) relevant to low and high pH soils, and deficiencies (Ca, Mg and Zn) in soils at high pH. These approaches now need to be taken up by Indian partners - this will be discussed at the upcoming AGM in 2011.
At DAFWA the waterlogging tolerance screening facility at Katanning has been improved with remote webcam monitoring and with frost resistant canopies; the latter followed devastating experimental losses last year due to severe frost - the first time this has occurred in the last 10 years. Germplasm development at DAFWA included (i) rust screening a large SSD population in collaboration with ACIAR supported scientists at Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP), Cobbitty, NSW; and (ii) development of crosses for new DH populations based on the best parents from India and Australia identified for tolerance to waterlogging, salinity and element toxicities: KRL99/Krichauff and KRL99/Tammarin Rock (see Appendix 3, Plate 10, for photographs).
A large number of presentations of project work have been made in this year with 16 publications from project scientists in journals or scientific publications.

Project commencement was delayed to December 2008 because of difficulties encountered in recruiting a suitably-qualified postdoctoral research fellow.
Collation and checking of the catch and effort data for the Dai fishery against records held at the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute (IFReDI) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia was completed by MRC prior to the commencement of the project in December 2008. All electronic records were verified against the data entry forms, errors removed and relationships among components revised. Changes made to the sampling programme and to the fishery database through the years, as well as its current structure and catch estimation methods, have been determined in close collaboration with staff at IFReDI and the MRC, and have been documented for the final project report.
Daily, monthly and seasonal catch estimates for the Dai fishery have been calculated from the 1997-98 to 2008-09 fishing seasons. Reliable catch estimates for the 1994-95 and 1996-97 fishing seasons could not be made because of a curtailed sampling season in the former case and the absence of effort information in the latter. These years will therefore be excluded from all analyses.
The MRC has provided hydrological data for the Tonle Sap-Great Lake (TS-GL) System and developed several metrics and indices to describe inter and intra-annual variation in the hydrology of the system hypothesised to affect fish population dynamics. Using one of these indices, i.e. the flood index (FI), which describes the magnitude and duration of the flood each year, the MRC recently developed a model to predict the response of fish biomass to flooding conditions using a General Linear Model (GLM). This work revealed that changes to fish growth (rather than fish abundance) appear to be largely responsible for the observed inter-annual variation in fish biomass. The project is currently attempting to improve and refine this GLM model by employing alternative hydrological indices such as the timing of the flood (calendar day) as well as lunar phases into the model. The development by the project of a mechanistic model to describe the Dai fishery dynamics is also in progress.
The species composition of the Dai catch through time has been calculated. These data are ready for calculating species diversity indices and for assessing changes in catch composition through time using multivariate procedures in PRIMER. The various databases containing the length-frequency information of samples taken from catches from the Dai fishery have been collected but are yet to be collated into a single database. Work on analysing the length frequency information has therefore not yet begun.
Integration of the data held by the Living Aquatic Resources Research Centre (LARReC) in Vientiane, Laos from multiple Excel files into a single database is complete. In February, Dr. Paxton spent three weeks at LARReC, Vientiane, working with Mr Pengby Ngor of IFReDI and LARReC staff (Mr Douangkham Singhanouvong, Mr Vannaxay Soukhaseum and Mr KongPheng Bouakhamvongsa) to transform their database into a form that can be analysed. Problems and discontinuities in data were identified and documented in a chapter that will form part of the final project report. Database checking and Exploratory Data Analysis have begun.
Two reports are currently being drafted as outputs of this project, one on the Dai fishery in Cambodia, which builds upon work started by the MRC, and a second on the wet season Lee trap and dry season gillnet fisheries in Laos. Both reports currently exist as outlines with progress being made with documenting survey methodologies and describing the database structures for the fisheries of each country. A major contribution of these reports will be to facilitate continuity should there be staff changes at the various institutions, providing future researchers with an introduction to the databases and recording explicitly how sampling methodologies in the fisheries have changed through the years.

This project LPS-2005-129 extends and follows-up the recommendations of the survey of the mineral nutrition of pregnant sheep, lactating cattle and yaks in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. As a first step, Dr Geoff Tudor, who had been the Senior Beef Research Officer in the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, was appointed to the project in February 2007 as a research fellow with the role and responsibilities to link operations between Perth, Beijing and Lhasa while located in Lhasa. Dr Tudor arrived in Lhasa in April 2007, and immediately began organising the staff and operations to complete the mineral survey the summer and autumn of 2007. Meanwhile, Dr Bill Winter, as manager of the Livestock Production Systems Program, coordinated a workshop involving the researchers and staff from the major ACIAR livestock projects in Tibet. The workshop took place in Lhasa from 21st May to 1st of June 2007. For LPS-2005-129 in particular, Professor Costa and Dr Tashi led a four-day workshop where all the personnel in the project established the project's scope and operations for 2007 and beyond.
