Harleen Kaur

In Australia, fertiliser input is one of the highest single variable costs for agriculture produce. The current crop nutrient use efficiencies for fertilisers such as P and Zn are very low. P and Zn are the essential nutrients required for the plant growth and grain yield. This is mainly due to the fact these nutrients are not mobile in the soil. It tends to stay where it has been placed or leach to the water ecosystem.

Therefore, rather than P and Zn flowing to the roots in the soil solution, crop uptake depends on plant roots reaching out to or intercepting the administered P and Zn. Hence, more effective fertiliser formulations are needed to mitigate P and Zn to the moisture rich sub-soil zones.

This PhD project aims to design cost effective and environmentally safe bio-char composite based P-Zn fertiliser products.

PhD title: Engineered carbon-clay composite based novel fertilisers to overcome nutrient stratification in soil

PhD start date: May 2023

Supervisors: Professor Ajayan Vinu (principal supervisor), Dr Gurwinder Singh and Dr Kavitha Ramadass (co-supervisors)

What interested you about this sort of research?
The idea to contribute towards environment sustainability and to help farmers by increasing their awareness about soil regulation of phosphorus bioavailability. The overall goal is to create carbon clay composite fertilisers that will address soil stratification constraint and satisfy plants’ nutrient needs.

What do you love about soil?
Just like the foundation for anything is critical, healthy soils function as a basis for plants by supporting plant roots and keeping plants erect for growth.

What do you love about your PhD?
I love that my PhD is contributing towards challenging environmental problems relating to the soil health in farming.

How will your PhD help to make a difference for farmers and other end or next users?
This project will help farmers by producing a reasonably priced and environmentally responsible biochar composite-based P-Zn fertiliser solution to address the soil’s lack of P and Zn nutrients.