Matthew Wheal

• BSc(Hons.) PhD
• Technician at Australian Wine Research Institute

The relatively new multi-isotope calibration (MICal) method was applied to wine samples, measuring elements with potential impacts in sensory perception, wine production and the authentication of origin. Elements in the trace range (100–5000 mg L 1: Cu, Fe, Sr and Zn) and ultra-trace range (1–10 mg L 1: Cr, Ni, Pb and Sn) were analysed by ICP-MS an...

Twenty-five species of fish, shrimp and prawn from local markets in Bangladesh were analysed for concentrations of total Fe, haem Fe and non-haem Fe by ICP-MS. Total Fe and non-haem Fe concentrations were measured in nitric acid-digested samples and haem Fe was extracted using acidified 80% acetone for 60 min. Total Fe concentrations ranged from 0....

With the growth of the global population, the demand for better living standards and the accelerating use of grain for biofuel production, the pressures on global grain supplies are becoming immensely high. To satisfy the growing, worldwide demand for grain, it is necessary to improve the productivity of existing farmland. This is a very challengin...

One of the most important viticultural characteristics of a grapevine rootstock is the ability to form roots on dormant lignified canes (rootstrike). North American species of Vitis are the primary source of germplasm for grapevine rootstocks and vary widely in their rate of rootstrike. Breeders have hybridized grape species in order to introgress...

A novel closed-tube nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide digestion method was developed for inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis of plant tissue and tested on six botanical reference materials. A suite of 18 mineral elements commonly found in plant tissues as either essential elements (B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, N...

A unique method for chloride analysis of botanical samples by axially viewed ICP-OES with a modified optical system is described. Calibration on the most sensitive wavelength (134.7 nm) between 1 and 200 mg Cl L−1 yielded a curvilinear relationship (R2 = 1.000) across three orders of magnitude. The instrumental limits of detection in solution of 0....

K e y w o r d s : seed, germination, Vitis berlandieri, Vitis cinerea. Introduction: Propagation of grapevine by seed is gen-erally used only in breeding programs to develop new vari-eties for commercial use. The long generation time of grape-vines necessitates breeding programs to sow their seeds as soon as possible. Few reports exist regarding ge...

K e y w o r d s : seed, germination, Vitis berlandieri, Vitis cinerea. Introduction: Propagation of grapevine by seed is gen-erally used only in breeding programs to develop new vari-eties for commercial use. The long generation time of grape-vines necessitates breeding programs to sow their seeds as soon as possible. Few reports exist regarding ge...

An HPLC method to quantitate phytometallophores (phytosiderophores) exuded from roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) growing in nutrient solution culture was developed. 9-Fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOC) derivatives of phytometallophores were separated on a C18 reverse-phase column using a sodium acetate (pH 7.2) and acetonitrile-methanol gradi...

Root tip extension was used as a measure of wheat root response to exposure to the sulfonylurea herbicide chlorsulfuron. Plants pre-grown in low-zinc (0.2 μmZnHEDTA) solutions were placed in a perspex chamber with nutrient solution on both sides of a partition separating the root tip from the rest of the plant. The root tip was exposed to different...

Two Triticum aestivum (Excalibur and Gatcher) and one Triticum turgidum conv. durum (Durati) genotypes (differing in the ability to grow and yield well in environments with low Zn availability) were grown in chelatebuffered, complete nutrient solutions providing either deficient or sufficient Zn supply and supplemented with suiphonylurea herbicide...

Kinetic parameters of Zn uptake were determined for wheat plants (Triticum aestivum cvs Excalibur and Gatcher, and Triticum turgidum conv. durum cv. Durati) pre-grown at deficient or sufficient Zn supply and with 0 or 4 mg m-3 sulphonylurea herbicide chlorsulfuron (2-chloro-N-(((4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl) amino)carbonyl)-benzenesulphona...

Wheat plants differing in zinc efficiency (Excalibur; Zn-efficient, Gatcher and Durati; Zn-inefficient) were grown in HEDTA chelate-buffered nutrient solution in controlled conditions and supplied with 0 or 40 g chlorsulfuron L-1 . Zinc uptake rates of 12-d-old plants were measured over 80 or 90 minutes using65 Zn added to nutrient solutions. Incre...

Australian honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) and other species were observed foraging for nectar of Astroloma conostephioides in flocks of up to 100 individuals during the 1992 flowering season. Birds were classified as belonging to flocks of five or more birds ('flock' birds) or to small flocks of one to four birds ('single' birds). Observations of dista...