State Government invests $5 million into nation-wide plant phenotyping project for improved crop varieties

WA crop production and grains research is set to be boosted thanks to a $5 million State Government investment into a nation-wide plant phenotyping project.

Two WA nodes were launched on July 2 as part of Australian Plant Phenomics Network’s nationwide project to analyse the responses of plants to soil, water, nutrients, and light for the development of high-performance grain varieties.

Plant phenotyping is the assessment of complex traits including development, growth, resistance, tolerance, physiology, architecture, yield, and ecology.

The two nodes will be located in Northam and Merredin at the University of Western Australia and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research facilities.

APPN chief executive Richard Dickmann said the project presented a unique opportunity for the state that would allow for the identification of appealing traits for grain development.

“This is a unique opportunity for WA to establish and develop world-leading plant phenotyping capabilities, linked to national and international scientists, which will help address the challenges and opportunities facing WA farmers,” he said.

“With our new capabilities in high-throughput imaging and measurement of plants, supported by advanced data collection and analysis, we will enable the identification and isolation of desirable traits in new cultivars, often years faster than conventional breeding trial.

“It really is an exciting field of science which we are excited to be driving.”

APPN is a plant science research network that is supported by the National Research Infrastructure for Australia program, and aims to measure the performance of plants efficiently and non-destructively.

WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the State Government would work alongside grower groups, universities, and research collaborators to help WA growers optimise their crop potential.

“This investment will help WA’s grain industry to remain at the forefront of advances in research and WA’s growers to increase yields,” she said.

“Grains production is becoming increasingly reliant on data-driven science to breed improved varieties that are suited to local conditions.”

Field trials will be held at the Merredin Dryland Research Station with controlled irrigation and high-tech sensor systems to measure and monitor.

The node in Northam will utilise drones that are equipped with state-of-the-art sensors, as well as mobile and ground-based instruments that will be used to monitor and measure crops.

DPIRD senior research scientist Dr Hammad Kahn said the partnership with the UWA node and facilities in Merredin would “accelerate the delivery of groundbreaking science” to farmers across WA.

“Joining the APPN national network allows us to deploy state-of-the-art mobile phenotyping units, which will improve our research efficiency and deliver real impact to WA’s agricultural industry,” he said.