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Tasmanian company fights to save unusual grains

Story Added : 05th February 2010
Updated: 1 minute ago

Tasmanian seed breeders fear they'll soon lose access to an important genetic resource.

Bob Reid and Robert Dent, from Tasglobal Seeds, are trialing and commercialising a range of novel sub-tropical forage and grain crops, like millets from Kazakhstan, sorghums from the Yemen, quinoa, amaranthus, and an Ethiopian grain called teff.

Mr Reid says most of the seed has come from the Biloela Genetic Resource Centre in Queensland, which the government is threatening to close.

"We had access to the data-base and we quite literally went through thousands of lines on the database looking for material that we thought had potential, and the proof of the pudding is right in front of you," he says.

"Now a grain crop in the middle of February in Tasmania, a tropical grain crop, is quite an achievement, I think."

Story Added by ABC.
Date Added : 05th February 2010

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