Research breakthrough
Monash researchers have discovered a new mechanism that enables plants to regulate their flowering in response to raised temperatures.
The finding could potentially lead to the development of technology allowing plant breeders to control the physiological response of plants and mitigate the impacts of warming temperatures.
The Monash team led by Associate Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian made the discovery by applying a combination of genetic, molecular and computational biology experiments to the flowering plant Arabidopsis.
Research scholarships
TWO young researchers have won scholarships allowing them to manage grains research projects of their own this year.
Sebastian Ie and Jessica Lemon, both research officers at Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) in Victoria have won Williamson Foundation scholarships worth $30,000 each.
These funds will enable them to design and deliver research projects in their first year of employment at BCG.
Mr Ie’s project will see the establishment of a paddock-scale field trial investigating precision agriculture and variable rate nitrogen application.
As part of the project, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology will be used to collect data, and the value of this technology will be assessed.
Ms Lemon’s research project will seek to determine how stubble grazing influences the growth of barley sown on three different row spacings.
Viterra appointment
Viterra has appointed Jo Klitscher as its eastern region operations manager, encompassing eastern South Australia and western Victoria.
Ms Klitscher has been with the business 17 years and was most recently operations co-ordinator in the Thevenard region on the Eyre Peninsula.
Chickpea research
The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) is hoping two wild relatives of chickpeas will be able to provide clues to find genes resistant to the damaging root lesion nematode.
USQ has brought in two ancient varieties of chickpea from Turkey to search for suitable genetic material.
Both the old varieties have strong resistance to root lesion nematode, which can cause a great deal of damage to grain legume crops.
