One method of improving the productivity of both animals and crops is by growing herbaceous legumes, either in annual rotation with a cereal or after wet-season cereal production, when land is traditionally left fallow and allowed to grow weeds. ACIAR-supported research in eastern Indonesia has shown that feeding forage legumes to cattle results in increased weight gains compared with feeding native forages; and that nitrogen provided by the legumes improves maize production in subsequent crops.

This is the Indonesian translation of a hatchery manual that provides guidelines for the production of tiger grouper fingerlings. It outlines best-practice methods for broodstock maintenance, spawning, egg incubation and rearing of larvae through to 2–3 cm, fully metamorphosed juveniles. The manual provides a valuable aid for improving the availability of grouper seed stock to support sustainable small-scale aquaculture in the Asia–Pacific region.

This is the Mandarin translation of MN119, a manual that aims to assist plant health scientists to devise surveillance programs and to transmit specimens to the laboratory for identification and preservation.

Sweetpotato is a major food crop in Papua New Guinea, with about 2.9 million tonnes grown each year. But sweetpotato is prone to pests and diseases, particularly viruses, which can significantly reduce yields. Because there are no varieties known to be resistant to viruses, the next best solution is to produce planting material that is free from infection, and to make this readily available to growers. This manual is aimed at researchers and technicians, and describes how to test for sweetpotato viruses and to keep vines free from infection.

Two ACIAR-funded forestry projects in Vanuatu have researched the growth and management of whitewood (Endospermum medulosum) and the improved availability of whitewood germplasm. Whitewood is a fast-growing hardwood species in the natural forest that is well suited to plantation and agroforestry situations, and is able to survive cyclones without major damage. Improved knowledge of whitewood silviculture should enhance the benefits to both the landowners who grow the trees and the processing industries that will utilise them. This special issue of International Forestry Review deals with a diverse series of insights derived from these ACIAR projects in Vanuatu, covering the constraints, establishment, silviculture, genetics and marketing opportunities.

This issue of the Lao Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, published by the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, concentrates on rice. The focus on rice production in Laos is changing from food security to commercial production. ACIAR has funded research in Lao PDR on improved rice varieties and rice-based farming systems, and was pleased to be able to offer support for this special issue of the journal.

This is the Indonesian translation of a manual that provides practical guidelines for those engaged in the nursery culture of groupers in Indonesia as well as elsewhere in the tropics. The nursery phase is an intermediate step between hatchery production of seed (ACIAR Monographs No. 149 and 149a) and stocking of grow-out farms. It involves growing delicate juvenile fish of 2–3 cm long through to physically robust animals of 5–10 cm long.

In response to the Royal Cambodian Government’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy (2003–2005), ACIAR funded research to develop sustainable farming systems for crops, with a focus on maize, soybean, sesame, mungbean, peanut and cowpea in upland areas of Kampong Cham and Battambang provinces. The aim was to help reduce poverty and contribute to food security at household and national levels through the development of technologies and opportunities for the production of non-rice upland crops. For hard copies please contact ACIAR

This manual, originally published in 2002, describes the procedures needed to produce and test live, thermostable avirulent I-2 vaccine against Newcastle disease (ND) of poultry. It has formed the basis of practical training workshops for scientists and technicians in vaccine-producing laboratories in Africa and Asia. This second edition, updated on the basis of practical experience over the last decade, has been published due to increasing interest in local production of ND vaccine.

The Global Framework on Climate Services (GFCS) is a global partnership of governments and organisations that produce and use climate information and services. It seeks to enable researchers and the producers and users of information to join forces to improve the quality and quantity of climate services worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Climate ExChange, copublished by Tudor Rose and the United Nations World Meteorological Organization, explains the benefits of the GFCS across all walks of life, including agriculture, health, water, energy and transport.

  ACIAR has supported research into the growing and marketing of sandalwood in Vanuatu. This guide provides practical advice on how to grow sandalwood, including site and host selection, spacing, weeding, disease management, pruning and harvesting. Sandalwood’s high value and small size make it unique among forestry trees in that it can be incorporated into smaller ornamental gardens as well as larger commercial plantings. This guide will help the people of Vanuatu and other Pacific island countries to participate in this lucrative rural industry.

Rice in Laos (Lao translation)

  Khmer translation of Sophy and the vegetable patch. This book is for primary school children for use in the ‘Life Skills’ part of the Cambodian school curriculum. It will teach children and their families about human nutritional needs; how these can be met through eating indigenous vegetables; and how to create their own garden so that they can grow their own healthy food year round. For copies, please contact ACIAR

Obtaining reliable species composition and abundance data from catches is essential for effective fishery management. Field guides are needed to assist fishery biologist with species identification, but no such identification guide to sharks and rays of Indonesia existed prior to this publication. This comprehensive guide, written in both English and Indonesian, is the first of its kind to provide identifications of the sharks and rays marketed in Indonesia.This is a bilingual publication.

  This book is for primary school children for use in the ‘Life Skills’ part of the Cambodian school curriculum. It will teach children and their families about human nutritional needs; how these can be met through eating indigenous vegetables; and how to create their own garden so that they can grow their own healthy food year round.

Future perfect was copublished by Tudor Rose and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs to coincide with Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place in Brazil in June 2012. This book seeks to raise awareness of what sustainable development means to people in different parts of the world, and to inspire all stakeholders—governments, societies, the UN system and other intergovernmental organisations, and private citizens—to make their own contributions and commitments to a sustainable future.

This manual provides practical guidelines for those engaged in the nursery culture of groupers in Indonesia as well as elsewhere in the tropics. The nursery phase is an intermediate step between hatchery production of seed (ACIAR Monograph No. 149) and stocking of grow-out farms. It involves growing delicate juvenile fish of 2–3 cm long through to physically robust animals of 5–10 cm long. The manual provides information on husbandry of groupers in the nursery phase, to reduce losses due to disease and cannibalism, and thus to increase the profitability of grouper nursing.

This hatchery manual provides guidelines for the production of tiger grouper fingerlings. It outlines best-practice methods for broodstock maintenance, spawning, egg incubation and rearing of larvae through to 2–3 cm, fully metamorphosed juveniles. The manual provides a valuable aid for improving the availability of grouper seed stock to support sustainable small-scale aquaculture in the Asia–Pacific region.