Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

About: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research is a government organization based out in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Agriculture & Population. The organization has 83 authors who have published 116 publications receiving 4699 citations. The organization is also known as: ACIAR.

Smart investments in sustainable food production: revisiting mixed crop-livestock systems.

Abstract: Farmers in mixed crop-livestock systems produce about half of the world’s food. In small holdings around the world, livestock are reared mostly on grass, browse, and nonfood biomass from maize, millet, rice, and sorghum crops and in their turn supply manure and traction for future crops. Animals act as insurance against hard times and supply farmers with a source of regular income from sales of milk, eggs, and other products. Thus, faced with population growth and climate change, small-holder farmers should be the first target for policies to intensify production by carefully managed inputs of fertilizer, water, and feed to minimize waste and environmental impact, supported by improved access to markets, new varieties, and technologies.

Fish Migration, Dams, and Loss of Ecosystem Services in the Mekong Basin

Abstract: The past decade has seen increased international recognition of the importance of the services provided by natural ecosystems It is unclear however whether such international awareness will lead to improved environmental management in many regions We explore this issue by examining the specific case of fish migration and dams on the Mekong river We determine that dams on the Mekong mainstem and major tributaries will have a major impact on the basin’s fisheries and the people who depend upon them for food and income We find no evidence that current moves towards dam construction will stop, and consider two scenarios for the future of the fisheries and other ecosystems of the basin We conclude that major investment is required in innovative technology to reduce the loss of ecosystem services, and alternative livelihood strategies to cope with the losses that do occur

Eco-efficient agriculture: concepts, challenges, and opportunities.

Abstract: Eco-efficiency in the simplest of terms is about achieving more with less�more agricultural outputs, in terms of quantity and quality, for less input of land, water, nutrients, energy, labor, or capital. The concept of eco-effi ciency encompasses both the ecological and economic dimensions of sustainable agriculture. Social and institutional dimensions of sustainability, while not explicitly captured in eco-effi ciency measures, remain critical barriers and opportunities on the pathway toward more eco-effi cient agriculture. This paper explores the multidimensionality of the eco-effi ciency concept as it applies to agriculture across diverse spatial and temporal scales, from cellular metabolisms through to crops, farms, regions, and ecosystems. These dimensions of eco-effi ciency are integrated through the presentation and exploration of a framework that explores an efficiency frontier between agricultural outputs and inputs, investment, or risk. The challenge for agriculture in the coming decades will be to increase productivity of agricultural lands in line with the increasing demands for food and fiber. Achieving such eco-effi ciency, while addressing risk and variability, will be a major challenge for future agriculture. Often, risk will be a critical issue influencing adoption; it needs explicit attention in the diagnosis and intervention steps toward enhancing eco-effi ciency. To ensure food security, systems analysis and modeling approaches, combined with farmer-focused experimentation and resource assessment, will provide the necessary robust approaches to raise the eco-effi ciency of agricultural systems.

PAPER PRESENTED AT INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INCREASING WHEAT YIELD POTENTIAL, CIMMYT, OBREGON, MEXICO, 20–24 MARCH 2006 Understanding the physiological basis of yield potential in wheat

Abstract: The present paper focuses on the physiology of yield potential in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), because breeding progress in yield potential has overtaken farm yield progress. The paper examines developments largely in the last 10 years seeking routes to higher yield potential. Lately this subject has come under pressure from two new imperatives: perceived slowing of genetic progress and ambitious functional genomics. Analysis of trials between 1996 and 2005 at the CIANO research centre in northwest Mexico suggests that yield potential progress in CIMMYT spring wheats has slowed to around 0·50% per year, but has not ceased there nor in winter wheats elsewhere. Meanwhile, in the last 10 years or so, physiological understanding has advanced somewhat. Increased kernel number/m2 remains strongly associated with genetic progress in grain yield, and new research reinforces the importance of spike dry weight (g/m2) at anthesis in its determination. Lengthening the spike growth period through manipulation of sensitivity to photoperiod looks promising, but more attention to kernels per unit of spike weight is also urged. With respect to plant height, an optimum somewhere between 0·7 and 1·0 m is accepted and we are moving away from infatuation with the Norin 10 dwarfing genes as a way of reaching that. What has not been achieved is good lodging resistance in all short spring wheats, nor a complete understanding of its physiological basis. New information is coming to light on the possible role of stored stem reserves at anthesis, for these reserves appear to have increased as yield potential has increased. Part of the benefit may be related to assimilate supply per kernel around anthesis, which new understanding suggests is important for maximum potential kernel weight. Nevertheless, results continue to suggest that despite more kernels/m2, the most recent wheats are still largely sink-limited during grain filling. Growing evidence from spring and winter wheat (and from rice and maize) now points to the importance of increased photosynthetic activity before and around flowering for recent genetic increases in yield potential. This opens up new possibilities for selection in field plots. Finally, attention is given to effects of weather on yield potential and recent advances in techniques for elucidating the physiological basis of genotype by year interactions. From physiological understanding such as described, traits can be suggested as possible selection criteria for yield potential. However, apart from the ACIAR/CIMMYT project looking at stomatal aperture-related traits as well as source and sink traits (Condon et al., in press; Reynolds et al., in press; van Ginkel et al., in press), there appear to have been few attempts to validate physiological (or morphological) selection criteria for wheat yield potential in the last decade, but recent promising results with spectral reflection indices could foreshadow more validation work. This contrasts with efforts to improve the performance of wheat (and maize) under water-limited conditions, and with the new plant type and super rice approaches of IRRI and China, respectively. Such research could be mapped out for wheat yield potential improvement, and could lead to more efficient breeding for yield potential and/or faster progress, but it requires a multidisciplinary team, including, nowadays, molecular biologists. It also needs suitable controlled and field environments and substantial long-term support. All this may no longer be available in the public sector, at least at a single location.

Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes in Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the merits of the different techniques that have been used to quantify N 2 fixation and reviews the role of symbiotic N 2 fixation in the N economies of the many legume-based production systems of the tropics and subtropics. Finally, a number of strategies that may lead to improved N 2 fixation in these systems are reviewed in the chapter. No one technique can be relied upon to provide an accurate measure of N 2 fixation for every legume species grown under all soil or environmental variables. Each technique has unique advantages and limitations, however, some methods are more likely to provide reliable and quantitative estimates of N 2 fixation than others. Efficient management of legumes to maximize the benefits depends on accurate assessment of N 2 fixation in the field. This knowledge not only provides an insight into the N economy of the legume, but provides good understanding of the general N cycle. Using the information gained, strategies can be developed to solve problems involving N in agricultural and natural systems. Solutions will come in the form of cropping and tillage systems to enhance N 2 fixation, improved legume genotypes, improvements in methods of inoculation, and adoption of management practices to stimulate the establishment of large populations of desirable microbes in the soil.