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The UWA Institute ofAgricultureNumber 20 August 2013(LtoR): Hackett Professor Kadambot Siddique (UWA), Dr Majd Jamal (Assistant Director General,ICARDA), Professor Paul Johnson (Vice Chancellor, UWA ), Professor Zhou Xuhong (President, LZU),Professor Jing Tao (Vice President, LZU), Professor Fengmin Li (LZU).Joint Centre for Dryland Agricultural Ecosystemslatest highlight in Australia – China collaborationMs Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auA joint Centre for Dryland AgriculturalEcosystems (CDAE) is testimony both tothe important role of drylands in ensuring(future) food security and to the high priorityplaced by leading agricultural researchorganisations on pooling their expertise andknow-how to advance sustainable drylandagricultural production.The Centre is based at Lanzhou University (LZU)and represents a joint endeavour between LZU,The University of Western Australia (UWA) and theInternational Center for Agricultural Research inthe Dry Areas (ICARDA); dignitaries from the threeinstitutions travelled to China for the official launchon 23 May 2013.UWA was represented by Vice-ChancellorProfessor Paul Johnson, Pro Vice-ChancellorInternational Iain Watt, advisor Eva Chye andHackett Professor Kadambot Siddique. ICARDAwas represented by Dr Majd Jamal, AssistantDirector General; dignitaries from LZU includedProfessor Zhou Xuhong, President LZU, andProfessor Jing Tao, Vice President LZU andProfessor Femgmin Li.The celebrations reflected on the challenges facedby all, on the successes of previous collaborationsand on the shared vision regarding the joint centreUWA Vice Chancellor Professor Johnsonemphasised the urgency for improved adaptationand resilience in dryland agricultural production:“Drylands make up forty per cent of the world’sland area and are home to one in three peopleworldwide,” he said. “Australia’s agriculturalsystem is largely based on drylands, and likeChina, it faces the challenges of climate change,especially frequent droughts, high temperatures,nutrient poor soils and dryland salinity.”He remarked on the effective collaborationbetween UWA and ICARDA spanning twodecades and reflected on the highly productivecollaborations between UWA and LZU: “Ourpartnership with LZU dates back to 2006 andhas led to numerous exchanges of academic staffand students, many joint international workshopsand industry exchanges, joint research projectsand publications and two national awards,”said Professor Johnson, “and this joint Centrefor Dryland Agricultural Ecosystems representsanother milestone towards sustainable foodproduction in dryland areas to meet the needs of agrowing population.”The overall objective of the Centre is to provideexpertise and research groups to act as aknowledge hub to form new research relationshipswith a view to collectively supporting high impactresearch, postgraduate training and developmentactivities focused on sustainable drylandagricultural ecosystems.On a practical level, research at the Centre willbring together scientists across a wide rangeof disciplines, to optimise the development ofintegrated cropping/animal production and agrosystemsmanagement approaches with a focus onlong term sustainability. “We look forward to beworking together with LZU and ICARDA on drylandagricultural systems through crop simulationmodels, smart genetics, agronomic and animalproduction packages, eco-system managementand decision support systems which will assistfarmers in adapting their (dryland) food productionsystems to a changing climate and otherchallenging conditions now and in the future.”IOA Director Kadambot Siddique summed up thesentiments of the UWA contingent: “We are proudto be part of this important endeavour and confidentthat it will deliver not only practical benefits for(dryland) farmers around the world, but will alsostrengthen further the collaboration between UWA,LZU and ICARDA for the benefit of all.”In this issue Three Brothers Project P4 IOA Postgraduate Showcase P5 Africa Sympoisum P10 Smartphone app to optimize pesticide spraying P14

Director’scolumnHackett Professor Kadambot Siddique AMFTSE (kadambot.siddique@uwa.edu.au)Australia is a ‘net food surplus’ producingcountry. However our agricultural sector iscurrently facing a number of challenges.Australia’s public research and developmentexpenditure has been decreasing and henceresearch intensity has been lagging in recentyears. Agricultural total factor productivity(TFP) has reached its peak and has beendeclining in the period 2000 – 2012.Governments, universities and private sectors mustensure significant new investments in agricultureand food industry in order to make Australia aninternationally competitive and high quality foodproducer and supplier. Continued interaction andpartnership between farmers, industry, researchersand policy makers are essential for improving TFPof Australian agricultural sector. UWA’s Institute ofAgriculture has benefitted greatly from the strongsupport of its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) underthe able leadership of outgoing Chair Mr BrucePiper, to whom I would like to express my heartfeltthanks. I am privileged to welcome Dr Terry Enrightas his successor to the IAB and look forward to hisChairmanship based on his wide-ranging industryexperience (cf page 2).Our international collaborations have received aboost with the signing of an academic partnershipknown as the Three Brothers Project, betweenUWA, Zhejiang University (China) and TarimUniversity (China) in April at Zheijiang University (cfpage 4), was the first of two milestones in UWA-China collaborations in agriculture.The second highlight was the launch of the Centrefor Dryland Agricultural Ecosystems (CDAE) atLanzhou University (LZU) which is a partnershipbetween LZU, UWA and the International Center forAgricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)(cf cover story).Innovation in our agricultural research anddevelopment has been highlighted in novelapproaches to long-standing global challenges:Assistant Professor Amin Mugera used economicalapproaches and models to outline ways forimprovement in the agricultural sector in selectedAfrican countries (cf page 10). Other projects haveemployed cutting edge technology and modernmedia to push beyond the boundaries of traditionalmethods and set the stage for more sophisticatedresearch – and adoption of research outcomes.Examples includes: projects in soil biology (cf pages7 and 12), herbicide resistance (page 13), waterand micronutrient status in plants (cf pages 4 and9) and farm management tools (cf pages 8 and14). Applications of existing and new technologiesare required for improving Australia’s agricultureTFP and our contribution to sustainable globalfood security.The high calibre of our scientists is reflected inthe significant number of scientific publications(cf pages 19/20), the prizes and awards theyhave received (cf page 15) and the number ofnew research grants (cf page 18). This year’s IOAPostgraduate Showcase drew a record audienceand highlighted the multi-disciplinary natureof agricultural research and teaching at UWA(cf page 5).With the year already past half way mark, welook towards another exciting field day at theUWA Future Farm on 6 September where we areshowcasing the current research and developmentactivities at the farm.For more information on the UWA Institute ofAgriculture (IOA) and its activities go to:www.ioa.uwa.edu.auNew Chair at IOA’s Industry Advisory BoardWA grain and livestock producer Dr TerryEnright has been appointed chairman of theIndustry Advisory Board of the UWA Institute ofAgriculture (IOA)The former Chairman of the Grains Research andDevelopment Corporation (GRDC) takes over fromMr Bruce Piper who stepped down in May aftermore than five years as the inaugural chair sincethe institute’s re-establishment in 2007.UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnsonwelcomed Enright to this position which plays acritical role in the Institute’s strategic directionand interaction with industry. Enright has servedin key agricultural appointments, including acommissioner of the Export Wheat Commission,a member of the standing committee on nationalresearch priorities and member of the panel toconduct an independent review of the AustralianCentre for International Agricultural Research(ACIAR) in 2012.He is an Independent Director of the AustralianLivestock Export Corporation (Livecorp), Director ofGrain Producers Australia, Chair of theWestern Australian Crawford Fund Committeeand a member of the Board of Directors.Johnson said that on under Enright’s leadership,the Board would continue to enhance the valueof the Institute and the University to the ruralIncoming chairman Terry Enright.and regional industries through Institute policyand direction.Johnson also acknowledged outgoing chairPiper and his guidance of the Board which helpedbuild the University’s reputation agriculture andrelated areas.Outgoing chairman Bruce Piper.2 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

What’s newat the UWAFuture Farm2050www.ioa.edu.au/future-farm-2050Ms Christine ShervingtonEmail: christine.shervington@uwa.edu.au2013 has seen an increase in outreachactivities, commencing with a visit to UWAFuture Farm by about 30 Climate Championsfrom across Australia (www.managingclimate.gov.au/climate-champion-program). TheClimate Champions program is an initiativeof the Managing Climate Variability program,Meat and Livestock Australia and the GrainsResearch and Development Corporation,looking at climate risk management. Throughthis program these farmers work withscientists and industry to provide relevanttailored information, feedback on researchresults and adaptation options for agriculture.The farmers, who are at the forefront oftheir industries, commit their own time andnetworks to contribute to managing climaterisk and formed part of the influencer group forthe Department of Agriculture, Fisheries andForestry Climate Change Research Program.Phil Vercoe speaking to the Climate Champion farmers aboutUWA’s Future Farm work during their national workshop.In April, at the annual UWA Institute of AgricultureIndustry Forum, the UWA Future Farm 2050Project contributed to a forum on ‘Food 2050’ with16 presenters.To complement the above event, and as part ofcommunity outreach, a series of public lectureson ‘Food 2050’ will be held between August andOctober. Topics include:ÌÌÌÌÌÌ6 August: ‘Australian agriculture and global foodsecurity’ (W/Prof Kadambot Siddique,The UWA Institute of Agriculture);4 September: ‘Is ‘more efficient’ food productionin conflict with animal welfare?’(Prof MarianStamp Dawkins, University of Oxford); and10 October: ‘Do genetic effects threaten thesustainability of marine fisheries?’(Prof FredAllendorf, Fulbright Senior Specialist to UWA).In addition, the UWA Future Farm will hold its nextField Day on 6 September 2013 (see also backpage of this newsletter). For further details visitwww.ioa.uwa.edu.au/future-farm-2050In May, a group of about 60 students from sixagricultural colleges across the southwest of WAvisited UWA Future Farm as part of their educationprogram. The visit was organized by the WADepartment of Education.In July, the farm hosted an international group ofvisitors: Kansas State University Professor RonMadl visited the farm with seven of his students toview sustainable agriculture practices, projects andtechnologies on-site.The ‘City Kids Come to the Country’ High SchoolScience Project, whereby students participatein the ecosystem restoration program on thefarm, has also expanded: seven groups of up to50 students are set to visit the farm in July andAugust, planting trees they have nurtured in theirown schools.International visits planned for 2013 also includestudents from the North West Agriculture andForestry University (China) and the South ChinaAgricultural University.Photo courtesy Econnect-Communication.UWA student wins prestigious CSIRO ScholarshipBidhut Banik.Interdisciplinary research at UWA’s School ofPlant Biology and School of Animal Biology haspaid off for PhD Student Bidhut Banik, who wonthe CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture FlagshipScholarship awarded in the research priorityarea ‘Plants, ruminants and methane: it’s purechemistry’. Only one scholarship is awarded perpriority research area.Banik’s research focuses on rumen fermentabilityand methane production and its relation with plantsecondary compounds (PSCs) of different cultivarsof Biserrula (Biserrula pelecinus L.). He firstdeveloped an interest in the fermentability ofpasture legumes in the rumen while studying for hisMasters degree in Genetics and Breeding at UWA.“I became more and more curious about themechanism of pasture selection and about thegenetics of the plants, so when the opportunityarose to do my PhD with Professor William Erskine(CLIMA), Asst/Prof Zoey Durmic (Animal Biology)and Dr Clinton Revell (DAFWA) as my supervisors,I jumped at it.”He describes the advantages of working acrossdisciplines: “My involvement in research that isrelevant for the environment, plant biology andanimal biology, has made me eligible to apply forquite a few top-up scholarships.”He also appreciates the collective knowledgeand experience from the different disciplines:“Working with two different schools is reallyinteresting and allows you to gain a vast amountof experience and knowledge – provided everyoneis clear and in agreement about the main focusand the boundaries of the research.”The ‘CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship’ isone of CSIRO’s 11 national research flagshipswhich were formed to develop scientific solutionsthrough multi-disciplinary research partnershipsto meet Australia’s most significant challengesand opportunities.Banik’s research is also supported by anAustralian Postgraduate Award.Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 3

