Leaves in 3D: photosynthesis and water-use efficiency. This project aims to develop leaf anatomical ideotypes with improved photosynthesis and water-use efficiency for wheat, rice, chickpea and cotton using novel three dimensional imaging and modelling techniques. This project expects to generate new understanding of the role of leaf anatomy on leaf function. Expected outcomes of this project include the world's first 3D spatially-explicit, anatomically accurate model of leaves of crop plants to ....Leaves in 3D: photosynthesis and water-use efficiency. This project aims to develop leaf anatomical ideotypes with improved photosynthesis and water-use efficiency for wheat, rice, chickpea and cotton using novel three dimensional imaging and modelling techniques. This project expects to generate new understanding of the role of leaf anatomy on leaf function. Expected outcomes of this project include the world's first 3D spatially-explicit, anatomically accurate model of leaves of crop plants to allow virtual experiments identifying optimized anatomy for improved photosynthetic performance. Benefits to the agricultural industry include increased crop productivity and water-use efficiency to meet future global food demand and to make the most of Australia's limited water resourcesRead 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
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100103
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$476,833.00
Summary
Improving efficacy of biopesticides through understanding mode of action. Insecticides are used extensively to control agricultural pests, but options are increasingly limited owing to environmental and human health concerns. A biopesticide, Bt, provides a valuable ‘soft’ option for control of caterpillars that are amongst the world's most damaging insect pests. However, little is known about how ingested Bt kills insects and this knowledge gap constrains options to improve efficacy and to count ....Improving efficacy of biopesticides through understanding mode of action. Insecticides are used extensively to control agricultural pests, but options are increasingly limited owing to environmental and human health concerns. A biopesticide, Bt, provides a valuable ‘soft’ option for control of caterpillars that are amongst the world's most damaging insect pests. However, little is known about how ingested Bt kills insects and this knowledge gap constrains options to improve efficacy and to counter resistance. This project connects industry end users (Cotton RDC; Bayer CropScience) with research training (Macquarie University) and applied research (CSIRO) to model how Bt interacts with the insect gut. This model will make valuable contributions to ensuring sustained and improved efficacy of Bt biopesticides.Read moreRead less