Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments ....Alleviating herbicide damage to crops by using fulvate and manganese. Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide, but its drift can cause growth depression in sensitive plants such as wheat by reducing uptake of metallic micronutrients, particularly manganese. In pot and field trials, this project aims to assess the alleviating potential of fulvate and manganese on growth and micronutrient uptake by wheat exposed to glyphosate drift. The influence of land management on the effect of these treatments will also be assessed. The underlying mechanisms will be characterised, eg. by determining metal speciation in soil and assessing soil microbial community composition. The outcome of this project will contribute to sustainable agriculture by giving land managers options to reduce glyphosate damage in sensitive crops.Read moreRead less
Phosphorus cycling and adaptation of soil microbes to P availability . This project aims to determine how soil microbial communities adapt to phosphorus availability, and how the breakdown of microbial biomass sustains phosphorus demand. Using some of the most globally P-impoverished soils, the project expects to uncover how cellular composition of microbial populations is shaped by phosphorus availability, and feedbacks between cellular composition of microbes and phosphorus availability. Expec ....Phosphorus cycling and adaptation of soil microbes to P availability . This project aims to determine how soil microbial communities adapt to phosphorus availability, and how the breakdown of microbial biomass sustains phosphorus demand. Using some of the most globally P-impoverished soils, the project expects to uncover how cellular composition of microbial populations is shaped by phosphorus availability, and feedbacks between cellular composition of microbes and phosphorus availability. Expected outcomes include better understanding of factors determining phosphorus availability, and a new analytical toolkit for tracing pools and fluxes of organic P in soils. Overall, these should provide significant benefit to the global effort in understanding how phosphorus shapes soil function.Read moreRead less
Development of the next generation of organo-mineral fertilisers utilising domestic and commercial waste products. Australian agriculture relies heavily on fertilisers and better products are needed that are derived from sustainable sources, have minimal adverse environmental impact and support high plant yields. This project will apply advanced approaches of nanostructural analysis and microbial ecology to developed next-generation organo-mineral fertilisers.