AIA Agri Climate Outlooks

Agri-Climate Outlooks will enhance seasonal outlook services and provide relevant, interpretable products and services to support better decision making and greater resilience for Australian farmers, fishers, and foresters.

Automated visual yield estimation in table grape vineyards

This project will allow producers to build their own business plan to adopt technology. With the help of Australian Table …

AgTech Ready - McLaren Vale Wine Region

This project will address identified barriers to adoption to drive uptake of AgTech in the region. McLaren Vale Grape Wine …

Assessing the practicality of the robot platforms from SwarmFarm Robotics

This project will explore the use of robots to perform vineyard tasks in the Coonawarra region of South Australia, and work with STEM graduates to attract a new labour force to manage this equipment and alleviate the challenges of an ageing human workforce.

National Grapevine Collection Coordinator

Designing the integration of extension into research projects

This project will work with researchers, extension officers, growers and farmers to develop an RD&E process which provides the best opportunities for adoption of research outputs that will benefit the end user. Phase 2 which is separate to this project aims to trial the process.

Sequencing Australian wine grapevine germplasm

This is the first phase of a project which aims to sequence and analyse all of the commercial grapevine germplasm in Australia. This will provide a complete dataset that encompasses the breadth of genetic diversity in grapevine that is available to Australian grapegrowers and winemakers and will provide the knowledge base required for cultivar and clone identification services.

SAWIDS Clonal mapping of Pinot Noir

This project will use DNA sequencing to develop a genetic database for commercially relevant Pinot Noir clones, to verify the clonal material held in Australian germplasm collections and source blocks (vines of known virus status and identity which are used as material for propagation). This will enable valuable commercial Pinot Noir vineyards lost in the Adelaide Hills bushfire of December 2019 to be replaced with verified, true-to-type clonal material.

The development of a national, grape-industry strategy for the implementation of a national standard for grapevine certification - Phase 1

The lack of a national standard for the health of planting material in Australia means that growers have no guarantee that the planting material being supplied to them by nurseries is disease free or of a certain provenance. Phase 1 of this project will address the framework required to underpin a new national standard for grapevine planting material, which will be customer-focused, independently audited, transparent, aspirational, inclusive and allow for continuous improvement.

Drought resilience

The aim of this project is to develop management strategies that irrigated, rain-dependent vineyards can apply during a drought to minimise the loss of yield and grape quality. This involves better understanding of vine and cover crop water use.

OzAg Data exchange

The Australian AgriFood Data Exchange has a vision to create an interconnected data highway for Australia’s AgriFood value chain.…

North-East Victoria vineyard smoke sensor network

This project aims to deliver an early warning network of smoke sensors that assesses vineyard exposure to smoke in North-East Victoria, one of the most bushfire-prone wine regions in Australia. The network of 100 sensor stations will record, analyse and report the exposure of wine grapes to individual smoke events and accumulated seasonal smoke exposure. An electronic dashboard will provide information back to producers and inform critical business decisions such as grape testing, vineyard management, and winemaking strategies to manage smoke effects. The network has the potential to be deployed nationally and exported.

A Common Approach for Commodity-Sector-Level GHG Accounting for Australian Agriculture

The broad aim of this cross-sectoral project is to develop a common framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting that is transparent, trusted and relevant for Australia and can be broadly adopted across all agricultural industries.

Integrated management of grapevine phylloxera: Phase II

Phylloxera is a tiny yellow aphid that feeds on the roots of grapevines, killing them. This project is a next-phase research program to help protect Australian vineyards cope with phylloxera through more effective surveillance, improved selection of resilient rootstocks, disinfestation procedures and knowledge of Australian phylloxera ecology.

Ecosystem services

Certain plant species grown in and around vineyards can provide tangible benefits, such as supporting predators of common vineyard pests. This project aims to expand knowledge of the benefits of ground cover species and different types of adjacent vegetation.

Best practice management of grapevine viruses in Australia

The key purpose of this project is to improve the management of grapevine viruses such as Leafroll and Shiraz Disease that cause reduced vine vigour, quality and yield. As well as a Best Management Practice Guide for virus management in established vineyards and new plantings in Australia, the project will identify knowledge gaps to be addressed by future research.

Validation and implementation of an early warning system to reduce smoke impacts from prescribed burns and bushfires on agricultural industries in Victoria

This project will develop a fully integrated network of air quality sensors to provide real-time data on smoke dose and the risk of smoke taint in winegrapes. Accurate prediction of the doses which cause smoke taint will enable the emergency sector to organise and conduct planned burns more effectively and with less risk to agricultural industries, particularly the wine industry.

ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Crop Protection

Plant Biosecurity Research Initiative Phase II 2021-23

The Plant Biosecurity Research Initiative supports cross-sectoral research development and extension to minimise the damaging consequences caused by biosecurity threats …

Understanding and mitigating the impact of smoke exposure on grape and wine composition and wine sensory properties