Queensland body Growcom is set to commence two new research projects examining the effects of climate change on Australia's horticulture sector.
Growcom will be assisted in the projects by Horticulture Australia (HAL), Apple & Pear Australia and Avocados Australia, Australian Food News reported.
The first project will focus on apples and pears and will involve Growcom's climate change project officer David Putland, Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, the South Australian Research and Development Institute, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and the New South Wales Department of Industry & Investment.
'The primary aim of this project is to assess the likely impact of the predicted temperature increases across a number of apple and pear production regions,' Mr Putland said.
'This will be done by linking current knowledge of crop requirements with regional analysis of climate change scenarios while considering viable adaptation strategies that may allow production to continue under challenging conditions.'
The second project will focus on avocados and will use similar techniques to that used in the apple and pear project to assess the impact of climate change on avocado production.
However, this project will also provide the industry with information on the effects of the government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), and the effects of other climate change legislation.
'As part of this project, we will calculate the carbon footprint of a selection of avocado farms to assess the level of emissions from the industry,' Mr Putland said.
Both projects are scheduled for completion by the end of 2010.
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