Dr John
Radcliffe AM FTSE (Chair)
Dr Albert
Rovira AO FTSE (Coordinator)
The Hon
Neil Andrew AO FTSE
Professor
David Coventry
Mr Trevor
Day
Ms Jane
Greenslade
Dr Ann
McNeill
Dr Kathy
Ophel-Keller
Dr Ian H
Pitman
Dr Glen
Weir
Dr Roger
Wickes
The South Australian Program was established in July 2000 with generous support from the South Australian Government. It places considerable emphasis on soil and plant research because of the strengths in these areas on the Waite and Roseworthy Campuses which house the Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences of the University of Adelaide, the CSIRO Land & Water and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).
South Australian research expertise is also strong in animal genetics and nutrition and aquaculture, and these are well suited for participation in Crawford Fund activities.
South Australian researchers participating in The Crawford Fund to train agricultural scientists from developing countries through individual scientist visits, workshops and training classes (held both in South Australia and overseas) will benefit from the increased opportunities for developing scientific and economic links with many countries in our region
Dr. Li Jinhua, a Post Doctoral fellow from the Department of Plant Pathology at Gansu Agricultural University (GAU), visited the Soil Microbial Ecology Team of CSIRO Entomology (Waite Campus, Adelaide) for one year. Her research on the “Microbial suppression of root disease complexes in cropping systems” was supported by the ATSE Crawford Fund and CSIRO.
Dr Li Jinhua (centre) and the team from CSIRO Entomology in SA
Improved root disease control has the capacity to significantly improve plant productivity in Gansu province (north-western China) and may also provide environmental benefits by removing constraints to increased adoption of minimum tillage and stubble retention practices, thereby improving soil fertility and reducing erosion and stubble burning.
Working in collaboration with CSIRO colleagues, Dr. Li successfully completed the molecular taxonomic (DNA sequencing, diagnostic PCR) component of her research project, providing her with a number of generally applicable techniques for rapid DNA-based diagnosis of important soil-borne plant pathogens common to both Australian and Chinese plant production systems. Jinhua was also an eager participant in our field research, involved in sowing and monitoring of cereal root disease suppression trials in South Australia and New South Wales.
Dr Li Jinhua in the lab
Dr. Li successfully learnt and applied more complex DNA fingerprinting techniques to soil-borne, cereal pathogenic Rhizoctonia and Pythium communities from two of these disease suppressive trials in southern Australia. Analyses indicated significant differences among pathogen populations at the two different locations (geographic differentiation) and the selection of different genotypes in response a root disease suppressive inoculant (Trichoderma). The completion of this work delivered a major novel research output related to efficacy of root disease suppression and a journal publication in preparation.