#Agriculture

Overcoming the difficulty of breeding drought tolerant wheat

With a genome five times larger than the human genome, identifying what genes in wheat are responsible for what traits to build drought tolerance is difficult.

Yes, we can reach $100 billion ag target – here’s how

Australia needs to overcome a $40 billion shortfall in agricultural productivity over the next decade, but it’s not an impossible task.

Pacific faces crop yield declines, turns to past for modern solution

Climate change takes many headlines for threatening the Pacific. However, to secure the region’s shared food culture, soil scientists are working with Pacific farmers to provide precision agriculture tools that could herald a new era in regional farming.

Phosphorus: a finite resource essential for life, critical for agriculture and food security

Strategic use of phosphorus fertilisers can ensure higher crop yields. High yields minimise the amount of land devoted to food production, maximise the use of scarce rainfall and help keep food supplies stable and relatively cheap. Getting the balance right is important in an increasingly crowded world.

A warning for wine lovers: climate change is messing with your favourite tipple’s timing

A plant-growth-regulating spray might be the solution for vineyards affected by heatwaves.

Recognising indigenous pollination conservation practices

Pollinators such as bees, birds, bats and butterflies are in decline globally, a threat to biodiversity and food production all over the world. The importance of pollinators isn’t new to many indigenous communities around the world.

From tracking cattle to tourists

Understanding Australia’s goods and people movement to save costs and target infrastructure investment.

Digging up the dirt on water quality on the Great Barrier Reef

A huge amount of effort is going into protecting the Great Barrier Reef - often the kilometres away from where the coral is actually living. Researchers now have a better understanding of the system of erosion and sediment transport processes connecting agricultural land with water quality in the Reef. Critical to improving land management practices.

Oldman saltbush helps farm profits and ecosystem health

Oldman saltbush is a regular sight for regional tourists, and a CSIRO variety of the native shrub has been found to improve profitability for graziers in Australia’s most marginal regions.