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the australian farmer
ionic balancers, metabolic stabilisers, functional fer- tilisers, and biostimulants. But adoption is uneven, and understanding is still developing. Here are three principles growers need to anchor to: 1. The most effective stress tools work by modulating plant physiology - not by adding “more nutrition”. Plants under stress do not lack NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium); they lack stabil- ity and energy. Products that activate internal protective systems matter more than those that simply feed the plant. 2. Prevention always outperforms reaction. Stress physiology is forward-driven. By the time damage is visible, the cascade has al- ready occurred. 3. Resilience should be treated as a monthly investment (like insurance) not a once-a- year rescue. The future will favour growers who build re- silience as a continuous layer of protection. Where Science and Industry Must Go Next - The Call to Action Weather extremes may be outside growers’ control, but resilience is not. If we expect to maintain profitable yields, meet sustainability targets, decrease nutrient losses, re- duce waste, and protect Australia’s agricultural com- petitiveness, we must treat plant resilience as a core innovation frontier - not an optional add-on. Our sector has long excelled in soil science, irriga- tion, genetics, and crop protection. The next leap will come from understanding the plant itself - its stress machinery, its energy systems, its ability to self-protect when supported correctly. And that is where we must invest our collective attention if we want farming systems that withstand, adapt, and thrive in a climate we can no longer predict. Zen Kynigos is a crop science technologist at Prodoz International. With an interdisciplinary professional background, his focus is on plant physiology, soil biology, and sustainability.
cannot fertilise our way out of waterlogging. And we cannot breed our way out of every cli- matic shock. But we can strengthen the plant’s internal protective systems - antioxidant pathways, ionic balance, membrane integrity, hormonal signalling - so that crops maintain function through stress rather than collapsing under it. 3. ESG, Sustainability, and Profitability Are All Improved When Plants Stay Functional When crops cope better with stress, multiple downstream benefits emerge: • Improved water-use efficiency • Lower nutrient wastage and leaching • Reduced need for reactive chemistry • Higher quality per unit of input • Lower losses and waste across the supply chain • Better consistency for processors and exporters • Building resilience is not just agronomy, it is climate adaptation, emissions reduction, and economic risk management. A Practical Lesson from the Paddock: Resilience Is Measurable One recent illustration of what is possible came from a potato crop in Bothwell, Tasmania. After a major rainfall event delivered 60+ milli- metres in a few hours - and left soils saturated for weeks, growers expected significant tuber rot. It never came. Not because the weather was kind or disease pressure was magically low. But because the plants’ physiological resilience had been proactively strengthened during the season. This raises an important point: Resilience is not a theory. It is observable, measurable, and economic- ally meaningful. And it is increasingly becoming a differentiator be- tween crops that survive extreme events and crops that collapse. Bridging the Knowledge Gap: What Growers Need to Know Across Australia, farmers are experimenting with new tools - antioxidant triggers, osmoprotectants,
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