Tom Thirkell
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Research group: Cereal symbiosis
Biography
I’m a plant physiological ecologist with interests in sustainable agriculture, crop nutrition and soil microbial ecology. My work focusses on the interactions between crop plants and soil microbes, especially the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. My research at the Crop Science Centre uses complimentary greenhouse and field trial experiments to investigate the role of mycorrhizas in crop nutrition; I am studying the role of plant nutrient sensing in determining mycorrhizal benefit to crops, and exploring the potential to breed crop plants for improved interactions with soil microbial symbionts.
Publications
Publication
The emerging threat of human-use antifungals in sustainable and circular agricultural systems
Date: 23 August 2021
Contributors: JB Sallach, TJ Thirkell, KJ Field, LJ Carter
Journal: Plants, People, Planet
Publication
Cultivar-dependent increases in mycorrhizal nutrient acquisition by barley in response to elevated CO2.
Date: 4 December 2020
Contributors: TJ Thirkell, M Campbell, J Driver, D Pastok, B Merry, KJ Field.
Journal: Plants, People, Planet
Publication
Carbon for nutrient exchange between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and wheat varies according to cultivar and changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
Date: 23 October 2019
Contributors: Thirkell TJ, Pastok D, Field KJ.
Journal: Global Change Biology
Publication
Contrasting Nitrogen Fertilisation Rates Alter Mycorrhizal Contribution to Barley Nutrition in a Field Trial.
Date: 19 October 2019
Contributors: Thirkell T, Cameron D, Hodge A
Journal: Frontiers of Plant Science
Publication
Are mycorrhizal fungi our sustainable saviours? Considerations for achieving food security.
Date: 19 October 2017
Contributors: TJ Thirkell, MD Charters, AJ Elliott, SM Sait, KJ Field.
Journal: Journal of Ecology