Research capabilities

Driving innovation and impact across agriculture, food and wine industries

Producing more food, more sustainably, in the face of climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time. With a long-standing legacy in agricultural research and a strong track record of industry impact, the Waite Research Institute (WRI) plays a critical role in addressing this challenge. We bring together cross-disciplinary expertise and partners to deliver real-world outcomes such as developing high-yielding, resilient crop and rootstock varieties that improve tolerance to disease and environmental stress, while ensuring quality and suitability for food, feed and beverage industries in Australia and globally.

WRI focus areas

Addressing the complex challenges facing agriculture, food and wine today requires more than isolated advances – it demands connected, applied research. WRI brings together transdisciplinary expertise, industry collaboration and global partnerships to translate fundamental science into real-world solutions. By combining diverse capabilities and leading facilities, we enable researchers and students to tackle interconnected challenges spanning crop productivity, sustainable farming systems, resilient ecosystems, and novel food and bioproduct development.

Our research capabilities deliver impact across six key areas:

Building resilient dryland agriculture and farming systems

Improving tolerance to heat, drought, salinity and other environmental stresses
Enhancing plant productivity, performance and end-use quality
Advancing soil health and nutrient-use efficiency
Strengthening drought resilience through initiatives including the Drought Hub
Supporting sustainable farming landscapes and resilient production environments
Enabling agrifood and bioprocessing solutions for space and extreme environments

Creating value-added agrifoods and next-generation bioproducts

Linking genomics to quality traits in plants and animals
Developing new foods, ingredients and bioproducts—including biofuels and biomanufacturing—using novel crops and bioprocesses
Breeding and advancing novel and underutilised crops for future food and industry systems
Innovating alternative beverages for emerging and global markets
Connecting market insights, value chains and consumer preferences to drive adoption and impact

Unlocking plant performance through advanced phenotyping

Delivering insights from cell to whole-plant phenotyping
Monitoring crops at scale through remote and field-based sensing technologies
Enabling national capability through the Australian Plant Phenomics Network (APPN)

Advancing agbiotech and future crops

Applying plant synthetic biology to create new traits and capabilities
Driving innovation in gene technologies with a focus on stewardship and responsible use
Translating crop improvement breakthroughs into industry-ready outcomes

Transforming production through controlled environment agriculture

Advancing vertical farming and protected cropping systems
Optimising soil–plant interactions for productivity and efficiency
Enabling reliable, high-quality production in controlled and urban environments

Strengthening farming systems, agronomy and decision-making

Innovating herbicide technologies and integrated weed management
Improving fertiliser use and nutrient efficiency
Supporting agronomy, systems modelling and decision tools for more resilient and productive farming

AGT is proud to collaborate with the Waite Research Institute to drive innovation in cereal grain yield and quality. Together, we’re translating world-class research into real-world impact for Australian agriculture.

AGT (Australian Grain Technologies Pty Ltd)

Dr Tristan Coram, Director of Science & Business Development

Engage with us

Work with the Waite Research Institute to advance interdisciplinary research in agriculture, food and wine. Through access to leading facilities, expertise and student talent, we partner with industry, government and communities to deliver innovation with real-world impact.

Engage with us

Contact us

Waite Research Institute

Location
Waite Research Institute
Adelaide University
Level 2, Plant Research Centre
Waite Campus, Glen Osmond SA 5064

Phone: +61 8 8313 4251

Email: wri@adelaide.edu.au