Aarhus Universitets segl

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Mit navn er Simon Abel og jeg er nyligt startet ph.d.-studerende ved Aarhus Universitet.

Jeg har tidligere studeret på Lincoln University (New Zealand) med fokus på viden om landbrugsplanter og frøproduktion, men skal de næste fire år arbejde med Seniorforsker Birte Boelt og Seniorforsker Torben Asp, Aarhus Universitet, Flakkebjerg inden for produktion af flerårig rajgræs på ph.d. projektet "Forage seed production and plant breeding".

Having had numerous years’ experience within the New Zealand seed industry, I find it interesting that both the Danish and New Zealand seed industries find themselves in a similar situation of increasing expectations of seed companies and growers to satisfy consumer demands, all while having to deal with tightening governmental regulations. It is through our continued (and collaborative) research that we will try to achieve greater production standards in terms of quality and quantity – satisfying all parties.

Our aim during these studies is to increase the reproduction efficiency and subsequent seed set of perennial ryegrass. Currently, we believe there are many ‘inefficient’ steps in the production of seed. Therefore, during this PhD degree programme we plan to assess the impacts of many areas of seed production which we see as limiting factors. Factors we have identified as being potential issues include:

  • We aim to characterize and understand which conditions are required for flowering and how flowering synchrony might impact seed yield components and final seed yield;
  • Due to imperfect flowering, it is our hope to identify which component(s) of seed yield loss are largest – we suspect that shattering of early pollinated flowers/seeds is greatest when flowering is prolonged;
  • Finally, as Moddus™ is the most common plant growth regulator (PGR) applied, we would like to continue developing PGR timings and dosages using laboratory analysis of internal plant hormones (namely Gibberellic Acid) to determine “model” application strategies of this growth regulator.

With all these objectives in mind and within these studies, we plan to phenotype and genetically characterize a diverse range of plant material, originating from the north of Denmark to the southern part of New Zealand – and in between to determine if agronomic and plant breeding efforts can assist us with increasing seed yields. Finally, it is the hope that our research targets and goals will set a future precedence for increasing seed production from which is already available to us – tapping untapped potential, an achievable goal.

Simon Abel, PhD Fellow
Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg.
Email – simon.abel@agrsci.dk