Australia Weather News

The solution to water-logging losses in cereal crops could lie in a single gene.

Tasmania Institute of Agriculture researcher, Meixue Zhou has identified a major gene that makes barley crops tolerant to 'wet feet'.

Southern grain industry leaders are urging the Grains Research and Development Corporation to support the genetic research after one of the wettest winters south of the Great Dividing Range.

Associate Professor Zhou said wheat and barley could transport oxygen from their shoots to their roots with a genetic tolerance to submergence, just like rice.

"After more than 10 years research, we've found some major genes responsible for water-logging tolerance," he said.

"One of them, we call it 'aerenchyma', that means it has a root system with holes, so oxygen can come from above ground to the roots.

"It reduces the damage, similar to rice.

"These ones can grow under water."

The contrast between barley plants with the 'aerenchyma' gene and those without has been stark in trials in northern Tasmania.

After two months completely submerged, commercial barley varieties have all struggled, whereas Associate Professor Zhou's selections have been thriving.

The Tasmanian trials have also screened 300 lines of wheat for tolerance to water-logging.

The finding has cereal growers calling for water-logging tolerance genes to be incorporated into the current commercial varieties.

Nile district farmer and 2012 Nuffield Scholar, Michael Chilvers said the major physical constraint on his farm was water-logging.

He said it stunted crops, leached nitrogen from soil, and allowed weeds and diseases to build-up in weakened crops.

"We've got plants that look very similar to some of the worst that we've got here," Mr Chilvers said.

"We've had a lot of very severe water-logging this year.

"Looking at yield maps, the difference is probably five tonnes to the hectare from the best to the worst."

Like Mr Chilvers, agronomist Terry Horan said plant-breeding could bring a step change to cereals in the high rainfall areas.

"I think we need to have a look at it in some of our commercial varieties, or near release varieties, to determine how important this discovery is," Mr Horan said.

"A lot of south eastern Australia is under the same conditions as here.

"It's very wet, particularly on river basins and flood plain areas, which is a lot of the farming/ cropping country in Australia.

"Barley in particular is suffering quite badly," he said.

Farmer and chairman of the GRDC Southern Regional Panel Keith Pengilley said farmers in otherwise reliable grain producing areas faced major yield losses in high rainfall years.

"Obviously genetics is one key component, and that's what we're looking at here today," Mr Pengilley said.

"That's probably taking a long-term view.

"The other component is around the management and how do we control water-logging today, tomorrow, until this genetic research is reality."