Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments ....Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments will also be assessed. The underlying mechanisms will be characterised, eg. by determining metal speciation in soil and assessing soil microbial community composition. The outcome of this project will contribute to sustainable agriculture by giving land managers options to reduce glyphosate damage in sensitive crops.Read moreRead less
A soil ecological approach to increasing Australian crop productivity. The objective of this project is to use emerging genomics technologies to identify and characterize soil bacteria that allow the replacement of current agricultural fertilisers, which have significant environmental and economic disadvantages, with sustainable biological fertilisers. Soil bacteria can greatly enhance phosphate solubilization and hence availability for plant growth. Beneficial microbes will be identified from o ....A soil ecological approach to increasing Australian crop productivity. The objective of this project is to use emerging genomics technologies to identify and characterize soil bacteria that allow the replacement of current agricultural fertilisers, which have significant environmental and economic disadvantages, with sustainable biological fertilisers. Soil bacteria can greatly enhance phosphate solubilization and hence availability for plant growth. Beneficial microbes will be identified from our existing soil collection and their performance and persistence optimised. Concurrently, our industry partners will develop suitable microbial formulations for application. The outcomes of the project will be the use of biological fertilisers to enhance crop productivity in an environmentally sustainable manner.Read moreRead less
How do legumes improve phosphorus uptake of the following wheat? World rock phosphate reserves for manufacturing phosphorus (P) fertilisers will be depleted in 50-100 years. Thus it is critical to reduce the reliance of the Australian agriculture on P fertilisers. The long-term application of P fertilisers has resulted in accumulation of P in a soil P bank which is unavailable to crops such as wheat. Legumes may have access to the soil P bank and increase growth and P uptake by the following wh ....How do legumes improve phosphorus uptake of the following wheat? World rock phosphate reserves for manufacturing phosphorus (P) fertilisers will be depleted in 50-100 years. Thus it is critical to reduce the reliance of the Australian agriculture on P fertilisers. The long-term application of P fertilisers has resulted in accumulation of P in a soil P bank which is unavailable to crops such as wheat. Legumes may have access to the soil P bank and increase growth and P uptake by the following wheat, but the mechanisms behind this effect are unclear. In this multidisciplinary international collaboration, we will characterise the changes in soil chemistry and microbiology in the legume-wheat rotation. The knowledge generated could result in greater utilisation of the soil P bank and decreased P fertiliser use.Read moreRead less