Growing for survival

AGRICULTURE is one of the oldest professions and certainly the most vital to human survival.

Early humans were nomadic hunter gatherer for thousands of years, tracking herds and seasonal plant growth over a vast territory to ensure enough food to survive. The first major revolution in agriculture was the random mutation of wild wheat. Wild relatives of modern wheat were some of the earliest crops sown, although they grew sparsely with a small head of seed – hardly worth the effort of cultivation.

However, through random hybrid formation between related grasses, the Emmer wheat strain emerged as a useful crop around 9000-8000BC, as it could be harvested on site for food, the seeds were large and were not scattered by the wind. Importantly, planting uneaten seeds could guarantee future crops.

With a relatively secure source of food, nomadic populations settled for the first time, building permanent residences and villages. Grains and livestock farming quickly evolved with innovations including plough tilling of the soil, weeding, laying fields fallow and also irrigation (Euphrates in 4000BC). Over time humans selected and bred livestock to produce leaner meat and grains with higher yields.

Locally, Australian farmers have always needed to be innovative, with the early colonists encountering harsh environmental conditions and prohibitive costs of transporting farm machinery to their fledgling colony.

They responded by developing their own machinery including a stripper, the Stump Jump Plough, two types of stripper harvester, and one of the earliest fourwheel drive tractors leading to a successful export trade for the young colony.

Then came the second major agricultural revolution. Genetics gave agriculture a kickstart, firstly with Gregor Mendel demonstrating how inheritance works and then the discovery of the structure of DNA which is the underlying mechanism for inheritance just 50 years ago; leading to the fast expanding field of agricultural biotechnology which can produce ways of feeding the increasing global population.

We now produce vast amounts of data on DNA sequences and genes enabling improved breeding of animals and plants through bioinformatics analysis resulting in targeted breeding. Plant breeding has reached a new level of sophistication through genetic modification to increase yield in unusual soil and climate conditions.

This is of particular importance in Australia where poor climatic conditions have been exacerbated by extensive clearing of native vegetation, leading to vast areas of arid saline soil.

Many Australian farmers now work at the edge of return on investment farming, too much at the mercy of their environment and akin to the hunter-gatherers of old.

Thus, modern farmers must have many strings to their bows. As well as having a traditional understanding of the breeding cycles of plants and animals, farmers must deal with international and national markets, and have business and management skills to operate large complex farms. They must come to grips with the science of root interaction with strange soils, the means of irrigating dry soils, the use of satellite forecasting to predict weather, and the seeding of clouds to induce rain when needed. Farmers must also know how to use genetics to improve breeding stock and understand how to access and assess the new innovations flooding out of agricultural biotechnology. Their most useful tool is the computer.

Agriculture is thought to be the major area for current and future innovation in biotechnology research, and Murdoch University is well placed to play a leading role in this knowledge revolution.

Murdoch has been involved with agriculture since opening its doors in 1975, and has significantly invested in agricultural biotechnology and environmental remediation.

Our Veterinary School, now the only internationally accredited veterinary school in Australia, is involved in two Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) focused on meat quality and wool. The State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre based at Murdoch acts as a central hub for companies, government and other university researchers in the field.

Over the last decade Murdoch has strategically positioned itself at the forefront of this broad new field of environmentally sustainable agriculture.

It has been particularly successful in seeking research partnerships, recently topping the State and ranking sixth nationally in success in ARC linkage grants. Three of Murdoch’s six areas of research strength are in agriculture, and the University plays a key role in seven CRCs related to the area.

In this issue of Synergy, a small part of Murdoch’s ever growing activities in agricultural research are presented.