- Rising fertiliser costs and supply pressures are increasing the need for more efficient nitrogen use in Australian grain production.
- This is one of the first investments under GRDC’s $115 million, 10-year Nitrogen Mission.
- This 4-year $10M investment focuses on biological nitrification inhibition (BNI), where plants may naturally slow nitrogen loss in the field, keeping more fertiliser available for the crop.
- Long-term impacts include developing wheat, sorghum and canola varieties with potential BNI traits.
- The investment aligns with GRDC’s Nitrogen Mission and aims to build the evidence base to guide future sorghum, wheat and canola crop developments.
The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has announced a new investment aligning with its Nitrogen Mission, supporting research to understand if Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) can improve nitrogen use efficiency in Australian grain production systems.
The four-year $10 million investment led by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, will build foundational knowledge of BNI in crops—primarily sorghum, wheat and canola – and aims to build the evidence base to guide future crop development, demonstrate the potential impact for Australian production systems, and guide potential on-farm adoption.
GRDC Managing Director Nigel Hart said the investment represents an important step in investigating a spectrum of new approaches that could guide the development of more nitrogen efficient future crop options.
“GRDC’s Nitrogen Mission is focused on securing Australia’s long-term nitrogen future by improving how nitrogen is used across grain production systems,” Mr Hart said.
“Nitrogen is essential for productivity, but it is also one of the largest input costs for growers and one of the most difficult nutrients to manage efficiently.
This investment is about improving our understanding of the biological processes that influence nitrogen cycling in soils, and how we might harness those processes to develop new varieties.”
Nitrogen applied to cropping systems can be lost through a range of pathways, including leaching and gaseous emissions, reducing both fertiliser use efficiency and grower returns.
Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) is an emerging area of research that focuses on how plants and soil systems can influence and reduce these losses. BNI relates to the ability of certain plants to exude compounds through their roots to suppress the microbial process that converts ammonium into nitrate, a key step in the soil nitrogen cycle known as nitrification.
Because nitrate is more prone to loss from soils through leaching or denitrification, slowing this conversion process has the potential to reduce nitrogen losses and emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O). It may also keep more nitrogen in forms that remain available for crop uptake for longer.
Mr Hart said the research would help determine whether BNI could be translated into practical solutions for Australian farming systems.
“This is not about adding another input, but about understanding a natural biological function between the plant and soil systems and whether it can be harnessed to improve nitrogen use efficiency,” he said.
“What we are investing in here is the science needed to determine where BNI works, how consistent it is across crops and environments, and whether it can ultimately provide growers with new options to improve nitrogen use.”
The investment is part of GRDC’s longer-term Nitrogen Mission, which aims to deliver step changes in nitrogen use efficiency and reduce losses across Australian grain production over time.
This investment represents an early and important stage in building the evidence base required to support future innovation. The project will interact closely with international efforts underway to better understand the potential of BNI in major cereals, including the CropSustaiN BNI Wheat Mission.
Led by CSIRO, the investment brings together a national collaboration including The University of Queensland, Australian Grain Technologies, InterGrain and the Australian National University.
Dr Alison Bentley, Deputy Director Agriculture and Food at CSIRO, said nitrogen efficiency was one of the biggest opportunities, and one of the biggest challenges, facing Australian cropping systems.
“This investment lets us bring plant biology, soil science and genetics together to work out where BNI can genuinely make a difference for growers,” she said.
More specifically, the research will investigate how BNI functions in Australian conditions. The investment will identify crop germplasm with differing BNI capacity in wheat, canola and sorghum, and assess how these traits interact with soils, climate and management practices.
It will also integrate findings into modelling frameworks, including APSIM NextGen, to evaluate potential agronomic, environmental and economic outcomes.
Mr Hart said the ultimate focus remains on delivering value for growers through improved nitrogen management.
“Growers are looking for ways to get more from their nitrogen investment while managing risk and maintaining productivity,” he said.
“This work is designed to provide clear, evidence-based guidance on whether BNI can contribute to that goal, and where any future benefits are most likely to be realised.”
The investment, aligning with the objective of the Nitrogen Mission, aims to support the development of future crop options and management insights that help retain nitrogen in the soil, improve fertiliser use efficiency and reduce losses to the environment, while also contributing to more sustainable grain production systems.
By identifying where BNI is most effective, the work will help ensure any future applications are targeted to the environments and farming systems where they can deliver the greatest impact.
Read more about the investment .