Three Brothers Project boosts UWA – China relation in Agriculturecounterparts at the two Chinese partner institutions, was soon followed by avisit to Tarim, where Hackett Prof Kadambot Siddique, Associate ProfessorGuijun Yan and Assistant Professor Michael Considine attended a symposiumat Tarim University to identify the most suitable areas of collaboration underthe Three Brothers Project.The Three Brothers framework was founded in 2005 by the Ministry ofEducation in China to support relationships between high-performinguniversities abroad and elite and emerging universities in China. Previoustripartite agreements have been formed with New Zealand’s Massey andLincoln Universities.The signing ceremony of the Three Brothers initiative was hosted by Zhejiang University:(LtoR) Robyn Owens (Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, UWA), Wu Zhaohui(Executive Vice President, Zhejiang University) and Wang Heli (President, Tarim University).Dr Anke van Eekelenemail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auA new academic partnership between UWA and two Chineseuniversities has officially been launched at a signing ceremony atZhejiang University in China in April.This new international collaboration is the result of tripartite discussions heldlate last year. The initiative is referred to as the Three Brothers Project betweenUWA, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou on the east coast of China and TarimUniversity in the West Chinese province of Xinjiang.The visit by Deputy Vice Chancellor Research, Winthrop Professor RobynOwens, to Hangzhou to finalize the agreement of cooperation with herCloser ties between UWA, Tarim University and Zhejiang University are ofmost interest in the research area of arid horticulture. It is envisaged that afocus on key topics like the endemic Poplar trees in the Tarim Basin, watersaving irrigation technologies and the safe and efficient production of crops,can further develop research capacity and training at Tarim University in theremote desert region of West China.An academic exchange of scholars and students is recognized as beingintegral to the success of the program. Visiting scholars and students fromTarim University will receive English language and research training atZhejiang University before they will come to UWA to engage in collaborativeresearch projects.The first early career researcher to visit UWA has already been selected.Dr Peipei Jiao is an Assistant Professor in biodiversity and conservation, whohas recently been awarded a fellowship through the China Scholarship Council(CSC) and is preparing to come to UWA in 2014 to participate in phenologyresearch on the well known Tarim Basin Poplar trees with Michael Considine.Combined efforts in the next three years will see joint funding applications toChinese and Australian institutions, shared publications in relevant journalsand the organization of workshops and symposia in China as well as at UWA.Remote control: Probing the water use of crop plantsto help solve agricultural problems in Australia. IOA’s Dr Helen Bramleyvisited Germany in May to discuss advances made with the project andplan the upcoming research activities.“We have been able to show that these novel probes can monitor the waterstatus of wheat plants and indicate when the plants are water stressed,”Bramley said. “The innovation is that these probes monitor remotely, so we canview the data over the internet without visiting the field”. An Honours student,and GRDC and Eric Smart scholarship recipient, Mr Liam Ryan is now usingthe probes on a range of wheat genotypes in the glasshouse to show thatthe technology can indicate those genotypes with greater drought tolerance.“We expect that this technology will help wheat breeders identify droughttolerant germplasm more easily.”The ZIM-Plant Technology team in Hennigsdorf, Germany, duringa rare sunny moment in May, with Ulrich Zimmermann, Head of thegroup (far back left) and Helen Bramley, IOA (front centre).Dr Helen BramleyEmail: helen.bramley@uwa.edu.auA group of researchers at the UWA institute of Agriculture (IOA),University of Adelaide and ZIM-Plant Technology (Hennigsdorf,Germany) are able to visit each other through the Group of Eight –German DAAD Research Cooperation Scheme. Their project, ‘A novelnon-invasive method to monitor water status of crop plants’, is adaptingGerman technology in the form of magnetic pressure sensing probesThe group’s German colleagues, headed by Professor Ulrich Zimmermann,have made modifications to the probes making them easier to adapt to wheat,and during Bramley’s visit they started the development of a new applicationthat could possibly identify when the plant is flowering. “We’re excited by thenew possibilities this technology opens up, as we are getting new insights intothe behaviour of wheat plants at the fundamental level. Remote monitoring willbenefit the wheat industry in their development of new varieties and monitoringof field sites,” Bramley said.Other collaborators include Hackett Professor Kadambot Siddique (UWA),Adjunct Asscociate Professor Jairo Palta (CSIRO/UWA), Professor SteveTyerman (University of Adelaide) and Professor Erik Veneklaas (UWA).4 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

IOA postgraduate showcase impresses with diverse presentations(LtoR) Presenters Monica Kehoe, Madeleine Hartley, Cesar Rosales,Kelsie Moore, Renu Saradadevi with Tony O’Donnell (Dean, Faculty of Science),Peter Davies (Pro Vice-Chancellor Research) and presenter Alex Liu.Ms Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auSix UWA PhD students from the disciplinesof medicine, law, animal biology and plantbiology made this year’s PostgraduateShowcase: Frontiers in Agriculture asmorgasboard that had something foreveryone. An audience over 100 packed outthe auditorium to listen and engage withthe students.Monica Kehoe (Plant Biology) talked about thecause of black pod syndrome (BPS) in narrowleafedlupin; her research established that BPS iscaused by the Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus (BYMV)and by using genetic sequencing she identifieda particular gene in the virus, which may beresponsible. As BPS is the main cause for reducedyield in this crop and Australia produces 85% ofthe global crop, Ms Kehoe’s findings represent amajor step forward in solving BPS.Ms Kehoe’s supervisors are Professor RogerJones (UWA/DAFWA), Adjunct AssociateProfessor Bevan Buirchell (DAFWA), and herresearch is supported by UWA, DAFWA and GRDC.Renu Saradadevi (Plant Biology) compared thestomatal conductance – a water conservationstrategy by plants – of several wheat cultivarsunder terminal drought, and the role of Abscisicacid in this process. Her findings will help identifyand develop wheat varieties best adapted to adrying climate. Renu’s supervisors are HackettProfessor Kadambot Siddique (UWA), AdjunctAssociate Professor Jairo Palta (CSIRO/UWA),Dr Helen Bramley (UWA), and her research isfunded by an Australian Endeavour PostgraduateResearch Award and UWA.Alex Liu (Medicine and Pharmacology) presentedthe benefits of a rich green-leafy vegetable diet onarterial stiffness and blood pressure. He showedthat a high dietary nitrate intake from eatingspinach mediates vasodilation and reduces bloodpressure. He is sponsored through the ChinaScholarship Council and UWA, and his supervisorsare Professors Jonathan Hodgson and Kevin Croft(both from UWA).Madeleine Hartley (Law) provided great insightsregarding the governance and the reality ofgroundwater use efficiency in Western Australiaon the Gnangara Mound, advocating an integrativeapproach of improved stakeholder awareness repolicies, metering, and enforcement of sanctionsto achieve water use efficiency for sustainabledevelopment. Her research is supported bythe National Centre for Groundwater Researchand Training, Cotton Research & DevelopmentCorporation. Her supervisors are AssociateProfessor Alex Gardner (UWA); ProfessorSimon Young (UWA); Professor Tom I Romero II(SCOL, Colorado).Kelsie Moore’s (Animal Biology) findings on alpacafleece characteristics and vitamin D synthesisindicated that Vitamin D levels in alpacas are highlyinfluenced by shearing, season, skin colour andfleece distribution around the face.Kelsie is supervised by Associate ProfessorDominique Blache, Professor Shane Maloney andAssociate Professor John Milton (all from UWA).Cesar Rosales (Animal Biology) showed thatmating of Merino ewes can be brought forwardfrom 18-24 months old to 8-10 months oldwithout affecting the animal’s reproductive abilityin the long term, and that the pregnancy rate (forearly mating) is strongly correlated to live weightgain during that mating period: a gain of about200g per day could result in a 75% pregnancyrate. Cesar’s supervisors are Winthrop ProfessorGraeme Martin (UWA), Dr Mark Ferguson(NZ Merino) and Associate Professor AndrewThompson (Murdoch University and DAFWA).IOA Director, Siddique summed up the significanceof the event:“The IOA Postgraduate Showcase has againhighlighted the outstanding research undertakenby UWA students in agriculture and related areas;and perhaps more importantly and befittingly forUWA’s 100 year anniversary, the Showcase hasdelivered a clear message that agriculture is a trulydiverse and multidisciplinary field, which continuesto attract some of our brightest students.”The presentations can be accessed atwww.ioa.uwa.edu.au/publications/showcaseSustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 5

