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TEA TREE OILIn support of an iconic Australian industry

“Without help from the Rural Industries R&D Corporation – which has been substantial over time – the tea tree oil industry would not be anywhere near what it is today. They have done a particularly good job.”– rob dyason, tea tree oil producer for 34 years, northern nsw

Australia is the current leader in world production of tea tree oil and, concurrently, in research into the oil’s myriad biological properties and applications. The two achievements are not unrelated.

Agricultural scientists and the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) have walked alongside growers as they took a native plant out of the bush, established modern plantation production systems, studied and vaunted the oil’s properties worldwide and came to dominate the international market.

In the following pages, RIRDC showcases key achievements from its recent collaborative association with the Australian tea tree oil industry.

FOREWORD 2RESPONSE TO MYRTLE RUST DISEASE INCURSION 3PROTECTING LIVESTOCK NATURALLY 6PEST AND WEED MANAGEMENT INNOVATION 8ADDING VALUE THROUGH BREEDING 10PROSPERING WITH SUSTAINABILITY GAINS 12PROTECTING EXPORTS 14THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS AND SAFETY RESEARCH 16RIRDC TEA TREE OIL PROJECTS 19POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM 20

Science has played an important and varied role supporting the development of a dynamic, internationally competitive Australian tea tree oil industry. For several decades – even before the industry was in a position to always co-fund important research initiatives – the Rural Industries R&D Corporation’s Tea Tree Oil Program has provided a vital link between growers and researchers.

It is a partnership that has paid dividends many times over.

The Tea Tree Oil Program is proud to have dealt with issues from across the supply chain – from breeding higher-yielding varieties to boost plantation productivity through to validating the oil’s various biological activities. These now include demonstrable anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and insect-repellant properties.

Benefits have not been restricted to growers. Safety and efficacy studies in particular have benefited end-users and promoted new product development, which ultimately also boosts market demand for the oil. Beneficiaries include the sheep industry, given the oil’s newly discovered potency in eliminating lice infestations, and those hospitals struggling to reduce impacts to patients from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And there are more innovations in the pipeline.

However, the road from plantations to consumers can be a rocky one, as growers discovered in the past decade when regulatory bodies threatened access to European markets. There again, science-based evidence proved its worth to industry by contributing to a submission that challenged market restrictions. It also provided a sound basis upon which to implement a Code of Practice that aligns with international quality assurance systems.

Throughout, researchers have worked closely with growers, forging collaborative partnerships that have nurtured resilience and an entrepreneurial spirit in this young rural industry. RIRDC looks forward to many more years of productive engagement with this innovative sector.

Craig BurnsManaging Directorrural industries research and development corporation

FOREWORD

RIRDC CONTACT DETAILS Rural Industries Research and Development CorporationLevel 2, 15 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776, KINGSTON ACT 2604

P | 02 6271 4100F | 02 6271 4199E | [email protected] | www.rirdc.gov.au

RIRDC acknowledges and thanks the Australian tea tree oil industry for the voluntary cash contributions made to each project described in the following pages.

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© 2013 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

All rights reserved.

The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable industries. The information should not be relied upon for the purpose of a particular matter. Specialist and/or appropriate legal advice should be obtained before any action or decision is taken on the basis of any material in this document. The Commonwealth of Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the authors or contributors do not assume any liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person’s use or reliance upon the content of this document.

This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged.

For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6271 4165.

Published in March 2013. Publication no 13/012.

CONTENTS

tea tree oil: in support of an iconic australian industry march 2013

Myrtle rust has been in Australian since 2010.

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RESPONSE TO MYRTLE RUST DISEASE INCURSION

AT A GLANCEEucalypt plantations propagated abroad have incubated a new disease – myrtle rust – that found its way into Australia in 2010. The rust’s unusually wide host range poses a hazard to the natural environment and to rural industries based on native plants, such as the tea tree oil industry.

BACKGROUND The threat to Australia was explicit when

a new fungal rust disease was identified in South American eucalypt plantations. The fungus attacks young, growing plant tissue and, unusually for a rust disease, it has an extremely wide host range – about 3000 tree and shrub species in the Myrtaceae family.

Many affected species are iconic to Australia’s landscape where grow-back after bushfires and floods is especially vulnerable to the disease; some are of immense economic importance in the oil and native food industries, such as tea tree and lemon myrtle.

Dubbed ‘myrtle rust’, the fungus can cause deformation of leaves, heavy defoliation of branches, dieback, stunted growth and even death. Testing undertaken a decade ago indicates that Australian plants display a varied response to myrtle rust, from highly resistant to highly susceptible.

About 9 out of 10 species tested proved susceptible in the glasshouse; much higher than

the rate in South America (where only about 100 of the roughly 1000 Myrtaceae are vulnerable).

The species used by the tea tree industry, Melaleuca alternifolia, proved to be susceptible.

Efforts to exclude the rust reaching Australia faltered when the fungus partially crossed the Pacific Ocean, reaching Hawaii in 2005. On 23 April 2010 the disease was first detected in Australia, at a cut-flower-growing facility on the central coast of New South Wales. It has since spread along the eastern coast to Victoria and to far north Queensland.

Once the Myrtle Rust National Management Group determined, in December 2010, that eradication was not technically feasible, research efforts – including by the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) – began into plant resistance and methods of fungal control.

