Overview
Background
Dr Barbara George-Jaeggli is a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation. She has a Master of Science degree in Biology from ETH in Zürich and a PhD in Crop Physiology from UQ. The main objective of her research is to improve the profitability and sustainability of dry-land agriculture by increasing cereal crop productivity per unit input. Dr George-Jaeggli is part of a multi-disciplinary sorghum crop improvement group based at the Hermitage Research Facility in Warwick who have assembled extensive genotyping and phenotyping resources. Sorghum is valued for its high productivity under hot and dry conditions and is an important summer grain in the broad-acre cropping regions of north-eastern Australia and a staple food crop for millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr George-Jaeggli’s team uses sorghum as a model to study the genetics and physiology of complex cereal traits, such as drought adaptation, canopy radiation use efficiency, photosynthetic capacity and yield. They have developed tools to measure these traits across thousands of field-grown breeders’ plots using proximal sensing platforms. Barbara George-Jaeggli is currently also the Centre Leader of Hermitage Research Facility.
Availability
- Dr Barbara George-Jaeggli is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Masters (Coursework), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zürich
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Improving photosynthetic capacity to push through the yield ceiling
Cereal yields have previously mainly been improved through an increase in harvest index (the ratio of grain to total biomass of a plant). This relationship is approaching a biological limit and further improvements in yield will have to come from increasing the overall growth efficiency of crops, e.g. through improving photosynthesis. Sorghum is a perfect model to study genes that are involved in photosynthetic capacity as it has a relatively simple (and sequenced) genome, but the crop is very diverse. Dr George-Jaeggli is involved in a large research effort combining high-throughput phenotyping methods (including proximal and remote sensing and imaging technologies on mobile platforms and UAVs) and genomics to find genes involved in increased photosynthetic capacity. This work forms part of the efforts of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Translational Photosynthesis to lift crop yields of major food crops to alleviate food shortages.
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Maximising grain yields through optimised agronomy
Thanks to public and private investment in genetics, growers in Australia have access to sorghum, maize and wheat hybrids with great yield potential. Dr George-Jaeggli is part of a team of researchers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales who combine on-farm agronomy trials and crop modelling to provide growers with the tools to match hybrids with optimum agronomic practices for their particular environments to ensure they are reaping the benefits of the improved genetics.
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Increased cereal yields in water-limited environments
The dry-land cereal grain production systems of north-eastern Australia are often affected by water limitation, especially towards the end of the growing season when sub-soil moisture stores run out. Dr George-Jaeggli has been combining molecular genetics, genomics and crop physiological experimentation to dissect complex traits such as stay-green and plant height that are beneficial for yield in water-limited environments.
Research impacts
Dr George-Jaeggli's work contributes to the development of new cereal cultivars with greater yield potential, especially in water-limited environments. She has significantly contributed to the unravelling of the mechanisms behind the stay-green trait in sorghum. This knowledge helps to drought-proof crops in Queensland and around the globe and contributes to food security.
Works
Search Professor Barbara George-Jaeggli’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Journal Article
Genetic diversity of C4 photosynthesis pathway genes in Sorghum bicolor (L.)
Tao, Yongfu, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Bouteillé-Pallas, Marie, Tai, Shuaishuai, Cruickshank, Alan, Jordan, David and Mace, Emma (2020). Genetic diversity of C4 photosynthesis pathway genes in Sorghum bicolor (L.). Genes, 11 (7) 806, 806-15. doi: 10.3390/genes11070806
2020
Conference Publication
How do crops balance water supply and demand when water is limiting?
Borrell, Andrew, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Oosterom, Erik van, Hammer, Graeme, Mace, Emma, Godwin, Ian, Liu, Guoquan, Wong, Albert, Matiwos, Temesgen, Bantte, Kassahun, Christopher, Jack, Hickey, Lee, Richard, Cecile, Robinson, Hannah and Jordan, David (2020). How do crops balance water supply and demand when water is limiting?. The Third International Tropical Agriculture Conference TropAg 2019 , Brisbane, QLD Australia, 11–13 November 2019. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. doi: 10.3390/proceedings2019036208
2020
Book Chapter
Physiology of growth, development and yield
Borrell, A., van Oosterom, E., George-Jaeggli, B., Vadez, V., Singh, V. and Hammer, G. (2020). Physiology of growth, development and yield. Sorghum in the 21st century: food – fodder – feed – fuel for a rapidly changing world. (pp. 127-155) edited by Vilas A. Tonapi, Harvinder Singh Talwar, Ashok Kumar Are, B. Venkatesh Bhat, Ch. Ravinder Reddy and Timothy J. Dalton. Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-15-8249-3_6
2020
Conference Publication
Quantifying drought tolerant crop traits using sensing technologies to enhance selection in sorghum breeding trials
Potgieter, A.B., Laws, Kenneth, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Hunt, Colleen, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Lamprecht, Marnie, Liedtke, Jana D., Zhao, Yan, Chapman, Scott, Borrell, Andrew K., Mace, Emma S., Hammer, Graeme L. and Jordan, David R. (2020). Quantifying drought tolerant crop traits using sensing technologies to enhance selection in sorghum breeding trials. Interdrought 2020, Mexico City, Mexico, 9-13 March 2020.