Champion for soilhealth visits UWADr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.au(Lto R) Matthias Leopold (UWA) , Chris Gazey (DAFWA),Lyn Abbott (UWA), Tony O’Donnell (UWA), Hon. Michael Jeffery,Fran Hoyle (DAFWA), Daniel Murphy (UWA) and Gavan McGraw (UWA).Former Governor-General, Major General the Hon. Michael Jefferyvisited Western Australia in March this year to open the ‘Talkin’ SoilHealth’ conference in York. It created the opportunity for Major GeneralJeffrey to hear from local growers and researchers what challenges inagriculture are faced in our State.His attendance at the meeting was initially followed by a busy schedule ofregional visits to WA farmer’s organization and groups of growers in the CentralWA grain tbelt. Here, the topic of conversation was soil acidity managementand related issues that impact on a grower’s capacity to manage soil health,like live animal transport and seasonal conditionsHackett Professor Kadambot Siddique, Director of the UWA Institute ofAgriculture (IOA), and Winthrop Professor Tony O’Donnell, Dean of the Facultyof Science, hosted a UWA event for Major General Jeffrey to discuss currentresearch projects at IOA and its collaborators. Major General Jeffrey met withseveral agricultural experts at UWA and was presented with UWA’s futuredirections of agricultural research and teaching.He was keen about the Future Farm 2050 project. “I look forward following theprogress of the project and hope other universities and agricultural collegesacross Australia will follow your example,” Major General Jeffrey said.Professor Daniel Murphy offered Major General Jeffrey a look at soil healthfrom an unconventional view point. He illustrated how NanoSIMS (NanoscaleSecondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) technology can help understand soil-plantinteractions at a subcellular level and discussed the value of knowledge of ourecosystem to improve the health of our landscape. How it complements appliedresearch and development in the field was covered in further conversationsaround this sophisticated research approach.A final meeting with soil scientists and microbiologist to hear about otherfundamental soil focused research at UWA and some large collaborative soilmicrobiology and soil organic matter projects between IOA and DAFWA,concluded the Major General’s visit to WA.Beijing Youth Science successfor Shenton College –UWA partnershipAssociate Professor Matthew NelsonEmail: matthew.nelson@uwa.edu.au andMr Warwick MatthewsEmail: warwickmat@gmail.comA group of Shenton College girls blitzed international contestants atthis year’s Beijing Youth Science Competition to become the latestambassadors of the highly successful ‘UWA Learning Links’ outreachprogram, in which Shenton College students are mentored by UWAscientists in conducting a research project of their own.14 year-old Shenton College student Eemali McDonald took out the gold medalthis year for her poster presentation on identifying the gene which controlsflower colour in narrow-leafed lupin.The poster was based on molecular genetics research she conducted at UWAwith mentors Assoc/Prof Matthew Nelson (School of Plant Biology and IOA)and Ms Naghmeh Besharat (visiting scholar), who commended Eemali on herability to grasp advanced genetic concepts and quickly learn laboratory skills.Another project put fellow student Ellie-Rose Rogers in the spotlight at Beijing:Ellie-Rose shared her research of the effects of sulphur dioxide on grapes,which she conducted with her mentor Assist/Prof Michael Considine (Schoolof Plant Biology and IOA). Together with Sarah Barnes, Daisy Evan and SarahEffler, the girls were judged the most successful international team at theworld’s largest youth science competition, in which students from Denmark,Korea, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, South Africa andAustralia competed along with 200 finalists (selected from 350,00 applicants)from the Beijing area.“It was a fantastic feeling and a big confidence boost to be up there withstudents from all these other countries and to get official recognition thatthe work we have produced is up there with the best, “says Eemali. “We hadsuch great support from our mentors at UWA and from our Science teacherat Shenton College – they were a real inspiration and kept us motivated andI want to say thank you to all of them.”Learning Links Coordinator, Warwick Mathews, returned the compliment“Eemali and the other members of the Shenton College team were greatambassadors for UWA at the Beijing Competition and for the LearningLinks program.” For more information on this program visitwww.shenton.wa.edu.au/college/uwaEemali (centre) with mentors Matt Nelson and Naghmeh Besharat,showing her ‘spoils’ from Beijing’s Youth Science competition.6 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

Microbes – understanding their secret life in soils(LtoR): Deirdre Gleeson with Linda Maccarone preparing for soil analysis.Dr Jennifer Carsonjennifer.carson@uwa.edu.auResearchers from IOA and School of Earthand Environment are breaking new groundin the study of microbes in semi-arid soils.Associate Professor Deirdre Gleeson andDr Linda Maccarone, from the Soil Biologyand Molecular Ecology Group, are studyingthe groups of microbes called nitrifiers.The nitrifiers investigated in this study belongto two different domains of life, bacteria andarchaea; they have different evolutionary histories,with archaea considered one of the earliest lifeforms on earth. These microbes can affect cropproduction by converting ammonia into nitrate,in a process called nitrification. Nitrate can beleached out of the soil and can contribute to soilemissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhousegas. Until now, most of the research on nitrifiershas been conducted in temperate regions, suchas North America and Europe.The research by Gleeson and Maccarone wasundertaken in the wheat belt region of WesternAustralia, with soils collected from DAFWAresearch station at Wongan Hills, from CunderdinAgricultural College and the Liebe Group’s longterm trial site at Buntine.Gleeson explains the importance of studyingnitrifiers in local soils, “Microbes are affectedby climatic conditions and there’s been littleresearch on nitrifiers in semi-arid regions,particularly in South-West Australia. These regionsare very important to agriculture in Australia– they’re responsible for 40% of Australia’sgrain production.”Nitrifiers are still largely a ‘black box’ for soilscientists. For many years it was thought that allnitrifiers were bacteria. However, recent researchin temperate regions shows that nitrifying archaeaare not only present in most soils, but can be moreabundant than nitrifying bacteria.Gleeson and Maccarone have shown that therelative importance of different nitrifiers insemi-arid soils in Western Australia seems to bedifferent to what has been reported previouslyin temperate regions. Gleeson says, “Comparedto temperate soils, we found that in semi-aridsoils nitrifying bacteria were more abundantthan nitrifying archaea. Now that we know whichmicrobial populations dominate these soilswe can investigate how best to manage thisbiological process.”Maccarone compared the abundance of nitrifyingbacteria and archaea down the soil profile. Shefound that nitrifying bacteria inhabit the top-soilwhilst nitrifying archaea inhabit the sub-soil. Shesays, “Understanding how nitrifiers are distributedat different soil depths may provide farmerswith alternative management strategies such asaltering the depth placement of fertiliser to improvenitrogen use efficiency.”Maccarone also found that as soil got deeper,both the abundance of nitrifying bacteria andnitrification rates decreased. “We think it’s likelythat it’s bacteria that are responsible for most ofthe nitrification in these semi-arid soils, rather thanarchaea. It’s important we know which microbesare performing these processes in soil so that wecan understand how to manage the processes tobenefit crop production, greenhouse gas emissionsand sustainability,” says Maccarone.The researchers also found that nitrifiers in semiaridregions responded differently to water thanthey do in temperate regions. Gleeson says, “Unlikein temperate regions, we found that in semi-aridsoils, nitrifying bacteria were more affected by soilwater content than nitrifying archaea, particularly inthe top ten centimeters of soil.”“This is important as climate change is projected tomake rainfall more variable, which has implicationsfor these key microbial populations in soil.”Gleeson adds, “Our understanding of thesemicroorganisms in semi-arid soils may becomerelevant to other agricultural regions across theplanet if climate change causes them to shifttowards aridity.”This research was supported by GRDC’s SoilBiology Initiative II and an ARC Discovery Project.Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 7

Livestock forage-gapfilled with green feedThe Tedera and Cullen trial site at Buntine before grazing.ScienceNetworkWESTERN AUSTRALIAMin Songwww.sciencewa.net.auIDEAL conditions for producing perenniallegumes – that could be used to relieve theshortage of forage during dry periods – havebeen identified by agricultural researchers.The results will interest early adopting farmers andcrop breeders working toward commercial releaseof perennial legumes and could assist during theannual feed-gap period when stocks of green feedfor livestock run low, according to study co‐authorand UWA School of Plant Biology and IOA’sAssiciate Professor Megan Ryan.“The feed-gap occurs in the late summer-autumnperiod prior to the first autumn-winter rains,and reflects the fact that WA farming systemsare mostly based on annual crops and pastureswhich grow only over the winter-spring period,”says Ryan.Over two years, the team of researchers observedthe survival and production of tedera (Bituminariabituminosa var. albomarginata) and Cullen speciesin Buntine and Newdegate, two low-rainfall sites inWA, under different growing conditions.They found that in these areas, which receive lessthan 350mm of average rainfall annually, tederagenerally survived better, with survival rates ofapproximately 70 to 80 per cent as opposed toCullen australasicum’s rate of 18 to 45 per cent.They also discovered that cutting tedera threetimes a year – twice during summer-autumnbut not in early summer – would be optimal formaximising shoot dry weight for use during thefeed-gap.The researchers suggest that a favourable plantdensity to aim for is about eight to 16 plants persquare metre, slightly less than that recommendedfor a place of higher rainfall, though growersshould use their own knowledge of local growingconditions before consulting any findings fromthe study.Ryan says these results support findings fromother recent studies that show the economicsignificance of green feed in the autumn feed-gap.“Many farmers have to purchase feed oncetheir animals have eaten all dry feed available,”she says.“This is expensive and can reduce farm profits andanimal health, and product quality may also suffer.“The ability of perennials to provide green feedduring this time will be a major driver of adoption.”Tedera and Cullen species have not yet beencommercially released, but the researchersare optimistic.“The team is working towards commercial releaseof tedera by working on other aspects of itsbiology, especially seed production, and agronomy,and through selection of superior germplasm,”says Ryan.“We are continuing to work on the ecology,physiology and agronomy of other nativespecies with pasture potential, including otherCullen species.”This was first published online by ScienceNetwork WA.Do-it-yourself soilmonitoring trialledfor on-farm useDr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auA recent workshop on Garry Page’s farm inPingelly saw landowners learn how they canassess some of the components of soil biologyon their properties with simple equipment.They were guided by Professor Lyn Abbott fromIOA and UWA’s School of Earth and Environmenton how to use a newly developed toolkit to quantifysoil fauna on their farms and to determine theamount of mycorrhizal fungi present in roots oftheir crops and pastures. The soil fauna assessedare mites and springtails. The toolkit is based onresources developed in collaboration with SPICE atUWA, which is a collaboration with the Departmentof Education WA to expand teaching resources forscience teachers.According to Abbott, more and more farmers arelooking for alternative ways to improve productivityand this on-farm toolkit can help them monitor theimpact of poor seasons and agricultural practiceson their soil.“In sustainable farming systems, we want soilbiological processes to complement managementpractices as much as possible.”The easy to use toolkit, developed by Abbott incollaboration with the Wheatbelt Natural ResourceManagment Inc and the South-West CatchmentCouncil, provides farmers with the means tosample and monitor aspects of soil health withouthaving to call on experts.The workshop in Pingelly was one of a seriesrecently conducted in south-western Australia.Other workshops were held in York, Northam,Boyup Brook, Dalwallinu and Dumbleyung. Theyhave come at a time when farmers are becomingincreasingly aware of the importance of soil healthand biological fertility.8 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

