School of Agricultural Science staff undertake significant amounts of excellent agricultural and forestry based research that is largely reported through TIA’s five sector-based Centres. Some research which doesn’t align well with these Centres is reported through the School directly. The school is based at the Sandy Bay campus.
The focus of the Stress Physiology group is on the cellular mechanisms of plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought, oxidative stress, water-logging, cold, frost, soil acidity and nutritional disorders. Projects range from applied research (using halophyte species for saline agriculture) to basic research (e.g. mechanisms of programed cell death or modelling ion channels). The group maintains active research collaborations with 45 laboratories from 17 countries and is at the forefront of research on membrane transport in plants, bacteria and fungi.
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture consists of five sector-based centres that conduct research, industry development and extension. The Dairy and Vegetable Centres are based at the Cradle Coast campus in Burnie, the Extensive Agriculture Centre is based at Mt Pleasant, near Launceston, and the Food Safety Centre and Perennial Horticulture Centres are based at the Sandy Bay campus.
These commodity-aligned Centres provide an opportunity for postgraduate students enrolled with the School of Agricultural Science to complete their studies while working with experienced staff in a wide range of fields within TIA.
