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
2014
Conference Publication
The stay-green trait in cereals: integrating from cell to whole plant
Borrell, v, Van Oosterom, Erik J., Mullet, John, George-Jaeggli, Barbara, Hammer, Graeme, Klein, Patricia and Jordan, David (2014). The stay-green trait in cereals: integrating from cell to whole plant. 7th European Workshop on Plant Senescence, Aarhus, Denmark, 10-14 November 2014.
2013
Journal Article
Sorghum dwarfing genes can affect radiation capture and radiation use efficiency
George-Jaeggli, B., Jordan, D. R., van Oosterom, E. J., Broad, I. J. and Hammer, G. L. (2013). Sorghum dwarfing genes can affect radiation capture and radiation use efficiency. Field Crops Research, 149, 283-290. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2013.05.005
2013
Conference Publication
Development and evaluation of drought-adapted sorghum germplasm for Africa and Australia – Phase II.
Borrell, A., Coulibaly, S., Teme, N., George-Jaeggli, B., Hamlet, S., George, P. and Jordan, D. (2013). Development and evaluation of drought-adapted sorghum germplasm for Africa and Australia – Phase II.. 2013 General Research Meeting (GRM), Lisbon, Portugal, 27 - 30 September 2013. Generation Challenge Program, CGIAR.
2013
Conference Publication
Improving cereal productivity with stay-green technology.
Borrell, A., Hammer, G., Van Oosterom, E., George-Jaeggli, B., McLean, G., Hamlet, S., Hunt, C., Mace, E., Mullet, J., Klein, P., Weers, B. and Jordan, D. (2013). Improving cereal productivity with stay-green technology.. 2013 QAAFI Annual Research Meeting, Brisbane, Australia, 6-7 August 2013.
2011
Journal Article
Decrease in sorghum grain yield due to the dw3 dwarfing gene is caused by reduction in shoot biomass
George-Jaeggli, B., Jordan, D. R., van Oosterom, E. J. and Hammer, G. L. (2011). Decrease in sorghum grain yield due to the dw3 dwarfing gene is caused by reduction in shoot biomass. Field Crops Research, 124 (2), 231-239. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2011.07.005
2011
Conference Publication
Developing drought-adapted sorghum germplasm for Africa and Australia: Stay-green trait beneficial in tall and short backgrounds
Borrell, Andrew K., Jordan, David R. and George-Jaeggli, Barbara (2011). Developing drought-adapted sorghum germplasm for Africa and Australia: Stay-green trait beneficial in tall and short backgrounds. Plant and Animal Genome XIX Conference, San Diego CA, United States, 15-19 January 2011.
2009
Other Outputs
Physiology and Genetics of Height-Yield Associations in Sorghum
Barbara George-Jaeggli (2009). Physiology and Genetics of Height-Yield Associations in Sorghum. PhD Thesis, School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland.
2006
Conference Publication
Tall sorghum plants use water more efficiently than short ones
George-Jaeggli, B., Hammer, G. L., Van Oosterom, E. J. and Jordan, D. R. (2006). Tall sorghum plants use water more efficiently than short ones. 5th Australian Sorghum Conference, Gold Coast, 30 January - 2 February 2006. Gold Coast: Range Media Pty Ltd.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Barbara George-Jaeggli is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
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 Andrew Borrell, 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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