Biofortification tomeet the demandfor micronutrientrichfoodWinthrop Professor Zed RengelEmail: zed.rengel@uwa.edu.auThe European Cooperation in Science andTechnology (COST) held its 4th annualconference in Ås, Norway, last June, andfocussed on the theme of “Essential andDetrimental Trace Elements Entering theFood Chain via Plants”. Winthrop ProfessorZed Rengel of UWA’s School of Earth andEnvironment and IOA was invited to givea keynote presentation on availabilityof micronutrients and undesirable traceelements in the soil-plant-microbe continuum.COST puts a strong emphasis on quality ofagricultural produce, particularly from thestandpoint of increasing micronutrient content ofgrains and vegetables. The micronutrient initiativewas started in the early 1990s as an Australian-UScollaboration between the University of Adelaideand Cornell University. It has since blossomed intoa huge world-wide research effort administeredby Consultative Group on InternationalAgricultural Research (CGIAR) under the bannerof HarvestPlus, funded by philanthropists (e.g.(Front row right): Zed Rengel, UWA, with fellow delegates in Norway,at the 4th annual conference of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology.The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) andvarious governments.The reason why the world is interested inproducing food with increased micronutrientcontent is that 4 to 5 billion people worldwideare deficient in the micronutrients iron and zinc,particularly in developing countries, with zinc andiron deficiencies being, respectively, the 5th and6th leading causes of disease. The most effectivesolution to the micronutrient malnutrition problemin these countries is increasing micronutrientcontent in staple cereals.But if you think that solutions to micronutrientdeficiencies are only implemented in developingcountries, check your packet of breakfast cerealsnext time you eat them. There is a fair chance yourcereal is fortified with Fe, potentially Zn, vitamin Cand folic acid among many others. And switchingto a ‘ham and eggs’ breakfast may not help youavoid micronutrient-containing chemicals addedto your food – in developed countries many othergrain-based products, like flour and pasta, are alsofortified with micronutrients.Rengel’s research interest is in developing analternative way of producing micronutrientenrichedgrains without adding chemicals duringfood processing. He investigates biofortification inthe field during crop growth. Biofortification canincrease micronutrient content in grains via targetedfertilisation and/or selecting varieties with enhancedcapacity to take up micronutrients from the soil.Rengel’s group works on wheat and barley(the latter not a staple crop but is becoming anincreasingly important food component in Westerncountries). His group characterises physiologicalmechanisms and genetic factors responsible for ahigh capacity to take up micronutrients by the rootsand load them into the grains.Crop sequence and fallow treatment effects in a changing climateDr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auUnder the umbrella of the National Adaptationand Mitigation Initiative, a recent 2-yearresearch trial by Dr Ken Flower and DrSudheesh Manalil from the UWA Institute ofAgriculture and School of Plant Biology hasfocussed on the effects of different cropsequence and fallow treatment regimes ongreenhouse gas emission and soil waterconservation in Western Australia.The study aimed to demonstrate what impactdifferent farming systems in the WA grain belthave on mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gasemissions and adaptation to climate change.Crop sequences with either wheat or canolapreceeding the final year wheat crop, and weedyversus chemical fallow treatments were tested atthe UWA Future Farm near Pingelly as well as atthe DAFWA Merredin Research Station. The UWAresearchers collaborated with Mr Glen Riethmullerand Dr Geraldine Pasqual, both from theDepartment of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA).Fallow management in the first year of the trialdid not increase the soil nitrous oxide emissionsmeasured in the wheat crop of the following year,compared with growing crops the previous year.Emissions in the second year of the study increasedslightly after seeding and more noticeably when ureawas applied at the tillering stage of the wheat crop.The chemical fallow with no weeds present wasable to conserve the most soil water, followed byKen Flower and Sudheesh Manalilwith a manual chamber that allowsmonitoring of green house gasemission from crops in the field.the cultivated fallow and a fallow with weedskilled in August. The weedy fallow – wheatsequence conserved the least water.Funding for this project was received fromDAFWA, the Australian Government Departmentof Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)and the Grains Research & DevelopmentCorporation (GRDC).Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 9

Africa Symposium addresses plant virusdisease threat to world food security(LtoR) Lava Jumar (IITA Nigeria, principal symposiumorganiser), and three of the IPVE award recipients –Michael Thresh (NRI UK, foundation PVE chairman),Alberto Fereres (CSIC Spain, current IPVE chairman),and Roger Jones (UWA/DAFWA, former IPVE chairman).Professor Roger JonesEmail: roger.jones@uwa.edu.auAs part of a series of International Symposiaorganized every three years by the InternationalCommittee on Plant Virus Epidemiology of theInternational Plant Pathology Society, this year’sSymposium on ‘evolution, ecology and control ofplant viruses’ was held in Arusha, Tanzania. It wasan international gathering of plant virologists,where Professor Roger Jones of the School of PlantBiology at UWA was honoured for his achievementsin plant virus epidemiology and invited to presentkeynote addresses to an audience of more than 150fellow researchers from across the world.Jones presented one lecture on the opportunitiesin plant virus epidemiology, which consideredrecent advancements, trends and new technologiesapplied to plant virus epidemiology, includingknowledge enhancement, data collection andprocessing. His view on the provision of moreeffective prediction and decision support systems tooptimize virus control measures complemented thefocus of the meeting on how best to address thethreat to world food security posed by losses due toviral infections of staple crops and the devastatingvirus pandemics now occurring in crops in Africaand other parts of the globe.Jones and six other distinguished plant virologyresearchers received awards for their outstandingcontributions to the field of plant virus epidemiology.Among them, Professor Karl Maramorosch, whohad even more reason to celebrate. He turned97 years of age at the meeting and took theopportunity to talk about his meeting with the lateProfessor Nathan Salaman, the first professor ofplant virology world wide. Most attendees belongedto generations that were born well after Salaman’slifetime.The Symposium was also attended by UWA PhDstudent Eviness Nyalugwe from Malawi, whopresented her work on oilseed brassica germpasmfor resistance to the Turnip mosaic virus.The symposium was organized by the InternationalPlant Virus Epidemiology (IPVE) committee andthe International Institute of Tropical Agriculture(IITA) in partnership with the Mikocheni AgriculturalResearch Institute (MARI, Tanzania), the NationalAgricultural Research Organization (NARO, Uganda),the West and Central African Council for AgriculturalResearch and Development (CORAF/WECARD),Biodiversity International and the Asian VegetableResearch and Development Center (AVRDC-TheWorld Vegetable Center). It was sponsored by manyinstitutions and private companies.(RtoL): Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showsnew sweet potato variety with high beta-carotene contentto Rob Williams (Seeds of Life) and former President ofTimor-Leste HE José Ramos-Horta.New sweet potatoes hsecurity and nutritionMs Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auNew sweet potato varieties are producingmore reliable crops of superior quality thanlocal varieties in poverty-stricken Timor-Leste,a country with one of the highest percentageof chronically malnourished children inthe world.Professor William Erskine, from UWA’s Centre forLegumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA)and Institute of Agriculture (IOA), is co-authorof a study which shows how the new varietieshelp to improve life for Timor-Leste’s 1.1 millionpeople, of whom more than 80 per cent aresubsistence farmers.CLIMA; IOA; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestryand Fisheries in Timor-Leste; and the Seeds ofLife Program collaborated on 198 farmer-managedtrials over the 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008growing seasons. The Project is supported byAusAID and Australian Centre for InternationalAgricultural Research (ACIAR).Economic viability of African Agriculture assessedAmin Mugera in his home country of Kenya.Dr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auThe dependence of rural welfare andeconomic growth on productivity within theagricultural sector is particularly evident inAfrica. Across this continent it is vital thatcountries embrace opportunities to remaintechnically efficient, yet new studies by aKenyan born researcher at UWA show that theability to do so varied considerably betweenAfrican regions with dire outcomes for some.Assistant Professor Amin Mugera, of UWA’s Schoolof Agricultural and Resource Economics and IOA,collaborated with colleagues from California StateUniversity in the US and Konkuk University in Koreato analyse data from 33 African countries usingnew economical approaches and models.They were able to outline ways for improvementin the agricultural sector across Africa, recentlydescribed and published in two relevant journals inthe field of agricultural science and technology andresource economics, the Journal of InternationalDevelopment and Contemporary Economic Policy.10 THE THE UWA UWA institute of agriculture of agriculture March 2011 August 2013 Sustaining Sustaining productive productive agriculture for for a growing a world

