12 Research Advancing field crop research NEW UOFG PROFESSORS TAKE ON INDUSTRY CHALLENGES Mary Feldskov LIKE MANY YOUNG PEOPLE WITH A KEEN INTEREST IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, Dr. Gursahib Singh, a pathologist recently appointed to fill the Grain Farmers of Ontario Professorship in Research Pathology at the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus, got his start on his family farm in India. Pursuing an undergraduate degree in agriculture was a natural career path; choosing plant pathology as a specialty was rooted in the challenges he saw his father and other farmers face with disease. The weather in India, he says, is similar to Ontario, where humidity creates the perfect environment for pathogens to develop. “I think that was the big motivation to pursue my graduate degrees in pathology,” he says. “It’s the biggest challenge for the farmers managing crops. Plant pathology was an easy one to choose from all the streams in agriculture.” After completing undergraduate and graduate studies in India, Singh looked to North America to complete a PhD, eventually landing at the University of Saskatchewan, where he focused on Fusarium research. His research ultimately informed the new Saskatchewan recommendations for fungicide application for Fusarium head blight. His research was aided by what he calls “perfect” weather for disease development during a few wet seasons in Saskatchewan, giving him an ideal environment to study the disease in the field. As a result, he was regularly invited to talk to farmers who were seeing the elevated impact of Fusarium in their crops about his research. Extension work, talking to farmers about the results of his research and helping them mitigate its impact, is something Singh says he enjoys, and he looks forward to opportunities to engage with Ontario farmers as part of his new role. A FOCUS ON TEACHING Singh comes to Ridgetown following the retirement of Dr. Art Schaafsma, now a University of Guelph professor emeritus who is highly regarded by researchers, students, and farmers alike for his work in field crop research. Singh says Schaafsma’s research – going back to the 1990s - was often referenced throughout his PhD. The opportunity to get back to teaching undergraduate and diploma students at the Ridgetown Campus was a big appeal to the role for Singh, who, in his role as research director of Irrigation Saskatchewan, didn’t have teaching as part of his official role – something he missed. “I used to volunteer a lot for teaching at the University of Saskatchewan for the pathology courses,” he says. “I just wanted to be involved with the university and the students … that was the biggest thing I was missing in my current job, that I didn’t have the teaching component.” “I want to be in the class telling the students the practical things,” he adds. WELCOME TO ONTARIO “We’re excited for Dr. Singh to join Ridgetown and excel in this new role,” says Brett Shepherd, director of the Ridgetown Campus. “He will play a leading role in inspiring future agricultural leaders and conducting groundbreaking research to inform Ontario’s agriculture sector.” Singh, whose research focused on the Prairie crops, is looking forward to expanding his research on crops like corn, which he says are a “novel” crop in the West. “It is a big learning curve for me,” he says, “but I have the right mentors who are willing to help me. I have already been talking to Art (Schaafsma) and Albert (Tenuta, OMAFA field crop pathologist). So far, they have been very inviting and trying to answer all the questions that I have.” DR. GURSAHIB SINGH SHARING RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EXTENSION.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQzODE4