CropVision: A next-generation system for predicting crop production. Accurate and timely production estimates are essential to Australia’s grain producers and industry to better deal with down side risk caused by climate extremes and market volatilities. However, current systems for predicting crop production are inaccurate and unreliable. This project aims to develop a next generation system for advance and high accuracy predictions for yield, crop type and area at field scale. This will be don ....CropVision: A next-generation system for predicting crop production. Accurate and timely production estimates are essential to Australia’s grain producers and industry to better deal with down side risk caused by climate extremes and market volatilities. However, current systems for predicting crop production are inaccurate and unreliable. This project aims to develop a next generation system for advance and high accuracy predictions for yield, crop type and area at field scale. This will be done by integrating the state of the art global climate models (GCM), biophysical crop modelling, and high-resolution earth observation technologies. This project will deliver a next generation crop prediction system to predict crop production at field scale for improved decision-making and enhancing resilience.Read moreRead less
Development of eco-friendly alternatives for crop pest management. This project will produce novel insecticides to protect cotton and other crops from a range of economically damaging pests. It will lead to a more sustainable and eco-friendly cotton industry by reducing the dependence on chemical insecticides and genetically modified cotton plants.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101296
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Accelerated genomic selection to speed up genetic gain in wheat. This project aims to design drought-resistant crops. Since the Green Revolution, rates of genetic gain for wheat yield have begun to plateau, while climate change threatens productivity and global food security. Numerous breeding technologies have emerged, including genomic selection, speed breeding, high-throughput phenotyping and crop modelling. This project will develop and validate crop improvement protocols by fusing these fou ....Accelerated genomic selection to speed up genetic gain in wheat. This project aims to design drought-resistant crops. Since the Green Revolution, rates of genetic gain for wheat yield have begun to plateau, while climate change threatens productivity and global food security. Numerous breeding technologies have emerged, including genomic selection, speed breeding, high-throughput phenotyping and crop modelling. This project will develop and validate crop improvement protocols by fusing these four technologies. More efficient breeding techniques could accelerate genetic gain in wheat beyond what is expected in ongoing breeding programs, and enable breeders to develop robust cereal varieties in the face of climate change.Read moreRead less
Development of environmentally-friendly bioinsecticides for control of Australian crop pests. Insect pests cause over $3 billion of damage each year to Australian crops. Current insecticides are becoming less effective, and they often have adverse environmental impacts. This project aims to develop a new generation of environmentally-friendly insecticides that can be used to control insect pests on farms and around the home and garden.
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
Tailoring physiologically-based nanomaterial fertilisers for the biofortification of zinc in broadacre crops. Soil zinc deficiency is a global issue causing low crop yield and malnutrition. This project will develop a new class of fertiliser formulations by combining advanced chemistry techniques with plant physiology knowledge and nanomaterial manufacturing. These products will be designed for enhanced agronomic efficiency and environmental safety.
Manipulation of carbon partitioning to enhance the value of sugarcane. Manipulation of carbon partitioning to enhance the value of sugarcane. This project aims to develop enhanced varieties of sugarcane, a highly efficient crop for capturing carbon in plant biomass. This project will use genomic and metabolomic tools to investigate the biochemical and molecular genetic control of carbon partitioning into the major components of sugarcane biomass; identify key genetic controls of sucrose, cellulo ....Manipulation of carbon partitioning to enhance the value of sugarcane. Manipulation of carbon partitioning to enhance the value of sugarcane. This project aims to develop enhanced varieties of sugarcane, a highly efficient crop for capturing carbon in plant biomass. This project will use genomic and metabolomic tools to investigate the biochemical and molecular genetic control of carbon partitioning into the major components of sugarcane biomass; identify key genetic controls of sucrose, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin biosynthesis; and establish strategies for genetic selection of sugarcane genotypes with desirable biomass components. Anticipated outcomes are an optimised industrial sugarcane crops with higher sugar content and other biomass components designed for high value end uses such as bio-energy or bio-material production.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the Effects of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions on an Australian Savanna. Queensland Nickel's Yabulu refinery produces 3,400 tonnes of CO2 daily. CO2, a fertiliser, may affect plant growth in surrounding coastal savannas.
QNPL is sponsoring research that uses an open-air CO2-enhancement facility to assess the potential benefits and costs of emissions. An Australian first and a world tropics first, this research will quantify potential impacts of CO2 on vegetation dynamics, soil pro ....Quantifying the Effects of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions on an Australian Savanna. Queensland Nickel's Yabulu refinery produces 3,400 tonnes of CO2 daily. CO2, a fertiliser, may affect plant growth in surrounding coastal savannas.
QNPL is sponsoring research that uses an open-air CO2-enhancement facility to assess the potential benefits and costs of emissions. An Australian first and a world tropics first, this research will quantify potential impacts of CO2 on vegetation dynamics, soil processes, soil carbon dynamics and livestock management options
Expected outcomes include the validation and extension of biophysical grazing management models, estimation of the carbon sequestering capacity of tropical rangelands, and increased understanding of climate change effects on the Australian tropics.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101407
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,524.00
Summary
Revealing and navigating a path to climate-ready crops. This project aims to investigate how well multi-dimensional biological and environmental data can be integrated to improve the prediction of plant performance under climatic fluctuations. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of quantitative genetics using an approach that combines trans-disciplinary research fields. Expected outcomes of this project include an example for how to advance conventional prediction methods ....Revealing and navigating a path to climate-ready crops. This project aims to investigate how well multi-dimensional biological and environmental data can be integrated to improve the prediction of plant performance under climatic fluctuations. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of quantitative genetics using an approach that combines trans-disciplinary research fields. Expected outcomes of this project include an example for how to advance conventional prediction methods using fundamental biological models that underlie plant growth. This will provide significant benefits, such as an enhancement of collaborative research across areas with the potential to significantly advance the general understanding of how plants interact with the environment.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