2019
Journal Article
Genotypic variation in whole-plant transpiration efficiency in sorghum only partly aligns with variation in stomatal conductance
Geetika, Geetika, van Oosterom, Erik J, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Mortlock, Miranda Y, Deifel, Kurt S, McLean, Greg and Hammer, Graeme L. (2019). Genotypic variation in whole-plant transpiration efficiency in sorghum only partly aligns with variation in stomatal conductance. Functional Plant Biology, 46 (12), 1072-1089. doi: 10.1071/FP18177
2019
Book Chapter
The use of hyperspectral proximal sensing for phenotyping of plant breeding trials
Potgieter, Andries B., Watson, James, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, McLean, Gregory, Eldridge, Mark, Chapman, Scott C., Laws, Kenneth, Christopher, Jack, Chenu, Karine, Borrell, Andrew, Hammer, Graeme and Jordan, David R. (2019). The use of hyperspectral proximal sensing for phenotyping of plant breeding trials. Fundamentals, sensor systems, spectral libraries, and data mining for vegetation. (pp. 127-148) edited by Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon and Alfredo Huete. Boca Raton, FL United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781315164151-5
2019
Conference Publication
Variation in leaf vein density in sorghum and implications for C4 photosynthesis
Borrell, Andrew, Fraija, Juan, Wang, Rui, Hunt, Colleen, Jordan, David, Mace, Emma, Ghannoum, Oula, Cano, F. Javier, Pan, Ling and George-Jaeggli, Barbara (2019). Variation in leaf vein density in sorghum and implications for C4 photosynthesis. Innovations in Agriculture for Food Security, Brisbane, Australia, 30 June - 3 July 2019.
2019
Journal Article
Understanding the diversity in yield potential and stability among commercial sorghum hybrids can inform crop designs
Clarke, S.J., McLean, J., George-Jaeggli, B., McLean, G., de Voil, P., Eyre, J.X. and Rodriguez, D. (2019). Understanding the diversity in yield potential and stability among commercial sorghum hybrids can inform crop designs. Field Crops Research, 230, 84-97. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2018.10.010
2019
Conference Publication
Canopy and root plasticity for drought adaptation in cereals
Borrell, Andrew, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, van Oosterom, Erik, Hammer, Graeme, Mace, Emma, Godwin, Ian, Liu, G., Wong, Albert, Temesgen, M., Kassahun, B., Christopher, Jack, Hickey, Lee, Richard, Cecile, Robinson, Hannah and Jordan, David (2019). Canopy and root plasticity for drought adaptation in cereals. Climate Change Linked Stress Tolerance in Plants (M4) (Keystone Symposia), Herrenhausen Palace, Hannover, Germany, 13-16 May 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Variation in leaf vein density in sorghum and implications for C4 photosynthesis
Borrell, Andrew, Fraija, Juan, Wang, Rui, Hunt, Colleen, Jordan, David, Mace, Emma, Tao. Yongfu, Ghannoum, Oula, Cano, Francisco Javier, Pan, Ling and George-Jaeggli, Barbara (2019). Variation in leaf vein density in sorghum and implications for C4 photosynthesis. Innovations in Agriculture for Food Security, Brisbane, Australia, 30 June - 3 July.
2019
Conference Publication
High-throughput phenotyping of canopy radiation use efficiency and its component traits
George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Potgieter, Andries, Zhi, Xiaoyu, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Watson, James, Lamprecht, Marnie, Chapman, Scott, Laws, Kenneth, Hunt, Colleen, Borrell, Andrew, Jordan, David, van Oosterom, Erik, Wu, Alex and Hammer, Graeme (2019). High-throughput phenotyping of canopy radiation use efficiency and its component traits. 6th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium, Nanjing, China, 22-26 October 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
What is the cellular basis for seed size differences in sorghum?
