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Dr Brian Dear
BRuSc (Hons) UNE, MSc UNSW, PhD UWA
Position Adjunct Professor
Email brian.pam.dear@gmail.com
Career Brief
Dr Dear received a BRuSc (Hons) from the University of New England, and joined the NSW Department of Agriculture (now NSW DPI) as a trainee. His interest in pasture research began when he was based at the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry at Canberra. He collaborated with CSIRO scientists on sulphur and boron nutrition of subterranean clover and selection of a new cultivar of Caucasian clover. He also completed a MSc (University of NSW) on a phosphate sorption test for the prediction of soil P requirements.
Dr Dear relocated to Wagga Wagga and participated in the National Annual Pasture Legume Improvement Program and was responsible for the selection and release of annual legumes including subterranean clover and murex medic. As part of this program he evaluated the herbicide tolerance of a diverse range of pasture species.
His PhD studies at the University of Western Australia focused on the ecology of annual legumes grown in mixtures with perennial grasses and lucerne. More recent research has focused on understanding the factors influencing competition between annual and perennial pasture species in mixed swards.
Dr Dear led the national plant improvement program set up by the CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity. From 2007 he has led the PastureSearch program within the CRC for Future Farm Industries.
Dr Dear retired from his position of Senior Principal Research Scientist
Annual legume breeding and ecology of annual and perennial pastures in Mediterranean environments in February 2011, but remains an Adjunct Professor with CSU.
Research
- Leading the EverCrop project in the uniform rainfall zone of eastern Australia within the CRC for Future Farm Industries (GRDC and CRC FFI)
- Development of management and agronomy packages for new annual legume species (AWI)
- Breeding new annual legumes for phased cropping systems
- Investigating the potential role of perennial grasses, herbs and legumes in phased rotation with crops (CRC FFI)
- Factors affecting persistence of annual legumes grown in mixtures with perennial pasture species.
Professional Links
- Member of Australian Agronomy Society
- Member NSW Grasslands Society
Interests
- Ecology of annual and perennial pastures in Mediterranean environments and developing resilient pasture mixtures able to cope with variable seasonal conditions
- Supervision of postgraduate students
Selected Publications
Dear BS , Ewing MA (2008) The search for new pasture plants to achieve more sustainable production systems in southern Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture (in press).
Dear BS , Li GD, Hayes RC, Hughes SJ, Charman N, Ballard RA (2007) Cullen australasicum (syn. Psoralea australasica ): a review and some preliminary studies related to its potential as a low rainfall perennial legume. The Rangelands Journal 29 , 1-12.
Dear BS , Sandral G A, Virgona, JM, Swan AD, Orchard BA and Cocks PS (2007) Lucerne, phalaris and wallaby grass in short-term pasture phases in two eastern Australian wheat belt environments: (2) Effect of perennial density and species on subterranean clover populations and the relative success of 3 clover cultivars of different maturity. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58 , 123-135.
Dear BS , Virgona JM, Sandral GA, Swan AD, Orchard PA, and cocks PS (2007) Lucerne, phalaris and wallaby grass in short-term pasture phases in two eastern Australian wheat belt environments: (1) Importance if initial perennial density on their persistence and recruitment, and on the presence of weeds. Au s tralian Journal of Agricultural Research 58 , 123-135.
Dear BS , Hodge A, Lemerle D, Pratley JE, Orchard BA, and Kaiser AG (2006). The influence of forage legume species, seeding rate and seed size on competitiveness with annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum L.) seedlings. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46 , 627-636.