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march 2013 tea tree oil: in support of an iconic australian industry

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“Myrtle rust is, potentially, a complete and utter disaster for the industry and the environment. In 2012 there was myrtle rust detectable in every single plantation I visited, without exception. The tea tree industry so far has dodged a bullet, in that the rust is present at levels that are not economically damaging. That is giving us time to work with researchers to identify resistant genotypes and effective fungicide treatments. But the problems are coming.”– tony larkman, industry development officer for the australian tea tree industry association

The first published report of rust infecting eucalypts dates back to 1929 in Brazil.

In the 1930s the rust became established in Jamaica, where it severely disrupted the allspice industry. By 1979 it had found its way to Florida.

It’s unknown how myrtle rust reached Australia but it most likely originated from Hawaii.

In 2005, the pathogen alarmed Australian pathologists when it crossed the Pacific and turned up in Hawaii.

FACTS AND FIGURES

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RESPONSE TO DEADLY DISEASE INCURSION

THE RESEARCH From the outset, RIRDC established links

with affected industries and with myrtle rust researchers. RIRDC is currently managing multiple research projects in the ACT, NSW and Queensland.

“Projects are taking a multi-pronged approach,” says Alison Saunders, RIRDC’s Senior Research Manager for the Tea Tree Oil Program. “We are addressing the use of new and established compounds to reduce fungal growth, including natural fungicides derived from essential oils. There are also efforts to identify naturally resistant plants from the widest possible genetic backgrounds and even methods to induce plants to fight the fungus.”

At the Australian National University, Professor Bill Foley is making genomic tools available to track down the source of genetically based resistance that is known to exist in the Myrtaceae gene pool.

Making that possible is the recently completed sequence of the eucalypt genome that Professor Foley is using as a map to reach

tea tree oil: in suport of an iconic australian industry march 2013

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“I was first alerted to the myrtle rust incursion by RIRDC in 2010, soon after it was first detected, but it was too late to stop its spread. Now it is all about adapting to the presence of the rust and that means rebuilding the industry around resistant trees. As it happened, Bill Foley from the ANU was already working on the Melaleuca and Eucalyptus genomes and, with co-funding from RIRDC, he has joined the myrtle rust response and will be an important factor in our industry’s long-term prospects.”– pat bolster, tea tree grower and australian tea tree industry association secretary at the time of the myrtle rust incursion in april 2010

RESPONSE TO DEADLY DISEASE INCURSION

into the genomes of four species important to rural industries: tea tree, lemon myrtle, riberries and anise myrtle.

“Using genomic technology we can compare individuals that are resistant and susceptible to identify the genes and genome areas that provide resistance to myrtle rust,” Professor Foley says. “We can then develop DNA markers that vastly simplify and accelerate the ability to screen vast numbers of plants for their resistance status.”

He is, however, wary of building the myrtle rust response around just one resistance gene. He explains that Brazil rebuilt its eucalypt

plantations by clonal propagation of trees that carried one resistance gene. A few years ago, the myrtle rust pathogen evolved to overcome that resistance.

“We are lucky because there has been a lot of relevant work done in eucalypts, especially in Brazil,” Professor Foley says. “But we want to look more broadly at what is coded in the genome. We can then build an understanding of how the resistance works and when it is likely to break down.

“This is all-important if science is to provide long-term support for native plant industries. So we continue to talk to farmers and make sure they understand what we are doing and why. Research is aimed at helping solve their problems so their support is important.”

FIVE STEPS TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF MYRTLE RUST

4INSPECT

REGULARLY

1 BUY

HEALTHY PLANTS

2CLEAN EQUIPMENT WITH DETERGENT

3CLEAN YOUR

CLOTHES

5MONITOR YOUR

PLANTS


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“After the initial discovery of myrtle rust on the NSW central coast there were attempts to quarantine its spread and for a while it didn’t move too far. Now it is widespread up and down the eastern coast, in both agriculture and forests. I’m quite concerned about the impacts and while I am prepared to replant with resistant tea tree varieties, I fear the impact on the species composition of natural forests into the future.”– rob dyason, tea tree grower and oil producer for 34 years

There are three species of sheep lice: head, foot and body. The body louse (Bovicola ovis) causes the majority of economic losses by reducing the quantity and quality of wool produced.

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LIVESTOCK NATURALLY

AT A GLANCERural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) research has demonstrated the effectiveness of tea tree oil as a natural alternative to insecticides that protect sheep from lice and blowfly strike. The oil’s insecticidal and insect-repellent properties have potential further uses in other veterinary and animal production systems.

THE RESEARCH The Rural Industries R&D Corporation

(RIRDC) has made it possible to formally establish that tea tree oil’s insecticidal and insect-repellent properties offer valuable pest control alternatives for the Australian sheep industry. Studies found that dipping sheep in a dilute tea-tree-oil-based formulation eradicates lice infestations.

Repellent and insecticidal effects were also noted against sheep blowflies. Benefits from using the tea tree oil treatment were further boosted by previously validated anti-microbial and wound-healing properties.

These effects occurred at concentrations that are viable for the commercial development of tea-tree-oil-based products against sheep parasites. Such products would amount to a new market for tea tree growers and one that capitalises on growing consumer demand for natural products, particularly those that can be accredited for use in organic production systems.

“Tea-tree-oil-based products could potentially work to counteract resistance to

ANNUAL COST TO THE SHEEP INDUSTRY (2012)

LICE$125 million

existing pesticides, plus reduce occupational exposure to farm chemicals and greatly reduce the threat of environmental contamination,” says Dr Peter James of the University of Queensland’s Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI) who headed the project.

A criticism often levelled at natural products – the potential for variable composition – does not apply since tea tree oil composition is stipulated under international standard ISO 4730, providing confidence for consistency of effect.

