- Western Crop Genetics Alliance celebrates 10years of next generation pre-breeding research and signs up for another decade
- Alliance research helping develop high performance, resilient grain varieties
- Cook Government commits to a more than $3 million to extend the Alliance for a further 10 years
The Western Crop Genetics Alliance is celebrating its tenth anniversary, with the Cook Government committing more than $3 million for another decade of collaboration with Murdoch University to continue driving new frontiers in genetics research.
The Alliance - between the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Murdoch University - has become an international leader in crop pre-breeding research that helps deliver high performance, resilient grain varieties adapted to the environment, enabling growers to optimise yields, quality, sustainability and profits.
The Western Crop Genetics Alliance works with local, national and international partners on genetic advances and tools that boost barley, lupin, oats and chickpea crop production.
Significant outputs over the past 10 years are now being used by four plant breeding companies to produce next generation varieties, with improved yields and pest and disease resistance, tailored to production conditions.
Achievements include contributing to chromosome-scale genome mapping of barley, oats and lupins, updating the barley and oat pan genomes, identifying germplasm with acid soil tolerance, discovering a new semidwarf barley gene and developing technology to turn off undesirable genes.
These and other scientific advances enable Western Australian grain growers to sustainably produce more grain from less rain - helping industry to achieve record breaking harvests in recent years.
The ongoing State Government collaborations with public and private sector, together with investments across research and development, market access, supply chain infrastructure and sustainability, is supporting significant gains in the grains industry and continuing the Alliance will help take this from strength to strength.
As stated by Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis:
"Our involvement in the Western Crop Genetics Alliance is enabling game-changing technologies in crop pre-breeding aimed at boosting crop production, efficiency and resilience.
"These technologies are essential to help next generation grain varieties adapt to environmental challenges and a changing climate - taking WA crops to the next level and supporting ongoing industry productivity.
"The Alliance is another example of how we are investing in research and skills that will support diversifying WA and ensuring our valuable grains industry remains productive and internationally competitive."
