PhD Scholar - Maninder Kaur
Mrs Maninder Kaur, a PhD student from Murdoch University, with a Grains R&D Postgraduate Scholarship from DPIRD, is investigating cold plasma technology to treat Fusarium graminearum, a primary fungal pathogen of Fusarium head blight disease in cereals and associated mycotoxins, under the supervision of Dr Kirsty Bayliss from Murdoch University and Dr Daniel Huberli from DPIRD.
Cold plasma is an ionised gas, that does not leave any chemical residues on treated grain. It is an inexpensive and environmentally friendly technology with low maintenance requirements and works at ambient temperatures. The first phase of her research has shown promising results, with cold plasma reducing the growth of pure cultures of Fusarium species isolated from wheat and barley grain, and on mould contaminated grain. Her tests on germination and quality analysis of treated wheat grain also indicate that cold plasma does not alter the germination and quality of grain. She is now testing the effect of cold plasma to detoxify mycotoxins. Her focus is to minimise the agriculture industry's reliance on chemicals while maintaining the product's quality.
Maninder has recently been awarded a Fulbright scholarship. As a Fulbright scholar, she will continue her work on cold plasma to understand the pathogen's pathogenicity, defence response, and interaction with cold plasma treatments. This project will help identify the genomic mutations in F. graminearum induced by cold plasma, which could be used to predict the changes in the fungal virulence against the host plant.
This project will assess an innovative and environmentally friendly approach to managing Fusarium graminearum, a concerning pathogen for both the United States and Australia. With increasing consumer demand for chemical-free and safer food, this project could potentially lead to greater economic returns in the long term for both nations.