Combating subsoil acidity for sustainable production through managing plant cation-anion uptake. At least 50 million hectares of topsoil and 23 million ha of subsoil of Australian land are presently affected by acidity, with this area expanding due to the ongoing processes of acidification. Surface liming is ineffective in neutralizing subsoil acidity. The project will develop an innovative method that stimulates root proliferation and ameliorates subsoil acidity through manipulating the balance ....Combating subsoil acidity for sustainable production through managing plant cation-anion uptake. At least 50 million hectares of topsoil and 23 million ha of subsoil of Australian land are presently affected by acidity, with this area expanding due to the ongoing processes of acidification. Surface liming is ineffective in neutralizing subsoil acidity. The project will develop an innovative method that stimulates root proliferation and ameliorates subsoil acidity through manipulating the balance of nutrient uptake by plants. The effects of the developed method on nutrient use efficiency and leaching loss, and crop yields will be quantified under different soil types and climatic conditions.Read moreRead less
Investigation of the impact of malt haze active proteins to improve brewing efficiency and beer quality. Australia is a major world exporter of malting barley (~2 millon t/pa) and malt (600,000 t/pa), primarily to the rapidly expanding Asian economic development region. An additional 200,000 t/pa of malt is provided to the Australian domestic brewing industry. By improving the quality of Australian malting barley and optimising the cost of brewery colloidal stabilisation measures, we expect hi ....Investigation of the impact of malt haze active proteins to improve brewing efficiency and beer quality. Australia is a major world exporter of malting barley (~2 millon t/pa) and malt (600,000 t/pa), primarily to the rapidly expanding Asian economic development region. An additional 200,000 t/pa of malt is provided to the Australian domestic brewing industry. By improving the quality of Australian malting barley and optimising the cost of brewery colloidal stabilisation measures, we expect higher demand and prices for Australian malting barley and malt. This will help support the viability of rural communities and the value adding involved in the malting and brewing of their produce in Australia.Read moreRead less
Control points in nitrogen uptake: enhancing the response of cereals to nitrogen supply and demand. Vast amounts of nitrogen fertiliser are applied to cereal crops to maintain yields. By uncovering what limits nitrogen uptake in cereals, this project will provide the scientific basis for improving nitrogen use efficiency and decreasing fertiliser use, with significant economic and environmental benefits.
Regulation of Cellulose Biosynthesis in Commercially Important Cereal Crop Species. The long term strategic research alliance with DuPont Pioneer will lead to the development of breakthrough science in emerging technologies that are relevant: a) to agricultural production, b) to human health and c) to renewable bio-fuel production from crop residues. The alliance will attract significant international investment in Australian research and foster an intellectual environment for world-class resear ....Regulation of Cellulose Biosynthesis in Commercially Important Cereal Crop Species. The long term strategic research alliance with DuPont Pioneer will lead to the development of breakthrough science in emerging technologies that are relevant: a) to agricultural production, b) to human health and c) to renewable bio-fuel production from crop residues. The alliance will attract significant international investment in Australian research and foster an intellectual environment for world-class research training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral scientists, in both a higher education and an industry context.Read moreRead less
Polysaccharide Synthase Genes in Agro-Industrial Applications. Achievement of the project aims will generate valuable intellectual property and meet National Research Priorities by: enhancing our knowledge base for the production of renewable bio-fuels from crop residues, for an environmentally sustainable Australia; developing preventative healthcare through adoption of healthier diets, rich in non-starchy cell wall polysaccharides that help reduce the incidence and severity of cardiovascular d ....Polysaccharide Synthase Genes in Agro-Industrial Applications. Achievement of the project aims will generate valuable intellectual property and meet National Research Priorities by: enhancing our knowledge base for the production of renewable bio-fuels from crop residues, for an environmentally sustainable Australia; developing preventative healthcare through adoption of healthier diets, rich in non-starchy cell wall polysaccharides that help reduce the incidence and severity of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers; and by developing breakthrough science in emerging agricultural technologies. The alliance will foster an intellectual environment to provide world-class basic research outcomes and training of highly skilled graduates, thereby contributing to the 'knowledge nation'.Read moreRead less
Physiology and genetics of barley grain germination in the malting and brewing industries. An international research team will provide new scientific information on barley grain germination. This detailed basic knowledge will be immediately applied in breeding programs that are aimed at improving malting and brewing quality in a commercial context. At the same time, the industry's carbon footprint will be significantly reduced.
