Plain English Summaries
This page contains linkages to the GRDC research, development and extension portfolio, in particular Plain English Summaries.
For recently added Plain English Summaries, click on the links below or alternatively view them on Google Maps.
-
Australian wheat for China
BRI00045
-
Australian Cereal Rust Control Program- Adult Plant Resistance to Wheat Rusts
CIM00013
-
Molecular tools to support SSR and SNP genotyping capabilities in wheat and barley
CMB00018
-
High Yielding Irrigated Grains in Cotton Farming Systems (HYIGCFS)
CCC00004
-
Pilot Brewing Evaluation for Malting Barley Lines Destined for Export (BA00002 continuation)
BA00003
-
National Integration of crop sequence strategies and tactics
CSA00029
-
Microbial tagging for tracking: Root disease bio-control efficacy and environmental fate of microbial inoculants in crop rotations.
CSE00045
-
Empirical studies of farming systems technology adoption (CSA00028)
CSA00028
-
Crop sequences to manage soil pathogens and reduce the yield gap of northern grain production.
CSE00055
-
Coeliac friendly cereals Phase IV
CSP00113
China has a growing demand for high quality noodles. Demand for wheat to supply this market could rise to over 1.5 million tonnes within the next five years. It is highly unlikely that China will be able to supply this market from domestic production within the foreseeable future. Australian wheat is considered to have excellent potential to meet the requirements of China's premium noodle market. It is considered most likely that China would use Australian wheat to blend with their domestically produced wheat as part of their strategy to support food security. The proposed project will establish research collaboration with key industry partners in China to optimise blends of Australian and Chinese wheat for the manufacture of peremium products.
Rust diseases of wheat continue to cause significant losses worldwide and in Australia. Deployment of single race-specific genes leads to the selection of virulence in pathogen population and a resistant variety becomes susceptible usually 3-5 years after cultivation. Another common mechanism for resistance break-down is through introduction of new races as happened in early 2000 when a new exotic race of yellow rust pathogen was identified in Western Australia. This race since then has mutated several times causing susceptibilty of additional varieties. An alternative strategy for a long-term solution is to develop varieties that carry high level of resistnace based on combined effects of 4-5 slow rusting, adult plant resistance genes.
DNA markers are a cornerstone of modern cereal breeding and research. Ongoing improvements in marker assay throughput and genome coverage, along with reduced marker assay costs, are required to maximise the effectiveness of DNA markers in crop improvement.
There are significant benefits to both the grains and cotton industries from the development of a water-use efficient, highly productive winter cereal crop option for irrigation. A cropping system where there is a combination of winter and summer cropping will reduce overhead costs, spread risk, increase the farm's overall water use efficiency, reduce the likelihood of herbicide resistant weeds, increase the efficiency of storing soil moisture, assist in maintaining soil quality and ultimately, increase profitability.
The main aim of the pilot brewing project is to test new malting barley varieties that have been submitted for national variety accreditation by Barley Australia for their brewing performance. This is vital to ensure that new Australian malting barley varieties will achieve a good market fit. There is an urgent need to release improved malting barley varieties for Australia to compete with Europe and Canada for supplying markets in South East Asia and Japan. Australian brewers also need more competitive barley varieties to provide for their own specialised brewing needs.
Ultimately this project aims to demonstrate to farmers what the true cost of various crop rotations are. The project will highlight how beneficial break crops are to farmers, recognising that one size does not fit all. Different crop sequences will be suited to different regions, and this will be governed by what crops can actually grow in a region, and the chance that climatic conditions will allow a particular disease to take off and cause significant economic damage to the wheat crop. This project has only commenced recently, but scientists will deliver a new take on old rotations for multiple regions throughout the southern and northern Australian grain growing regions. The main outcome will be in providing growers with a better rationale to plan their crop sequences.
Overall Summary Cereal (wheat and barley) root disease suppression trials have been established in SA, Vic. NSW & WA. Four disease suppressive microbial inoculants and a commercially available pathogen-selective fungicide were assessed for their abilities to suppress Rhizoctonia and Pythium damping-off and root rot. Disease suppressive efficacies were quantified via analysing shifts in pathogen inoculum levels, root infection frequencies and crop performance. Defining root colonisation and survival of inoculants in cropping soils is crucial to predicting their disease suppressive efficacies and targeting inoculant-based management strategies to agro-ecological conditions
This project is aimed at improving understanding of adoption of key farming systems practices by grain growers. It will inform the development of R,D&E and communication strategies that are targeted at factors that are both influential in adoption decisions and can be influenced by strategic R,D&E. The project will do this in a way that provides a sound basis for measuring and understanding change in both technology adoption and perceptions associated with specific practice changes. By identifying where further extension and R&D information is unlikely to have any impact, such as factors that cannot be influenced and/or are not influential in the adoption decision, benefits can also also be gained by avoiding the ineffective use of finite RDE resources. Improved targeting has the potential to improve the cost-effectiveness of not only investments in RDE but also the effectiveness of farmers' time and resources when participating in RDE.In addition to the team of farming practice adoption specialists, the project is working closely with key regionally-based organisations who are well-positioned to provide expert regional and technical input on key practices and factors influencing adoption across states and sub-regions.
The design of a cropping sequence or rotation is a complex process that is far more involved than selecting what crop to plant next. During the selection process a number of agronomic issue need to be considered these include; water accumulation, stubble cover, erosion potential, season, soil nutrition, herbicide history, soil pathogen burden, weed pressure and herbicide options. At the same time a number of logistic issues need to be considered, namely, what area is currently under different crops, machinery availability, post harvest grain storage options and current availability of seed. Finally business decisions that look at the price, risk and efficiency of production come into the decision of what crop to plant next. To assist in this process tools have been developed to examine the biophysical processes within the farming system and help develop rotations that manage these resources to maximise production. However, the affects of soil pathogens, like nematodes, constrain the system preventing the efficient use of biophysical resources.
Consumption of gluten by subjects with Coeliac Disease, and Gluten Intolerance causes intestinal disorders in these subjects, and is associated with a raft of adverse health outcomes. Gluten proteins normally present in barley (called hordeins) are carried through the malting and brewing process and are present in beer. Coeliacs and gluten intolerants normally avoid beer and malt, however beer produced from gluten free barley will not contain any gluten and will be acceptable to these subjects.
