Predicting Perfect Partners: climate resilient seed production technology . This project aims to increase productivity and profitability of the Australian sorghum industry in the face of risks imposed by an increasingly variable climate. This project expects to generate new knowledge of processes limiting hybrid seed production and translate this world-class research into tools and services that can be used by seed companies to improve its efficiency and reliability. The intended outcome will in ....Predicting Perfect Partners: climate resilient seed production technology . This project aims to increase productivity and profitability of the Australian sorghum industry in the face of risks imposed by an increasingly variable climate. This project expects to generate new knowledge of processes limiting hybrid seed production and translate this world-class research into tools and services that can be used by seed companies to improve its efficiency and reliability. The intended outcome will increase the security and sustainability of farming by minimising the risk of climate-induced seed shortages, maintaining Australia’s leadership in agricultural technology development. The expected benefits support profitable and productive businesses, providing Australian agriculture with a competitive, sustainable edge.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100179
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$457,906.00
Summary
Drought tolerance in sorghum: the roots of the solution. This project aims to develop an efficient, cost-effective sensing platform for visualising sorghum root systems in the field. Through innovative use of above and below ground sensing technologies, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the association between root structure and improved yield stability under drought stress. Expected outcomes include improved capacity for sorghum breeders and new digital agriculture products and ....Drought tolerance in sorghum: the roots of the solution. This project aims to develop an efficient, cost-effective sensing platform for visualising sorghum root systems in the field. Through innovative use of above and below ground sensing technologies, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the association between root structure and improved yield stability under drought stress. Expected outcomes include improved capacity for sorghum breeders and new digital agriculture products and services to support the industry more broadly. Given that sorghum is the main summer cereal grown in Australia, this should provide significant benefits, such as improved productivity and profitability for the Australian agriculture sector. Read moreRead less
Adapting sorghum crops for global climate futures. This project aims to identify key genes associated with heat stress tolerance by unlocking available genetic variation in sorghum. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics, molecular biology and integrated systems modelling, the project will develop important insights into the basis of thermostability. A predictive capability will be developed to identify new genomic combinations having superior heat stability. More heat tolerant sorghum cultivars s ....Adapting sorghum crops for global climate futures. This project aims to identify key genes associated with heat stress tolerance by unlocking available genetic variation in sorghum. Drawing on crop physiology, genetics, molecular biology and integrated systems modelling, the project will develop important insights into the basis of thermostability. A predictive capability will be developed to identify new genomic combinations having superior heat stability. More heat tolerant sorghum cultivars should deliver enhanced resilience in cropping and deliver more stable profitability for farmers and reduced food security risk.Read moreRead less
Australia's native sorghums: a model for testing plant adaptation theories. This proposal tests an emerging theory that allocation of resources by plants to growth or defence are interrelated, not alternatives as currently assumed. Like many crops, sorghum produces toxic cyanide, especially during droughts but its wild relatives make much less. This project aims to discover why cyanide is so common in domesticated plants and why levels increase with stress. This has important implications for de ....Australia's native sorghums: a model for testing plant adaptation theories. This proposal tests an emerging theory that allocation of resources by plants to growth or defence are interrelated, not alternatives as currently assumed. Like many crops, sorghum produces toxic cyanide, especially during droughts but its wild relatives make much less. This project aims to discover why cyanide is so common in domesticated plants and why levels increase with stress. This has important implications for developing crops that are high yielding and also climate resilient. Expected outcomes include full genome sequences for all of Australia’s unique native sorghums, confirmation of new theories on the interrelationships between defence and growth and identification of new traits vital for developing the crops of the future. Read moreRead less
Breaking the nexus: more biomass in cereal grain. Grain yield is controlled by complex, regulated genetic networks or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) derived from natural variations in many crop plants. Yield is a product of the three major parameters: panicle number, grain number and grain size, trade-offs are commonly observed between grain number and size. There is evidence to suggest it is possible to improve grain size without altering overall biomass. With the genomic and genetic resource t ....Breaking the nexus: more biomass in cereal grain. Grain yield is controlled by complex, regulated genetic networks or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) derived from natural variations in many crop plants. Yield is a product of the three major parameters: panicle number, grain number and grain size, trade-offs are commonly observed between grain number and size. There is evidence to suggest it is possible to improve grain size without altering overall biomass. With the genomic and genetic resource tools at hand. This project will elucidate the genetic architecture of grain size, and manipulate the key loci to generate more biomass in the grain, minimising or eliminating the adverse impact on seed number. This will maximise harvestable yield without imposing increased demand for water and nutrients.Read moreRead less
Cereal blueprints for a water-limited world. This project aims to demonstrate that key developmental genes in cereals can be manipulated to design plant architecture for specific resource-limited environments. Producing more food with less water is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. This project expects to increase understanding of how shoot and root systems can be uncoupled to enhance crop adaptation in water-limited environments using an accelerated genome editing approach. ....Cereal blueprints for a water-limited world. This project aims to demonstrate that key developmental genes in cereals can be manipulated to design plant architecture for specific resource-limited environments. Producing more food with less water is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. This project expects to increase understanding of how shoot and root systems can be uncoupled to enhance crop adaptation in water-limited environments using an accelerated genome editing approach. An expected outcome of the project is enhanced drought adaptation for cereals in a dry world. This should provide significant benefits to farmers and consumers in Australia and worldwide.Read moreRead less
Fertility crisis: harnessing the genomic tension behind pollen fertility in sorghum. Hybrid sorghum varieties yield more grain than inbred varieties but the production seed for farmers can be difficult. This project will identify the genes responsible for a trait that makes hybrid seed production possible and this knowledge will help raise sorghum yields in Australian and in some of the world’s poorest countries.