Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation

Dodging banana diseases is value for money A report commissioned by the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation found that a banana research program has the potential to save the industry more than $52.2 million.

Value for money on banana diseases. A report commissioned by QAAFI shows UQ's banana research program saved the industry more than $50 million. More information on the research program and its success is available via the link:
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Image:Adobe

From waste to energy - asssessing weeds suitability as a source of biofuel. This research found several species that can be converted into market grade pellets, creating a sustainable energy source that solves multiple problems.

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ooking for a new opportunity? QAAFI is recruiting for a key research position
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🌽Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Crop Biotechnology
A 3-year role developing tropical grasses with low methanogenic properties.
Apply before 31 August 2025

bit.ly/45tm2TD

Congratulations to Centre Director, Prof Christine Beveridge – a finalist in the 2025 Women in Technology (WiT) awards for Excellence in Research! She’s being recognised for her work on shoot branching, a key trait shaping plant productivity 🌱

More: wit.org.au/awards/2025-... @qaafi.bsky.social

Tackling a mystery that's killing blueberries Identifying the cause and prevalence of a costly disorder in blueberries is the goal of a team of researchers at The University of Queensland.

Tackling a mystery that's killing blueberries. A new #UQResearch project outlined in Rural Business Magazine- The Trade Magazine for Rural Merchandise. The project is led by Dr Alice Hayward.
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Next generation QAAFI researchers secure coveted ARC Industry Fellowships. Celebrating the research projects secured by Dr Anne Sawyer, Dr Hannah Siddle and Dr Chris O'Brien. Read more about their work via the link below

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QAAFI is hosting a symposium in honour of Professor Graeme Hammer’s retirement, celebrating his outstanding contributions to crop science and modelling.
📅 Thursday 28 August | 12:00–6:30pm
🔗 bit.ly/3GRCeok

Sub-soil secrets revealed in robot-driven farm research A robotic root-sensing system developed at The University of Queensland is opening up new opportunities for more productive agricultural crops.

Shedding light on crop root systems to boost yield. Meet the RootBot, an innovation that will augment the root phenotyping system developed at #UQ.

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🎉🙌Congratulations to Caitlin Dudley, who won the Young Scientist Award for the Society of Experimental Biology in Belgium.

Caitlin is also the Queensland finalist for the FameLab Australia competition in Perth on Sept 18. Le's cheer her on!

Side by side headshots of Anne Sawyer with plants in greenhouse and Hannah Siddle in front of laboratory equipment

🎉 Congrats to Dr Anne Sawyer and Dr Hannah Siddle on their prestigious ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellowships!

Anne will create RNA bioesticides for crops and native plants.

Hannah will develop rapid chemical resistance tests in ticks.

🎉 Congrats to Dr Chris O’Brien on receiving an ARC Industry Fellowship! Chris will apply QAAFI’s plant biotech expertise to support Australia’s emerging vanilla industry—developing elite, disease-free plants through cutting-edge in vitro breeding and propagation.

This week we celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC—recognising and honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the world’s oldest continuing cultures. It’s also a moment to acknowledge the journey toward justice, equality and self-determination. 🔗 naidoc.org.au

Maxing out chemical-free crop protection with dsRNAmax. A software program developed by Stephen Fletcher and validated by Dr Chris Brosnan provides tailored, safe and effective protection.

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Listed nutrition label with finger pointing out one element

Is it time for a rethink on food nutrition labelling? #UQ's Emeritus Professor Mike Gidley says including nutrient releases rates would improve labelling and be more in line with healthy diet recommendations.

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Image: Adobe

🔬 QAAFI Science Seminar today – Dr April Hastwell shares how gene editing and plant signalling peptides are being harnessed to boost nodulation and nitrogen fixation in legumes.

🗓️ 12:00pm AEST
🔗 bit.ly/4k2gsvD

ARC funding announced — including 2 projects featuring QAAFI:
🌿 Dr Alice Hayward: Biotechnologies to Accelerate Plant Biodiversity Conservation.
🐖 Prof Louw Hoffman: Nanobubble technology to generate nutritional solutions for healthy pigs.

Read more: bit.ly/4l4iz3g

Pioneer varieties of legume for Australian growers The University of Queensland has developed 5 new varieties of pigeonpea as a step towards the legume being grown more widely in Australia.

Pioneers in pigeonpea. New Australian breeds of legume developed as a cropping rotation option in tropical conditions.

