Getting out into the field and talking with growers is the ‘best classroom in the world’ for UWA postgraduate candidate and self-professed potato enthusiast Ryan Hall.

“Growers basically run an experiment with each crop, so hearing their learnings and ideas gives me so much inspiration,” he said.

Image: UWA PhD student Ryan Hall in a potato field.

When his supervisors Professor Brajesh Singh and Dr Juntao Wang started new roles at UWA this year, Mr Hall decided to take the plunge and transfer his studies from Western Sydney University.

“I'd never been to WA before and definitely see it as a bit of an adventure,” he said.

“It's definitely been a bit of a whirlwind picking up and starting again somewhere new, but I have found the people at UWA incredibly welcoming.”

Mr Hall’s research is focused on disease management in potatoes, in particular working with the soil biology to help reduce the impact of diseases.

“I'm hoping that by finding ways growers can promote healthier and more resilient systems we can reduce chemical use and increase productivity on farms.”

Ryan Hall

The timing of his project is spud on – with Australian potato growers recently funding the largest investment into managing diseases in the past 10 years through Hort Innovation.

“We're looking at collecting soil and plant samples to conduct a multi-omic study of the soil biology associated with Australian potatoes,” Mr Hall said.

“I want to explore the opportunities of using this information to develop new biological controls for soilborne diseases.

“We're currently getting stuck into sampling across WA, soon we'll analyse these samples and conduct some lab and greenhouse trials.”

In August, Mr Hall was among six young researchers to receive a WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC) top-up scholarship to tackle priority challenges and opportunities across WA.

“It's been a fantastic way to connect with other students and agricultural industry members and researchers,” he said.