UNE linked to Iran in wheat research

June 05, 2007

A postgraduate student at the University of New England, who is researching the use of silicon to enhance disease resistance in wheat, has established a collaborative relationship between UNE's School of Rural Science and Agriculture and a government department in Iran.

Ehsan Tavakkoli's research has the potential to save the Australian wheat industry millions of dollars through reduced herbicide and fungicide treatments. It is already attracting strong interest and support in both Australia and Iran. The Department of Soil and Water Research at the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture has made its laboratory facilities available to Mr Tavakkoli in the hope that his research will help Iran to increase its grain yield.

"Silicon has been used for centuries in the prevention of plant diseases in agriculture," Mr Tavakkoli explained. "We are only now working to acquire a more precise understanding of its role in plant physiology and in disease prevention."

"Wheat farmers could easily incorporate silicon in their disease management strategies," he continued. "This would mean an increased resistance to plant diseases and a reduction in the need for fungicides. Integrating silicon application into fertiliser treatments would be very cost-effective. Silicon can reduce wheat farmers' costs, increase their profit margins, and help them meet growing pressure for more environmentally friendly, sustainable agriculture.

"So far I have studied the disease-resistant response to silicon application of a wide range of Australian and Iranian varieties of wheat. I now plan to investigate the mechanisms through which silicon enhances plants' defence against disease, and to examine the response of wheat to different silicon sources."

Mr Tavakkoli (pictured here) explained that wheat farms are generally smaller in Iran than in Australia, so Iranian farmers do not find the chemicals used by Australian farmers cost-effective.

During 1996-2004, he said, wheat production increased from 10 to 14 million tons. In 2004 Iran marked its biggest agricultural achievement, announcing that it was self-sufficient in its grain production. (Before that it had been forced to import several million tonnes of wheat every year.)

"Iran recognises that oil and gas are finite resources," he said. "Its goal is to be the number one producer of agricultural goods in the Middle East. (Currently it is number two – behind Turkey.) To help it achieve this goal, it is looking at emerging technologies and agriculturally advanced practices in Australia."

He said that the keenly awaited results of his research would be available to governments and farmers at the conclusion of his PhD project in 2009.

"At UNE I have found an ideal study and research environment," Mr Tavakkoli said. "When I came here – just over two years ago – to undertake my Master of Science in Agriculture degree I left Iran with a suitcase and no idea about where I was going. I have found some of the most respected, highly qualified, yet supportive academic staff here at UNE." Professor Acram Taji, an internationally renowned scientist, is his principal supervisor. His other supervisors are Peter English, Dr David Backhouse and Dr Chris Guppy.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at June 5, 2007 05:34 PM