“There are growing opportunities for ‘natural’ products and a ready market for tea tree oil for use in ‘softer’ pest-control technologies that can meet growing community concern about the use of artificial pesticides,” Dr James says.

INDUSTRY IMPACTS Pat and Paul Bolster own Tweed Valley

Tea Tree, a tea tree plantation and production business at Chinderah in northern NSW. The harvest from their 106-hectare plantation is distilled on site, producing 35 tonnes of high quality tea tree oil that is marketed domestically and in the US, the UK and Europe.

They view new product development as quintessentially important to the industry’s long-term prospects and are extremely keen to

Long term, the nation-wide average prevalence of lice infestation in sheep flocks is about 20% but recent infestation levels have been much higher.

Currently, there are no alternatives to insecticide for treating louse infestations, despite market preference for wool with low chemical residues. The cheapest and most effective chemical for dipping, showering and jetting – diazinon – was suspended in 2009.

FLYSTRIKE$280 million

FACTS AND FIGURES


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RIRDC has established that tea tree oil is a beneficial, natural alternative to insecticides for protecting sheep from lice and blowfly strike.

“The results obtained from the RIRDC project were impressive and the commercial potential of the lice control application is something we thought worth exploring. In fact, we have decided to now continue product development ourselves.”– pat bolster, tea tree grower and oil distiller, nsw

An effective industry tool for preventing blowfly strike – mulesing – is being phased out by the wool industry and alternative ways to protect sheep are being sought.

The organic industry is the fastest growing retail sector in the European Union. Eco-labelling is becoming widespread and surveys in the UK show that only 20% of consumers “don’t care”.

Eco-friendly textile sales in the US have enjoyed double-digit growth – 32% for organic cotton in 2011 – with 81% of brands and retailers indicating they want to expand their use.

Blowfly strike (cutaneous myiasis) in sheep is caused by the invasion of fly larvae that feed on living tissue. Extensive wounding can result and bacterial infection may lead to death from septicaemia and toxaemia.

develop products beyond the existing ‘lotions and potions’ market. To that end, they opted to jointly fund with RIRDC a project led by Dr Peter James.

“We want to see large quantities of tea tree oil being used in products with industrial and agricultural–veterinary applications,” Pat Bolster says.

They are funding a commercial trial in several states during 2013 with a view to obtaining APVMA (Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority) registration for the anti-lice tea tree oil formulation. If this is achieved it would amount to the second time they have used RIRDC research as a platform for the development of a new product.

For example, basic efficacy work on tea tree oil funded by RIRDC underpinned the development of Gelair™, a unique tea tree oil product that helps control mould and bacteria in air conditioners.


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Members of the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association produce pure tea tree oil almost exclusively from Melaleuca alternifolia, which occurs naturally in a relatively small area of NSW.

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MANAGEMENT INNOVATION

AT A GLANCEBesides assisting the tea tree oil industry with tree breeding and market-development opportunities, the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) also supports innovation in on-farm practices. One focus with important productivity and profitability implications has been control options for insect pests, weeds and fungal disease.

THE RESEARCH As pest, weed and fungal disease control

challenges emerged in tea tree plantations, the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC), in conjunction with growers, funded Peter Entwistle, an agronomist with North East Agricultural Services, to investigate alternative plant protection strategies.

The industry has experienced difficulties, especially as recent wet seasons have necessitated greater levels of pest control spraying. As a result, resistance has emerged to some of the limited range of ‘hard’ insecticides available against the major insect pest of tea tree – leaf-eating Pyrgo beetles (Pyrgoides tigrina) – while the population of beneficial insects has declined.

Weed control too has become harder in recent seasons and the incursion of a new fungal disease, myrtle rust, created the need to field test the fungicides made available by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA).

The RIRDC project has made substantial gains in fortifying plant-protection options through the development of new strategies.

These include: APVMA registration of two ‘softer’ insecticides (abamectin and indoxacarb) to control Pyrgo beetle in tea tree plantations in time for the 2011-12 growing season;

permit application submitted to the APVMA for two chemicals (simazine and metalochlor) as a post-harvest-applied pre-emergent herbicide mix;

permit application submitted to APVMA for linuron to control a weed (Cuphea carthagenensis) with no current control option once post-harvest knockdowns have been applied; and

the myrtle rust fungicide trial found no fungicide residues were detectable in samples taken six weeks after application.“Abamectin has proven to be very effective

in controlling Pyrgo and leaving a lot of beneficial insects in the crop, such as ladybirds and predatory shield bugs,” Peter Entwistle says. “Indoxocarb provided similar plant protection effects but use has been restricted for plantations that also graze livestock.

“As to the herbicide mix, it will provide growers with another tool against difficult-to-control broadleaf and sedge weeds in the early coppice stage of plantations.”

The tiny seeds are germinated in specialist nurseries. The hard exterior coat is softened either by soaking seeds in aerated water or mixing with a diluent (usually fine sand).

Seedlings are grown for 2 to 4 months before they are transplanted into prepared fields at planting rates of 25,000 to 35,000 trees per hectare.

FACTS AND FIGURES


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PEST AND WEED MANAGEMENT INNOVATION

“On the whole, I can say I have better and safer chemicals to use on my farm and I look forward to more reliable production and a healthier plantation as a result of this research.”– glenn donnelly, tea tree grower, northern nsw

The trees’ entire aerial growth is mechanically harvested annually using modified forage harvesters that chop leaves and twigs into a finely cut mass ready for steam distillation of the oil.

The trees regenerate quickly and yields improve as they establish a strong network of roots and a coppice of several shoots.

