Research in agriculture

Research groups and labs

• Animal Welfare Science Centre

  We contribute to improved animal welfare as a world leading provider of expert information, advice and education underpinned by rigorous research.

• Alex Idnurm Lab - Mycology

  This research aims to prevent fungi from causing problems to humans and to find new treatment and management strategies, while addressing also the potential fungi have to enhance our lives.

• Adaptive Evolution Lab

  Combining experimental and computational approaches to study the effect of environmental variation and stress on natural population.

• Agricultural and Resource Economics and Agribusiness (AREA)

  The Agricultural & Resource Economics and Agribusiness (AREA) group undertakes research into the benefits, costs and risks of change in agricultural production and marketing and in the resources used in these sectors.

• Agricultural Data Science

  The Analytics, Modelling and Technology research group focuses on creating opportunities for innovation in big data to support the global efforts towards sustainable intensification of agriculture.

• Agricultural Greenhouse Gas

  The Agricultural Greenhouse Gas group measures, models and mitigates direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from diverse agricultural systems, including dairy, cereals, vegetables, sugarcane and intensive feedlots, as well as ammonia deposition surrounding intensive feedlots.

• Aquaculture Sustainability

  Aquaculture Sustainability specialise in translating aquaculture complexities into practical solutions using innovative management practices and mathematical models.

• Centre for Environmental and Economic Research

  A multidisciplinary research group of ecologists, data analysts, economists and animal and plant health specialists that focuses on environmental and economic outcomes.

• Climate Resilient Agriculture

  Current and predicted changing climates requires a new approach to agriculture, to ensure viable, productive, and healthy agroecosystems into the future.

• Crop Agronomy Group

  The Crop Agronomy Group specialise in improving water limited productivity of dry-land cropping and mixed farming systems.

• CropGEM Lab: Crop Genetics and Molecular Evolution Lab

  The Crop Evolution and Molecular Genetics Group (CropGEM) researches the genetic and molecular basis of cereal improvement, focussing primarily on cereal crops including wheat, barley, and oat.

• Digital Agriculture, Food and Wine

  The Digital Agriculture, Food, and Wine group works on the implementation and integration of new and emerging technologies, including but not limited to artificial intelligence tools on agricultural and food applications from farm to the palate.

• Environmental and physical organic chemistry

  Gaining a better understanding of the adverse effects of air pollution and to increase the environmental friendliness of agriculture by developing better inhibitor compounds.

• Farm Systems Analysis

  The Farm Systems Analysis group conducts research to improve the production and sustainability of agricultural systems.

• Food Politics, Philosophy & Policy

  Addressing the politics, philosophy and policy dimensions of food, nutrition, agriculture, and engaging with issues related to nutrition, public health, ecological sustainability, animal welfare, social justice and corporate power in food systems.

• Food Science

  The Food Science and Nutrition Group conducts research to understand the fundamental characteristics of food including composition, structure, function, flavour and aroma of foods and beverages.

• Golz Group - Plant Developmental Genetics

  Understanding how complex patterns of gene expression are generated and maintained during cell-type specification and differentiation in multicellular organisms.

• Hyperspectral and Thermal Remote Sensing Laboratory (HyperSens)

  The Hyperspectral and Thermal Remote Sensing Laboratory (HyperSens) focuses on quantitative methods for remote sensing, with main interests on vegetation stress detection, physiological condition and precision agriculture.

• Johnson Lab Group - Plant Nutrition

  Can we change how plants absorb nutrients to produce more nutritious crops? We employ a variety of molecular tools to discover, characterize and engineer plant genes that are important for the absorption and bioavailability of iron and zinc.

• The Mackinnon Project

  The Mackinnon Project is a recognised leader in sheep and beef consultancy in Australia and internationally.

• Mechanistic and Structural Enzymology

  The Leung Research Group focuses on the enzymology that involves protein function modulation. We apply a range of biophysical, chemical biology and structural biology techniques to enable our discoveries.

• Melbourne Analytical Geochemistry

  Melbourne Analytical Geochemistry—MAG—builds on over 20 years of field-leading trace element and isotope geochemistry.

• Nitrogen Management and Fertiliser Technology

  Our research aims to improve the productivity potential and environmental outcomes of food production systems for future food security.

• Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Lab

  Programs covering the broad spectrum of research using modern techniques to genetically engineer pasture, vegetable and horticulture crops for future agricultural and environmental needs.

• Plant Pathology

  Plant Pathology focuses on using the latest molecular biology tools combined with a basic disciplinary approach to drive cutting-edge research in host-pathogen relationships, taxonomy and genetic diversity of fungal plant pathogens and development of diagnostics for biosecurity.

• Plant Systematics Group - Herbarium / Systematics and Biogeography

  We study the phylogeny, classification and biogeography of Australasian plants, including eucalypts, acacias, Eremophila, Nicotiana, Dianella, Grevillea, the family Rutaceae, ferns and bryophytes.

• Production Animals

  The group has a unique skillset covering a broad range of applied and fundamental research skills in a range of species including pigs, poultry, dairy cattle, sheep, beef cattle and goats.

• Recycle and Reuse of Agricultural Wastes

  The Agricultural and Urban Waste Management research group aims to improve nutrient and resource recovery by investigating nutrient re-use and recycling and the recovery of other valuable resources from agricultural and urban waste.

• Rural Innovation Research Group

  The Rural Innovation Research Group (RIRG) is a social science group that researches and designs innovative pathways for facilitating change and enabling social-ecological resilience.

• Soil Molecular Ecology

  Soil Molecular Ecology Group employs advanced bio-molecular and physicochemical approaches to understand the distribution and diversity of microbial and faunal communities in soils, and the processes and mechanisms of soil organisms-mediated carbon, nitrogen and other elemental cycling.

• Sustainable Agricultural Production

  The Sustainable Agricultural Production research group has internationally recognised expertise in sustainable intensification of crop, pasture and animal production.

• Verbruggen Laboratory - Algal Biology and Coral Environmental Microbiology

  The lab carries out research on algal biology and coral holobiont functioning. Our eclectic range of work includes biodiversity, genome biology, photophysiology, molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary biology.

• Watt Group - Plant and Root System Biology

  Led by Michelle Watt, the Adrienne Clarke Professorial Chair of Botany, making discoveries about the root systems of plants, and applying those discoveries to engineering plant systems that sustain healthy life on Earth and in future in space.