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Postgraduate Projects

Current Projects:

Mark Shepheard - responsibility and accountability in farming systems for landscape health The central question for Mark’s thesis is: What is reasonable behaviour for a farmer? A duty of care is promoted as a way to answer this question and provide the essence of self regulation for natural resource management.
Anne Williams - effects of soil amendments on cropping soils in the Central West of NSWAnne started work in February on her GRDC funded post-graduate studies with PIIC. She will study the effects of soil amendments on cropping soils in the Central West of NSW. Anne’s supervisors are Assoc. Prof. Heiko Daniel, Dr Kathy King and Prof. Bob Martin.
Nisha Aravind - Functional Foods for Healthier DietsNisha Aravind is studying the addition of various healthy ingredients such as inulin to reduce the glycaemic index of pasta at Tamworth Agricultural Institute. Her research is supported by a Primary Industries Innovation Centre (PIIC) PhD Scholarship and her supervisors are Dr Mike Sissons (NSW DPI) and Dr Chris Fellows (UNE).
John Wilkie - Aspects of flowering and flushing of mango and macadamiaPIIC PhD scholarship holder, John Wilkie recently submitted his thesis “Aspects of flowering and flushing of mango and macadamia”. John’s supervisors were Prof Margaret Sedgley (UNE) and Dr Trevor Olesen (I&I NSW). John is now a researcher at the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) Applethorpe Research Station.
Christine Walela - Profile dynamics of soil carbon storage and resilienceChristine Walela will study soil organic carbon storage, quality, and depth distribution under continuous cropping, perennial long term pasture and remnant vegetation on a range of soil types.
Giregon Olupot - Root contributions to soil organic carbon sequestration on the Northern Tablelands of NSWGiregon Olupot will attempt to determine the fine root contributions to sequestration of soil organic carbon below ground.
Fazle Rabbi - Stabilization of organic carbon in soil aggregates under contrasting land usesFazle Rabbi will study stabilisation of soil organic carbon in soil micro-aggregates under different organic inputs, tillage and cropping patterns.
Nimai Senapati - Simulation of soil organic carbon dynamics under different land use and crop management practices. Nimai Senapati will attempt to simulate soil organic carbon dynamics under different land use and crop management practices. His first objective is to determine carbon sequestration potential under different land use and management systems.
Brendan George - Alternative energy sources in regional NSW – understanding sustainable biomass energy systemsThere is a clear and growing need for diversifying our energy supply. Energy from biomass is one part of the solution but there is little information regarding the long-term feasibility and sustainability of production from multiple sources, especially for so-called ‘second generation’ systems.
Yadunath Bajgai - Effect of alternative cropping management on soil organic carbonYadunath Bajgai is working on the “Effect of alternative cropping management on soil organic carbon” for his PhD research which began in July 2009. He is a recipient of the Australian Government’s prestigious and internationally competitive Endeavour Postgraduate Award for his PhD study.
Jenny Wood - Mechanisms of seed coat and cotyledon adhesion that influence the dehulling and splitting quality of chickpea seedsThe dehulling and splitting process, aims to isolate the two cotyledons (dhal) without chipping/abrasion of the cotyledons or contamination by the seed coat. The ease of separating the seed coat from the cotyledon, and the ease of splitting the cotyledons impact on dhal yields.
Pol Chanthy - The influence of climate change on Nezara viridula and its parasitoid, Trichopoda spp.Soybean is the most economically important legume crop in the world. In the tropics and sub-tropics, green vegetable bug Nezara viridula is a major insect pest world-wide. Serious yield losses can result from green vegetable bug (GVB) feeding as well as reduced seed germination in GVB damaged seeds.
Nazma Begum - Nitrous oxide emissions from two contrasting systems: Fertilizer-N versus Biologically fixed-NThe main greenhouse gas produced by Australian agriculture is nitrous oxide (N2O) (83.9%). N2O is a significant greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 298 times greater than CO2 and contributes to the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the biosphere from the harmful effects of solar ultraviolet radiation.