Tea trees are susceptible to damage from some insect pests and oil yields can be reduced by drought and prolonged flooding, although they can tolerate some degree of inundation.

The trees quickly form a dense cover and grow to a height of 2 to 2.5 metres in a year before being harvested for the first time.

Myrtle rust and Pyrgo beetle will be better controlled using options identified and tested by RIRDC-funded research.

INDUSTRY IMPACTS Just east of Casino, Glenn Donnelly

currently has 140 hectares of tea tree under irrigated production. His 15-year involvement with the tea tree industry means he is well acquainted with the industry’s scourge – the Pyrgo beetle.

He describes the beetle as the industry’s most significant and persistent pest, both the beetle and its larvae causing production problems as they feed on the leaves of his tea tree plantation.

“The RIRDC projects mean growers now have indoxacarb and abamectin to use against insect pests,” Glenn Donnelly says. “These chemicals have proven to be effective and economical. I don’t have to use as much chemical, which should improve profitability as well as the environment in which I grow tea tree.

“Importantly, I know what is an effective rate to ensure it is safe for me as a producer and also for my customers. These products are more

YIELD LOSSES

WEEDSup to 47%

PYRGO BEETLEup to 80%

ESTIMATED FUTURE MYRTLE RUST CONTROL COST: $100 to $300 a hectare

effective for use in an integrated pest management program than our previous options.”

Better weed control options also stand to deliver production benefits by reducing competition for soil moisture, nutrients and other limited resources.

“As a result of Peter’s research, I should soon have a better range of chemicals to use to address weed issues as well,” he says. “Without the weeds, the crop is much more productive.”

The incursion into Australia of a new fungal disease, myrtle rust, adds a new dimension to protecting tea tree plantations.

Glenn Donnelly is grateful for the research findings into the fungicides permitted for emergency use against myrtle rust. That they neither leave detectable residues nor adversely affect the trees is an important finding that provides peace of mind at a troubling time. He is now able to respond to protect his trees should the need arise.


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TUDY ADDING VALUE

THROUGH BREEDING

AT A GLANCEHigher oil yielding tea tree varieties developed through the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) funded breeding program have allowed producers to progress from bush harvesting to an efficient and profitable plantation-based industry.

THE RESEARCH The Rural Industries R&D Corporation

(RIRDC) has made it possible for the Australian tea tree oil industry to establish a breeding program that has made rapid genetic gains in oil yield and quality.

The program was established in 1993 and first released improved seed in 1997. From the outset, breeding was a collaborative effort between John Doran from CSIRO (now an independent consultant) and Gary Baker from the NSW Department of Primary Industries. They remain at the program’s helm.

“The program has continually released improved seed to the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA) since 1997,” Gary Baker says. “Oil yields have been progressively increased from 148 kilograms per hectare (the industry average in the 1990s) to about 250 kilograms per hectare through the release of seed developed by the program.

“Future releases are expected to further increase yields. With such outstanding gains, industry adoption of seed has been excellent.”

They based the program on a broad collection of tea tree seed that sampled the genetic biodiversity of the species. To reliably select trees that pass high-yielding traits to progeny, the scientists developed a cost-effective selection tool.

“We found genetic gain in yield could be achieved by measuring the oil concentration in the leaves of individual trees,” Gary Baker says. “It is a trait that is strongly inherited, passed on from parent to progeny, and does not vary greatly with environmental differences in growing conditions.”

The program also established its own seedling seed orchards, often in environments that favour high flowering rates to maximise seed production to supply growers. The orchards allow the breeders to apply a lot of

Principal Investigator on the RIRDC-funded breeding program Gary Baker, of the NSW Department of Primary Industries, has helped the tea tree industry has grown into an efficient and profitable plantation-based industry.


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Tea tree oil is sourced from the cultivation of Melaleuca alternifolia, in the coastal region of northern NSW and Queensland’s Atherton Tablelands.

“RIRDC has done a tremendous job, funding and supporting the breeding program for many years until the industry was established enough that it could start contributing.”– richard davis, grower and host of a seedling seed orchard, west wyalong, nsw

Seed sourced from the rudimentary selection of bush trees limited plantation production to about 148 kilograms of oil per hectare.

Although produced and marketed in Australia since the 1920s, until the 1990s tea tree oil was sourced from bush harvesting.

selection pressure, culling low performing trees and crossing the best yielding lines.

“We are now into our third generation of seedling seed orchards,” Gary Baker says. “Every generation has seen an improvement in oil yield while maintaining oil quality. We also have a number of clones under selection. The advantage with clones is that growers can achieve maximum yields from the first year of planting, whereas seedlings take a few years to mature.”

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE Even by local standards, Richard Davis’s

willingness to contribute his services to benefit the tea tree oil industry is notable for its endurance. For 20 years, this grower has also chaired the RIRDC breeding committee.

“The breeding program has helped the industry progress from harvesting bush tea tree to plantation-based production – a move

FACTS AND FIGURES

needed to meet growing demand for the oil,” he says. “While the decision had the full support of the grower association, ATTIA, it was really driven by RIRDC.”

Of the suggested proposals, ATTIA chose a classic breeding strategy that made rapid gain based on the exploitation of natural biodiversity.

“Starting with a broad genetic base means a high initial rate of gain,” Richard Davis says. “It provided a huge increase in oil yield over standard seed, which translated into huge productivity and financial benefits to growers.”

The strategy also means breeders can go back into the gene pool for additional traits as they become needed, including resistance to pests and diseases.

