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Three Brothers working in the fields together: a charming pastoral scene. But Three Brothers is also the name for a valuable international agriculture collaboration with universities in China.

The UWA Institute of Agriculture has signed an agreement with long-time research partner Zhejiang University and new partner Tarim University, under the umbrella of the Three Brothers initiative, for research in dryland agri-horticulture, water-saving irrigation technologies and other techniques for profitable crop production in a sustainable system.

The Three Brothers program was founded by the Ministry of Education in China in 2005 with the aim of supporting tripartite relationships between high-performing foreign universities, elite Chinese universities and emerging Chinese universities based in the Western Provinces of China. There are already two projects under way with universities in New Zealand. UWA is the first Australian university to sign a Three Brothers agreement with China.

"This program will provide opportunities for joint research and publications, high-level staff exchanges, joint training and the exchange of PhD and Master's students," said Hackett Professor Kadambot Siddique, Director of The UWA Institute of Agriculture.

He said the biggest issues in China were food security; improved feed for animals to support a diet with increased meat; safe production of fruit and vegetables; food safety and agricultural systems that protect the environment.

The field research will take place at Tarim University in its unique location in Southern Xinjiang. Xinjiang Province has a typical desert arid oasis agriculture.  Tarim University also focuses on resource conservation: breeding of new varieties such as Chinese date, pear and walnut; fruit and vegetable cultivation; and a National Science and Technology Support Project funded by the Chinese government.

UWA hosted academics from Zhejiang and Tarim universities in November last year and Professor Siddique recently visited the partners with Associate Professor Guijun Yan and Assistant Professor Mick Considine.  All three will be working on specific projects in the Tarim Basin.

"We have identified three key areas of research for the benefit of TU development that also match the skills and aspirations of UWA," Professor Siddique said.

"They are: The endemic poplar ( Populus spp.) ecotypes in the Tarim Basin which are of great ecological and conservation value to China.  Professor Considine has great interest and expertise in phenology, so this is one of the Three Brothers priority areas.

"Jujube ( Ziziphus spp.) or Chinese date is a major cash crop for the Tarim Basin. There is much interest in the diversity and breeding of Tarim.  This is an area of expertise of Professor Yan, and the second priority area we have identified;

"The third priority is improved water use efficiency and dryland agri-horticultural systems, an area of interest for my group," he said.

Under the project, high quality MSc students from TU will do up to 18 months research project training at UWA.  Early next year, an early career researcher from TU, plant scientist Ms Peipei Jiao will work at UWA (with support from the China Scholarship Council) with Professors Considine, Yan and Siddique for 12 months on technology that can be transferred to the study of the endemic Poplar in the Tarim Basin.

The three partners will present together at the 2014 International Horticulture Science Conference in Brisbane, strengthening their collaboration.

"We were impressed by the investment of TU in English language lecturers," Professor Siddique said. "We hope to help them expand in that area with the assistance of UWA's Centre for English Language Teaching."