Expression of Interest: Enhancing wheat adaptability for stable yields under variable climates: an integrated genetic and agronomic approach

⁠⁠⁠Overview

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is seeking Expressions of Interest from capable Respondents to participate in a potential multistage procurement process to deliver work on enhancing wheat adaptability for stable yields under variable climates, using an integrated genetic and agronomic approach.

Purpose

Climate variability is making Australian wheat production more challenging, with drought and interacting stresses such as heat, nutrient limitation and soil constraints increasingly affecting crop performance across regions and seasons. These stresses can reduce yield stability and create greater seasonal risk for growers. One opportunity to address this challenge is to better understand and use wheat's adaptive plasticity, the ability of wheat plants to adjust growth, development and resource use in response to changing conditions. Adaptive plasticity may help crops reduce yield loss in dry or stressful seasons while maintaining yield potential when conditions are favourable. While wheat breeding programs select for broad adaptation, the specific traits, benchmarks and selection approaches that support adaptive plasticity are not yet routinely defined or targeted.

Scope

The scope includes:

• Identifying priority wheat plasticity traits that support yield stability under variable climate conditions
• Validating identified plasticity traits and associated benchmarks
• Translating validated traits into breeder-ready knowledge, datasets, genetic resources and selection guidance

Contractor Requirements

• Respondents must be capable of participating in a potential multistage procurement process to deliver this work

Tender Briefing

An Industry Briefing will be held for this EOI.

• Date: Monday 10 August 2026
• Time: 11 am Canberra Time

Requests to attend the Industry Briefing are to be forwarded in writing to the Document Contact and Enquiries by Friday 7 August, 5pm Canberra time.

Instructions to Tenderers

Enquiries in relation to this EOI must be submitted to tenders@grdc.com.au by the Deadline for Submission of Respondent Enquiries to be accepted, including the subject heading: Enquiry Regarding EOI PROC-9177452.

Responses to this EOI must be submitted to tenders@grdc.com.au by the Closing Time to be accepted, including the subject heading: EOI PROC-9177452.

Subject to this EOI, responses lodged after the Closing Time or that do not provide all the information requested may be excluded from further consideration.

Enquiries

• Contact: Justine Morgan, Contract Officer
• Organisation: Grains Research and Development Corporation
• Email: tenders@grdc.com.au