Gabon looking to UWA foragricultural development expertiseMs Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auIn April this year, a representative of Gabon’sMinistry of Agriculture, Ms Jocelyne Awandong,visited IOA to identify potential opportunities toprovide direction in how UWA and the Gabonesegovernment can collaborate on agriculturaldevelopment and training in Gabon.elp achieve foodin Timor-LesteErskine describes some of the benefits: “The newvarieties produce larger sweet potatoes that aremore marketable because of their smooth skin andflesh and regular shape.” But this is not the onlyarea in which the study has proved a big success;the new varieties are now being widely adoptedacross Timor-Leste, which Erskine attributes tothe study’s unique nature: “We involved farmers inthe trials and also interviewed them after harvestto find out how they viewed characteristics in thelocal and test varieties and whether they wouldre-plant and why.”The improved yield and ready adoption of the newsweet potato varieties mean that Timor-Leste nowhas a much better chance to achieve food security.Sweet potato stores well and one of the varieties,which is high in calories and has good levels ofbeta-carotene (a source of vitamin A), is likely tohelp prevent vitamin A deficiency, which can causecancer, birth defects, impaired immune functionand night blindness as well as calorie malnutrition.Sweet potato maintains its beta-carotene for atleast 50 days and retains it during cooking.Situated on the west coast of Africa across theequator, Gabon’s economy relies on mining and oilproduction and export. “Gabon’s agricultural sectoris relatively underdeveloped with only about 10% ofthe total land area under cultivation,” explained MsAwandong. “Agricultural production is dominatedby food crops, and the lack of infrastructure means,they are consumed in the regions where they areproduced, while the rest of the country depends onmassive food imports.”At the invitation of IOA Director Hackett ProfessorKadambot Siddique, Awandong met with seniorstaff at the Institute over five days and exchangedinformation about Gabon’s needs and expectationsfor agriculture versus IOA’s (training) programs,expertise and facilities.Professor William Erskine discussed the Seedsof Life project in Timor-Leste and how such anapproach can be useful for Gabon.Associate Professor Christian Nansen shared hisexperience on running short courses in Africa andoutlined the benefits of working in both countries interms of assessing the real needs and adapting thetraining programs to local needs.Awandong showed keen interest in Dr Ken Flower’sviews on the importance of conversation agricultureand the need to develop farming systems thatare productive, but also avoid erosion andenvironmental degradation.She was inspired by her meeting with Ms SusanHall, Project Manager, Grower Group Alliance (GGA)with whom she discussed what Gabon can do todevelop effective farmer groups in Gabon.Jocelyn Awandong on the UWA campuswith (LtoR) Wallace Cowling, Michael Perryand Kadambot Siddique.The meeting with Winthrop Professor Tim Colmershe found equally valuable: “He has worked withthe International Rice Research Institute (IRRI )on rice projects and has run short courses inThailand, Vietnam and the Philippines – and thiscould be of interest because rice is a staple foodcrop in Gabon.”Awandong was also very interested in the expertiseand short courses offered under IOA’s AnimalProduction Systems Program, as Gabon is a netimporter of meat.“The discussions and meetings have given mevaluable ideas for our collaboration, as well as anunderstanding of the difficulties and constraints,”she said. “Currently, there are no real farmersin Gabon, so the first thing we need to do is totrain people to become farmers, to give them thebasic knowledge they need and to help them getorganized in cooperatives.”“UWA has all the expertise needed to help Gabondevelop efficient agricultural systems, and Ihope that jointly we can secure funding from theAustralian Center for International AgriculturalResearch (ACIAR) and AusAID to supportagricultural development projects in Gabon. I willbe reporting findings from my visit to UWA to theMinister for Agriculture Gabon.”The initial focus was on whether African agriculturewas lagging behind in technical efficiency byexamining statistics from 1966 to 2001. Furtherresearch examined whether or not povertyreducing,low-interest loans from organisationssuch as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) andthe World Bank had an impact on productivity byexamining available statistics from 1981 to 2001.In both research projects the effects ofglobalisation, civil violence, levels of developmentof physical and financial infrastructure and theinfluence of natural resource factors on agriculturalproductivity were considered.The authors found that efficiency differed greatlyacross African regions and countries withevidence of “catching up” to the latest technologyprimarily within the East African countries.“Our analyses point to the need for policiesthat improve technological uptake in Africanagriculture,” they write.The authors also found that macroeconomic policyreforms instituted by groups such as the IMF andWorld Bank improved agricultural productivity inthe 33 countries they sampled. “This is importantbecause many countries rejected the IMF andWorld Bank requirements in the initial stages,”they argue.“It was not until the IMF and World Bank turnedthe requirements for policy reforms into conditionsfor receiving financial aid that countries slowlystarted to adjust to the new macroeconomicenvironment.”Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 11

Australia and Japan target key Australian pastureidentify environmentally-friendly subterranean clover and discover thegenes controlling economically important traits in this pasture.Subterranean clover is the most widely sown pasture legume species inAustralia. Covering about 29 million hectares nation-wide, subterranean cloveris valued by sheep and cattle producers because it is highly nutritious. Itsnitrogen-fixing qualities also improve the soil, leading to better yields whencereal crops are grown on clover paddocks on alternate years.This collaborative research project funded by the Australian Research Council(ARC) and the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) through a linkagegrant is on its way to uncover genes controlling important traits in this speciesby sequencing the complete genome.(LtoR): Rudi Appels (Murdoch University), Parwinder Kaur (UWA),Phil Nichols (DAFWA), William Erskine (UWA) and Sachiko Isobe (KDRI, Japan).Dr Parwinder KaurEmail: parwinder.kaur@uwa.edu.auClimate-smart clovers/crops ... it sounds like the stuff of science fictionbut it is one possible outcome of Sub-clover Genomics Research projectat UWA’s Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) andSchool of Animal Biology. This project’s focus is not so much on the cowsand sheep themselves, but rather, on their fuel. This multi-disciplinaryteam of researchers is developing methodologies to enable breeders to“The sequence will dramatically accelerate research on molecular markers,”says Dr Parwinder Kaur. “These markers will help us discover the genes in theclover that control complex traits such as methane release potential.”Collaboration with Kazusa DNA Research Institute in Japan has brought accessto their expertise in legume genomics and to state-of-the-art equipment toachieve the goals of the research program.The team is very excited about the opportunity that this collaborativearrangement brings. “This research is a world-first effort and will change theway grazing is practiced,” says Kaur. “The results could help address a rangeof emerging issues such as climate change and ruminant health.”With this multi-disciplinary team work, climate-smart clovers/crops couldbecome a science fact.Future of soil carbon storage is below 10cmDr Jennifer CarsonEmail: jennifer.carson@uwa.edu.auThe future of carbon storage in Western Australian soils is in deeper soillayers, according to researchers at IOA and UWA’s School of Earth andEnvironment working in collaboration with DAFWA and grower groups.A key finding of the Soil Carbon Research Program was that in manyagricultural regions in the Southwest, the 0-10cm layer of soil isstoring as much organic carbon as it can under the current climate andmanagement practices.This is because many farmers use annual legumes in rotation with cerealsand employ minimal tillage. These management practices cause most inputsof organic carbon to be in the surface soil layers. Over time, organic carbonaccumulates there rather than deeper in the soil.However, there may be other ways to increase the amount of organic carbonstored in soil. Soils between 10 and 30 cm below the surface were found tohave the potential to store twice as much carbon as they are currently storing.The next step in this research will be to identify practical ways for farmers toincrease the carbon stored in these deeper soil layers.One approach may be to improve soil properties in the 10-30cm layer thatconstrain plant growth, such as subsoil acidity, compaction or waterlogging.This would allow greater plant root growth in these soil layers and thereforegreater inputs of organic carbon. Another option may be inverting soil, usingmould-board ploughing and spading, to bring the 10-30cm layer to the surfacewhere most inputs of organic carbon occur.The Soil Carbon Research Program also demonstrated that it is most realisticto expect small annual changes in organic carbon in soil over long periods oftime. Some examples of the annual increases in soil organic carbon foundby the researchers are 0.1 t/C ha for stubble retention compared to burningin a low rainfall environment, 0.2 t C/ha for clay addition to sandy soil and0.4 t C/ha under perennial pasture (> 500 mm rainfall).The program was funded by the Australian Government’s Climate ChangeResearch Program and GRDC.Further information:Fact sheet “Organic Carbon Storage in Western Australian Soils”on www.soilsquality.org.au;Professor Daniel Murphy Email: daniel.murphy@uwa.edu.auÌÌÌÌAndrew Wheret touching base with alocal farmer while collecting soil samples.12 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

Victory over black spot key tosuccess for field pea productionMs Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auField peas have often been referred to as a poor man’s meat: high inprotein and allergen-free, they are little powerhouses of nutrition and werea staple in the Middle Ages. They can be grown on different soil types andenvironments. One major obstacle to field pea production is black spotfungus, which is endemic to most field pea growing areas in Australia.Research Professor Tanveer Khan from the UWA Institute of Agriculture (IOA)has just led a review of international methods trialled to combat the diseasewhich appeared in the recent issue of the journal Field Crops Research(www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378429013001202).“Black spot is a difficult disease to control, primarily due to the absence ofrobust host plant resistance, and a lack of cost-effective fungicides,“ he says.”The fungus survives on pea stubble, releasing spores into the air with the firstwinter rains, so in Australia the best management option is to delay sowinguntil after the first winter rains, when there are fewer spores left to threaten theplant.” He is quick to point out, however, that this method comes at a heavyyield loss (up to 25%) due to the shortened growing season.The review found that traditional breeding methods to develop black spotresistant cultivars have produced only partially-resistant varieties and it isyet to be determined whether they perform better with a single application offungicide and/or when sowing is not delayed.Traditional breeding methods have been complemented by research to developmolecular marker technology, and although there have not been any majorbreakthroughs as yet, Khan believes it is well worth investing in novel molecularand genomic technologies and to explore whether it is possible to transferresistance from another species into field pea: “Our findings suggest that it isunlikely that conventional breeding, even if aided by marker-assisted selection,will succeed in developing very high levels of black spot resistance. As field pearemains the most produced grain legume in Europe and the second-most in theworld (after common bean), it will become a very large crop in Australia – if weare able to control black spot.”Black spot infection at an early stage.Section of a field pea crop at anadvanced stage of black spot infection.Qin Yu examining seeds.AHRI research expandsunderstanding of metabolicherbicide resistanceMs Brogan MicallefEmail: brogan.micallef@uwa.edu.auResearchers at the GRDC-funded and UWA-based Australian HerbicideResistance Initiative (AHRI) have started a battle to crack themechanisms responsible for causing herbicide resistance.Most herbicides kill weeds by inhibiting an enzyme that is essential to plantgrowth. The herbicide binds to the enzyme (target site), rendering it unviableand causing the plant to die. Weeds have now developed resistance to manycommon herbicides, which can be grouped into two main mechanisms.AHRI’s Research Associate Professor Qin Yu explains: “Herbicide resistancecan evolve through either target site resistance, where the herbicide can nolonger bind to the target site due to a mutation in the plant; or it can evolvethrough metabolic resistance (non-target site resistance), where the herbicidedoes not reach the target site because the plant metabolises, or eats, theherbicide before it can get there.”One type of metabolic resistance involves P450 enzymes, which ‘eat’ someherbicides, including those not yet marketed.“There are literally hundreds of P450 enzymes,” says Yu, “and there has beena growing interest world-wide to better understand their role in the evolution ofmetabolic resistance.”In 2005, then AHRI researcher Dr Paul Neve, now Assistant Professor atthe University of Warwick, UK, showed that ryegrass could quickly developresistance after being sprayed with low doses of Hoegrass® (diclofop-methyl).Yu and her team have now confirmed that this was due to enhanced metabolicresistance, likely involving P450 enzymes. The same results were confirmedfor a population of wild oats by AHRI former PhD student Dr Ahmad-Hamdani.“Wheat can tolerate herbicides such as diclofop-methyl due to rapidmetabolism. We now know that weeds such as annual ryegrass and wild oatsalso have the ability to evolve this mechanism of resistance,” says Yu.“It is likely that several P450s and other enzymes may be involved in causingthis resistance, but currently there is no simple way of measuring a particularP450 enzyme. Now we are collaborating with scientists at Bayer CropScienceFrankfurt to provide more precise answers to these questions.”For further information, visit the AHRI website, www.ahri.uwa.edu.auSustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 13

