Hailing from Noosa, Qld, Toni began her science career at the University of New England (UNE), with a Bachelor of Science with Honours in microbiology. Her work initially focused on soil-borne diseases and their impacts on human health, it was a natural transition for Toni to delve into soil-borne diseases and their effects on plant health.

Why did you want to work in research?

Toni loves working in research as there is so much to be discovered. She loves to be able to mix her creative side with her science brain – thinking outside the box and coming up with interesting designs for experiments and new ways to approach problems.

“As a researcher you never stop learning. Doing research means getting to solve big puzzles, and that’s a lot of fun! And yes, now I’m totally a plant nerd!”

What are you studying?

The GRDC Capacity Building Position is Toni’s first post-graduate role in research, with Toni doing her PhD through UNE which focuses on stubble-borne diseases of winter cereals. Her work is focusing on the post-harvest phase of some of the major diseases facing grain growers in central and northern NSW, such as crown rot and yellow leaf spot. She is trying to work out what happens to stubble-borne pathogens after harvest, to work out if there are any potential weaknesses that may be manipulated by farmers to decrease the diseases impact on crops and yields. Toni thinks there are significant gains to be made in this area of cereal disease management, which can be easily overlooked despite the stubble phase being such an important part of the lifecycle of these destructive pathogens.

Toni plans to take research she has learnt to date in the lab and expand it to farmers paddocks. She is aiming to help farmers improve or develop new cereal stubble management practises, with management recommendations for growers coming in the next few years.

As Toni said, “Fallows containing cereal stubble are their own ecosystem with many moving parts. Understanding and predicting these interactions is key to disease management over multiple seasons, so this research should make a big difference at the farm level”

Why do you like working for DPI?

Toni enjoys working for NSW DPI as it is very grower focused to get messages out there to grain producers in the northern region. She feels part of a great network of like-minded researchers within DPI who work together across NSW to guide growers and industry. The capacity building project has also provided Toni with support in the form of mentorship from senior plant pathologist Steven Simpfendorfer.

What skills have you developed because of the project?

The capacity building project has greatly enhanced Toni’s skills in multiple facets. Be it know-how in field work or project management training, scientific writing and statistical analysis tools.

“The skills I have learnt through being part of this project have set me up to do independent research.”

Her creativity has also led to innovative ways to extend her research such as “Gregory the tube” showing growers how crown rot can move vertically within cereal stubble to different heights depending on the cut height at harvest.

“There is a real education side to what I am doing, as people are unaware of the role of stubble and this mechanism of inoculum moving or spreading in post-harvest stubble. I really enjoy sharing this new information with growers, advisors and other researchers”.

How will your research help grain growers? How will it bring about practice change on a farm level?

Toni believes that overall, there is little understanding by grain growers of how pathogens behave in cereal stubble post-harvest. This research will provide opportunities for growers to solve or lessen some of their disease impacts by intervening with management tools in the fallow or non-crop period.

What collaborations have you developed because of the project?

Toni believes one of the greatest benefits of the GRDC Capacity Building Positions are the collaborations you form, both internally and externally. These connections see Toni liaising with fellow scientists from EMAI at Camden to those at head office at Orange, and external collaborations with grower groups such as the Northern Growers Alliance (NGA), and industry agencies such SAGI and GRDC.

What do you do when you’re not looking down a microscope or frolicking in the paddock?

Toni’s creativity is even more apparent when she is not looking down a microscope, with roles in local musicals, an expert cake decorator and pottering in the garden.

Photo: Toni Somes