Australia
January 28, 2009
Source:
GRDC's The Crop Doctor
Albert Einstein, thinker,
scientist, genius and the oft-cited origin of excellent quotes,
supposedly said the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge
but imagination.
The New Products line of business at the
Grains Research and Development
Corporation (GRDC) exists because, in order to remain
competitive, the grains industry needs innovation.
And as Einstein was aware, innovation is the consequence of
imagination and creativity, which requires the ability to
conceive of novel or different solutions to what has gone
before.
As part of the New Products line of business, the New Farm
Products and Services portfolio is focusing on six research
areas: technology and instruments, soil biology, engineering and
machinery, water and nutrient efficiency, novel pesticides and
export opportunities.
In a novel project at the University of Western Australia,
development of a hand-held near infra-red (NIR) spectrometer is
becoming a firm possibility. It has sophisticated optics taken
down to a chip the size of a fingernail. This technological
advance recently won a Eureka Prize for the innovative
researchers involved in the project.
The wavelength from the spectrometers will be calibrated to
measure such crop and soil parameters as grain moisture and
protein and soil nutrient levels. Its value is its portability,
robustness and potential low cost.
Research is also underway to develop novel pesticides based on
naturally occurring microbes, such as the Metarhizhium fungus to
target myrids, thrips and Rutherglen bugs and a bacterium with
potential for snail control.
In a more traditional chemical approach, another project is
developing a grain fumigant that could replace phosphine. This
is part of a broader, post-harvest grain hygiene strategy to
enable growers to keep large volumes of on-farm grain
insect-free.
An exciting new research partnership looking at endophytes in
seed and based at AgResearch in New Zealand, has been boosted by
funding from the NZ government. Endophytes are fungi that grow
inside plants and are known, in some cases, to confer resistance
to certain pests and diseases.
Currently available pasture varieties containing similar
endophytes have proven to have significant stress tolerance
compared to uninnoculated controls. If the seed containing
endophytes is properly stored, the fungus has potential to
remain in the seed for the next generation, eliminating the
requirement to reinoculate each season.
Ultimately, GRDC’s New Products line of business must
demonstrate market demand and value of investment in any product
or service. Paul Meibusch, Program Manager for the New Farm
Products and Services portfolio, explained that the focus is on
converting the potential research opportunities into
commercially available outputs, taking a concept from the
laboratory through to product launch.
Whether the technology is developed in Australia or overseas, by
an agricultural researcher or in a totally unrelated industry,
New Products seeks the novel scientific break-throughs that
might provide the grains industry an innovative edge.
So, we can raise a glass of low gluten, coeliac-friendly beer,
developed with GRDC support, to the future of New Products and
let Einstein have the last word – “logic will take you from A to
B, but imagination will take you anywhere.”
The Crop Doctor is GRDC Managing Director, Peter Reading |
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The Crop Doctor is
GRDC Managing Director,
Peter Reading |
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