UWA scientists pavethe way for strawberryrenaissance in WA:A story on root rot instrawberryMs Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auStrawberry root rot may soon become a thingof the past in WA, thanks to groundbreakingresearch by scientists from UWA’s School ofPlant Biology and IOA.The team, comprised of PhD student Ms XianglingFang, Winthrop Professor Martin Barbetti andAssociate Professor Patrick Finnegan, hasidentified new genetic groups of soil-borne fungusRhizoctonia, a pathogen that causes serious rootrot of strawberries and poses a major threat tocommercial production worldwide.They collected about 100 isolates of Rhizoctoniafrom diseased roots of strawberry plants fromcommercial strawberry fields across the PerthTypical root rotting symptoms of strawberry plants caused by binucleate Rhizoctonia infection in a WA commercial strawberry field.region. They then characterized the isolates on thebasis of their capacity to produce disease and theirgenetic diversity and two thirds of them were foundto cause significant disease on strawberries.Molecular sequence analysis highlighted that atleast six different genetic groups occur acrossthe pathogenic isolates of this fungus, and it alsohighlighted the existence of new genetic groupsnot previously reported in Australia or anywhereelse in the world. The research was recentlypublished in the journal PLoS One (www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0055877).Barbetti said they were surprised to discovergenetic groups of the disease which had notpreviously been found anywhere in the world,highlighting the peculiar challenges for Australianstrawberry producers.“Now that we know about these new geneticgroups it is possible to develop new strawberrycultivars that have an improved resistance to thefungus and are better suited to WA conditions,”Barbetti said. “This will reduce the need for antifungalchemicals, reduce input costs and generateimproved outcomes in terms of human health andthe environment.”The research was funded by the AustralianResearch Council, the Department of Agricultureand Food WA (DAFWA), the Strawberry GrowersAssociation of Western Australia, the ChinaScholarship Council and UWA.Smartphone app to optimize pesticide spray applicationsDr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auA new app may soon help farmers to quantifyspray coverages when pesticides are appliedto field crops. Low and inconsistent coveragesare believed to increase the risk of pestpopulations developing resistance, so it is veryimportant that pesticides are applied withthe highest possible canopy penetration andoverall crop coverage. Researchers at IOA andDAFWA are developing a smart phone app incollaboration with the Mingenew-Irwin groupto optimize spray applications of pesticides.Associate Professor Christian Nansen from the IOAand School of Animal Biology at UWA, and Mr RobEmery from DAFWA, received funding from theCouncil of Grain Grower Organisations (COGGO)to address the issue of low and inconsistent spraycoverages. Nansen’s position at UWA is supportedby GRDC.The smart phone app will enable growers toquantify spray coverages after pesticides havebeen applied. In other words, the app can be usedas part of quality control. “If the app indicates youshould be achieving 32 per cent coverage andyou got 18 per cent on your yellow card, there issomething wrong. So you can go back and see ifthere is a problem with the nozzles or the pressure– it’s a form of quality control,” says Nansen.The app will also allow growers to plan how spraycoverages can be optimized by spraying with differentnozzles and taking weather conditions into account.“A grower may want to spray a paddock of canolafor control of a disease, weed or insect pest – he/she can then plug forecasted weather conditions intothe app and also select a type of spray nozzle and atarget spray volume (liters per ha). With these inputs,the app will calculate a predicted spray coverage, sothe grower can select the settings that are practicallyfeasible and give the best spray coverage. This smartThree vertically placed spray cards placed in the top,the middle and the bottom section in a crop canopy.phone app will therefore help growers to obtain betterspray coverages when applying pesticides, and thatwill lead to: better pest control and lower risk of pestsdeveloping resistance,” says Nansen.The phone app is linked to an internet server,and users of the app will have their own personalwebsite to store all spray application data andtherefore be able to easily compare results obtainedacross different paddocks, for different spraysettings and under a range of weather conditions.The new app will be presented at field days inAugust and will be free to download.TopSectionMiddleSectionBottomSectionSpray coverage from the same trial (left), showingspray coverage in top portion of the canopy was muchhigher than in bottom and middle portions.14 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

IOA Director joins CGIAR Grain LegumesIndependent Advisory CommitteeNew staffKadambot Siddique inspecting grass pea drought experiments at UWA.Dr Anke van EekelenEmail: anke.vaneekelen@uwa.edu.auRecently the Director General of InternationalCrops Research Institute for the Semi-aridTropics (ICRISAT), Dr William Dar, invitedHackett Professor Kadambot Siddique,Director IOA, to join as an independent advisoron the Consultative Group for InternationalAgricultural Research (CGIAR) Program onGrain Legumes.The overall aim of CGIAR as a global agriculturalresearch partnership is to bring together adiverse range of research institutions and partnerorganizations to think in an innovative way about afood secure future.Siddique will join the advisory panel of one of the15 Research Programs (CRP) of the influentialCGIAR, and will take part in defining a researchand developmental strategy to improve grainlegume production in developing countries.Within his CGIAR Centre on Grain Legumes (jointlywith ICRISAT, ICARDA, IITA and CIAT), Siddiquewill contribute to the generation and disseminationof specific knowledge, technologies, and policiesfor agricultural development through the strategicplanning of a research program in the area ofsustainable nutrition for the poorest people inthe world.The appointment to become a member of the CGIARResearch Program on Grain Legumes IndependentAdvisory Committee will allow Siddique to joina world-wide network of agricultural scientists,providing access to the most comprehensivecollections of genetic resources and agriculturalresearch infrastructure in the world, among themany other benefits of this prestigious position.Research and industry recognitionDr Yichao RuiEmail: yichao.rui@uwa.edu.auDr Yichao Rui has been appointed as aResearch Associate within the School ofEarth and Environment and IOA.He holds a joint PhD from the Chinese Academyof Sciences and Griffith University and has beeninvestigating carbon, nitrogen and phosphoruscycling in various ecosystems for the past sixyears. He currently focuses on the DAFF NationalCarbon Farming Program and will be investigatingthe influence of carbon on critical soil functionsand long-term viability of sequestering carbon inagricultural systems.Dr Jeremy BougoureEmail: jeremy.bougoure@uwa.edu.auDr Jeremy Bougoure has been appointed asa Research Assistant Professor within theSchool of Earth and Environment and IOA.He completed his PhD at UWA and acquiredpostdoc experience at the University of BritishColumbia and the Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory, Canada. He currently works on theCRC Polymers Project, specifically investigatingthe microscale interactions of soil biota withcertain additives to ameliorate reduced waterholding capacity and non-wettability.NAMEAWARDW/Prof Kadambot Siddique Ag Institute Australia Fellow Award for his outstanding contribution to the agricultural profession.Prof Kingsley DixonE/Prof Alan RobsonAsst/Prof Marit KragtMs Xixi LiLinnean Medal awarded by The Linnean Society of London for his contribution to research on native plants and theregeneration of ecosystems.Officer of the Order of Australia (General Division), for distinguished service to tertiary education through governance andadministrative roles, to the advancement of scientific and medical research, and to the community.Essay Prize of the Agricultural Economics Society for the essay ‘Comparing stated and inferred attribute attendance models inenvironmental choice experiments’.Best young scientist oral presentation award at the 8th International Meeting on Anaerobic Microbiology for her presentation‘Eremophila glabra reduces methane production and methanogen populations in Rusitec’.Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 15

New staff continuedDr Falko MathesEmail: falko.mathes@uwa.edu.auDr Falko Mathes has been appointed as aResearch Associate within the School of Earthand Environment and IOA.He holds a PhD from Cardiff University, UK, wherehe studied marine sedimentary microorganismsunder stress conditions such as starvation andelevated temperatures. Dr Mathes currentlyworks in the CRC for Polymers which aims tooptimize the growing conditions for plants inthe soil. He will investigate how soil microbialcommunities respond to these polymers usingnext-generation sequencing and other molecularbiological techniques.AlumniDr Jiayin PangEmail: jiayin.pang@uwa.edu.auDr Jiayin Pang has been jointly appointed as aResearch Associate within the School of PlantBiology and IOA, to work on the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) GrandChallenge Project ”Genomics approaches todrought, salinity and heat stress tolerancein Chickpea”.Dr Pang completed her PhD at the University ofTasmania, and over the past three years, she hasworked on improving nitrogen use efficiency inwheat at CSIRO Plant Industry in Perth and, priorto this, on phosphorus use efficiency in perenniallegumes at UWA’s School of Plant Biology andIOA. She will be involved in the screening ofchickpea genotypes tolerant to salinity and droughtstress in the WA grain belt and identifying thekey physiological traits encoding the salinity anddrought tolerance in chickpea.Ms AanandiniGanesalingamEmail: aanandini.ganesalingam@uwa.edu.auMs Aanandini Ganesalingam has beenappointed as a Research Associate at IOA.She completed a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture(Hons) and a Bachelor of Economics at UWA in2009. She then went on to undertake a PhD,researching how the efficiency of plant breedingprograms can be improved using information oncorrelated traits, ancestry and environments andher thesis is currently being examined.Ms Aanandini is currently working on the Statisticsfor the Australian Grains Industry (SAGI) Projectfunded by GRDC.Hani Saoub (centre) with alfalfa farmers south of Amman, during a visit to provide technical advice.Dr HaniMahmoud SaoubEmail: hanis@ju.edu.joDr Hani Mahmoud Saoub graduated at UWAin 1994, with a PhD in the area of agronomy/forage crops after completing a Mastersdegree in Plant Production and a Bachelorof Science (Soil and Irrigation) degree in hishome country of Jordan.Following his return to Jordan, Saoub commencedteaching at the University of Jordan, in agronomyand forage crops. Since then, he has supervisedpostgraduate research students, served onexamination committees, authored numerousscientific papers, participated in national andinternational research and conferences, andcontributed to consultancies at home and overseas.He is currently the Vice Dean of the Facultyof Agriculture at the University of Jordan andProfessor of Field and Forage Crops/Agronomy,at the Department of Horticulture and CropScience, where he served as the Head ofDepartment from 2009 to 2012.“During my studies at UWA, I gained significantexperience in the field of crop science as well as inmy social life. I would like to thank my supervisorProfessor Walter Stern, along with all the otherdedicated staff at UWA, who helped me achievemy dreams. I look forward to visit UWA in the nearfuture, and to further strengthen links betweenUWA and the University of Jordan.”16 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