Reduced Water Consumption in Commercial Malting Processes. The successful outcome for the project will be the production of barley varieties that can be successfully malted with a single steep, rather than the conventional two steeps currently employed. The objective will be achieved through the reduction of cell wall beta-glucan in barley grain. This will result in water savings of around 40%, or 1,500 megalitres per annum, for the Australian malting industry. The 1,500 megalitres saving in ....Reduced Water Consumption in Commercial Malting Processes. The successful outcome for the project will be the production of barley varieties that can be successfully malted with a single steep, rather than the conventional two steeps currently employed. The objective will be achieved through the reduction of cell wall beta-glucan in barley grain. This will result in water savings of around 40%, or 1,500 megalitres per annum, for the Australian malting industry. The 1,500 megalitres saving in water use would be sufficient to support the domestic water consumption of 30,000 people, based upon the use of 140 litres per person per day that was recently achieved in Brisbane.Read moreRead less
Explaining the interactions between drought and fertiliser use efficiency using tracing and imaging techniques. With climate change, Australian agriculture is faced with periods of increasing drought and changing rainfall patterns. At the same time, Australian farmers are faced with increasing costs of fertiliser inputs (their largest variable input cost), yet have little information on how they should change their nutrient management programs to suit the changing climatic conditions. This proje ....Explaining the interactions between drought and fertiliser use efficiency using tracing and imaging techniques. With climate change, Australian agriculture is faced with periods of increasing drought and changing rainfall patterns. At the same time, Australian farmers are faced with increasing costs of fertiliser inputs (their largest variable input cost), yet have little information on how they should change their nutrient management programs to suit the changing climatic conditions. This project aims to determine the effect of drought and rainfall patterns on the efficiency of fertiliser use by crops, through examination of the effects of soil moisture conditions on the interaction between soil and added fertilisers. Read moreRead less
Adding value to waste products from the brewing industry. Adding value to waste products from the brewing industry. This project aims to extract value from spent barley grains, the major by-product of the brewing industry. Currently sold as animal feed, this waste stream is a raw source of valuable carbohydrates and proteins for functional foods, packaging materials and liquid biofuels. This project will combine multidisciplinary approaches to characterise spent grain components and optimise rel ....Adding value to waste products from the brewing industry. Adding value to waste products from the brewing industry. This project aims to extract value from spent barley grains, the major by-product of the brewing industry. Currently sold as animal feed, this waste stream is a raw source of valuable carbohydrates and proteins for functional foods, packaging materials and liquid biofuels. This project will combine multidisciplinary approaches to characterise spent grain components and optimise release of bioactive molecules for use as prebiotics, antioxidants, nutraceuticals, and modifiers of beer quality. The research is expected to generate resources for studying barley grain, intellectual property, patents and new in-line processes for the brewing industry.Read moreRead less
Novel biological and genetic disease control tools for the barley industry. This project places Australian barley breeders at the forefront of disease resistance by providing them with novel tools to develop varieties with enhanced protection against fungal diseases. The aims are to produce fungal strains with multiple virulence genes for fast and cost-effective testing of barley lines, untangle the fungal/host gene interaction for resistance breeding and identify new sources of resistance. The ....Novel biological and genetic disease control tools for the barley industry. This project places Australian barley breeders at the forefront of disease resistance by providing them with novel tools to develop varieties with enhanced protection against fungal diseases. The aims are to produce fungal strains with multiple virulence genes for fast and cost-effective testing of barley lines, untangle the fungal/host gene interaction for resistance breeding and identify new sources of resistance. The outcomes will lead to the commercialisation by Australian breeding companies of barley varieties with durable fungal resistance. This will benefit the Australian economy by providing sustainability and protection for barley breeding thereby significantly reducing crop losses for this important global agricultural commodity.Read moreRead less