Download Honours projects for 2016 Potato Research WA Potato is the fourth

Honours projects for 2016
Potato Research WA
Potato is the fourth most important food crop in the world and plays an key role in international food
security. Production and consumption has shifted from Europe to Asia which places WA in an
excellent position for export development and research collaboration.

Efficient food: Do potato genotypes differ in nitrogen use efficiency?
High nitrogen fertilizer usage is costly to the grower and presents a number of
environmental risks such as potential leaching or runoff into waterways. This drives a need
for more efficient crop nitrogen use. Little is known about the variation in nitrogen efficiency
among potato varieties. This project will look at the photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency of
a number of popular varieties and what physiological components underlie any differences.

Efficient food: Manipulating carbohydrate partitioning in potato.
In potato, warm temperatures result in increased shoot growth but reduced tuber growth.
This is a challenge for the developing potato industries in subtropical and Mediterraneantype climates. In this project you will examine whether growth regulators can be successfully
used to shift the partitioning from the shoots to the tubers.

Potential for biological control of Spongospora subterranea in potato
Spongospora subterranea cause the disease ‘powdery scab’ in potato. The disease reduces
yield and the lesions on the tubers render them unsalable. The disease has proved
challenging and control relies on integrated disease management. Biological control may
provide a useful component of an integrated program. In this project the impact of a number
of commercial bio-control agents on the pathogen will be explored.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Dr Stephen Milroy
Room 2.048b Biological Sciences Building
Phone: 9360 2425
Email: [email protected]