Harvest gets underway at Yanco Managed Environment Facility

Harvesting has begun as part of a $1.6 million project aimed at improving crop yield and quality in drought prone environments, Director, Yanco Agricultural Institute, Dr Mark Stevens said today. 

“Wheat crops have been put through their paces at the purpose-built managed environment facility at NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Yanco Agricultural Institute,” Dr Stevens said. 

“The world-class facility will allow researchers to improve the performance of our broadacre crops and increase yield and quality potential in tough, water-limited environments. 

“Harvesting is now underway across around 2,500 trial plots. Preliminary results from these first wheat trials are expected early in 2012. 

“Under the five year project, crops are being subjected to a range of drought-mimicking and challenging situations, including water stress and extreme temperatures.” 

Mark Stevens said Yanco was selected as it is considered representative of dryland, water-limited environments across southern NSW and northern Victoria. 

“The facility brings together state-of-the-art equipment including temperature and moisture monitoring equipment, automated data loggers, a weather station and major irrigation and pump infrastructure,” Dr Stevens said.      

“The technology will allow researchers to undertake accurate and reliable screening of breeding lines to identify high performing genotypes. 

“With the aim of improving yield and quality in water-limited environments, the recently-harvested wheat lines will be benchmarked against a range of growing situations, including heat-shock experiments.” 

In a joint initiative with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Yanco is one of three sites to host a managed environment facility.  

Other facilities have been established at Narrabri in the north west grain belt of NSW and Merredin in Western Australia’s central eastern grain belt.