Did you know...?
1. One frost can destroy an entire crop!
2. The annual economic impact of frost on wheat and barley production in Victoria and South Australia combined is estimated at $95.8million and $33.6 respectively. So even modest improvements in frost tolerance can deliver tens of millions of dollars of benefit to the industry.
3. ACPFG stands for “The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.”
4. IRIP proteins have been identified as one of the greater affinity with water.
5. Low temperatures of liquid inside plant cells freezes and forms ice crystals. These pierce the cell membranes causing tissue damage.
6. Frost damage is less severe in the leaves and stems of cereal crops in comparison to the flower because due to the presence of ice recrystallization inhibition proteins.
7. IRIPS are found in all cold tolerant cereals including wheat, barley and rye. They are not present in more temperate cereals such as maize and rice.
8. IRIPs act like antifreeze.
9. IRIPS sit outside the plant cells and bind with ice crystals as they form, inhibiting the growth of large ice crystals.
10. ACPFG has four nodes throughout Australia. The headquarters is at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus, the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) at La Trobe University.
These facts have been gathered from the following source:
http://www.acpfg.com.au/uploads/documents/factsheets/Frost%20research.pdf