Plant Industry Researchers

Plant Industry researchers promote profitable and sustainable agrifood, fibre and horticultural industries, developing new plant products and improving natural resource management.

Dr John Manners: Chief, CSIRO Plant Industry

Dr John Manners, Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry, has an interest in researching sub-tropical crops, including sugar, in northern Australia.

Dr Anna Koltunow: Deputy Chief, CSIRO Plant Industry

Dr Anna Koltunow is Deputy Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry and her research is focused on plant reproduction.

Dr Danny Llewellyn: leading cotton biotechnology

Dr Danny Llewellyn specialises in cotton biotechnology research. He has played an important role in developing the insect and herbicide tolerant, genetically modified cotton varieties which currently dominate the cotton industry.

Dr Michelle Watt: helping wheat roots take up water

Dr Michelle Watt researches how roots grow and take up water from soil, and how they interact with soil microorganisms.

Dr Peter Dodds: investigating the molecular basis of rust disease resistance

Dr Dodds' research aims to elucidate how plants recognise and respond to pathogens with the ultimate aim of protecting important food crops from devastating diseases.

Dr James Hunt: improving water use efficiency in mixed broadacre farming

Dr James Hunt studies aspects of water use efficiency in mixed broadacre farming systems through field experiments and investigations using farming system models.

Dr Manny Delhaize: unravelling acid soil tolerance

Dr Manny Delhaize is working to improve the acid soil tolerance of crops and pastures.

Dr Rana Munns: improving crops for saline soils

Dr Rana Munns leads research to investigate and improve the salt tolerance of crops.

Australian Tree Seed Centre

The Australian Tree Seed Centre (ATSC) is a national facility for source-identified seed of Australia’s trees and shrubs.

The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility

The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility provides a knowledge base and facilities for the comprehensive and continuous analysis of plant growth and performance using modern technologies.

The Australian National Herbarium

The Australian National Herbarium is the national collection of plant specimens that provides a warehouse of information about Australia's native flora.

Australian scientific collaboration set to break world’s reliance on fish for long chain omega-3

A pioneering research alliance is on the way to breaking the world's reliance on fish stocks for supply of long chain omega-3.

Boost for high rainfall zone wheat research

Research into developing more productive wheat varieties in Australia has been given a major boost following an equity investment in HRZ Wheats Pty Ltd by one of the nation's leading agricultural disease and pest control companies, Dow AgroSciences Australia Ltd.

International C4 Rice Consortium

In collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute, CSIRO is part of a major international food security initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

PlantScan ready for business

The newest addition to the phenomics technologies is up and running. After almost two years of design and development PlantScan will soon be generating a massive two terabytes of data per day.

Gene technology: gene silencing

CSIRO's gene silencing technology is enabling researchers around the world protect animals from diseases and develop new crop varieties.

Phenonet: big brother in the back paddock

Researchers at the High Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre are using the CSIRO-developed FLECK™ technology to remotely monitor and record environmental conditions and plant performance in field trials.

CottASSIST: new and easier tools for cotton production

Cotton managers now have free web access to a new generation of computer extension tools called CottASSIST.

Gene technology

Learn more about gene technology, how it impacts our lives and the research CSIRO is undertaking in this field.

Biotechnology glossary

This page provides easy to understand definitions of common biotechnology words and terms.

Why research plant genes?

Genetically modified (GM) technology is just one of several technologies we employ in our research programs which are designed to deliver on this future.

Improving cereal performance

Working within national regulations, researchers have established several trials around Australia to test how genetically modified wheat and barley varieties respond to field conditions.