FROST RESISTANCE 2 (FR2) and VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1) genes were known to effect resistance to frost during vegetative growth in wheat. We found that the combination of alleles, or versions, of FR2 and VRN1genes in winter cultivars that could survive severe winters was also present in an Afghan landrace with known better resistance to frost during reproductive development, but not in modern Australian cultivars. FR2 and VRN1genes affected days to heading and grain yield in southern Australia.

Wheat plants growing in the N-adequate soil were more sensitive to drought stress than those growing in the N-limited soil. The response of the expression of the NRT and AMT genes to soil drought largely depends on N application, wheat genotype and growth stage. The expression of TaNRT2.1 in efficient N uptake wheat genotype was significantly higher than in inefficient N uptake genotype.

Yield loss from drought in wheat is an increasing problem with climate change where irrigation is not possible. However, a spray application of an antitranspirant polymer before the sensitive reproductive stage of the wheat crop has been shown to enhance yield by reducing drought damage to pollen viability. This knowledge will help farmers to time application of these polymers to droughted wheat so that protection of yield from drought damage is more reliable.

Drought suffered by durum wheat plants when associated with mycorrhizal fungi from ear emergence to grain ripening decreases yield but enhances grain quality for human diet and pasta processing. Benefits to grain quality were observed when wheat plants were cultivated at the present atmospheric CO₂ concentration. Under elevated CO₂, as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, benefits of mycorrhizal fungi and restricted irrigation on wheat grain quality may disappear.

Maize yields of low-input smallholder farmers were simulated in APSIM, considering global warming and soil fertility at four sites with different climates. Global warming increased yields at sites with temperatures <31°C and decreased yields at sites with temperatures >31°C. Micro-dosing with nitrogen will increase yields at all locations at <35°C.

An appropriate applications of nitrogen (N) fertiliser can improve canola (Brassica napus L.) crop yields and seed quality; side-dressed applications of N at the 6-leaf stage resulted in higher N uptake efficiency and overall N economy than comparative preplant-only N applications under normal weather conditions; higher plant straw N concentrations at maturity indicate restricted N remobilisation under drought stress.

The genetic diversity and relationships among eight millet genera (sixty-nine millet accessions) were investigated by using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers and morphological data analyses. High level of polymorphism was detected. The close relatedness between the Eragrostis and Panicum genera and greatest distance between the Pennisetum and Echinochloa genera was found. The millet collection includes rich and valuable plant materials for millet breeding.

Phenotype values of plant height, stem and leaf fresh weight, stem fresh weight, juice weight and Brix of 181 recombinant inbred lines from the cross of grain sorghum and sweet sorghum were investigated under four environments. Additive QTLs, additive × additive epistatic QTLs and QTL × environment interaction effects for above five traits were analysed. Major and stable QTLs were validated through comparing with previous published QTLs.

The cropping environment is highly variable and is the largest source of variation in crop yield. We quantitatively characterise the Australian chickpea cropping environment for water and temperature regimes as background for breeding and agronomy.

This study describes the search for favorable QTLs related to ascochyta blight resistance in faba bean. QTLs located on chromosomes II and III were identified in both controlled and field conditions and thus, they may be of interest for faba bean breeders.

Two diploid cultivars (AberMagic, Twystar) and a tetraploid (Greengold), sown in different binary mixture ratios, were monitored over a 2-year period under frequent cutting to simulate cattle grazing and conservation managements. Cultivar proportions were significantly influenced by sown ratio, seasonal period and management. Differences in large canopy structure between ploidies are a likely factor affecting competitive ability, mixture construction should account for these hierarchies to achieve the desired sward composition.

Effective control of insect pests through agrichemicals is critical to modern day agriculture. In this study, we establish toxicity baseline data for several aphid pests against four widely used chemicals. This information is used to explore potential shifts in population resistance as a result of insecticide exposure in Australia.