• Research from Charles Sturt University has unlocked a way to protect the future of wheat growing in Australia amid hotter, drier, more variable climates
• The reserach offers solutions to boost the productivity of Australia’s wheat industry, which produces approximately 25 million tonnes a year

Research from Charles Sturt University has uncovered how Australia’s wheat growers can overcome the impacts of climate change by helping to develop new types of ‘short-season’ wheat that can be sown in winter.

In southern Australia, wheat is typically sown after autumn rainfall. However with the climate trending toward hotter and drier seasons, growers increasingly encounter delayed or poor germination and reduced final grain yield.

New research from Timothy Green, who completed a Doctor of Philosophy with the Charles Sturt School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences in Wagga Wagga, has identified a way short-season wheat can be sown mid-winter when soil moisture is more reliable.

The title of his thesis is ‘An ideotype of a short-season, late-sown wheat for a changing Australian climate’.

Australia's wheat industry produces an average havest of approximately 25 million tonnes a year and accounts for up to 15 per cent of the global wheat trade.

In 2024-2025, Australian growers sold a record 34.8 million tonnes of wheat, valued at $10.1 billion.

“Wheat is the single largest crop grown in Australia and plays a crucial role in ensuring global food security,” Mr Green said.

“This research demonstrates the feasibility of integrating short-season, late-sown wheats into Australian cropping systems.

“In wet, mild, favourable seasons, even genotypes less suited to late sowing can still result in reasonable grain yields.”

Charles Sturt’s Rhizolysimeter was used to investigate shoot and root relationships of high early vigour wheats under variable watering regimes, replicating real-world scenarios and providing unique in-situ analysis of root growth.  

Australian wheat varieties are bred to accommodate diverse climates, soil types and management strategies.

Mr Green said integrating short-season wheat into Australia’s cropping systems provides growers  with greater flexibility.

He said the research will give growers and breeders the tools and confidence to develop and integrate short-season wheats into their programs.

The impact of this research has already been seen across indsutry, with several quick maturing wheat varieties being released to growers last year from two of Australia’s largest wheat breeding companies.

“Together with existing longer and main-season wheat cultivars, short-season wheats will provide growers with options across diverse growing regions in emerging climatic challenges, ensuring greater resilience and productivity in the Australian cropping systems,” Mr Green said.