Gatton research could spell big dollars for Australian waxflower exports

Already a huge export earner for Australia, wax flower exports are set to receive a further boost with research at The University of Queensland's Gatton Campus entering the international arena.

Andrew MacNish, a PhD student in the School of Agriculture and Horticulture at UQ Gatton recently left for the United Kingdom to research the behaviour
of Australian waxflower exported to the UK.

Featured in the bouquets presented to medal winners at the Sydney Olympic Games, native waxflower continues to prove a big money earner for Australia overseas.

Mr. MacNish will spend six weeks in the UK and will be collaborating with the world's leading waxflower postharvest researcher, Professor Daryl Joyce from Cranfield University, Silsoe.

The UQ Gatton student will inspect the early season crop of Australian waxflowers as they reach the UK and will assess their quality after the trip from Australia.

According to Andrew's supervisor and lecturer in postharvest horticulture at UQ Gatton, Dr Donald Irving, the trip to the UK is one of the toughest that cut flowers can experience.

"This research will assist us with understanding how quality in cut flowers can be improved and maintained, assisting with export earnings and the development of new markets," said Dr. Irving.

The research team has been examining the influence that the gas ethylene has on flower loss in waxflower. This gas is naturally produced by many kinds of flowers, as well as fruits and vegetables, if they have been damaged.

"Ethylene has been linked to the flower drop that often occurs in cut flowers if they have a long trip to market or are left for long periods of time on a shop shelf," said Dr. Irving.

Once the production of ethylene in these conditions is understood, the deterioration in quality of cut flowers during export and on a shop shelf can be manipulated.

Andrew's study will also investigate the influence that export conditions, such as the temperature, the relative humidity in the flower packages and
the handling of the flowers and the packages, have on the quality of waxflower once it reaches the UK market.