IPNI Scholars Awards

The International Plant Nutrition Scholar Awards are open to applicants who are graduate students attending a degree-granting institution located in any country with an IPNI program. Priority is given to the relevance of the proposed research in support of IPNI's mission. Students in the disciplines of soil and plant sciences including agronomy, horticulture, ecology, soil fertility, soil chemistry, crop physiology, and other areas related to plant nutrition are encouraged to apply. Awards of US$2,000 each will be awarded to winners.
Applications open January 05 2015 and close April 30, 2015.

Winners for 2014 in Australia & New Zealand were:

• Ms. Courtney Peirce, The University of Adelaide, Australia

Courtney is working toward her Ph.D. degree in Soil Science. Her dissertation title is “Foliar fertilization of wheat plants with phosphorus.” This study is being conducted to investigate whether foliar P application can be used as an in-season top-up to tactically increase grain yields of wheat in seasons with favorable climatic conditions. This will help minimize risk for farmers in variable rainfall areas, who typically apply all their P fertilizer before sowing. For the future, Ms. Peirce aims to continue her research in crop and soil nutrition.

• Ms. Karthika Krishnasamy, Murdoch University, Australia.

Karthika is completing requirements for her doctorate degree in plant nutrition. Her dissertation title is “Wheat potassium nutrition in saline, and/or sodic soils of Western Australia.” This study will look into the role of sodium (Na) in K nutrition of wheat grown in saline/sodic soils by understanding the mechanism behind the Na replacement of K. This research has particular relevance for rainfed cropping systems grown on saline and sodic soils because of the important role of K in stomatal control and in plant water relations. In the future, Ms. Krishnasamy aims to become an independent plant scientist to gain knowledge and become an expert in different aspects of plant nutrition.