As the industry matures it has contributed more funds to the breeding program, with ATTIA currently raising half the program’s costs. RIRDC’s support, however, remains crucial as the industry rides market highs and lows and growers endeavour to bring demand and supply into balance.

“Without RIRDC’s involvement and support – both financial and managerial – there is no way the breeding program could have continued unabated for the past 20 years,” Richard Davis says.


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RETURN ON TOTAL R&D INVESTMENT (2010)

COST$1.2 million

NET VALUE$6.1 million

ANNUAL GAIN TO

GROWERS$10.8 million

(oil priced at $35 per kilogram)

BENEFIT COST RATIO5 to 1

Biochar refers to biomass that has been charred with limited oxygen.

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SUSTAINBILITY GAINS

AT A GLANCERural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) is coordinating an on-farm trial to validate tea tree farming practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption while increasing carbon sequestration in the soil. Innovations stand to improve tea tree plantation profitability and sustainability.

THE PROJECT To support the development of a low-

emission tea tree industry, the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) is coordinating a three-year trial of innovations to farming practices (due for completion in mid 2015). Under investigation are the production of biochar from leaf waste and inter-row cropping with nitrogen-fixing legumes.

Hosting the trials are four NSW farms that encompass the major soil types and environments used for Australian tea tree production. Growers involved are John Frazier (Main Camp) in Rappville, Rob Dyason and Glenn Donnelly in Casino, and John Seccombe in Coraki. It is envisaged these properties will continue as broadacre demonstration sites following the trial.

Dr Terry Rose from Southern Cross University who heads the project explains that biochar refers to a charcoal-like substance that can hold carbon in soils while improving soil fertility.

“A cutting-edge treatment to convert leaf waste into biochar has been selected for the

tea tree trial,” he says. “Called pyrolysation, it involves burning the waste at high temperature in the absence of oxygen.”

Currently, 21,000 tonnes of leaf waste is produced following oil extraction. It is exported from farms, primarily as garden mulch. This nutrient loss means the industry relies heavily on imported fertilisers that are costly, cause high nitrous oxide emissions and do little to build soil carbon.

“The trial aims to establish whether converting leaf waste into biochar can reduce soil-nutrient loss from tea tree plantations, fertiliser application and greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr Rose says

Further gains to soil fertility are being sought by testing inter-row legume cropping. Besides providing a crop, legumes act as a natural fertiliser since their roots can effectively fix nitrogen in the soil while further decreasing nitrous oxide emissions. The project aims to compare the effectiveness of eight different legume types.

“Results that are highly relevant and practical are pivotal, and this will remain the key focus given the project is being driven by industry,” Dr Rose says.

Efforts are also underway to develop a decision-support tool that allows growers to quantify financial benefits through either

The ‘terra preta’ (‘black soil’) found in the Amazon Basin is an example of the fertility and productivity of biochar-rich soils.

In some cases biochar can remain stable in the soil for hundreds to thousands of years, providing organic routes for carbon sequestration.

Biochar in soils can help increase moisture-holding capacity, improve fertiliser efficiency, increase organic matter and improve habitat for beneficial soil microbes.

FACTS AND FIGURES


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PROSPERING WITH SUSTAINBILITY GAINS

“The future of Australia’s tea tree industry relies on improving long-term productivity while increasing sustainability and resilience to climate change.”– rob dyason, tea tree oil producer, nsw

Biochar has to be prepared and incorporated into soils correctly to obtain the benefits.

sequestering soil carbon or reducing emissions of nitrous oxide.

Collaborating on the trial alongside Southern Cross University are the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The project, coordinated by RIRDC, is funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under the Carbon Farming Futures – Action on the Ground program.

INDUSTRY IMPACTS Rob Dyason is one of four tea tree growers

hosting the trials to improve the industry’s carbon footprint in ways that improve soil fertility and farm profitability.

He has been aware of biochar and its possibilities for agriculture for quite some time; an interest that saw him engage directly with researchers at Southern Cross University. He sees it as especially relevant to his own farming practices, given the large amount of

nutrient-rich biomass that is lost following tea tree oil extraction.

“The biomass is largely sold at a price I regard as too low into the landscape market, mainly on the Gold Coast,” he says. “I think that is a waste.”

He also sees applications in mitigating carbon emissions, given the energy intensity of the tea tree industry, especially harvesting and distilling, which are dependent on fossil fuels.

“There are a lot of positives for tea tree plantations from the use of biochar relative to a number of production challenges,” Rob Dyason says. “Besides benefits in off-setting the energy required to make tea tree oil, the sale of biochar or the use of it on-farm is either going to be profitable or good for the soil.”

Trials, coordinated by RIRDC, are taking place to validate environmentally sustainable farming practices.


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CREATION AND BENEFITS OF BIOCHAR

CO2

phot

osyn

thes

is

resp

irat

ion

carb

on re

leas

e 5%

50%

25%

BIOCHARCarbon negative

Biochar sequestration: reduced emissions from biomass

BIOENERGYCarbon neutral

Biochar sequestration:

reduced emissions from fossil fuels

Net carbon withdrawal from atmosphere 20%

pyrolysis

The ATTIA Code of Practice outlines a quality management system that begins on the farm and continues throughout processing and the supply chain to the end-user.

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EXPORTS

AT A GLANCESupport from the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) has assisted the tea tree oil industry develop, implement and audit a Code of Practice for tea tree oil quality, which benefits consumers and provides enormous marketing and regulatory value to growers.

THE RESEARCH Based on rigorous scientific evidence,

the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA) developed a Code of Practice in 2005 to ensure a common standard of quality for tea tree oil production. With support from the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC), ATTIA’s industry development officer Tony Larkman has since assisted producers with adopting the quality control system and auditing compliance.

