Tougher
crops for a warming world |
 The
second talk in the University of Adelaide's Research Tuesdays seminar series
was held on Tuesday, 8 May.
Multi-media resources from the talk are available
for download below.
Professor Mark Tester, is a ARC Federation
Fellow (Research Professor), member of the Executive Management Group of
the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and Chair of the Research
Committee in the School of Agriculture, Food & Wine, University of Adelaide.
Title: Tougher crops for a warming world.
Synopsis: Trying to grow plants in Australian conditions
is challenging - it always seems to be too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry,
too salty, too infertile. And it is likely to get harder as the effects of
climate change become increasingly apparent. The economic and social effects
of our harsh environment are significant, reducing yield for farmers and
making the sustainable use of land difficult.
We can see around us daily that some plants can survive difficult conditions
better than others. I am interested to discover how these plants manage to
do better in tough conditions. What genes are in the tough plants that are
missing from the wimps? And can we move the ‘toughness’ genes
into the wimps to make them tough? In this talk, I will describe how we are
hunting down these genes, and how we are moving them into our crops, in a
bid to enhance crop yield and sustainability for farmers both in Australia
and internationally. A serendipitous benefit from the work is the chance
to improve food quality. The techniques involve both conventional breeding
and genetic modification - issues surrounding these approaches will also
be discussed.
|
|
 |
Subscribe
|
| Get each seminar as an audio file delivered to your computer or mobile device via RSS Podcast feeds. |
 |
Up
Coming Seminars |
Professor Janet Hiller, Deputy Head School of Public Health
Widgets, gadgets and other health technologies: using evidence, priorities and values to guide choices
 |
Previous
Seminars from 2008 |
Professor Ann Brooks, Head School of Social Sciences
The ‘Commercialization of Intimacy’ Are Women still left holding the Baby?
Professor John Williams, Associate Dean Research Law School
The Constitution and the Murray-Darling Rivers: Send in the Litigators?
Associate Professor Anton van den Hengel
Some ideas about the next generation of image manipulation tools
Professor Pascale Quester
Sponsorship: Creating meanings and delivering value
Professor Graham Nathan
Some pathways toward a more sustainable energy future
Professor Stephen Lincoln
21st Century: Present and Future Challenges
Professor Nancy Pollock-Ellwand
Urban reform through the ages
Professor Alan Cooper
Using ancient DNA to study climate change, mass extinctions, and human evolution
Professor Gary A Wittert
Obesity, Physical, Psychological and Sexual well-being: Implications
for Ageing Men
Professor Nick Harvey
Sea-level rise, coastal impacts and management implications
Bookings
Email: research.tuesdays@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: 8303 3692
The Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor James McWha, is delighted
to invite you to the University’s 2008 Research Tuesdays lecture series.
This monthly series of public lectures is designed
to provide an opportunity for the University’s leading researchers
to engage with business and community leaders about pressing issues of the
day.
|
