Australia
March 8, 2013
GRDC Chairman Keith Perrett (right) congratulates Dr Zhong-Hua Chen, a Research Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, who was honored in the 2013 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, presented during the ABARES Outlook 2013 conference. Photo by Steve Keough Photography.
A researcher investigating the potential for increased salt tolerance in malting barley has received national recognition for his work.
Dr Zhong-Hua Chen, a Research Lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, has been honored in the 2013 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Dr Chen was named the recipient of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Award before being awarded the ultimate honor with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Award for his project, “Functional analysis of stomatal movement genes for barley salt tolerance: connecting gene to yield performance in saline soil”.
The awards were announced during the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Outlook 2013 conference dinner.
Supported by the GRDC and other rural industry partners, the Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry provide assistance to 18 to 35-year-olds to fund projects on an innovative or emerging scientific issue to benefit Australia’s primary industries.
The awards encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help advance the careers of young scientists through national recognition of research and ideas.
GRDC Chairman Keith Perrett has congratulated Dr Chen on winning both the GRDC and Minister’s awards, which he said were appropriate recognition for the researcher’s efforts to address an important issue in the grains industry.
“It is estimated that soil salinity accounts for losses of over $100 million to the Australian grains industry every year,” Mr Perrett said. “Developing crop varieties that yield well in saline soils is one way of overcoming this constraint so the work being undertaken by Dr Chen is of enormous value.”
Dr Chen is focusing his efforts on salt tolerance in barley suitable for malting.
Australian exports account for around one-third of the world’s malting barley and there is increasing demand for Australian barley in Asian countries such as China.
However, some of the leading cultivars of Australian barley are sensitive to salinity.
“A third of our agricultural land will be significantly affected by salinity by 2050,” said Dr Chen. “Therefore, breeding malting barley suitable for saline soils is very important for the barley industry.”
Dr Chen’s research will focus on stomatal guard cells. These cells are specialised leaf cells which regulate carbon dioxide uptake and water loss and therefore influence yield.
He aims to develop genetic markers associated with functions of stomatal guard cells for salinity tolerance. Dr Chen’s approach spans the disciplines of plant physiology and molecular genetics.
He will use stomatal imaging to link the traits of the stomata with molecular markers.
Dr Chen plans to publish his research in peer-reviewed, open-access journals in order to communicate the research to disciplines spanning plant physiology, environmental biology and plant breeding.
“I appreciate this award very much as it will help cover research, travel and conference expenses,” said Dr Chen. “Ultimately, this research will contribute to the success of breeding programs for salt-tolerant barley.
“The research may also have application to other cereal crops, allowing farmers to better adapt to the threat of salinity.”
A total of 12 award categories were offered in the 2013 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People: grains, cotton, dairy, fisheries and aquaculture, viticulture and oenology, animal welfare, red meat processing, pork, new and emerging rural industries, meat and livestock, sugar and horticulture. Each award is worth up to $22,000. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Award provides an extra $33,000 to one recipient of the industry awards to extend their project.
More information about the awards is available via www.daff.gov.au/scienceawards
Species
