DAN00094 Australian chickpea breeding program

To develop new, high yielding, desi chickpea varieties with improved resistance to Ascochya Blight and Phtyophthora Root Rot.

Barley Breeding Australia - Northern Node

This project covered the 2006-2011 operations of the Northern Node of Barley Breeding Australia (BBA-North). BBANorth collaborated with the Southern and Western nodes and all BBA participants to deliver improved barley varieties to the Australian grains industry. BBA-North focused on the northern region and was the national leader in breeding high yielding, disease resistant barleys with grain quality that enhanced the crop's status as a preferred feed grain. Development of varieties for the malting and brewing industries was also targeted. This project incorporated coordination, breeding, regional evaluation, foliar and soil-borne disease tests, molecular marker screens and grain and malt quality analyses.

Technical support improved Best Management Practices in irrigated grains farming systems in the Fiztroy Basin Association priority catchments

Broadscale irrigation is a major land use in many of the priority neighbourhood catchments (45,218 hectares in Central Highlands and Dawson) and there is a requirement to provide technical support to sub-regional group field officers and landholders in these priority catchments. This technical support will assist field staff and land managers to identify and implement appropriate, sustainable technologies and management practices.

2.2.2.2 Improved Management Summer Weeds: Best weed management strategies dryland cropping systems

To undertake a scoping study to identify the major issues in weed management in dryland cropping systems with cotton.

ACIAR Feasibility of farmers managing climate related crop production risk in India

Validation of new Indian seasonal climate forecasting products. In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) kharif crops are heavily dependent on summer monsoon rains, where the timing and intensity of the rains affects crop yield. The majority of farms in AP are small and marginal, making them very vulnerable to yield reductions. Farmers also lack access to relevant information that might enable them to respond to seasonal conditions. Enabling farmers to utilise seasonal climate forecasting would allow them to respond to seasonal variability. To do this, farmers need a forecasting system that indicates a specific management strategy for the upcoming season, and effective and timely communication of the forecast information. Current agro-meteorological advisories in AP are issued on a bi-weekly basis, and they are relevant to an agro-climatic zone scale which may not be sufficiently relevant at a village level. Also, the information in the advisories may not be necessarily packaged in way relevant to cropping decisions by farmers. The objectives of this project are to evaluate the skill of seasonal climate forecasts to be issued for the 2008 monsoon season, to assess crop management options in response to seasonal scenarios that capture the range of seasonal climatic variability, to develop and evaluate options for effective communication and adoption of climate forecasts and agricultural advisories, and to synthesise and report on options for future research investments into seasonal climate forecasting.

Australian Tropical Grains Germplasm Centre

DAQ00131 project activities aimed to: conserve tropical grains germplasm under long-term storage conditions; acquire new germplasm with unique traits of interest to clients (particularly to breeding programs); the maintenance of germplasm through viability testing and regeneration; and to increase awareness of the availability of tropical grains germplasm to clients. New project goals were to facilitate the creation of the national grains Genetic Resources Centre (GRC) and included training GRC staff in the use of GRIN-Global (GG), a software management system, so that grains data can be nationalised across Australia; and contribute to the action plan development for the relocation of tropical grains germplasm to both Tamworth and Horsham.

Weed management strategies for farming systems with herbicide tolerant cotton.

The introduction of glyphosate tolerant cotton has significantly improved the flexibility and management of a number of problem weeds in cotton systems. However, reliance on glyphosate poses risks to the industry in term of glyphosate resistance and species shift. The aims of this project were to identify these risks, and determine strategies to prevent and mitigate the potential for resistance evolution. Field surveys identified fleabane as the most common weed now in both irrigated and dryland system. Sowthistle has also increased in prevalence, and bladder ketmia and peachvine remained common. The continued reliance on glyphosate has favoured small seeded, and glyphosate tolerant species. Fleabane is both of these, with populations confirmed resistant in grains systems in Queensland and NSW. When species were assessed for their resistance risk, fleabane, liverseed grass, feathertop Rhodes grass, sowthistle and barnyard grass were determined to have high risk ratings. Management practices were also determined to rely heavily on glyphosate and therefore be high risk in summer fallows, and dryland glyphosate tolerant and conventional cotton. Situations were these high risk species are present in high risk cropping phases need particular attention. The confirmation of a glyphosate resistance barnyard grass population in a dryland glyphosate tolerant cotton system means resistance is now a reality for the cotton industry. However, experiments have shown that resistant populations can be managed with other herbicide options currently available. However, the options for fleabane management in cotton are still limited. Although some selective residual herbicides are showing promise, the majority of fleabane control tactics can only be used in other phases of the cotton rotation. An online glyphosate resistance tool has been developed. This tool allows growers to assess their individual glyphosate resistance risks, and how they can adjust their practices to reduce their risks. It also provides researchers with current information on weed species present and practices used across the industry. This tool will be extremely useful in tailoring future research and extension efforts. Simulations from the expanded glyphosate resistance model have shown that glyphosate resistance can be prevented and managed in glyphosate-tolerant cotton farming systems. However, for strategies to be successful, some effort is required. Simulations have shown the importance of controlling survivors of glyphosate applications, using effective glyphosate alternatives in fallows, and combining several effective glyphosate alternatives in crop, and these are the key to the prevention and management of glyphosate resistance.

DAQ00116 Central Queensland Sustainable Farming Systems Phase 3

Improved economic and social performance of grain and mixed farming businesses in Central Queensland.

Control measures for an unidentified disorder in sunflower crops in Central Queensland

Control measures for an unidentified disorder in sunflower crops in Central Queensland.

CRC20080 Diagnostic technologies for phosphine resistance management

Development of molecular markers for rapid diagnosis of phosphine resistance in insects.

Productivity and marketing enhancement for peanut in Papua New Guinea and Australia

Enhance productivity of peanuts in Papua New Guinea and Australia. Also the application of remote sensing technologies to enhance profitability in peanut systems.

Management of mirids and stinkbugs in Bollgard II

The 'insurance' sprays by the growers run the risk of flaring secondary pests such as whitefly, mites and aphids. Although recent research on mirids has addressed some aspects of this issue, further effort is needed to refine mirid management.

AG15 (Sustainable Agricultural State-level Investment Program) natural resource management extension in irrigated cotton and grain

Natural Resource Management project developing reources and supporting best practice management for irrigated cotton and grain growers in Queensland.

Cotton Fusarium wilt management

Development of management strategies for fusarium wilt of cotton.

Differentiation of Solenopsis invicta social forms using high resolution melt PCR.

Solenopsis invicta Buren (red imported fire ant) are invasive pests that have the capability of major destructive impacts on lifestyle, ecology and economy. Control of this species is dependent, in part, upon ability to estimate the potential spread from newly discovered nests. The potential for spread and the spread characteristics differ between monogyne and polygyne social forms. Prior to this study, differentiation of the two social forms in laboratory test samples commonly used a method involving restriction endonuclease digestion of an amplified Gp-9 fragment. Success of this assay is limited by the quality of DNA, which in the field-collected insects may be affected by temporary storage in unfavourable conditions. Here, we describe an alternative and highly objective assay based upon a high resolution melt technique following preamplification of a significantly shorter Gp-9 fragment than that required for restriction endonuclease digestion. We demonstrate the application of this assay to a S. invicta incursion in Queensland, Australia, using field samples from which DNA may be partially degraded. The reductions in hands-on requirements and overall duration of the assay underpin its suitability for high-throughput testing.