Richard Bell

Phenotype and genotype data collected from the GRDC-funded project UMU2303-003RTX (Developing genetic tools to facilitate breeder use and deployment of high value acid soils tolerant chickpea germplasm). The genotype data consisted of approximately 4,300 high-quality SNP markers of 520 chickpea accessions. The phenotype data, including the tolerance index, plant growth data and yield-related traits, were collected from multiple trials across Australia from 2023 to 2025.

This dataset contains detailed analysis of crop foliar fertilisers that will provide new knowledge for the creation of improved application technologies and formulations to improve the efficiency of plant uptake and utilisation of foliar applied nutrients. This is the output of the GRDC-funded project: Synchrotron Postdoctoral Fellow no. 4: Plants - Novel foliar fertilisers and nutrition trait diversity of grains (UMU2001_001RTX). The study involves determining the background levels of zinc in a collection of wheat grains var. Scepter from the NVT sites across Australian agricultural regions; elemental analysis of wheat grains treated with zinc-foliar fertilizers and elemental mapping analysis using the X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) beamline at the Australian Synchrotron (AS) facilities of treated grains. Wheat grain samples from NVT sites across Australia for over 5 years were collected and analysed for zinc concentrations. Novel foliar fertilizers containing silica mesoporous nanoparticles and lipid chelators namely ionophores were produced and compared against conventional forms of Zn sich ZnSO4 on wheat plants under controlled conditions. Grains from treated wheat plants were harvested and studied at the XFM beamline at the AS facilities. Data collected at the XFM beamline were collected and stored at the AS premises. Data analysis by remote access from Murdoch University to the AS's raw data is ongoing. GEOPIXE is the software installed at AS that is used remotely to conduct data analysis by generating elemental maps of wheat grains collected at the XFM. SigmaPlot software is used for statistical analysis. Methods of metadata analysis, production of foliar formulations, and data analysis using the GEOPIXE software are in preparation for publication.

This collection contains phenotype data of multiple traits: Length of Longest Root; Change in root length; Root weight; Root weight per plant; Shoot weight; Shoot weight per plant; Calculated Root tolerance index; Calculated Relative Root Length; as well as the response to pH or pH plus Aluminium treatment of two hundred and ninety-eight (298) wild Cicer accessions, 17 domestic cultivars and 30 domestic crosses Cicer. Screening protocols were developed to assess domestic chickpea and wild Cicer accessions for tolerance to low pH and Al or Mn toxicity. The phenotype data are RANKED data of parameters measured from REML. All models were fitted using the statistical software package ASReml within the R computing environment. More information about Experimental methodology, Solution composition, measurements, and statistical analysis can be found in Vance et al. (2021). Vance W, Pradeep K, Strachan SR, Diffey S, Bell RW. Novel Sources of Tolerance to Aluminium Toxicity in Wild Cicer (Cicer reticulatum and Cicer echinospermum) Collections. Frontiers in Plant Science. [Original Research]. 2021 2021-June-25;12(1202). For further information, please email w.vance@murdoch .edu (Dr Wendy Vance).