New postgraduate studentsSTUDENT NAME TOPIC SCHOOL SUPERVISOR(S) FUNDING BODYMs Myrtille LacosteUnderstanding the strategies ofoutstanding performers in drylandfarming enterprisesPlant Biology and IOADr Ken FlowerW/Prof Stephen PowlesGRDCMs Louise BlackmoreAchieving joint carbon andbiodiversity outcomes in Australia:social and economic dimensionsAgricultural andResource Economicsand IOAAssoc/Prof Steven SchilizziAsst/Prof Marit KragtAsst/Prof Abbie RogersAPANational EnvironmentalResearch Program –Environmental Decisions (NERP-ED) Top-Up ScholarshipMr Benjamin CongdonUnravelling the complex factors thatdrive pea seed-borne mosaic virusepidemics in peas and developmentof an innovative predictive modelPlant Biology and IOAProf Roger JonesAssoc/Prof Michael RentonARC Linkage ProjectMs Suzanne OrchardFine endophytic mycorrhizal fungi inpasture plant speciesPlant Biology and IOAAssoc/Prof Megan RyanAsst/Prof Rachel StandishAPAHenry SchapperPostgraduate ScholarshipMLA ScholarshipMs Asha GunawardenaOptimal use of policy instrumentsto control waste water pollution inKelani River in Sri LankaAgricultural andResource Economicsand IOAProf Ben WhiteAsst/Prof Ram PanditAssoc/Prof Hailu AtakeltyEndeavour Postgraduate AwardCurrent and upcoming visitors to IOAVISITOR VISITORS’ ORGANISATION, COUNTRY HOST DETAILS/PURPOSE DATESAssoc/Prof Xiaoling WangVisiting scholar, Agricultural College ofGuizhou University, ChinaProf Dan Murphy Jun 2013 – May 2014Ms Rebecca Bitter ZIM-Plant Technology GmbH, Hennigsdorf Germany Dr Helen Bramley Aug 2 – 26, 2013Prof Ylva HilburDeputy Director General for Research,International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, NigeriaW/Prof Kadambot Siddique Aug 12, 2013Delegation from Huazhong Agricultural University, China W/Prof Kadambot Siddique Sep 9 – 10, 2013Dr B AshokVice Chancellor, Kerala Veterinary &Animal Sciences University, IndiaW/Prof Kadambot Siddique Sep 30 – Oct 3, 2013Ms Solveigh Hennig Visiting researcher, Kiel University, Germany Assoc/Prof Stephen Schilizzi Sep 18 – Nov 2, 2013Agriculture online and on airTOPICMethane emissions(Prof Phil Vercoe)The ‘wine dress’ (Fermented Fashion)(Mr Gary Cass)Soil quality (radio interview)(Prof Daniel Murphy)ACCESS FROMwww.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-09/wa-researchers-measure-gas-from-cattle/4742908on.aol.com/show/hardwired/episode/517800206www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-29/soil-quality-website/4721268Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 17

New research projects (since April 2013)Title Funding Period Funding Body SupervisorsManaging soil-borne root disease insub-clover pasturesFertility crisis: harnessing the genomictension behind pollen fertility in sorghum2013 – 2017 MLA W/Prof Martin Barbetti2013 – 2014 University of Queensland ex ARC Linkage Assoc/Prof David JordanProf Ian SmallDr Emma MaceProf Robert KleinDr Diana DugasGrazing into the future: building soil health andcarbon with pasture managementHarnessing soil biological functions to improvegrapevine management for a sustainable industry2012 – 2015 DAFF Carbon Farming FuturesAction on the Ground2013 – 2014 Victoria DPI ex Grape and Wine Researchand Development CorporationW/Prof Lyn Abbott,Dr Natasha PauliProf Daniel Murphy,Dr Linda Maccarone,Assoc/Prof Deirdre GleesonExperientia docet: learning and rememberingin plants2013 – 2015 ECR Fellowship Support Program Dr Monica GaglianoSafeguarding honeybees: Understanding hostparasiteinteractions at the level of proteinsGenomic basis of clonal variation in CabernetSauvignon wine grapes2013 – 2016 Australian Research CouncilBetter Bees of Western AustraliaSwiss Federal Institute of Technology2013 – 2016 Australian Research CouncilDAFWAWestern Australian VineImprovement AssociationThe Yalumba Wine CompanyAustralian Wine Research InstituteProf Boris BaerProf Richard OliverMr John DaviesProf Paul Schmid-HempelAsst Prof Michael ConsidineProf James WhelanProf Ryan ListerMr Glynn WardDr Kristen BrodisonMr James Campbell-ClauseMr Daniel NewsonDr Paul ChambersThe Fourth Australia-China Wheat Genetics andBreeding WorkshopAchieving least cost greenhouse gas abatement –opportunities in Australian grains farmsModifications and update of Dam Design SoftwareTool – Damcat5Identifying the biochemical and molecularbases of 2,4D herbicide resistance in theeconomically important weedRaphanus raphanistrum (wild radish)2013 GRDC Assoc/Prof Guijun Yan2013 – 2016 DAFF: Filling the Research Gap Peter Thornburn (CSIRO)Asst/Prof Marit Kragt2013 WA Department for Water Asst/Prof Chun Woo BaekMr David StantonDr Neil Coles2013 – 2015 Nufarm W/Prof Stephen Powles18 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world

UWA IOA Publications 2013(April-July)Refereed journalsAhmad R, Hussain S, Farooq M, Rehman A andJabbar A (2013). Improving the performance ofdirect seeded system of rice intensification by seedpriming. International Journal of Agriculture andBiology 15: 791–794.Anisa, Chen S, Turner NC and Cowling WA (2013).Genetic variation for heat tolerance during thereproductive phase in Brassica rapa. Journal ofAgronomy and Crop Science ISSN 0931-2250:1-12.Asseng S and Pannell DJ (2013). Adaptatingdryland agriculture to climate change: farmingimplications and research and development needsin Western Australia. Climatic Change 118 (2):167-181.Barton, L, Gleeson DB, Maccarone, LD, Zúñiga,LP, Murphy DV (2013). Is liming soil a strategy formitigating nitrous oxide emissions from semiaridsoils? Soil Biology and Biochemistry. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.02.014.Barton L, Murphy DV and Butterbach-Bahl K(2013). Influence of crop rotation and liming ongreenhouse gas emissions from a semi-arid soil.Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 167:23-32.Bose J, Babourina O, Shabala S and RengelZ (2013). Low-pH and aluminium resistancein Arabidopsis correlates with high cytosolicmagnesium content and increased magnesiumuptake by plant roots. Plant and Cell Physiology54 (7): 1093-104.Chen S, Dunbabin VM, Postma JA, Siddique KHMand Rengel Z (2013). Modelling root plasticity andresponse of narrow-leafed lupin to heterogeneousphosphorus supply. Plant and Soil, DOI 10.1007/s11104-013-1741-x.Christensen S, Nemchenko A, Borrego E, MurrayI, Sobhy I, Bosak L, DeBlasio S, Erb M, RobertC, Vaughn K, Herrfurth C, Tumlinson J, FeussnerI, Jackson D, Turlings T, Engelberth J, NansenC, Meeley R, Kolomiets M (2013). The maizelipoxygenase, ZmLOX10, mediates green leafvolatile, jasmonate, and herbivore-induced plantvolatile production for defense against insectattack. The Plant Journal 74: 59-73.Doole GJ and Pannell DJ (2013). A process forthe development and application of simulationmodels in applied economics. Australian Journalof Agricultural and Resource Economics 57 (1):79-103.Doole GJ, Romera AJ and Pannell DJ (2013). Amathematical optimisation model of a New Zealanddairy farm. Journal of Dairy Science 74: 59-73.Dunbabin VM, Postma JA, Schnepf A, Pagès L,Javaux M, Wu L, Leitner D, Chen YL, Rengel Z andDiggle AJ (2013). Modelling root-soil interactionsusing three-dimensional models of root growth,architecture and function. Plant and Soil DOI10.1007/s11104-013-1769-y.Coutts BA, Kehoe MA and Jones RAC (2013).Zucchini yellow mosaic virus: contact transmission,stability on surfaces and inactivation withdisinfectants. Plant Disease 97:765-771.Fang X, Jost R, Finnegan PM and Barbetti MJ(2013). Comparative proteome analysis of thestrawberry-Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariaepathosystem reveals early activation of defenseresponses as a crucial determinant of hostresistance. Proteome Research 12: 1772-1788.Fang X-W, Turner NC, Xu D-H, Jin Y, He J andLi F-M (2013). Limits to the height growth ofCaragana korshinskii resprouts. Tree Physiology33: 275-284.Farrell M, Hill PW, Farrar J, DeLuca TH, RobertsP, Kielland K, Dahlgren R, Murphy DV, Hobbs PJ,Bardgett RD and Jones DL (2013). Oligopeptidesrepresent a preferred source of organic N uptake:a global phenomenon? Ecosystems 16: 133-145.Foster K, Ryan MH, Real D, Ramankutty andLambers H (2013). Seasonal and diurnal variationin the stomatal conductance and paraheliotropismof tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa var.albomarginata) in the field. Functional Plant Biology40 (7): 719-729.Gaines TA, Wright AA, Molin WT, LorentzL, Riggings CW, Tranel PJ, Beffa R, WestraP and Powles SB (2013). Identification ofgenetic elements associated with EPSPS geneamplification. PLOS ONE June 2013 | Volume 8 |Issue 6 | e65819.Garg H, Li H, Sivasithamparam K and BarbettiMJ (2013). Differentially expressed proteinsand associated histological and diseaseprogression changes in cotyledon tissue of aresistant and susceptible genotype of Brassicanapus infected with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.PLOS ONE 8 (6) e65205 plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0065205Guo YM, Chen S, Nelson MN, Cowling W andTurner NC (2013). Delayed water loss andtemperature rise in floral buds compared withleaves of Brassica rapa subjected to a transientwater stress during reproductive development.Functional Plant Biology dx.doi.org/10.1071/FP12335.Han H, Yu H, Cawthray GR and Powles SB (2013).Enhanced herbicide metabolism induced by2,4-D in herbicide susceptible Lolium rigidumprovides protection against diclofop-methyl.Pest Management Science DOI: 10.1002/ps.3552.Hancock, GR, Murphy, DV and Li Y (2013). Soilproperties and environmental tracers: A DEMbased assessment in an Australian Mediterraneanenvironment. Geomorphology 183: 45-57.Inostroza-Blancheteau C, Aquea F, Loyola R,Slovin J, Josway S, Rengel Z, Reyes-Diaz M,Alberdi M and Arce-Johnson P (2013). Molecularcharacterization of a calmodulin gene, VcCaM1,that is differentially expressed under aluminiumstress in highbush blueberry. Plant BiologyDOI:10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00722.x.Jayakannan M, Bose J, Babourina O, Rengel Z andShabala S (2013). Salicylic acid improves salinitytolerance in Arabidopsis by restoring membranepotential and preventing salt-induced K+ loss via aGORK channel. Journal of Experimental Botany64 (8): 2255-68.Kamphuis LG, Zulak K, Gao L-L, Anderson J andSingh KB (2013). Plant–aphid interactions witha focus on legumes. Functional Plant Biologydx.doi.org/10.1071/FP13090.Kaur J, Sirari A, Kumar D, Singh Sandhu J, SinghS, Kapoor K, Singh I, Gowda CLL, Pande S, KaurP, Sharma M, Imtiaz M and Siddique KHM (2013).Combining Ascochyta blight and Botrytis greymould resistance in chickpea through interspecifichybridization Phytopathologia Mediterranea52 (1): 157-165.Khan TN, Timmerman-Vaughan GM, RubialesD, Warkentin TD, Siddique KHM, Erskine Wand Barbetti MJ (2013). Didymella pinodes andits management in field pea: Challenges andopportunities. Field Crops Research 148: 61-77.Kragt ME (2013). The effects of changing costvectors on choices and scale heterogeneity.Environmental and Resource Economics 54 (2):201-221.Kragt ME, Robson BJ and Macleod CJA (2013).Modellers’ roles in structuring integrative researchprojects. Environmental Modelling and Software 39(1): 322-330.Li M, Yu Q, Han H, Vila-Aiub MM and Powles SB(2013). ALS herbicide resistance mutations inRaphanus raphanistrum: evaluation of pleiotropiceffects on vegetative growth and ALS activity.Pest Management Science 69 (6): 689-95.Liang B, Yang X, Murphy DV, He X, Zhou J (2013).Fate of 15N-labeled fertilizer in soils under drylandagriculture after 19 years of different fertilizations.Biology and Fertility of Soils DOI: 10.1007/s00374-013-0789-3.Liu CA, Li FR, Zhou LM, Feng QI, Pan CC, WangLJ, Chen JL, Li XG, Jia Y, Siddique KHM and Li FM(2013). Effect of water management with plasticfilm in a semi-arid agricultural system on availablesoil carbon fractions. European Journal of SoilBiology 57: 9-12.Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing worldTHE UWA institute of agriculture April 2013 19

