Closed ATM View - PROC-9176795
Developing tools to enable high-throughput phenotyping of Septoria Tritici Blotch (STB) in wheat
Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart
Septoria Tritici Blotch (STB) is a serious and persistent challenge for wheat growers throughout the world including Europe, America, and Australia. The incidence of STB is highest and most damaging in the high and medium rainfall zones of the GRDC Southern and south of the Northern Region causing yield losses up to 50% if left untreated. Since STB is a complex and evolving disease it is imperative for prebreeders to identify new genetic sources of resistance and to develop fundamental knowledge of the STB-wheat pathosystem. Equally important is for breeders to deploy existing and new genetics through their programs in efforts to develop new varieties with durable resistance. One important bottleneck to progress in these areas is the ability to phenotype the disease in research trials. With the rapid recent improvements to sensor technology and analytics capabilities it is now possible to develop a new and comprehensive phenotyping method. This investment will develop accurate, cost-effective, easy to use and high-throughput tools and methods to enable the pre-breeding and breeding communities to phenotype STB in wheat and accelerate research progress.
This investment is one in a suite of four R&D programs that will build on previous GRDC investments into improving Septoria Tritici Blotch resistance and management in wheat. Coordination between this investment and the three related investments is encouraged to foster leverage and synergies between the four programs. The three related investments were open tender procurements which closed in late 2022:
1. PROC-9176708 Improving our knowledge of the genetic mechanisms involved in host plant resistance and pathogen virulence of Septoria Tritici Blotch in wheat.
2. PROC-9176709 Optimising the use of existing resources to acquire durable resistance to Septoria Tritici Blotch (STB).
3. PROC-9176710 Identifying novel sources of resistance to Septoria Tritici Blotch in Australian and International wheat germplasm.
Please also note the following:
- Collaboration between research organisations and industry is encouraged. All collaborations should designate a lead organisation as per the Tender Terms and Conditions.
- Coordinated approaches which leverage other activities/investment or create efficiencies for phenotyping method development are encouraged (for example, but not limited to, PROC-9176789: Program 4: In-field high throughput phenotyping of Net Blotch in barley).
- Applications including international research organisations are welcome. Applications should have clear demonstration of impact on Septoria Tritici Blotch under Australian conditions and a clear path to market of outputs for Australian grain growers.
- Co-investment from research partners is highly valued. Please see the budget template for definitions of cash and in-kind contributions.
The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:
1 The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
2 The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
3 The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners except where the Tender is submitted by a consortium and the Tender specifies that each member of the proposed consortium will be party to the contract.
4 The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
Five (5) years
All Tender responses should be submitted directly with GRDC electronically through the Grains Investment Portal located at: https://access.grdc.com.au