A retired agronomist whose work led to improved productivity in the acid soils of central-west New South Wales and to widespread grower adoption of grain legumes and oilseeds has won this year’s “Seed of Light” award for grains research communications in the northern region.

Col Mullen (photo) received his “Seed of Light” from the deputy chairman of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Northern Panel, Di Bentley, at a ceremony on Tuesday night.

The award is made annually by the GRDC, with the prize a work of art in glass by Stephen Procter, head of the Canberra School of Art class workshops at the Australian National University.

Ms Bentley said Mr Mullen’s almost 40 years of research and extension with the NSW Department of Agriculture had been worth millions of dollars of extra production to growers across the state.

“Col Mullen’s impact on agriculture in NSW has been enormous, and he is rightly regarded by his colleagues as a leader amongst his peers and an exceptionally effective research and extension officer,” Ms Bentley said.

“Col was the first person in central and northern NSW to research the area’s big percentage of inherently infertile, vulnerable, acid soils and show how they could be managed sustainably and productively.

 “His recipe of relatively low rates of lime and other missing nutrients and adapted pasture legumes and grasses substantially altered the trend of increasing acidification. Further on he discovered legumes like serradella and sub and Arrowleaf clovers that thrived on these soils.”  

Ms Bentley said Col Mullen had also led the development of the canola and grain legume industries in the NSW central west. He had shown that lupins, field peas, chickpeas and faba beans suited different soil types and environments and promoted canola by identifying suitable varieties and demonstrating sustainable production techniques like sowing into cereal straw.

Mr Mullen’s researching of the nutritional deficiencies of the many soil types across the central west led to the identification of suitable pasture species for them, and his work in this area has been recognised right across the state.

“Col was also the first to show that a mixture of lime and gypsum would dramatically improve the structure of the sodic soils of the central west, opening the way for productive pastures on them,” Ms Bentley said.

“He brought the same skills to the cereal industry, which largely has him to thank for the meaningful soil tests growers now use to make their fertiliser decisions as well as the most sustainable and profitable crop rotations.”  

Ms Bentley said previous NSW winners of the GRDC’s Seed of Light award were Tamworth plant pathologist Kevin Moore and climate researcher Peter Hayman.