Protected cropping
Domain Leader: Professor Antony Bacic
Protected Cropping is a rapidly expanding ag-tech area for high-value crops and plants and is the fastest growing food producing sector in Australia, with a farmgate value of $1.3 billion. However, there is an enormous knowledge gap in the protected cropping sector.
How is our research addressing this challenge?
Our mission is to address knowledge gaps in the protected cropping sector, including plant health and breeding, waste valorisation, digital technologies, novel extraction technologies and chemistries.
Our controlled growth facilities and high-tech phenotyping through non-invasive imaging include:
- CERs in the AgriBio Building
- a recently upgraded $18.5M glasshouse complex (6 x 100 m2 compartments; of which two are equipped with PSI high end phenotyping cameras and X, Y, Z scanning; and a “barn” with six growth pods) and
- specialist equipment for collaborative research programs with industry.
This facility is unique in Australia with its sophisticated compliance overlay to meet Federal and State regulations for medicinal agriculture plants, in particular through the Department of Health, Office of Drug Control.
Regional Research Collaboration Program: Next Gen
Funded by the Australian Government’s Regional Research Collaboration Program and using medicinal cannabis as an exemplar, the $10 million project aims to improve crop yield and sustainability through the installation of state-of-the-art technology at the ARC MedAg Hub partner, Cann Group Limited’s new Mildura-based facility, and leverage skills of industry leaders in training and compliance in medicinal cannabis, PharmOut and SunniTAFE, to help create a skilled agricultural-technology workforce.
Australian Plant Phenomics Facility La Trobe University node
The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility was established in 2009 under the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to develop a globally collaborative plant phenomics capability that provides leadership in infrastructure, skills and service for agricultural research and industry to maximise the productivity in Australia’s unique and variable environment. In January 2024, La Trobe University joined as a new APPF node, providing advanced plant phenomics services to industry and academia. The La Trobe APPF Node sits within a cooperative national network of nodes that are coordinated from the APPF Central at the University of Adelaide.
ARC MedAg Hub
Funded by the Australian Research Council, the Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture (ARC MedAg Hub) comprises a multidisciplinary team of university and institute researchers and industry.
The 5 year $24+ million Hub combines extensive research and industry expertise with the aim to transform the production of high quality, plant derived therapeutics into an integrated, Australia-wide industry that spans primary producers and manufacturers.