International Wheat Congress: DPIRD research scientist shines spotlight on Dale ‘frost nursery’
Global grains industry leaders have been told how a “humble” frost research site in WA’s Wheatbelt has been “pivotal” in helping growers tackle the $410 million scourge.
Located near Beverley, the Dale Frost Research Site was the focus of a presentation by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research scientist Brenton Leske at the International Wheat Congress in Perth this week.
About 900 researchers, policy makers and scientists from 52 countries have descended on the State’s capital for the five-day biennial event which runs until September 27.
Dr Leske told the congress a suitable long-term site to screen for frost was essential to help farmers manage the risk to crops.
He said DPIRD’s Dale facility had played a pivotal role in the success of various frost research projects.
“Establishing a long-term trial site to characterise large crop populations to search for reproductive frost tolerance in wheat and other grain crops was an upmost priority,” Dr Leske said.
“Dale was established in 2016 and grew from humble beginnings to a fully serviced 40 hectare trial site, with irrigation to create a reliable field phenotyping environment.
“Since then, more than 1200 wheat germplasm have been screened for frost tolerance and the site has hosted many and varied trials to better understand frost and develop strategies that help farmers reduce its impact on crops.”
The site was selected for its access to irrigation water, uniform soil type, and flat area for trials.
It is surrounded by undulating topography to enhance frost occurrences to produce discriminate levels of damage.
“Research outcomes include findings that high stubble loads increase the severity and duration of frost events, through the presence of ice nucleating bacteria,” Dr Leske said.
“Trials have also shown wheat is the most susceptible to frost, followed by barley and then oats.”
Researchers at the Dale site are currently screening wheat for plant secondary compounds in leaf tissue that might shed some light on frost susceptibility.
They are also evaluating wheat traits for their potential to improve frost tolerance.
Dr Leske said frost incidences and severity had increased over the past 20 years, costing Australian growers up to $410m.
“Pre-breeding research at Dale is imperative to help plant breeders select and breed new varieties more tolerant to frost events,” he said.
“With climate change likely to increase environmental stresses on crops, including frost, research like that at Dale will become even more important to help growers manage and adapt to this risk.”
The International Wheat Congress has previously been held in Canada and China.
This year’s event was organised by the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation and the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre — a collaboration between Murdoch University, the University of WA and the State Government.
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