HORSHAM'S Grains Innovation Park has added another doctor to its staff list.
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Agriculture Victoria research scientist, Katherine Dunsford, has officially gained her PhD. Her focus was: Understanding the causes of poor grain yield responses of wheat to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers.
She has examined, since 2014, how and why nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers applied to crops do not always result in a yield benefit.
Dr Dunsford has estimated nitrogen mineralisation in south-east Australian cereal crops and identified several soil testing methods for predicting in-crop mineral nitrogen supply, which may be useful when formulating nitrogen budgets.
Her PhD supervisor, Professor Roger Armstrong, said the research had provided a new understanding of issues affecting the profitability of grain growers - including why grain crops regularly fail to translate large vegative responses to phosphorus application; and how important nitrogen mineralisation is to the nitrogen economy of Victorian grain crops.
Having spent more than five years working towards her PhD, Dr Dunsford said the experience was both challenging and rewarding.
"Undertaking a PhD not only taught me about developing, conducting and writing up experiments, but I have also gained a range of personal skills, such as having confidence in my own judgement, prioritising and how to be more effective in my day-to-day activities," she said.
"Being located here at Horsham was advantageous because I had access to a range of resources, equipment and people, but was also able to maintain a connection to the farming community."
Professor Armstrong, who is a senior research scientist with Agriculture Victoria, said Dr Dunsford's strong desire for her research to benefit grain growers and rural communities, combined with good science, helped her reach her goals.
Dr Dunsford was awarded her PhD from the School of Life Sciences at La Trobe University. She is employed by Agriculture Victoria at Horsham and is working on a range of soils and crop nutrition research projects for Agriculture Victoria and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