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Field of native grain with blue sky behind

Returning locally extinct native grains to Queensland's grasslands is the goal of Gamilaraay man, and QAAFI PhD candidate Jacob Birch. He'll sow seed gathered on Country at UQ's Gatton campus later this year.

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Plucking a single tail hair could allow beef producers to quickly and easily identify the most efficient cattle. This study could be a game changer for targeted nutrition in northern beef systems.

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Towards a state of the food system report for Australia - Food System Horizons Editors Rohan Nelson, Lilly Lim-Camacho and Cathy Robinson June 2025 The state of Australia’s food system Australia’s food system includes […]

CSIRO’s Food System Horizons initiative has released Towards a State of the Food System Report for Australia — a look at how our food system operates, where it’s working well, and where it’s falling short. 📘 View them now: bit.ly/43Xry09

Building the capacity of farmers to create sustainable and vibrant farming landscapes. A look at the big picture in agriculture from scientist, farmer and author Anika Molesworth, a plenary speaker at the TropAg conference November 11 to 13.
We'll see you there!
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How to recentre the 'farming' in vertical farming with Paul Gauthier According to Professor Paul Gauthier, vertical farming is no longer in its proof-of-concept phase. We’ve crossed that threshold. What comes next isn’t about whether we can grow food indoors—but whethe...

How to recentre the 'farming' in vertical farming. Read this piece from Henry Gordon-Smith quoting #UQ's Professor Paul Gauthier, which explains the current state of controlled environment agriculture.

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Tackling a mystery that's killing blueberries in the field Identifying the cause and prevalence of a costly disorder in blueberries is the goal of a team of researchers at The University of Queensland.

Scientists at UQ are investigating the cause of the costly blueberry root wrapping and root crown disorders. It's causing significant fruit loss globally. The team is also surveying the industry to discover the extent of the problem.

bit.ly/45pOuWY
Image: Dr Eveline Kong

Black and white image of white woman, pastor and Indigenous woman and child holding signs saying "Aborigines still unequal under the constitution" and "Count us together, make us one people". Source: AIATSIS/Audio Visual Archive

Today marks 58 years since the 1967 referendum, when nearly 91 per cent of Australians voted for equal rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. QAAFI acknowledges the ongoing efforts toward equity and social justice for all. Source: AIATSIS/Audio Visual Archive

(L-R) HE Pierre-André Imbert, Ambassador of France, Associate Professor Karine Chenu and Dr Jean-François Hocquette, Research Director and Scientific Officer, International Relationships for Australia and New Zealand (INRAE). Image: French Embassy in Australia

Sharing expertise to boost wheat yield in a changing climate. A collaborative international lab takes shape.

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Image: French Embassy in Australia

Translating tissue culture in avocado cultivars A visit to Chile to demonstrate clonal propagation protocols is just the start of a growing agricultural pipeline for The University of Queensland’s world-leading tissue culture team.

UQ’s tissue culture technology is transforming avocado farming. Dr Chris O’Brien visited Grupo Hijuelas in Chile to introduce clonal propagation, ensuring uniform orchards and disease-resistant rootstocks. This piece from Australian Tree Crop Magazine. bit.ly/44KDVOa 🥑

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@ausgrainscience
Webinar – 13 June, a webinar that digs deep into the science of better crops. Featuring both Prof Ian J. Tetlow (University of Guelph, Canada) and Prof Ian Godwin (UQ/QAAFI). Online and packed with cutting-edge research— Register now: ow.ly/Mtza50VT0q3

Can an essential oil injected in-ova improve the health of broiler chickens? Promising research from Dr Mila Meijer at the University of Queensland suggests it could activate immunity. Read about it via the link below:

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@agrifuturesau.bsky.social
Image: Adobe

IBH Seminar Announcement ‼️
🔊 Prof Lee Hickey @qaafi.bsky.social
📣 Unlocking the Hidden Half: Opportunities for Genome Editing and Machine Learning to Improve Root Architecture in Barley
📆 Thursday 8th May 2025 14:00 BST
Register: djpvk304.eu1.hubspotlinks.com/Ctc/I9+113/d...

Happening TODAY at 12:00pm AEST! Join Prof Min-Suk Song’s seminar on a breakthrough capless self-amplifying RNA platform transforming vaccine development. Don’t miss it! 🧬 ow.ly/w4Jv50VNjyA