Protecting productive plants
Stopping the rot: Research into the effects of management practices on disease incidence has allowed the development of effective, farm-based disease management packages.
We are using molecular approaches to study the interactions between soil-borne fungal pathogens and plants and investigating the interactions which can lead to suppressive soils.
Insect insights: Our focus is on alternatives to pesticides, integrated pest management, the ecology and chemical ecology of major agricultural pests and the applications and environmental impacts of genetically modified crops.
Our recent work with behaviour modifying chemicals for insect pests has resulted in the world’s first commercially available moth attractant based on plant volatile chemicals, resulting in less pesticide use.
World of weeds: Weed ecology and weed management in the grains, pastoral and cotton industries in our group also focus strongly on integrated approaches.
Understanding the life-cycle of weeds and plant competition and interactions with desirable crop and pasture plants has resulted in more effective and economic control methods being applied, which place less reliance on herbicides.
Plant physiology: Plant stress physiology has been a focus of research into salt, drought, and temperature stress tolerance, and their effects on plant water use, both in agricultural and natural resource systems.
Plant biotechnology approaches have been used to overcome problems associated with the commercial production of Australian native flowers.
We also have expertise in the in vitro breeding of Australian plants.