At the workshop, TAAAS staff agreed to coordinate the daily operations of the mineral survey, and mineral response trials for the project, while CAAS staff agreed to conduct the mineral analyses on all samples. Dr Geoff Judson acted as a consultant to the workshop and research team and was instrumental in developing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will form the basis of sample collection, handling, processing, mineral analysis and data collection, collation and statistical analysis. A mineral survey strategy was developed for 440 farms across 10 counties. The equipment and consumables for these surveys were purchased in Australia and shipped to Lhasa ready for the survey to commence. However, progress on the mineral survey was totally disrupted by the severe illness and subsequent withdrawal of Dr Geoff Tudor from the project. Without Dr Tudor's linking and on-ground coordinating role, and delays in obtaining visas for Mr Allan Clark, [formerly senior technician at Hamilton Research Station] who was initially contracted to assume leadership of the sample collection training role in Lhasa, meant that little progress was achieved in 2007.
Notwithstanding these setbacks, there have been some achievements for 2007: all of the project team are familiar with each other, everyone has agreed priorities and process for the project, and the basic infrastructure for conducting the mineral survey has been purchased in Australia and is in place in Lhasa and Beijing. Most importantly all of the consumables and equipment are in place, and the standard operating procedures confirmed which are the prerequisites to completing the survey work. Once a replacement for Dr Tudor has been confirmed, then the project is ready to continue and meet its objectives. Each collaborating institution remains committed to the success of the project.

This project LPS-2005-129 extends and follows-up the recommendations of the survey of the mineral nutrition of pregnant sheep, lactating cattle and yaks in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. There were a number of factors that delayed progress during 2008. Firstly, in 2007, Dr Geoff Tudor, who had been appointed to the project in February 2007 as a research fellow with the role and responsibilities to link operations between Perth, Beijing and Lhasa suffered a heart attack while located in Lhasa. Dr Tudor subsequently resigned from the project in August 2007.
The workshop that took place in Lhasa from 21st May to 1st of June 2007 established the project's scope and operations for 2007 and beyond. At this workshop, TAAAS staff agreed to coordinate the daily operations of the mineral survey, and mineral response trials for the project, while CAAS staff agreed to conduct the mineral analyses on all samples. Dr Geoff Judson acted as a consultant to the workshop and research team and was instrumental in developing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will form the basis of sample collection, handling, processing, mineral analysis and data collection, collation and statistical analysis. These SOPs are now in place and will underpin the mineral survey.
Dr Lu Lin was chosen to gain experience with new equipment such as ICP-MS and techniques for selenium and iodine assay at Murdoch University because of her aptitude and contribution to the conduct of the field assay program. This component was support in part by an ATSE Crawford Fund traineeship for Dr Lu. Dr Lin established that the argon carrier gas (MW 90) used in ICP-MS significantly disrupted the signal for the most commonly occurring isotope of selenium (MW 79). One solution was to validate assay of Se-82 which occurs at 5% relative abundance and is detected with 25% efficiency.
Notwithstanding these setbacks, there have been some achievements for 2008: all of the project team are familiar with each other, everyone has agreed priorities and process for the project, and the basic infrastructure for conducting the mineral survey has been purchased in Australia and is in place in Lhasa and Beijing. Now that a replacement for Dr Tudor has been confirmed through the appointment of Nicole Spiegel, the project is ready to resume and meet its objectives. Each collaborating institution remains committed to the success of the project.

The overall objective of the present project is to gain a better understanding of the mineral nutrition of sheep, cattle and yaks in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. Once this is achieved the next step will be to demonstrate the production benefits of improved mineral nutrition and to build local capacity to address these problems in the future. The project builds on an earlier project in Tibet: LPS/2005/018 'Mineral nutrition of livestock in Tibet (I & II)' where survey of nutrients in feed and mineral status of livestock in six counties near Lhasa showed that livestock during winter and late autumn were in moderate to poor condition and pastures were of poor quality, as indicated by low protein content. The survey also was reported that low levels of some major and trace minerals may be key factors limiting livestock productivity. The first objective of the current project was to extend the survey work to the summer and early autumn seasons which are the periods of rapid growth of pastures.
Significant progress was made during the year of 2009, due to the commitment of staff from the Tibetan Livestock Research Institute (TLRI) of TAAAS and Dr Nicole Spiegel, ACIAR Research Fellow who coordinated project work while living in Lhasa for 7 months during 2009. Special credit is due to Professor Madame Sze Zhu whose leadership was central to progress and Dr Nyima Tashi, Deputy Director of TAAAS whose guidance ensured that we achieved our objectives for the field studies. We also commend the Mineral Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) for its rapid turn around time for mineral analysis of all samples presented.
