Investment

Soil acidity with high levels of toxic aluminium is the largest (in area) soil constraint limiting sustainable barley production in Australia. Tolerant barley varieties are available but some of the more tolerant genotypes are associated with a blue aleurone phenotype. Blue aleurone is not permitted under current Grain Trade Australia receival standards. Furthermore, little is currently known about the interaction of different abiotic stresses (acidity, salinity, waterlogging) and the genetics of tolerance in barley.This investment aims to develop diagnostic markers for enhanced acidity and alkalinity tolerance in barley, generate new knowledge about the interaction between tolerances to abiotic stresses including acidity, alkalinity, waterlogging, salinity and high boron, develop an accurate phenotyping protocol for the blue aleurone and identify germplasm with tolerance to soil acidity but lacking the blue aleurone xenia 3 locus (blx3).