Uptake of the standards has reached more than 85 per cent of ATTIA members who collectively produce about 90 per cent of Australian tea tree oil.

“Growers are now marketing their product as Code of Practice accredited, 100 per cent pure Australian tea tree oil,” Tony Larkman says. “It is an innovation that helps maintain credibility with consumers and regulators, especially since our Code of Practice works seamlessly with almost all other quality assurance systems.”

The Code of Practice was included in the industry’s submission to the European Scientific

Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) to counter safety concerns. The SCCP found that: “Based on the information given, the SCCP is of the opinion that, on the basis of the ATTIA Code of Practice and the Guidance document, safe processing and storing of Tea Tree Oil can be achieved which can be controlled by measuring p-cymene content.”

Adoption of the code imposed few additional costs on the industry, including no major audit costs, and was facilitated by farm visits by Tony Larkman.

“Almost all the growers were already doing everything they needed to comply – looking after the oil once distilled and making sure it does not become contaminated or degraded,” Tony Larkman says. “The major operational difference was to maintain records so that they could demonstrate compliance; I developed a number of documents designed to assist with that.”

The industry has now acquired a taste for proactive engagement with the regulatory bodies that ensure market access. Tony Larkman says that given the volume of new research results, ATTIA is keen to compile the data as part of a new submission to the SCCP.

“The original SCCP opinion restricted tea

The Code of Practice protects an industry whose farm-gate value was in excess of $21 million in 2010.

Commercial standards for tea tree oil are determined by international standard ISO 4730 (2004) and the identical Australian standard AS 2782-2009 (Oil of Melaleuca, Terpinen-4-ol type).

FACTS AND FIGURES

The 2005 Code of Practice ensures a common standard of quality for tea tree oil production.


14

PROTECTING EXPORTS

“RIRDC has been a great friend of the tea tree oil industry over quite a long time. It is a source of continuing surprise to me that they have been so committed to assisting a small rural industry to get on its feet and remain competitive.”– rob dyason, tea tree oil producer, nsw

tree oil in cosmetics to one per cent or less,” he says. “The goal in the next five years is to submit the new data and have the opinion updated to better reflect what we know about tea tree oil’s properties.”

INDUSTRY IMPACTS Rob Dyason runs a family farm near Casino

in northern NSW that harvests and distils tea tree oil from a 144-hectare plantation. He planted his first block of tea trees in 1979 and his tea tree oil business has been in operation ever since.

At first wary that a Code of Practice could introduce a two-tier market, he has since adopted the standards and believes they have benefited the industry.

“The regulatory situation in Europe is such that the industry is obliged to provide reasonable evidence that tea tree oil is safe, uncontaminated and that it would reach a certain standard for pesticide residues,” he says.

“As part of a lodgement with the European regulators, the industry undertook to develop and implement a Code of Practice. It was a proactive move since it was becoming evident that marketing of tea tree oil would be significantly assisted by general compliance to quality control standards.”

When he adopted the standards, he found his business was already compliant with a number of requirements, limiting the number of changes he had to introduce. He has remained compliant ever since, even as auditing of the Code of Practice gradually becomes more rigorous.

“The reason we are doing that is to try to continually improve the standard to something that is readily acceptable by the external standards organisations,” Rob Dyason says. “As an industry, we now try to stay right up there as far as standards and compliance goes.”

GROWTH IN THE TEA TREE OIL INDUSTRY, 1982 TO 2010

175% Annual production

Annual export value 147%

4110%Total export value

Total production 4900%


15

CA

SE S

TUDY THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS

AND SAFETY RESEARCH

AT A GLANCEWith the support of the Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) research has been undertaken to demonstrate the potential of tea tree oil in a range of therapeutic uses. Trials of tea tree oil have been conducted in clinical settings, aimed at substantiating prior work co-funded by RIRDC, that clearly demonstrated the anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties of the oil.

THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS Research funded by the Rural Industries

R&D Corporation (RIRDC) has helped demonstrate the efficacy, safety and stability of tea tree oil.1

One researcher with ties to this work that date back 20 years is Professor Tom Riley of The University of Western Australia (UWA), who heads the Tea Tree Oil Research Group.

He says that research undertaken by UWA has demonstrated that tea tree oil has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. UWA is also continuing work to determine whether the oil offers new therapeutic opportunities for skin cancer after some promising preliminary results.

Professor Riley says many of these properties lend themselves well to new skin treatment options for hospital-based patients.

A current research project being led by Dr Manfred Beilharz (UWA) is undertaking trials across Australia in the use of tea tree oil to protect patients from skin damage during radiation therapy.

“A most promising new function of tea tree oil is countering methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), also known as hospital super bug or golden staph,” Professor Riley says. “A clinical trial at Westmead Hospital in Sydney found that a tea tree oil body wash is as effective as conventional washes.”2

Anti-microbial effects have also been demonstrated against other problematic bacteria like Streptococci and Escherichia coli and even fungi like dermatophytes and Candida albicans that respectively cause tinea and vaginal thrush.

Professor Riley’s colleague at The University of Western Australia, Dr Christine Carson, was the first to show that tea tree oil has significant anti-viral activity against the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores.3

Another line of research has found success exploiting the oil’s anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties when included in wound dressing.

A 2007 DOSSIER SUBMITTED TO THE EUROPEAN UNION’S SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PRODUCTS (SCCP) TO CLARIFY SAFETY CONCERNS AROUND THE USE OF TEA TREE OIL HAS GENERATED CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS TO INDUSTRY.

