Crop design for adaptation to variable production environments – the role of crop modelling and simulation

HYBRID SEMINAR: Crop design for adaptation to variable production environments – the role of crop modelling and simulation

About this event

Climatic variability in dryland production environments (E) generates crop production risks. Every year is different and even less predictable with anthropogenic global warming. Optimal combinations of genotype (G) and management (M) thus vary among sites and seasons. Cost and feasibility restrict traditional approaches to designing improved crops by assessing experimentally the spectrum of potential G*M*E combinations forming the adaptation landscape. Robust crop models provide an avenue to predict likely outcomes and production risks via simulation with climatic scenarios. Here I outline the structure of such predictive models and their reliance on the quantification of the underpinning physiological determinants of crop growth and development. I present examples of in silico studies for crop production prediction and adaptation analysis for key crops and regions in Australia. It is contended that the ability of models to extrapolate crop production predictions to a diverse range of environmental, management, and genetic scenarios is enhanced using biological insight in model development.

This event will be a hybrid event:

In-person: Gibson Room (Z1064), Gardens Point QUT (refreshments from 1:30 pm)

Zoom Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85405462870 (Zoom ID: 854 0546 2870)

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Professor Graeme Hammer

Graeme is a Professor in Crop Science in the Centre for Crop Science in the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at The University of Queensland.

Graeme conducts research on the physiology and genetics of complex adaptive traits in field crops with a focus on water productivity in cereals. His research underpins the development of mathematical models of crop growth, development and yield that enable simulation of consequences of genetic and management manipulation of crops in specific target environments. He has played a leading role in the design and ongoing development of the APSIM crop modelling platform, which is now used worldwide.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Agriculture Institute, a Thomson/ISI highly cited researcher, and was awarded the Australian Medal for Agricultural Science in 2013 and Farrer Memorial Medal in 2012.