PHD Studies

PGRO has charitable objectives around both research and education. Part of the education policy includes co-sponsoring a programme of PhDs as and when funds are available. Proposed projects must be deemed sufficiently relevant and complimentary to the overall R&D strategy of the PGRO.

Priority is given to projects that address key issues affecting pules and vegetable legume growers and are presented with an applied as opposed to fundamental science bias.

The following list outlines the series of sponsored studies to date in reverse chronological order:

Understanding and mitigating against the causes of yield decline in pea

Pea is an important legume grown for human and animal consumption.

PHD Studies

The Potential of Naturally Occurring, Heritable, Mutualistic ‘Persistent’ Viruses to Enhance Legume Performance

Optimising pollination of Vicia faba for enhanced crop yield and to support biodiversity

Understanding the diversity of organisms contributing to foot and root rot disease in faba bean in the United Kingdom

Realising the environmental benefits of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) via optimised nutrition and nitrogen fixation

Remote sensing and machine learning for the field-scale prediction of maturity and yield in vining pea (Pisum sativum L.)

The Biology and Integrated Management of Bean Seed Fly.

Understanding the link between N-cycling and bacterial cytoskeleton in the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis

Strategies to optimise pollination of the UK field bean crop

Understanding and mitigating against the causes of yield decline in pea

Developing novel seed treatments for grain legumes: optimising sustainable outcomes in agricultural systems

Management of the stem and bulb nematode (Ditylenchus spp.) in winter beans (Vicia faba L) using biofumigant Brassica spp. and other allelopathic cover crops

Investigating the relationship between Aphanomyces euteiches and yield decline in peas seen with increase cropping frequency whilst maintaining sufficient crop rotation.

The Biology and Ecology of Bruchus rufimanus, the bean seed beetle