Two new research topics completed by fourth year agricultural science students at The University of Western Australia (UWA) could play a key role in the development and adoption of grain varieties by WA growers.

Both topics come off the back of fourth year research project scholarships funded by Cooperative Bulk Handling (CBH) and, according to UWA Institute of Agriculture Director, Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, they can make immediate impacts on the WA grains industry.

“One reveals that the royalty system used to fund most plant breeding could profoundly affect innovation, while the other shows we’re in danger of prematurely discarding some canola varieties that can still provide good resistance to blackleg disease,” he said.  

The University of Western Australia is hosting 80 scientists from 13 countries whose skills will help revolutionise plant breeding – and vital food production.

It is the first time an OECD-sponsored conference has been held in WA.  UWA and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) are the event’s co-sponsors.

Kununurra born Christian Bloecker expects to return to his family’s 1100 hectare farm in the Ord River Irrigation Area at the end of the year, equipped with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Western Australia (UWA).

At 24, he also expects to ‘hit the ground running’ and intends making an impact not only at the family farm level, but also with Stage Two of the Ord River Irrigation Area.

“I see the Ord becoming not just Australia’s food bowl, but South-East Asia’s food bowl and I want to play a role in helping it get there,” Mr Bloecker said.

Thirteen Deans from six agricultural universities around China will be at The University of Western Australia for a three-day workshop on agricultural research and education from tomorrow.

The workshop aims to develop plans for collaborative research in livestock agriculture and pastures; and plant biology and agriculture.

Australia’s brightest and best agricultural research was recently on display at the ‘Frontiers in Agriculture Postgraduate Showcase 2009’ at The University of Western Australia (UWA), Institute of Agriculture (IOA).

Introducing the eight postgraduate students from the Agricultural and Resource Economics, Earth and Environment, Animal and Plant Biology schools within UWA’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Chair in Agriculture and IOA Director, Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, described their work as extremely relevant to the future of WA and Australian agriculture and its sustainability.

A new centre that recognises the crucial role of research in bringing environmental, economic and social benefits to Australia will be opened tomorrow by The University of Western Australia Professorial Fellow and former WA Premier, Dr Carmen Lawrence.

The Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy, in UWA’s Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, aims to develop and apply models and decision frameworks that push forward the frontiers of environmental policy design, focusing on scientific outcomes within an economic framework.

Its vision is to improve the management of Australia’s environment through research that leads to more appropriate and cost-effective environmental public policy.

Research conducted by The University of Western Australia (UWA) School of Plant Biology and Institute of Agriculture has demonstrated that several herbaceous legumes may be viable alternatives to lucerne under low phosphorus conditions for West Australian farmers in areas where lucerne performs poorly.

The research compared the growth of 10 native and exotic herbaceous legumes to lucerne growing in glasshouses, supplied with different levels of phosphorus.

The study found that four species, Bituminaria bituminosa, Glycine canescens, Kennedia prostrata, and K. prorepens, grew better than lucerne in low phosphorus conditions and that two species, B. bituminosa and G. canescens, used phosphorus applied to soil more efficiently than other species where low phosphorus was a problem.

Headed by Professor George Milne of the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, researchers at The University of Western Australia (UWA) have concluded that a classical swine fever outbreak, starting in north Queensland, could spread widely through Australia’s 20 million feral pigs, potentially posing a risk to Australia’s domestic pig population.

“Our computer model simulated the effect of wild pigs moving across the landscape and showed how classical swine fever could spread among feral pigs in the right seasonal conditions, becoming endemic and almost impossible to eradicate,” Professor Milne said.

A powerful spotlight is shining on the Institute of Agriculture (IOA) at The University of Western Australia (UWA), with a long list of prestigious awards, scholarship grants and healthy student enrolments impressing the scientific community, governments and industry. 

The recent prize windfall for three young UWA IOA students at the Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum, hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Food WA and Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, underlined why UWA is the university of choice for undergraduates seeking to excel in agricultural and related natural resource management studies.