COST$320,000

NET VALUE$23.5 million 74.6 to 1

591%

Benefit cost ratio

Internal rate of return


16

The safety, stability and efficacy of tea tree oil has been established by RIRDC and has great potential for hospital-based care.

THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS AND SAFETY RESEARCH

ESTABLISHING SAFETY STANDARDS FOR HUMAN USE

In a direct response to a request by the consumer products regulator in Europe in December 2004, the Australian Tea Tree Industry co-funded a series of studies and reports with RIRDC to demonstrate the safety of tea tree oil as a consumer product ingredient.

When used and stored properly, studies confirmed 100 per cent tea tree oil, used topically, does not pose a risk to consumers.4

Correctly formulated, consumer products containing tea tree oil also pose no risk.

Should tea tree oil be used as an active ingredient in an intended medicine or drug therapy, further and more extensive studies are required to secure a registration from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA; see box).

The studies also found that exposure of tea tree oil to air and light can oxidise some of the oil’s components and could cause sensitised skin in susceptible individuals.5

As a result, the tea tree oil industry is unanimous in its recommendations that oxidised tea tree oil should not be used, and provides guidelines for labelling of product and use after opening.

The Australian Tea Tree Oil Industry Association has developed a Code of Practice and guidelines to ensure the quality of tea tree oil supplied to the market. They are also active in promoting information about the correct formulation, storage and use of the oil to manufacturers and consumers.

Data supplied in the industry’s response to the European consumer products regulator (the SCCP) satisfied the regulator about the safety of tea tree oil as a cosmetic ingredient. Toxicology data proved especially valuable in challenging the SCCP that the use of undiluted tea tree oil in cosmetic products may be unsafe.6

The results from the SCCP dossier have been summarised comprehensively, with evidence from scientifically-peer-reviewed journal articles, in a report by RIRDC to make them accessible to a wide range of interested producers of tea tree oil and tea tree oil products, companies, regulatory authorities and researchers.

The return to industry of RIRDC investment in preparing the dossier on safety for the SCCP is extremely high, according to independent assessment by Agtrans Research economists Peter Chudleigh and Sarah Simpson. They found a benefit-cost ratio of 74.6 to 1 and concluded:

“The very high benefit-cost ratio is partly a function of the low cost at which the research was carried out, and the very high proportion of the total tea tree oil market that was protected by undertaking the research.”

continued on page 18 >

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is responsible for regulating therapeutic goods including medicines, medical devices, blood and blood products.

This includes goods that people rely on every day, such as sunscreens, through to goods used to treat serious conditions, for example prescription medicines, vaccines, blood products and implants.

Essentially, any product for which therapeutic claims are made must be listed, registered or included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) before it can be supplied in Australia.

Currently there are over 80 items listed as medicines on this register with tea tree oil or Melaleuca alternifolia as an active ingredient.

The TGA evaluates therapeutic

goods before they are marketed and monitors products once they are on the market. It also assesses the suitability of medicines and medical devices for export from Australia.

The TGA also regulates manufacturers of therapeutic goods to ensure they meet acceptable standards of manufacturing quality. It has a team of manufacturing inspectors that audit manufacturing facilities around the world to ensure that products supplied in Australia are of high quality.

The TGA administers the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989. This legislation provides a framework for a risk management approach that allows the Australian community to have timely access to therapeutic goods that are consistently safe, effective and of high quality.

THE THERAPEUTIC GOODS ADMINISTRATION


17

“Unless I can develop new tea tree oil products and address regulatory concerns then I am self-limiting my opportunities for sales. The R&D that addresses these issues works to build a reliable, reproducible picture at a regulatory, consumer and manufacturer level that tea tree oil is a beneficial ingredient to include in a product.”– pat bolster, tea tree grower and product developer, northern nsw

CA

SE S

TUDY


INDUSTRY IMPACTS Pat and Paul Bolster of Tweed Valley Tea

Tree are acutely aware that their business stands or falls on their ability to find markets for the oil they produce. Experience garnered over many years leads Pat Bolster to conclude that selling tea tree oil is quite unlike most other agricultural produce.

“People buy tea tree oil because they believe it will do something not because it tastes good or makes nice leather or fibre,” Pat Bolster says.

“No one is going to come by the farm gate and buy what you produce,” she says. “You cannot be ignorant about your market and survive. To sell my oil I have to literally go door knocking to find buyers either here or overseas.

But wherever I go knocking, it is on the same doors as everybody else.”

Validating the oil’s biologically active properties has been essential to marketing tea tree oil, especially its anti-microbial activity. While novel uses for the oil are under development, it is skin care products that have been the industry’s commercial mainstay, especially for oil exported to Europe and the US.

“When regulatory issues came up in Europe and impacted our farming, it highlighted that market issues are just as important – maybe even more so – as projects that address on-farm productivity,” Pat Bolster says.

“So while the breeding program gave us huge rewards and dropped our cost of production, it has helped us enormously that RIRDC has been willing to apply research to address issues underpinning product development including safety and efficacy.”

Safety and efficacy data presented to the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) helped retain European market access for Australian tea tree oil producers.

About 50 per cent of Australia’s annual production of tea tree oil is imported into Europe, averaging about 250 tonnes annually.

The average annual farmgate value of tea tree oil exports to Europe is $8.75 million (valued at $35 per kilogram).

FACTS AND FIGURES

Over the past 21 years two of the world’s largest tea tree oil manufacturers have together sold more than 150 million bottles of oil but registered only minor complaints, at a rate of just 0.0016 per cent.

