Spinifex Materials for Agricultural applications

Development of the Bulugudu Technology Platform (or B-Tech) for agriculture is urgently needed since rainfall in Australia’s cropping belt is declining and severely threatening yields. For example, wheat yields are projected to decline by 8–9% by 2030 and >12% beyond 2030. Concomitantly, growing critical crops such as cotton and soybean in Northern Australia is now viewed as de-risking Australian agriculture against drought in southern regions, however, extreme conditions, such as high temperatures, can severely compromise yields (Barker 2020).

Our team has successfully used the B-Tech platform to deliver emerging growth regulators to boost crop yield in semi-arid northern Australian field trials, with scaling to manufacture development currently underway.

Based on entirely natural parent materials, the platform promises a closed circular economy. This will be especially true if Spinifex growth on marginal lands can be enhanced by the B-Tech to sequester carbon and produce additional Spinifex biomaterials.