The idea behind these themes is to look forward.
These are flexible themes where we can add new themes as they emerge.
The Crops, Roots & Rhizosphere theme aims to manipulate the rhizosphere to the benefit
of crop production.
This includes manipulating root architecture and function in partner with the soil microorganisms
that reside on and around the crop root.
By fully harnessing the soil where roots grow, we will ensure we meet crop yield potentials.
We believe there is a significant opportunity to increase grain yields by ensuring the growth
and the development of crop roots are not hindered by abiotic and biotic soil constraints.
Furthermore, given our drying and warming climate we need to continue to breed crops
for heat tolerance, drought resistance and water use efficiency so as to lessen the impact
of climate on our crops and farm businesses.
Root and rhizosphere research is a new frontier compared to our knowledge of the above-ground
plant components.
With our significant strength in root science and rhizosphere biology, The University of
Western Australia has the expertise to meet the challenges of this field.
The Sustainable Grazing Systems theme is about optimising the interaction between the genetics,
environment and management.
So it’s about the right plants and animals, in the right place, managed in the right way.
If we get this right then we can maximize the profitability of producing clean, green
and ethically produced products, which is what the consumers are demanding, and minimize
the environmental footprint of livestock production.
This is easier said than done, particularly when you consider the enormous area and different
types of grazing systems that we cover in this state, from the huge extensive beef production
systems and the rangelands up north, through to the mixed cropping and sheep production
systems in the southern regions and all combinations in between.
We take a lab to landscape approach to tackle three key targets:
The first one is to establish a feedbase that is cost effective and as consistent in quality
and quantity as possible all year round.
The second is to improve the efficiency that ruminant convert that feed into product, and
the third is improving reproductive efficiency.
The Sustainable Grazing Systems theme brings together The University of Western Australia’s
expertise in animal biology, plant biology and agricultural economics to look at the
system.
Western Australia has enormous potential for meat production and Sustainable Grazing Systems
as a system will be a major component of that.
In our approach to we use everything from established scientific principles behind pasture
systems and animal grazing behaviour to state-of-the-art genetic and genomic technologies to try and
move closer to the optimum Genetics by Environment by Management interaction.
Importantly we collaborate with other universities and research organisations locally nationally
and internationally to ensure that the work we do is of the highest quality and has the
most impact for the producers whose livelihoods depend on us being innovative.
Water for food production aims to assist irrigators in optimise water use for least volume of
water used.
Essentially, plants require water as and when they need it and irrigation systems must be
able to be managed to take this into account to maximise production.
The use of smart sensor systems can assist farmers to achieve these aims and we are particularly
interested in developing such systems at The University of Western Australia.
In addition, in dry-land systems, irrigation can lead to problems with salinity, and this
needs to be managed carefully.
Again, sensors can play a role in this.
The UWA Institute of Agriculture has brought together scientists from across the University
from the Faculties of Science and Engineering to form coherent teams to address these issues
for the irrigation industry.
We must also bear in mind that inefficient use of water can lead to offsite consequences
to the environment that must be considered.
We have to remember when we’re allocating water for irrigation that for every 1 Litre
of water we take out, there are potentially consequences to the aquifers or the rivers
where we get this water from.
This can include downstream impacts on wetlands and altered flows and water quality problems
in downstream rivers.
We therefore need to take a whole of system approach when we are looking at designing
irrigation precincts to make sure that we can allocate water for food production while
also meeting our environmental sustainability targets.
Increasing the intake of fruits, wholegrains and vegetables is regarded as the foundation
of dietary approaches to prevent chronic disease.
The Food Quality and Human Health theme is exploring how fruits, vegetables and legumes
may reduce the risk of chronic disease.
The major objective of that is to develop and release new apple varieties with enhanced
health attributes.
This has involved collaboration with the apple industry, and with other groups within the
University including the Faculty of Medicine and plant sciences and the UWA Business School.
Legume intake in Australia is very low and one potential way of addressing that is to
incorporate legume and legume derived ingredients into commonly consumed staple foods such as
bread.
Our has been looking at lupin and lupin flour as a food ingredient and we have incorporated
that into bread and a number of other foods and we’ve found that they can improve blood
pressure and improve the management of Type 2 diabetes.
A major aspect of the Food Quality and Human Health theme is to develop new foods with
potential to reduce chronic disease.
The widespread consumption of these foods has the potential to benefit not only population
health but also agricultural industries.
An Agribusiness ecosystem is a network of farms and organisations that come together
so that they can create value for their customers.
Agribusiness ecosystems relies on the idea of interdependence.
The farms work together so that they can be able to survive in a very risky and competitive
environment.
When we look at agriculture we always think in terms of value chains and we think in terms
of supply chains but the concept of Agribusiness ecosystems is a more unifying integrated concept
which helps us to look across the different industries, the different value chains, the
different supply chains in a holistic way so that we can increase productivity, profitability
and we can also bring environmental sustainability in agriculture.
The main focus of this theme is going to be research that is relevant to the needs of
the industry that responds to the changing times and also training by emphasising both
soft and hard skills that are relevant for the development of the agribusiness industry.
UWA is currently ranked 25th in the world in agriculture and life sciences and number
one in Australia.
We encourage bright and talented students to come to this wonderful university to undertake
undergraduate and postgraduate programs in agricultural science and food production systems.