REFERENCES1. Carson, C.F., Hammer, K.A., and Riley, T.V. 2006. Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil: a review of antimicrobial and other medicinal properties. Clin Microbiol Rev 19: 50-62.2. Caelli, M., Porteous, J., Carson, C.F., Heller, R. and Riley, T.V. 2000. Tea tree oil as an alternative topical decolonisation agent for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Hosp Infect 46: 236-237.3. Carson, C.F., Ashton, L., Dry, L., Smith, D.W. and Riley, T.V. 2001. Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil gel (6%) for the treatment of recurrent herpes labialis. J Antimicrob Chemother 48: 450-451.4. Greig, J.E., Carson, C.F., Stuckey, M.S. and Riley, T.V. 2000. Prevalence of contact sensitivity to the European standard series in a self-selected population. Australas J Dermatol 41: 86-89.5. Stability of Tea Tree Oil Study undertaken by Southern Cross University – Published as a part of the Safety Dossier.6. Hammer, K.A., Carson, C.F., Riley, T.V. and Nielsen, J.B. 2006. A review of the toxicity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil. Food Chem Toxicol 44: 616-625.


18


CODE PROJECT PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

PRJ-000002 Use of tea tree oil against buffalo flies in cattle Lex Turner

PRJ-000005 Effects of tea tree oil on microbial adhesion Kate Hammer

PRJ-000009 Anticancer activity of tea tree oil Thomas Riley

PRJ-000451 Effects of tea tree oil on biofilm formation Kate Hammer

PRJ-000459 Tea tree oil to prevent staphylococcal infections in dialysis patients Thomas Riley

PRJ-000500 Improved tea tree varieties for a competitive market Trevor Olesen

PRJ-000559 Breeding and cloning tea tree for greater profitability Ian Southwell

PRJ-000648 Stability testing of tea tree oil David Leach

PRJ-000734 Preparation of SCCP submission for TTO – Stage 1 John Issa

PRJ-000767 Allergy to tea tree oil: qualitative aspects and risk assessment Susi Freeman

PRJ-000819 Skin sensitisation: local lymph node assay Patricia Bolster

PRJ-000820 Diagnostic tools for quality enhancement in Australian essential oil industries William Foley

PRJ-000822 Pilot study of tea tree oil in the decolonisation of MRSA positive wounds Christine Carson

PRJ-002334 Tea tree oil for control of sheep ectoparasites Peter James

PRJ-002395 Anticancer activity of Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) oil Thomas Riley

PRJ-002403 Microbial adaptation and tolerance to tea tree oil Christine Carson

PRJ-002803 Genetic tools for improving Melaleuca alternifolia oils William Foley

PRJ-002804 Advances in the genetics of essential oils; tools for industry diagnostics William Foley

PRJ-003529 Can tea tree oil prevent the development of antibiotic resistance? Kate Hammer

PRJ-003689 Highly improved tea tree varieties to maximise profit Trevor Olesen

PRJ-003939 Use of tea tree oil handwash products to remove bacterial spores from hands Thomas Riley

PRJ-004221 Tea tree oil communication project Tony Larkman

PRJ-005131 Anti-tumour mechanisms of action and prophylactic activity of tea tree oil Manfred Beilharz

PRJ-005628 Advances in terpene genetics for the tea tree and Eucalyptus oil industries William Foley

PRJ-005771 Improving the sustainability of Plant Protection in TTO production systems Peter Entwistle

PRJ-005782 Impact of tea tree essential oil on antibiotic resistance development Kate Hammer

PRJ-005801 Genetic markers for yield improvement in tea tree William Foley

PRJ-005829 Anticancer activity of tea tree oil Sara Greay

PRJ-006245 In vitro activity and clinical efficacy of tea tree oil products against acne Kate Hammer

PRJ-007750 Tea Tree Oil R&D Plan 2012–17 Michael Clarke

PRJ-008456 Using tea tree residues and legumes to develop a low-emission tea tree industry Terry Rose

PRJ-008802 Tea tree oil economic analysis of funding models (part of the 5-year plan) Michael Clarke

Rural Industries Research and Development CorporationLevel 2, 15 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600

PO Box 4776, KINGSTON ACT 2604

P 02 6271 4100 F 02 6271 4199E [email protected] W w ww.rirdc.gov.au

Rural Industries Research and Development CorporationLevel 2, 15 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600


P 02 6271 4100 F 02 6271 4199E [email protected] W w ww.rirdc.gov.au


19

RIRDC TEA TREE OIL PROJECTSMarch 2013

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

Level 2, 15 National Circuit, BARTON ACT 2600


P 02 6271 4100

F 02 6271 4199

E [email protected]

W www.rirdc.gov.au

Bookshop 1300 634 313


20

The Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) proudly sponsors the next generation of agricultural scientists and promotes technical innovation by awarding postgraduate scholarships for both PhD and Masters Degrees that contribute to the Corporation’s research priorities.

Joining the program is Hamish Webb, whose PhD studies will contribute to the Tea Tree Oil Program. His project – entitled ‘The genetics of oil yield in Melaleuca alternifolia’ – is being undertaken at the Australian National University under the supervision of Professor Bill Foley.

The aim is to investigate myrtle rust resistance and how expression of the commercially important terpene-biosynthesis genes changes upon infection.

POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

RIRDC scholarships are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents holding an honours degree or equivalent in an appropriate discipline.

Applications from mature age students with experience in rural industries are also encouraged.

Application forms can be downloaded from the RIRDC website at www.rirdc.gov.au or by contacting RIRDC on 02 6271 4100.

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