Four new research, development and extension projects underway in 2024 are set to deliver sustainability and profitability gains for Western Australian grain growers on-farm across areas such as nitrogen use efficiency, disease resistance and legumes in crop rotations.
The projects, which have collective investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) of $11 million, are part of the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC), which was established in 2022 to build applied research programs focused on the state’s emerging industry issues.
WAARC is supported by the WA State Government through a $25 million investment and is a joint initiative between the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Australia's national science agency CSIRO, Grower Group Alliance, Curtin University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia.
Following the collaboration’s launch in July 2022, GRDC announced it would invest $10 million over three years in the newly formed initiative.
GRDC managing director Nigel Hart says WAARC was playing a key role in developing successful, efficient research projects that delivered positive outcomes for WA growers and agriculture more broadly.
“The fact that GRDC has met its three-year investment target for the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration so quickly is testament to our strong commitment to supporting research, development and capacity for the WA grains industry,” Mr Hart says.
“These projects are exploring some of the most pressing issues for western growers, including nitrogen use efficiency, incorporating legumes into crop rotations, and streamlining disease control and bolstering yield stability for crops such as lupins, which are most widely grown in WA.”
The suite of GRDC-invested projects includes the five-year lupin disease resistance and four-year harvestable annual legume options (HALO) projects, and new projects looking at increasing wheat nitrogen use efficiency through improved genetics and maximising the use of legume crops to reduce the reliance on fertiliser nitrogen in WA cropping systems.
A GRDC Grains Research Scholarship (GRS) adds to these four projects, rounding out a suite of five GRDC investments into WAARC.
WA Agricultural Research Collaboration Director Kelly Pearce says GRDC’s significant investment and support had provided a solid foundation for WAARC in its first two years since launch.
“The collaborative culture that drives WAARC’s success is thanks to our cross-sector partners and co-investors such as GRDC, enabling us to attract and deliver the highest quality agricultural science and innovation for WA,” Dr Pearce says.
“We look forward to continuing our valued partnership with GRDC and developing further strategic investment opportunities to advance and strengthen agricultural research, development and extension in this state.”
The $2.9 million, five-year nitrogen use efficiency through improved genetics project aims to give wheat breeders access to germplasm, specific markers and genetics knowledge to increase nitrogen use efficiency by up to 10 per cent.
For growers, this could ultimately deliver wheat varieties with improved nitrogen use efficiency, resulting in higher yields and higher grain protein content with the same or less nitrogen inputs.
The $2.5 million legume crops to reduce reliance on nitrogen fertiliser project will explore novel and emerging legume inclusive crop systems to achieve a target 50 per cent reduction in synthetic nitrogen usage, with no reduction in crop yield.
The GRS with a researcher from Curtin University will explore bioinformatics for crop disease management. A GRS supports PhD candidates in delivering innovative research that addresses constraints or builds opportunities for Australian grain growers to help improve their farm business sustainability and profitability.
Building research capacity and capability is critical to ensure the industry meets the challenges and opportunities which will be faced over future decades.
Mr Hart says GRDC would continue to invest in innovative, cutting-edge science to address WA’s unique challenges and opportunities, and deliver enduring profitability for the state’s growers.