Plant Breeding Institute
Established in 1973 to ensure a continuing University commitment to crop breeding and research
The grains and horticultural industries require a continuum of new cultivars that maximise profitability and sustainability in a dynamic production and market environment. This requires a continuous flow of new genetic materials, knowledge, technologies and trained people; the core business of the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI).
The PBI is committed to improving crop and horticultural species, contributing to both our food supply and the beauty of the world around us. The PBI aims to develop new genetic materials required by industry and the technologies that allow these materials and genes to be easily adopted. It also generates knowledge that furthers our understanding of plant biology and farming systems. Finally, the PBI trains the next generation of plant breeders, geneticists, and scientists in related disciplines.
Manual Description : Director, The Plant Breeding Institute
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Our plant breeding research themes
The Cereal Rust Laboratory hosts the Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP), which continues one of the longest-running research efforts at the University of Sydney. Cereal rust diseases are the most important biotic constraints to cereal production globally.
The ACRCP conducts research on all rust pathogens of wheat (common and durum), barley, oat, triticale and cereal rye, with a strong emphasis on tracking changes in pathogen virulence (pathogen surveillance) across the Australian continent and disease control by resistance breeding.
The Australian Cereal Rust Control Program (ACRCP) Phase 5 is advancing wheat breeding by improving rust resistance strategies. While some wheat varieties show resistance to rust diseases, they often lack strong protection across multiple rust types. This project focuses on identifying the optimal combination of resistance genes and screening Australian wheat against exotic rust pathotypes.
Rust diseases pose a significant challenge to Australian grain production due to their airborne spread, genetic variability, and unpredictable outbreaks. Effective management depends on resistance breeding, supported by continuous rust surveillance to inform breeding programs and provide timely alerts for growers. View our cereal rust reports here.
Despite progress in identifying new resistance sources, most wheat varieties still lack strong protection against multiple rust diseases. This project focuses on developing cost-effective, high-throughput screening methods to enhance rust resistance in Australian wheat breeding programs.
Cereal breeding largely focuses on wheat, Australia’s most important grain crop, but also includes barley, triticale and durum wheat. Since wheat breeding commercialisation, the PBI has focussed on wheat ‘pre-breeding’ and research.
Our research is well supported by the University of Sydney node of the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (APPN) based in Narrabri. Grassland-based food ecosystems and their potential genetic improvement have become a recent research focus in response to our changing climate.
Transforming wheat breeding with doubled haploid technology (January, 2025)
The PBI is leading a project to develop wheat varieties with enhanced heat tolerance. By 2026, at least five advanced pre-breeding lines with 10% higher yields under heat stress during grain filling will be delivered to breeders.
This project builds on previous research to develop high-yielding, heat-tolerant wheat using genomic selection and field-based trials across key Australian environments.
The CAIGE program, coordinated by the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland, imports and evaluates wheat and barley lines from CIMMYT and ICARDA to enhance Australian breeding programs.
This project enhances the selection, evaluation, and distribution of imported germplasm. New lines will undergo genotypic and phenotypic screening at CGIAR centres before being tested across multiple Australian locations. Data is shared with breeders to accelerate trait integration into Australian wheat and barley.
The PBI hosts the northern arm of Australia’s faba bean breeding program and provides new, high-yielding and disease resistant cultivars to farmers. The program targets the improvement of key constraints such as yield potential, rust, ascochyta and virus resistance and tolerance to drought, heat and frost.
Our research explores chickpea and lentil adaptation to heat and drought, yield potential, and nitrogen fixation. We develop new chickpea germplasm with improved traits and adaptation, challenging traditional growing methods. The USyd APPN node supports this legume research, developing high-throughput phenotyping tools and data pipelines.
The University is developing new heat-tolerant chickpea germplasm under a series of GRDC support research projects. These new materials include germplasm suited to late summer sowing. The physiological and genetic basis of heat tolerance continues to be explored.
Indian mustard research and breeding focuses on improving biomass, grain yield, oil content and quality and chemical constituents of the seed and meal with marketable value.
The dominant crops in northwestern NSW are wheat and chickpea. Optimising the integration of mustard into this farming system as a break crop with bio-fumigation benefits is a primary research focus.
This project evaluates mustard varieties through field trials at multiple locations to assess their yield, growth patterns, and post-harvest qualities. Research focuses on mustard as a break crop, improving soil health and benefiting farming systems traditionally dominated by wheat and chickpea. Beyond agriculture, the project explores new commercial applications, including biofuel, food, and pharmaceutical uses. By refining mustard breeding and production, this research supports more resilient farming systems and emerging market opportunities.
Horticultural breeding encompasses cytology, embryology, pathology, propagation, and sustainable production. Our breeding programs prioritise 'minimum input' varieties, focusing on resource efficiency, environmental protection, and climate change resilience.
Breeding focuses on efficiency with reduced water, fertiliser, pesticide needs and simpler cultural requirements. Biodiversity protection is also important and new lines are carefully assessed before release to ensure they do not have weed-like tendencies.
Herbaceous ornamentals are mainly bred through PBI’s joint venture company, NuFlora International, which has achieved a global market for its cultivars of various species. This breeding program also led to a new Verbena variety bred by the PBI called 'KLEVP22039’. View the patent (pdf, 273KB)
Vegetable crops are bred with funding from a range of sources including research contracts with industry, cooperative arrangements between PBI, industry and Australian government agencies and international competitive research grants.
Aboriginal people sustainably produced food from native ecosystems for thousands of years, including the world’s oldest bread. We work with Aboriginal people, farmers and industry to bring this system to modern agroecosystems and foods.
The Indigenous Grasslands for Grain projects work with Aboriginal people to bring this system to modern agroecosystems and foods.
This research follows a paddock-to-plate approach, cultivating dhunbarrbilla a native grain crop at Narrabri, then processing them through threshing, milling, and cooking while studying both ancient and modern techniques. Native species like Mitchell grass, purslane, and native millet are grown in large-scale trials, with food production, nutritional value, and economic viability assessed. Cultural consultation with Aboriginal communities ensures respect for traditional knowledge while exploring economic benefits for remote areas and broader health impacts.
Phone
+61 2 9114 2199
Email
sonam.tashi@sydney.edu.au
Address
107 Cobbitty Road Cobbitty NSW 2570
X/Twitter
@PbiCobbitty
Phone
+61 2 6799 2205
Email
kristy.faris@sydney.edu.au
Address
I A Watson Grains Research Centre 12656, Newell Highway Narrabri, NSW 2390
X/Twitter
@pbinarrabri