The major project work in 2009 was completion of two major mineral survey collections that took place across eight different counties (including the six counties from the earlier survey) in TAR during the summer and early autumn seasons. The counties selected were representative of 3 pastoral regions, 4 cropping regions and one agro-pastoral region, and covered 3 of the four main livestock production systems in Tibet. The livestock included in the survey were sheep and cattle in Bailang, Gangba, Jiangzi and Naidong counties, sheep and yaks in Damxiong, Linzhou and Naqu counties, and yaks in Jiali county. A preliminary survey of minerals in goats also took place in Naidong. Mineral nutritional status through analyses of the blood, urine, faeces and milk samples was conducted at the Mineral Nutrition Research Division of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, lead by Professor Luo Xugang. The mineral content in the feed on offer to these animals was assessed using pasture samples, feed supplements, drinking water and soil samples that were collected at the same time that the animals were sampled. Our survey results confirm that yaks in Jiali and Diamxiong counties, cattle in Naidong and Jiangzi counties, and sheep in Naqu are at risk of selenium deficiency during summer and in Jiangzi during autumn in Tibet. These findings confirm and extend the earlier survey work carried out in 2003/04. However, this risk from selenium deficiency during summer and autumn appeared to be greater in yaks and cattle compared with sheep. In fact, the vast majority of sheep in the counties surveyed are marginal to adequate for selenium status. Moreover, the survey results also indicate that the levels of deficiency in yaks and cattle are a function of location within county and season. Further to this, the mineral status in both feed and livestock varied between counties and according to species, and sometimes between households within a county. Of particular significance were the whole blood selenium results for yaks in Jiali [collection of samples from yaks in Jiali is shown below] where values were some of the lowest recorded (eg 7 to 18 ng Se/ml) in comparison to published values from other livestock production systems. Consequently, yaks in the Jiali pastoral grazing system would offer the best opportunity to assess responses to selenium supplementation.
For dairy cattle, blood selenium concentrations in Naidong were also in the deficient range. Since dairy production is a rapidly emerging industry in Tibet to supply the growing tourist trade with cow's milk, it is important to establish the extent of selenium deficiency in Naidong and the possible benefits of selenium supplementation.
Livestock in several counties were at risk of copper deficiency. Copper status of livestock is not easy to assess when relying on the conveniently obtained blood copper and TCA-soluble copper as the criteria rather than liver copper which is a better indicator but very difficult to obtain by biopsy without excessive risk to the animal. Nevertheless dairy cattle in Naidong County presented with blood values (< 3 micromolar) indicative of low copper status as did yaks in Jiali. Thus livestock in these counties presented with multiple mineral deficiencies.
The concentrations of thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) found in all livesotck, yaks, cattle and sheep in all counties were extremely, indicative of low iodine status. However, the ELISA assay used for these analyses is new and has not been used in other studies to validate the procedure fully. Moreover, we are still in the process of developing the ICP-MS assay for plasma iodine, so confirmatory plasma iodine concentrations are not available at this stage. Nevertheless if the low T4 and T3 values are correct, then iodine should also be included in any supplementary treatment to assess mineral response.
As a result of the progress made in 2009, strong working relationships have been established between Dr Nicole Spiegel (ACIAR Research Fellow) and the scientists at the Tibetan Livestock Research Institute (TLRI), the Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences (TAAAS), and at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The Tibetan Government is focussed on establishing nutritional standards for livestock in TAR. Participation in conducting the mineral surveys has already contributed to increasing the awareness of TAAAS/TLRI staff about the importance of meeting and matching the mineral needs of livestock at pasture with the demands for increased livestock productivity. The next phase of the project will be to test for mineral responses in livestock from key counties where mineral deficiencies have been indicated. If economically significant responses to mineral supplementation can be demonstrated in Tibetan livestock during 2010, then this information will form the basis of our future extension program and the transfer of technical information on assessing and correcting of mineral disorders in grazing animals.
By living full-time for the seven months of survey work in 2009, Dr Spiegel has not only forged strong links with the TLRI team but has also increased her appreciation of the potential social and economic impacts that resolving the mineral status of livestock and confirming the need for supplementation will have, especially if production responses are evident. Given the language difficulties, cultural norms, and economic differences, Dr Spiegel is already mindful of the need for clear and cost-effective messages that communicate the benefits of mineral supplementation, and develop the practical means whereby supplementation can be achieved to sustain the well-being and wealth, particularly of traditional, nomadic yak herders on the high plateau in Jiali county.