The Cereal Genetics and Improvement Unit provides germ-plasm accession and curation for Australian researchers and breeders through the Australian Winter Cereals Collection; and develops new varieties of wheat, durum, oats and rice. Cereal breeding teams seek to develop varieties which improve yield, disease resistance, tolerance to hostile environments and quality attributes.
These activities underpin the productivity and profitability of the 4,200 NSW grain growers who annually produce approximately 11 million tonnes of cereal grain, worth $3.5 billion.

Key research infrastructure

• The Australian Winter Cereals Collection is maintained at Tamworth and services researchers across Australia.
• Cereal breeding is conducted at Tamworth (durum), Wagga (wheat) and Yanco (rice). The breeding teams have access to farm facilities, molecular biology, pathology, biometric, economic, agronomic and extension support, as well as four well equipped cereal science laboratories.
• Wheat breeding is conducted through Enterprise Grains Australia (EGA), a commercially oriented alliance with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries and the Grains R&D Corporation.
• The rice program works in close conjunction with the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).

Key research collaborations

Value Added Wheat CRC, NSW Agricultural Genomics Centre, EGA, growers, NSW Farmers Association, Australian Wheat Board, Australian Flour Millers Council, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre, Durum Industry Association, pasta manufacturers, International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, GrainCorp, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Grains R&D Corporation, RIRDC, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, International Rice Research Institute, graziers, South Australian R&D Institute, all winter cereal breeding programs, researchers using winter cereal germ plasm for genomics and genetics research, and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Scientists

Find a list of Cereal Genetics and Improvement scientists.

Contact

John Oliver
Research Leader, Cereal Genetics and Improvement
Phone: 02 6938 1816
Email: john.oliver@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Staff profile