The CSIRO says increasing wheat yields is its focus for the future.
But it won't be looking simply at conventional breeding or even genetic modification to fast-track getting wheat to produce more grain per head.
Dr Richard Richards, the head of the CSIRO's wheat research team, says it's on the verge of discovering new genes which could enhance the early growth of crop plants which can be introduced into breeding programs quite quickly.
But, he says, the really big yield gains will come from discovering the function and location of those genes involved in basic processes like photosynthesis.
"We've made no improvements in photosynthesis for, probably, ever - this is going to be incredibly difficult and challenging, but amazingly important."
© 2011 ABC.
