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29 November 2005
Academic excellence awarded - six 2006 Honours Scholarships
On the 29th November 2005 the five recipients of the inaugural E H Graham Centre Honours scholarships were announced. The successful applicants are Warren Burgess, Ee Ah Yaw, Andrew Lieschke, Matthew Lieschke and Kathryn Blackshaw.
‘Successful candidates were those who had excellent academic records and whose research directly complemented the programs of the E H Graham Centre’, explained Deirdre Lemerle, Director of the Centre. For example, Warren Burgess’ project on soil biopores ties in with the Soil and Water program, the aim of which is to provide practical management options for landholders to sustain or enhance the soil and water resources of agro-ecosystems. Ee Kah Yaw’s research on wattle seed proteins contributes to the Food Science and Product Quality program, which aims to explore ways of value-adding products in the agricultural supply chain.
Information on the successful applications and a brief description of the research being undertaken are provided below. For more information on the E H Graham Centre Honours scholarships contact Maree Crowley on 69381681 or email mcrowley@csu.edu.au
E H Graham Centre Director Deirdre Lemerle and successful Honours scholarship holder, Warren Burgess
Photo: Michel Dignand
| Program | Student | Supervisors | Project title |
| Soil & Water | Warren Burgess | Phil Eberbach Jeff Evans Sergio Moroni |
Influence of compacted layers and biopores on the development of plant roots, and their ability to access deep nitrate |
| Food Science & Product Quality | Ee Ah Yaw | Jian Zhao Samson Agboola Ata Rehman |
Investigation of the emulsification properties of wattle seed proteins |
| Agricultural Production | Andrew Lieschke | Michael Friend Hugh Dove Guangdi Li |
Applicability of the alkane procedure to estimate intake and digestibility of chicory; and the use of alkanes in supplements to estimate total intake and diet composition of grazing sheep |
| Agricultural Production | Matthew Lieschke | Michael Friend Belinda King Raquel Waller John Wilkins |
Use of summer active perennials to improve ewe ovulation rate |
| Agricultural Production | Kathryn Blackshaw | Glenys Noble Martin Sillence John Piltz |
Investigating the link between concentrate diets, metabolic changes and fractious behaviour in horses |
Studying sheep diets as part of the ‘Evergraze’ project
Andrew and Matthew Lieschke were awarded scholarships for research on the interaction of diet and ewe ovulation rates. Their findings will be important contributions to the E H Graham Centre ‘Evergraze’ project, which is funded by the Meat & Livestock Association and the CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity.
The basis of Matthew’s research is the observation that feeding ewes a highly nutritious for a short period increases ovulation rates, thereby increasing lambing rates and farm profitability. This is traditionally achieved by grain-feeding lupines to ewes for one week. The strategy appears to be successful, and the aim of the research is to better understand why this is so. Of particular interest is the ability of summer-active perennials to stimulate ovulation rates, therefore the experimental treatments will involve diets of (1) lucerne plus chicory and (2) of phalaris, both with and without lupines supplements. To measure the effect of these different diets a variety of measurements will be made, including estimates of herbage mass and quality, herbage intake and assessing sheep for condition scores.
Andrew’s research is focused on one of the techniques used to estimate the mass and composition of sheep diets. Long chain carbon compounds, n-alkanes, are components of the wax of all plants. These compounds are valuable in dietary studies because they are indigestible, therefore they can be recovered from faeces for dietary studies. Andrew will conduct two phases of research, the first of which will be an animal house feeding experiment. Sheep will be provided with a diet consisting of chicory, spiked with a 32-carbon alkane. This even-numbered alkane contrasts to the odd-numbered alkanes (C-29 and C-31) abundant in most grasses and legumes. The alkane composition of faeces will then be assessed, and the results will be compared to the known amount of feed consumed. The second phase will apply the technique in the field in an effort to estimate the total intake and diet composition of grazing sheep.
Evaluating the usefulness of wattle seeds as natural emulsifiers
The aim of Ee Kah Yaw’s research is to verify anecdotal evidence that extracts from wattle seeds have strong emulsifying abilities. Natural emulsifiers are of great interest in the food industry, but as yet there have been no systematic studies on the emulsifying potential of wattle seeds. Ee will first characterise the emulsifying properties of wattle seeds, then identify and characterise the compounds (most likely proteins) responsible for the emulsifying properties, and finally determine the effects of processing and storage on the emulsifiers.
The influence of soil compaction and salinity on root nitrate acquisition
Warren Burgess was awarded an E H Graham Centre scholarship to assist his research on soil compaction and subsoil sodicity, two factors that can impact on the ability of plant roots to access nutrients at depth. Soil compaction, such as that produced by machinery traffic, is known to lead to a decrease in the productivity of broadacre crops. Roots are unable to penetrate hard layers, and if sodicity is high, then the soil may be ‘chemically infertile’. Warren will perform his research by producing compacted layers of varying thickness in soil enclosed in PVC cylinders, and examining the root development of wheat and canola cultivars. Similarly, salt (NaCl, equivalent to an EC reading of 0.75 dSm) will be used to create a ‘hostile’ horizon in the soil. Finally, to assess the ability of the cultivars to access nutrients, isotopically-labelled nitrate will be used. This will be achieved by comparing the abundance of labelled nitrate in the plants and soil cores.
Investigating the link between horse diet and behaviour
Kathryn will be investigating possible links between the oat content of horse diets and their horse behaviour. Anecdotal evidence suggests that oats may produce ‘fizzyness’ in horses, and previous CSU research has identified a link between oats and changes in the endocrine system that could be associated with increased anxiety and reactivity. The primary objective of the research is to examine the relationship between feed types (oats and barley, for example) and blood glucose, cortisol and insulin levels. It is hoped that a second trial will be conducted, the aim of which will be to investigate whether sources of energy other than oats (e.g. oils) produce similar blood glucose, cortisol and insulin levels.