The Sustainable Agricultural Production research group leverages its expertise through a diverse skill set encompassing fundamental, applied, and adaptive research across staple, minor, and native crops, as well as mixed farming systems.
Our research capabilities span various domains, fostering robust national and international collaborations with esteemed research organisations and commercial partners. Together, we address critical research gaps in sustainable intensification of agricultural production, encompassing crop agronomy, resource utilization efficiency, genetics and genomics, abiotic and biotic stress resilience, and mitigation strategies, including Silicon-mediated stress tolerance. Additionally, we collaborate to drive the necessary adaptations at both production and policy levels.
Sustainable Agricultural Production research team brings extensive national and international experiences to the table, disseminating their insights through engagements such as public speaking engagements at prestigious national and international conferences, contributions to industry forums, university-level teaching, and media outreach.
Current projects
1. The sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) systems for climate resilient development in Pacific Island countries (2023 – 2026)
PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
The sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) systems for climate resilient development in Pacific Island countries project aims to evaluate the biophysical and economic benefits of multiple SAI practices in crop-based farming systems in Samoa and Tonga. The project promotes dialogue among farmers, governments, businesses, and scholars to assess SAI's feasibility for climate-resilient agricultural development in these countries. Expected main outcomes include understanding the benefits of SAI components, identifying practical approaches, and addressing barriers against SAI implementation, including gender considerations. Moreover, the project seeks to enhance research methods, strengthen farmer support, and foster partnerships for effective implementation of SAI. Ultimately, the project will strengthen tailored SAI practices, promoting resilience and productivity within the challenges posed by changing climates in Pacific Island countries.
2. Redesigning of Broadacre Farming Systems in SE Australia (2022-24)
PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
Redesigning of broadacre Farming Systems in SE Australia project aims to demonstrate and evaluate a set of practices through regional multi-location demonstration and replicated trials throughout Victoria. These practices have a proven track record of mitigating stresses and enhancing resilience of drastic climatic events like drought. The project also seeks to understand how incorporation of native grasses on less fertile non-farming areas can influence soil microbial communities. Project partners include Birchip Cropping Group, Riverine Plains Inc, Gap Flat Track - Native Foods; Black Duck Foods and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority.
3. Melbourne Post Doctoral Fellowship (2022-2025)
PI: Dr Sajitha Biju
This project aims to address the functional role of the mineral element silicon (Si) in the symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) process and its interactions with various phytohormones under drought stress in the legume, lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) using physiological, metabolomic and molecular approaches. The findings may help to close the gap in our understanding, and apply the knowledge gained to develop new strategies for the sustainable SNF in lentil plants under this changing climate to ensure future food security and economic stability.
4. Australia India Early Career Research Fellowship (2023)
PI: Dr Sajitha Biju
This project was aims to identify and characterize Si transporters in lentil plants and their functionality by employing the protein sequence features. Findings of this work will provide useful insight for the silicon uptake system, and a new strategy for producing crops with high resistance to multiple environmental stresses by genetic modification of root's silicon uptake capacity. The collaborators for this project are Dr. Rupesh Deshmukh, an Associate Professor, and Dr. Humira Sonah, a Ramalingaswami Fellow, both affiliated with the Department of Biotechnology at the Central University of Haryana in Mahendergarh, India.
5. PhD projects
i. Exploring the synergistic effects of different silicon application approaches.
Student: Jummy Ogedengbe
ii. Understanding the role of silicon under combined stress effect in lentil genotypes.
Student: Navya Beera
Completed projects
- Indigenous crops in a changing climate. GBCMA and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. (2020-23) PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Indigenous Plants -Journey from Paddock to Plate. Funded by Helen Macpherson Smith Trust (2019-20). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Dual-purpose crop management for wheat grazing and grain. CapoNero Grant. (2018-20). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Physiological & biochemical responses of lentil to silicon mediated drought tolerance. GRDC (2017-2019). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Establishing Long-Term Partnerships in Agricultural Research Between Australia (UoM) and India: Roadmap and Implementation India Engagement Seed Grant (IESG), UoM (2020-21). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Effect of seed treatment, foliar application and two fertilizer doses on growth and grain yield of wheat crop. Commercial funded project (2016-18). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- 2015-16: Is there willingness for a gradual land-use change from fruit to vegetables in the Goulburn Valley- Innovation Seed Fund Horticulture Development, DEDJTR-UoM (2015-2016). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
- Unlocking lentil genetic resources for AB resistance genes-Nicholas Trust (2015). PI: A/Prof Dorin Gupta
Project with A/Prof Dorin Gupta as CI
- CASI of Smallholder Farming Systems as a Transformational Climate Change: Proof of Concept. ACIAR funded. (2020-21)
- Is it teff enough? Supporting the teff industry in Australia, Agri Futures Australia. (2020-21)
- UAV-borne Hyperspectral Crop Disease Detection in processing tomatoes. Horticulture Innovation Fund, DEDJTR, Govt of Victoria (2016-17)
- Developing cost-effective sensor systems and networks for scalable Precision Agriculture (UoM– University of Manchester Research Fund) UoM (2019)
- Development of an autonomous platform for microwave management of weeds. GRDC. (2013-16)
- Precision agriculture and food systems. Carlton Connect Initiatives Fund (2015)