Dr Nigel Warwick

Biography

I am Senior Lecturer in Plant and Crop Ecophysiology at the University of New England. My research has a strong focus on plant, crop and horticultural ecophysiology.

I have successfully supervised Honours, Masters and Doctoral students from Australia, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, India, Iran, Nepal and Timor Leste. I have postgraduates working on projects in the cereal, tomato and berryfruit industries. I currently have active research collaborations with cereal breeders at the NSW DPI Tamworth Agricultural Institute and the Jodrell Laboratory at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom.

Prior to coming to UNE, I worked on research projects on plant water use in horticultural systems, biochemistry of leaf senescence, salinity, wetland plant ecology and photosynthesis at Plant Physiology Division DSIR NZ, the School of Agriculture and Forestry at The University of Melbourne, the Institute of Biological Chemistry at Washington State University, USA, and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology/CRC for Freshwater Ecology at Monash University.

The definition of Plant Ecophysiology...

Plant Ecophysiology deals with the relationship between plants and their physical and abiotic environment...the study of the adaptive functional and structural features which link the plant to its specific environment...also that of the forms of transfer and transformation of energy and mass connected with dynamics of the ecosystem. (UNESCO Montpellier Symposium, 1962)

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
• Diploma in Science (Biochemistry) Massey University NZ
• Bachelor of Horticultural Science (Honours) Massey University NZ

Teaching Areas

I teach units at first, second, third and fourth year, and at honours and postgraduate level, with a focus on plant, crop and horticultural ecophysiology.

• BIOL120 Biology II (Plant Structure and Function)
• AGRO223 Agricultural Ecology & Crop Physiology (Unit Coordinator)
• BOTY202/402 Plant Physiology & Anatomy (Unit Coordinator)
• BOTY302/502 Plant Function & Environment (Unit Coordinator)
• HORT420 Horticultural Science (Unit Coordinator) [to resume in T3 2019]

Postgraduate Research (Supervisor)

• SCI400 Science Honours
• SCI599 Master of Scientific Studies Thesis
• ERS502 Research Synthesis in Environmental and Rural Science
• RUSC490 Rural Science Honours
• RUSC594 Master of Science in Agriculture Thesis
• Doctor of Philosophy

Research Interests

• Physiology and genetics of durum wheat in response to drought and global CO₂ changes.
• Photoperiod and vernalisation response of durum wheat
• Water soluble carbohydrates dynamics in durum wheat
• Pruning and bud physiology in horticultural crops
• Grafting physiology and anatomy in horticultural plants
• Carbohydrate dynamics in agricultural, horticultural and native plants.
• Postharvest physiology.
• Water use of plants in natural and agricultural systems.
• Drought tolerance in Australian woody plants.
• Functional anatomy of Australian woody plants, particularly the structure and function of the xylem and vestured pits in relation to climate and phylogeny.

Recent and current theses

Doctor of Philisophy

• Importance of water-soluble carbohydrates to the maintenance of grain yield and quality in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)
• Strategies for improving water productivity of irrigated durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) in a changing climate
• Optimisation and understanding of grafting in greenhouse tomatoes

Master of Science - Master of Science (Agriculture) - Master of Environmental Science and Natural Resources Management

• Dynamics of sugar-signalling molecules in developing grains in durum wheat.
• Photoperiod and vernalisation response of durum wheat
• Contribution of the dwarfing genes Rht1 and Rht18 to yield parameters of durum wheat
• Physiological and anatomical aspects of the mobilisation of fructans in the stems of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)
• Effect of post-harvest calcium chloride treatment on post-harvest qualities of glasshouse tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) during storage.

Bachelor of Rural Science (Honours)

• Factors Influencing Successful Grafting of Glasshouse Tomato Plants

Bachelor of Science (Honours)

• Morphology, distribution and accumulation of Calcium Oxalate in species of Acacia across an Aridity Gradient.
• Groundwater dependency of selected wallum species from the Lower North Coast of New South Wales.

Research collaborators

• Dr Gururaj Kadkol, Durum Breeder, Tamworth Agricultural Institute, Dept of Primary Industries NSW
• Dr Peter Gasson, Research Leader, Woods and Timbers, Natural Capital and Plant Health, Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom

Publications

Full publications list available via ResearchGate.

Recent Publications

Aldahadha A, Warwick NWM, Backhouse DA (2018) Water relations and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) exposed to interactions of drought and fungal root diseases (Rhizoctonia and Pythium). Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 1-14

Warwick NWM, Hailey L, Clarke KL, Gasson PE (2017) Climate trends in the wood anatomy of Acacia s.s.(Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Annals of Botany 119: 1249-1266.

Aldahadha A, Warwick NWM, Backhouse DA (2017) Inoculation with Pythium irregulare increases the water use efficiency of wheat exposed to post-anthesis drought. Journal of Plant Chemistry and Ecophysiology 2: 1017

Griffith SJ, Rutherford S, Clarke KL, Warwick NWM (2015). Water relations of wallum species in contrasting groundwater habitats of Pleistocene beach ridge barriers on the lower north coast of New South Wales, Australia.Australian Journal of Botany 63: 618-630.

Brown SL, Warwick NWM, Prychid, CJ (2013) Does aridity influence the morphology, distribution and accumulation of calcium oxalate crystals in Acacia (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)? Plant Physiology & Biochemistry 73: 219-228

Whinder F, Clarke KL, Warwick NWM, Gasson PE (2013)Structural diversity of the wood of temperate species of Acacia s.s. (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae). Australian Journal of Botany 61: 291-301.

Rutherford S, Griffith SJ, Warwick NWM (2013) The water relations of selected wallum species in dry sclerophyll woodland on the lower north coast of New South Wales, Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 61: 254-265.

Curran TJ, Clarke PJ, Warwick NWM (2013) Drought resistance of Australian rainforest seedlings is influenced by species evolutionary history. Australian Journal of Botany 61: 22-28.

Aldahadha A, Warwick NWM, Backhouse DA (2012) Effects of Pythium irregulare and root pruning on water use efficiency of hydroponically grown wheat under PEG-Induced Drought. Journal of Phytopathology 160: 397-403

Curran T, Clarke PJ, Warwick NWM (2010) Water relations of woody plants on contrasting soils during drought: does edaphic compensation account for dry rainforest distribution? Australian Journal of Botany 57: 629-639.

Aldahadha A, Warwick NWM, Backhouse DA (2010) Interactive effects of root diseases and drought on water use efficiency of wheat. In 'Food Security for Sustainable Agriculture', Proceedings of the 15th Australian Society of Agronomy Conference, 15-19 November 2010, Lincoln New Zealand.

Memberships

• Australian Society of Plant Scientists
• Australian Society of Horticultural Science
• International Society for Horticultural Science
• International Association of Wood Anatomists