Research & Development
Australia is an amazing place when it comes to flora and fauna - we have over 20,000 varieties in our gene pool. We’ve got the largest selection of plant material in the world.
This creates great opportunities for the development of new varieties. The Australian Flower Company (TAFC) supports these developments both financially and through ongoing testing programs.
We view Research and Development as a critical element of our long-term viability and for the competitiveness of the industry. TAFC contributes to the R & D of Australian Flowers on an ongoing basis.
LAMONT SERIES WAXFLOWER PROJECT
In 1991 Greg Lamont a researcher with the NSW Department of Agriculture developed 13 new hybrid varieties of Waxflower. These varieties are now household names within the Australian and overseas flower industry.
Familiar names such as :
These are only representative of some of the names that initiated the Waxflower Hybridisation program worldwide. These varieties can be seen in the Auctions in Japan and Holland. They are now grown in Israel, California and South America.
The commercialisations of new material such as these waxflower varieties ensure that the company remains the leader in the industry. We work in conjunction with The New South Wales Department of Agriculture and Fisheries who breed new varieties.
The Australian Flower Company won the contract to market these varieties to the world and in the process protected the genetic material by taking out Plant Breeders Rights. These rights have since lapsed, but the varieties continue on in their own right.
ERIOSTEMON PROJECT
TAFC has been contributing funds since 2000 to the New South Wales Department of Agriculture for the development of new selections and ultimately breed for hybrids of new Eriostemon Australasis. The objective of the project is to:
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Establish a stable population of vigorous varieties
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Breed for new colours
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Breed for larger or different flower size
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Establish propagation techniques for ongoing sustainable breeding
The project has seen its full term and all the objectives have been met. We are looking to have the new varieties available for sale as cut flowers in 2007.
BACKHOUSIA PROJECT
The Australian Flower Company has been working with a select group of experienced growers in New South Wales and Queensland to look at the potential of introducing new varieties from native populations and commercializing them as ongoing sustainable and profitable alternative enterprises. One of the first varieties identified has been Backhousia myrtifolia. Some say it looks like a white Christmas Bush, but is infact a completely different Genus. The project has been supported in part by the Queensland Centre for Native Floriculture, an adjunct to The University of Queensland.
The Backhousia Group is made up of approximately 15 like minded growers who understand the future and growth of the Australian Floricultural industry can only flourish if it invests in the development of new varieties and the successful commercialization of these varieties for the world market. The group has informally called itself “ Florallaince”. Backhousia is only the first of many new and exciting varieties the group Floralliance is looking at. Other varieties include, Cassinea, a white filler flower that flower in February / March. Another variety also in the trialing stage is Ptilotus rotundifolius.
Ptilotus rotundifolious project (Royal Mulla Mulla)
This is one of Australia’s more unique varieties. Found in natural populations in the north west of Western Australia it has been picked over the years as a wild flower. Wild picking has both its benefits, but also has its down side. Some of the negative aspects of wild picking include:
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The native population changes year to year depending on the weather
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There are no management programs enforced to sustain this variety
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There is a propensity by pickers to set fire to areas to increase seed and germination levels.
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There is no commitment to continuity of supply
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Due to the remote nature of this crop, it is costly to get to market
In 1999, the Managing Director, Jamie Creer, in conjunction with The University of Sydney, traveled to Western Australia to collect seed and plant material. The objective of the trip was to collect enough diverse viable seed and vegetative plant material from different regions to do ongoing laboratory trials and field trials in various regions. Ultimately we aim to get this unique variety into commercial and sustainable production. We now have a nursery and two farms trailing the material. Further to this we have now engaged a Tissue Culture lab to explore the possibilities of accelerating the multiplication process.It is a slow process, but if we are successful the rewards will be worth the effort and will be another commercially viable new product to offer the world market.
SYDNEY 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES
The Australian Flower Company (TAFC) was selected by both peers from within the Australian Flower Industry, industry organizations and ultimately the Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (SOCOG) to be the Official Supplier of Olympic Bouquets for medallists.
TAFC was awarded the contract in 1997 and therefore had three years of preparation. Organising over 3000 intricate bouquets required a high degree of preparation. Consideration of the project entailed the following criteria.
These are to name a just a few aspects of the intricate program.
In addition to supplying the Ceremonial winners we were successful in supplying the majority of the corporate boxes, entertainers, politicians and officials.
The whole project was an honor to be a participant in, moreover it was testimony to the united efforts of all the staff involved from both within and from outside the company. Every day required huge intestinal fortitude and commitment to making the Olympic program for our small part a success. This was a project we will remember forever and had no regrets accepting.
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