Research Centres & Facilities

State-of-the-art facilities support SARDI's highly skilled scientists in their work to create opportunities for market growth while increasing the productivity, sustainability and adaptability of SA's food and environmental industries.

Scientists pursue excellence through an extensive network of research centres, laboratories and field sites.

Regional sites provide significant opportunities for regional employment, community capacity building, technology and industry development.

Contact details for SARDI Research Centres

Metropolitan Centres

Plant Research Centre 

SARDI's corporate headquarters are located at the Plant Research Centre on the agri-science precinct at the Waite Campus, Urrbrae, South Australia.

The design and construction concept of the Plant Research Centre provides facilities for advanced research in crop and pasture breeding and evaluation, horticulture, sustainable resources research, entomology, plant nutrition, field crops pathology and associated disciplines.

Waite Campus Agri-Science Precinct

SARDI scientists are collocated with research providers including CSIRO Plant Industries, University of Adelaide, Australian Wine Research Institute and SA Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity at the Waite Agri-Science Precinct:

  • the Plant Genomics Centre (external site) focuses on Gene function research to use molecular genetic and genomics tools to further our understanding of key traits in species of importance to South Australian agriculture and horticulture.
  • the Field Crop Improvement Centre (FCIC) develops quality field crops to meet market demands (including cereal, pulse breeding, crop improvement, national variety trials).
  • the Main Waite Building is where entomology and pasture research is carried out.
  • the Diagnostic Centre is a centre of excellence for field crop, pasture and horticultural diagnostics. The centre supports the viability of agricultural industry nationally and internationally. This is achieved through the provision of high quality diagnostic services for temperate climate agriculture within a quality ensured framework. The Diagnostic Centre provides a focus for the promotion and commercialisation of research outcomes by encouraging the development of new diagnostic tools and techniques, consultancy and training on all aspects of plant health. A broad range of relevant, timely, innovative and impartial diagnostic services are offered including identifiation of nutritional disorders, quality, disease, pests and weeds.
  • The Genetic Resource Centre which maintains over 45,000 accessions of temperate pasture legumes and includes the worlds largest collection of Medicago germplasm. The Centre directly supports the SARDI Lucerne Breeding and Australia Pasture Alliance programs which develop improved cultivars for use across Australia and overseas. An additional recent initiative focuses on the development of viable options for the low rainfall livestock/cropping zone of southern Australia and explores the use of shrubs as a perennial feed base for innovative and profitable grazing enterprises that are based on sound resource management principles.

Map of the Waite Research Precinct (PDF)

South Australia Aquatic Sciences Centre (SAASC)

The South Australia Aquatic Sciences Centre, located at West Beach, is South Australia's leading focus for enhancing research in marine and inland fisheries, aquaculture, marine biotechnology, and environmental and ecosystem ecology. Other Aquatic Sciences facilities enable SARDI to achieve its goal to lead and conduct innovative and practical research that enhances the State’s economic growth and enables the Conservation of natural resources for the people of South Australia. 

The SAASC Library is open to the public and includes information on marine and freshwater flora and fauna, and a broad range of material covering fisheries and aquaculture policy, economics, management and legislation from other areas of the world.

Glenside Laboratories

The Glenside Laboratories provide the base for Human Health Food Safety research programs and livestock parasitology and biochemistry.

The food research team draws together a range of scientific disciplines to underpin the safety of food to meet public health requirements and the economic development of food industries.

At Glenside, Animal Health parasitology services include:

  • biological sample processing and microscopy
  • faecal worm egg counts
  • total worm counts
  • worm larval cultures
  • taxonomy
  • biohazard sample processing
  • parasite reference collection
  • parasitology textbook collection.

Biochemistry facilities and services include access to an isotope laboratory, hepa-filtered clean laboratory, atomic absorption spectrophotometry and liquid chromatography (HPLC). 

Regional Centres