Brachypodium project

Funded by the Grains Research Development Corporation and the United States Department of Agriculture Dr Bob Furbank and Michelle Watt (CSIRO PI) are jointly leading a growing research team using Brachypodium to increase the understanding of genes responsible for growth and yield in food crops and to speed up wheat improvement

IRRI C₄ Rice project

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with an aim to potentially double rice yields, the International C4 Rice Consortium is made up of scientist working together to understand the genes responsible for different photosynthesis mechanisms in plants. In close collaboration with researchers from the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, scientists at the HRPPC will grow sorghum (C₄) and rice (C₃) under a variety of controlled conditions. Download the brochure for more information.

Drought tolerance traits

Funded by the Grains Research Development Corporation and earmarked to start in the 2011-2012 financial year

C₄ photosynthesis

The metabolic and enzymatic regulation of C₄ photosynthesis and its impact on photosynthetic productivity, research by Prof Susanne von Caemmerer, ANU

Salt tolerance traits

Infrared thermography is being used to screen a diverse range of wheat and barley cultivars for salt tolerance in controlled environments. Selected cultivars will be grown in an artificial saline site and the Phenomobile used to evaluate performance. The project is funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, to Drs Rana Munns and Richard James, CSIRO

More-effective water-use by rainfed wheat in China and Australia, research by Dr Tony Condon, CSIRO

Molecular basis of changes in flowering behaviour in cereals under increasing ambient growth temperatures using barley as a model, research by Dr Megan Hemming, CSIRO

Research by Dr Manny Delhaize, Dr Peter Ryan and Dr Alan Richardson, CSIRO