A Novel Phosphate Fertiliser Enhanced by Biofertiliser Technology. This project will deliver efficient use of the limited supplies of high quality phosphorus minerals as fertiliser-P, simultaneously acting to reverse and prevent soil acidification. These cost-effective benefits from utilising Australia's microbial biodiversity will have major economic and environmental impacts in rural Australia,increasing the profitability of farming and reducing the potential for contamination of aquatic syste ....A Novel Phosphate Fertiliser Enhanced by Biofertiliser Technology. This project will deliver efficient use of the limited supplies of high quality phosphorus minerals as fertiliser-P, simultaneously acting to reverse and prevent soil acidification. These cost-effective benefits from utilising Australia's microbial biodiversity will have major economic and environmental impacts in rural Australia,increasing the profitability of farming and reducing the potential for contamination of aquatic systems and groundwater with nutrients causing algal blooms. By solving needs for fertiliser-P while preventing acidification of soil, farmers are expected to welcome this novel fertiliser technology.Read moreRead less
Controlled nutrient release for more efficient agricultural water use and reduced environmental insult. We will create a completely new type of coating for fertilizer granules. Clays that adsorb and slowly release phosphates and/or other nutrients will be exfoliated with cationic organic reagents to produce organoclay nanoparticles of greatly increased surface area. These will be polymerized with current and novel monomers to form nanocomposites, encasing the clay in a water-swellable matrix by ....Controlled nutrient release for more efficient agricultural water use and reduced environmental insult. We will create a completely new type of coating for fertilizer granules. Clays that adsorb and slowly release phosphates and/or other nutrients will be exfoliated with cationic organic reagents to produce organoclay nanoparticles of greatly increased surface area. These will be polymerized with current and novel monomers to form nanocomposites, encasing the clay in a water-swellable matrix by polymerization; this will enable both slow water perfusion and strong binding to the granules. The polymer and nanoclay properties will be tuneable to release targeted nutrients at an optimal rate for uptake by crops, reducing nutrient seepage into the environment.Read moreRead less
Seed quality and disease resistance trait mapping in lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris). To protect and increase our world lentil market share, the mission of the Australian lentil breeders is to develop lentil varieties with superior seed qualities. Three highly desirable seed quality traits are; fatter and larger shape, better splitting efficiency and resistance to blemishing by ascochyta blight infection. To speed up the development of varieties with these traits, the genetic loci governi ....Seed quality and disease resistance trait mapping in lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris). To protect and increase our world lentil market share, the mission of the Australian lentil breeders is to develop lentil varieties with superior seed qualities. Three highly desirable seed quality traits are; fatter and larger shape, better splitting efficiency and resistance to blemishing by ascochyta blight infection. To speed up the development of varieties with these traits, the genetic loci governing them will be characterised and closely associated molecular markers identified. Markers will be validated for their use in marker-assisted breeding programs via back-crossing and field and glass house testing.Read moreRead less
Pyramiding ascochyta blight (A. rabiei) resistance in chickpea. Ascochyta blight (A. rabiei) is the most devastating disease that affects chickpea production in Australia. This project will produce enhanced chickpea breeding germplasm with sustainable resistance to ascochyta blight. This will be achieved through the enrichment of highly informative genome linkage maps and the development of molecular markers closely associated with novel resistance genes. Markers will be used to screen backcross ....Pyramiding ascochyta blight (A. rabiei) resistance in chickpea. Ascochyta blight (A. rabiei) is the most devastating disease that affects chickpea production in Australia. This project will produce enhanced chickpea breeding germplasm with sustainable resistance to ascochyta blight. This will be achieved through the enrichment of highly informative genome linkage maps and the development of molecular markers closely associated with novel resistance genes. Markers will be used to screen backcrossed populations for novel resistance in order to pyramid the genes involved. The most resistant lines, to all of the A. rabiei pathotypes, will be selected for use in future resistance breeding programs.Read moreRead less