Liu Y, Zang Y, Long X, Shao H, Liu Z, Zhang Z andRengel Z (2013). High nitrate removal capacityof an aerobic denitrifier Klebsiella oxytoca DF-1isolated from aquaculture ponds in coastalmudflats. African Journal of Microbiology Research7: 1527-1534.Long X, Ni N, Wang L, Wang X, Wang J,Zhang Z, Rengel Z, Liu Z and Shao H (2013).Phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil bytwo Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.)genotypes. Clean Soil Air Water 41: 202-209.Ma Q, Zhang F, Rengel Z and Shen J (2013).Localized application of NH 4+-N plus P at theseedling and later growth stages enhances nutrientuptake and maize yield by inducing lateral rootproliferation. Plant and Soil DOI: 10.1007/s11104-013-1735-8.Maccarone LD (2013). Relationships betweenthe pathogen Olpidium virulentus and the virusesassociated with lettuce big-vein disease. PlantDisease 97(6): 700-707.Nansen C, Stokes B, James J, Porter P, Shields EJ,Wheeler T and Meikle WG (2013). Biological controlagent of larger black flour beetles – a nuisancepest developing in cotton gin trash piles. Journal ofEconomic Entomology 106(2): 648-652.Nansen C, Sidumo AJ, Martini X, Stefanova K andRoberts JD (2013). Reflectance-based assessmentof spider mite ‘‘bio-response’’ to maize leavesand plant potassium content in different irrigationregimess. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture97: 21-26.Raman H, Raman R, Kilian A, Detering F, Long Y,Edwards D, Parkin IAP, Sharpe AG , Nelson MN,Larkan N, Zou J, Meng J, Aslam NM, Batley J,Cowling WA and Lydiate D (2013). A consensusmap of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) based ondiversity array technology markers: applications ingenetic dissection of qualitative and quantitativetraits. BMC Genomics 14: 277.Schroeder JI, Delhaize E, Frommer WB, GuerinotML, Harrison MJ, Herrera-Estrella L, Tomoaki H,Kochian LV, Munns R, Naoko K, Nishizawa NK,Tsay Y-F and Sanders D (2013). Using membranetransporters to improve crops for sustainable foodproduction. Nature 497: 60-66.St Jack D, Hesterman DC and Guzzomi AL(2013).Precision metering of Santalum spicatum(Australian Sandalwood) seeds. BiosystemsEngineering 115: 171-183.Savage D, Barbetti MJ, MacLeod W, Salam MU andRenton M (2013). Temporal patterns of ascosporerelease in Leptosphaeria maculans vary dependingon geographic region and time of observation.Microial Ecology 65: 584-592.Skurray J, Pandit R and Pannell DJ (2013).Institutional impediments to groundwater trading:the case of the Gnangara groundwater systemof Western Australia. Journal of EnvironmentalPlanning and Management 56 (7): 1046-1072.Suriyagoda LDB , Real D, Renton M, LambersH and Ryan MH. Establishment, survival, andherbage production of novel, summer-activeperennial pasture legumes in the low-rainfallcropping zone of Western Australia as affectedby plant density and cutting frequency. Crop andPasture Science 64 (1):71-85.Tang K, Shen J, Zhang F and Rengel Z (2013).Interactive effects of phosphorus deficiencyand exogenous auxin on root morphological andphysiological traits in white lupin (Lupins albus L.).Science China Life Sciences 56: 313-323.Thamo T, Pannell DJ and Kingwell RS (2013).Measurement of greenhouse gas emissions fromagriculture: economic implications for policyand agricultural producers. Australian Journalof Agricultural and Resource Economics 57 (2):234-252.Turner NC (2013). Climate change, population andfood security. World Agriculture 4 (1): 25-28.Zhang Z, Rengel Z, Liaghati T, Torre A andMeney K (2013). Influence of plant speciesand submerged zone with carbon addition onthe removal of metals by stormwater biofilters.Desalination and Water Treatment DOI:10.1080/19443994.2013.803709.Zhang ZH, Solaiman ZM, Meney K, Murphy DVand Rengel Z (2013). Biochars immobilize soilcadmium, but do not improve growth of emergentwetland species Juncus subsecundus in cadmiumcontaminatedsoil. Journal of Soils and Sediments13: 140-151.Zimmermann U, Bitter R, Schüttler A, EhrenbergerW, Rüger S, Bramley H, Siddique KHM, Arend Mand Bader MKF (2013). Advanced plant-based,internet-sensor technology gives new insights intohydraulic plant functioning. Acta Horticulturae991: 313-320.Book ChaptersBramley H, Turner NC and Siddique KHM (2013)Water use efficiency: governed by an interactivenetwork of physical, biochemical and hydraulicprocesses. In: Kole C (Ed.) Genomics and Breedingfor Climate-Resilient Crops, Springer-Verlag, Berlin,pp 225-268.Farooq M, Wahid A and Siddique KHM (2013).Physiology of grain development in cereals. In:Pessarakli M (Ed.) Handbook of Plant and CropPhysiology, Third Edition, Taylor and Francis Group,LLC 6000 Broken Sound Parkway, Suite 300,Boca Raton, FL 33487 USA.Stefanova K (2013). Statistical model for multienvironmenttrials: accounting for variety byenvironment interaction. In: Muggeo VMR etal (Eds.) Proceedings of the 28th InternationalWorkshop on Statistical Modelling, InstitutoPolygrafico Europeo, Palermo, Italy. ISBN 978-88-96251-49-2, pp 783-788.upcoming meetingsand eventsInternational EventInterDrought-IV Conference2-6 Sep 2013Perth, Australiawww.interdrought4.com4th Australia-China Wheat Geneticsand Breeding Workshop5 Sep 2013UWA, Perth, AustraliaEmail: guijun.yan@uwa.edu.auNational eventComBio 2013 Conference29 Sept – 3 Oct 2013Perth, Australiawww.asbmb.org.au/combio2013/Local EventUWA Future Farm Field Day6 Sep 2013167 Page Rd, West Pingelly, Western Australiawww.ioa.uwa.edu.au/future-farm-2050help us reduce wasteUWA ioa missionTo advance research, education,training and communication inagriculture and resource management,for the benefit of mankind.contact detailsTo receive this newsletterin electronic format only,please send an email toioa@uwa.edu.auEditor: Ully FritschEmail: ully.fritsch@uwa.edu.auThe UWA Institute of AgricultureTel: +61 8 6488 3756ioa.uwa.edu.auThe University of Western AustraliaM082, 35 Stirling HighwayCrawley, WA 6009UniPrint 10709820 THE UWA institute of agriculture August 2013 Sustaining productive agriculture for a growing world