Shipp, Jessica, Mace, Emma, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Tao, Yongfu, Cruickshank, Alan, Jordan, David and Roberts, T. (2019). What is the cellular basis for seed size differences in sorghum?. Australian Summer Grains Conference (ASGC 2019), Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 8-10 July 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Determining of targeted crop characteristics utilising sensing technologies to enhance selection of higher yielding varieties in sorghum breeding trials
Potgieter, Andries, Laws, Kenneth, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Hunt, Colleen, Guo, Wei, Watson, James, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Chapman, Scott, Hammer, Graeme and Jordan, David (2019). Determining of targeted crop characteristics utilising sensing technologies to enhance selection of higher yielding varieties in sorghum breeding trials. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 8-10 July 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Predicting lodging using sensing technologies to enhance selection in sorghum breeding trials
Potgieter, Andries, Laws, Kenneth, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Hunt, Colleen, Guo, Wei, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Chapman, Scott, Borrell, Andrew, Mace, Emma, Hammer, Graeme and Jordan, David (2019). Predicting lodging using sensing technologies to enhance selection in sorghum breeding trials. 6th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium, Nanjing, China, 22-26 October 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Basking in the heat vs. burning out: elucidating the difference between successful and unsuccessful acclimations to heat shock using two contrasting Sorghum bicolor genotypes
Watson-Lasowski, Alexander, Cano, Francisco Javier, Warren, Charles, Koller, Fiona, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Mace, Emma, Jordan, David and Ghannoum, Oula (2019). Basking in the heat vs. burning out: elucidating the difference between successful and unsuccessful acclimations to heat shock using two contrasting Sorghum bicolor genotypes. Innovations in Agriculture for Food Security, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane, Australia, 30 June - 3 July 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Seeing canopy photosynthesis through the eyes of a Gecko
George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Zhi, Xiaoyue, Wu, Alex, Potgieter, Andries, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Watson, James, Hunt, Colleen, Lamprecht, Marnie, Chapman, Scott, Borrell, Andrew, Jordan, David and Hammer, Graeme (2019). Seeing canopy photosynthesis through the eyes of a Gecko. Innovations in Agriculture for Food Security, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 30 June - 3 July 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Drought adaptation in sorghum: scaling-up from gene to farmer's field
Borrell, Andrew, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, van Oosterom, Erik, Hammer, Graeme, Godwin, Ian, Liu, G., Wong, Albert, Hunt, Colleen and Jordan, David (2019). Drought adaptation in sorghum: scaling-up from gene to farmer's field. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 8-10 July 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
High-throughput phenotyping tools to test whether leaf-level photosynthesis traits are measurable at the crop level
George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Potgieter, Andries, Zhi, Xiaoyu, Reynolds Massey-Reed, Sean, Watson, James, Lamprecht, Marnie, Chapman, Scott, Laws, Kenneth, Hunt, Colleen, Borrell, Andrew, Jordan, David, van Oosterom, Erik, Wu, Alex and Hammer, Graeme (2019). High-throughput phenotyping tools to test whether leaf-level photosynthesis traits are measurable at the crop level. TropAg 2019, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 10-13 November 2019.
2018
Journal Article
Effect of Soil Moisture Regimes on Growth and Seed Production of Two Australian Biotypes of Sisymbrium thellungii OE Schulz
Mahajan, Gulshan, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Walsh, Michael and Chauhan, Bhagirath S. (2018). Effect of Soil Moisture Regimes on Growth and Seed Production of Two Australian Biotypes of Sisymbrium thellungii OE Schulz. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9 1241, 1241. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01241
2018
Journal Article
Novel grain weight loci revealed in a cross between cultivated and wild sorghum
Tao, Yongfu, Mace, Emma, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Hunt, Colleen, Cruickshank, Alan, Henzell, Robert and Jordan, David (2018). Novel grain weight loci revealed in a cross between cultivated and wild sorghum. The Plant Genome, 11 (2) 170089, 170089. doi: 10.3835/plantgenome2017.10.0089
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Barbara George-Jaeggli is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Insights into the associations between functional above ground plant traits and root function for drought adaptation in sorghum.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Jordan, Dr Samir Alahmad, Dr Dongxue Zhao, Associate Professor Andries Potgieter
Completed supervision
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Hyperspectral sensing methods and genome-wide association studies to improve photosynthetic capacity in sorghum
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Graeme Hammer, Dr Alex Wu, Associate Professor Andries Potgieter
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2017
Master Philosophy
Role of Leaf Photosynthesis and Stomatal Conductance in determining the Genotypic Variation in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency (TE) in Sorghum
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Graeme Hammer, Dr Erik Van Oosterom
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Barbara George-Jaeggli directly for media enquiries about:
- agriculture
- agronomy
- crop physiology
- crops
- drought
- dry-land agriculture
- field experimentation
- food security
- hermitage research facility
- Photosynthesis
- plant science
- queensland
- regional
- remote sensing
- rural
- science
- sorghum
- STEMM
- sustainable food production
- water limitation
- wheat
- women in agriculture
- women in science
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