Honours in Agriculture

Is there a link between embryo size, root architecture and drought stress in barley?

Developing crops that can withstand hot and dry climates is becoming increasingly important worldwide.

Alternative crops for dryland farming systems

Crop-growing regions experience increasingly dryer and warmer climates, and more lands are becoming hostile to any crop currently cultivated.

Stomatal traits for water-use efficient crops

Water is the cost of our food. Understanding how plants use available water and convert it to food even in harsh environments is essential to develop resilient crops.

Seed size variation in chickpea and lentil

Seed size is highly variable in most agricultural crops and affects crop productivity and quality.

High sodium wheat for disease resistance?

In the course of ongoing salinity tolerance research, we observed variation for leaf and stem rust resistance that seemed to be related to a novel trait for sodium accumulation in bread wheat. 

Improving nodulation by understanding effects of fertiliser and soil type survival of rhizobia

On average, legume crops fix about 100 kg N per hectare, which equates to $4 billion annually in Australia.

What keeps native bees from expanding their pollen diet?

Worldwide, many bee species specialise on floral resources from local native plant species, and do not incorporate pollen from introduced species, including crops, in their diet. 

Honours project - Stuart Roy

Loss of crop yield due to high concentrations of Na+ and Cl- on agricultural land is a significant problem for Australian farmers.

Turning failed antibiotics into herbicides to fight weeds

If your backyard is anything like mine, weeds are setting up home everywhere. Unfortunately, this is not only happening in our backyards, but also in farms across Australia and the world. 

Agave spirits: Using wild yeasts to ferment fructose

Honours project: Fermentation of wild yeasts to create Australia's first agave spirit.

Honours project - Stuart Roy

Loss of crop yield due to high concentrations of Na+ and Cl- on agricultural land is a significant problem for Australian farmers.

Understanding the function of GIPCs in barley root adaptation to salinity

Honours project
The honours student will profile barley GIPCs using sphingolipidomics. They will also use CRIPSR/Cas9 gene editing to develop a barley line with an altered GIPC glycan headgroup, for comparison to the Arabidopsis mutant.

Alternative crops for dryland farming systems

Crop-growing regions experience increasingly dryer and warmer climates, and more lands are becoming hostile to any crop currently cultivated.

Stomatal traits for water-use efficient crops

Water is the cost of our food. Understanding how plants use available water and convert it to food even in harsh environments is essential to develop resilient crops.

Seed size variation in chickpea and lentil

Seed size is highly variable in most agricultural crops and affects crop productivity and quality.

High sodium wheat for disease resistance?

In the course of ongoing salinity tolerance research, we observed variation for leaf and stem rust resistance that seemed to be related to a novel trait for sodium accumulation in bread wheat. 

Honours project - Stuart Roy

Loss of crop yield due to high concentrations of Na+ and Cl- on agricultural land is a significant problem for Australian farmers.

Turning failed antibiotics into herbicides to fight weeds

If your backyard is anything like mine, weeds are setting up home everywhere. Unfortunately, this is not only happening in our backyards, but also in farms across Australia and the world. 

Improving plant responses to sub-optimal conditions through plant hormones

Honours project: Make fundamental discoveries about how strigolactones act to alter the growth of plant root cells or applying the latest knowledge of strigolactones to crops.

Improving wheat yields in dispersive soils

Honours project: Examine how wheat yield can be improved by increasing tolerance to different soil constraints

Effect of micronutrients on the growth of wheat in sodic soils

Honours project: Examine how micronutrient interactions alter the growth and ion concentrations of wheat in sodic soils

Release of PFAS from selected consumer products and building materials waste

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are manmade chemicals with unique properties.

Cost-effective remediation strategies to reduce release of PFAS from contaminated soil

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are synthetic organofluorine compounds with unique properties and widespread applications in different industries.