SYDNEY, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- New research has shown that by sowing Australia's winter wheat crop earlier, overall yield could be substantially increased, adding up to 1.2 billion U.S dollars to the national economy and improving global food security.

Published on Tuesday, the seven-year effort by Australia's La trobe University and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), sought a solution to reduced yield rates since the 1990's caused by less autumn rainfall across the southeastern Australian states.

La Trobe researcher James Hunt explained that the time at which grain crops flower is crucial to yield and that changes to climate have meant traditional sowing habits in Australia are no longer viable.

To solve their problem, the team sought a genotype of wheat in which development is slowed so that sowing could be moved forward but flowering still occurred in the optimal window.

By using a wheat line developed by the CSIRO, and not widely used or tested in Australia, the team showed that it's fast winter development pattern suited certain parts of the Australian wheatbelt, with the possibility of significantly increasing yield.

"We found that in the Mediterranean environments of the southern and western wheat belt, where most of the wheat in Australia is grown, the fast winter line sown early (up to 40 days earlier than traditional sowing times) could yield as well as or better than the fast spring sown at its optimal time," Hunt said.

When applied to crop simulation models, the team found that national yields could be increased by 0.54 tonnes per hectare, which is about 20 percent of the current national yield.

"This would produce an additional 7.1 million tonnes of wheat worth up to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars to the national economy," Hunt said.

"If appropriate winter cultivars can be bred for Australian growers, farm yields will be increased with little additional investment by growers required," he added.