Degree- or Independent projects
Are you interested in doing your future thesis with us at Plant Protection Biology?
Find your project
Below you will find information about various projects that may be of interest to you. These can serve as the basis for both a future thesis or an independent project. Contact the person responsible for individual projects for more information.
Title: Monitoring fungicide resistance in Alternaria solani, the pathogen responsible for early blight disease in potato
Supervisors:
Chiara De Pasqual (chiara.de.pasqual@slu.se), Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Åsa Lankinen, Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Background: In agriculture, diseases caused by pathogenic fungi are primarily controlled with fungicides. While these chemicals effectively control disease and help ensure good yields, repeated applications impose selection pressure on pathogen populations, favouring individuals with reduced sensitivity to treatment. As a result, pathogens can evolve fungicide resistance. Regular monitoring of pathogen sensitivity is therefore essential to detect changes in fungicide efficacy and support effective fungicide use.
Aims:
- Assess A. solani sensitivity to a commonly used fungicide in starch potato
- Monitor the occurrence and spread of mutations in the target gene of the fungicide
What you will be doing:
Leaves infected with A. solani have been collected from ongoing field trials and brought to the lab. In the lab, you will:
- Isolate A. solani with the aim of producing single cell spore isolates
- Use molecular methods to confirm the correct isolation of A. solani
- Perform fungicide assays to assess A. solani sensitivity against the fungicide in terms of mycelium growth and spore germination
- Monitor mutation spread through genome sequencing
This project entails:
- Maintenance of fungal cultures (microbiology)
- Microscopy and molecular work
- Fungicide assays
- Sequencing
Time frame:
The length of the project can be adjusted to fit a bachelor or master thesis. As the leaves are already available in the lab, the start of the project is flexible. Get in touch if you have any question!
Title: Red clover seed production, pollinators and floral scents
Supervisors:
Mattias Larsson, Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Åsa Lankinen, Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Background: In this project we study factors that affect seed set in red clover Trifolium pratense; an important ley crop that is dependent on constant access to clover seeds from seed producers. One problem in seed production is that clover seed yield is often low and variable. Red clover is an outcrossing species and depends on pollinators to set seed, and the interaction with pollinators can be an important cause for variable yield. ers, which can affect the number of pollination visits.
Aims: We want to study the relation between pollination and seed set; especially how the access to pollinators in different clover varieties could be affected by their flower volatiles, as flower odour is an important signal for pollinators. The project would compare flower odours between different clover varieties, their relation to flower visitors, and study how odour signals are shut down by pollination of the flower.
What you will be doing:
- Study visitation of pollinators in red clover and the associated flowering development and seed set
- Conduct experimental manipulation of florets in flower heads, such as hand pollination
- Study how floral odour volatiles and pollinator preference are affected by experimental treatments
This project entails:
- Studies and identification of red clover pollinators
- Experimental manipulation of flower heads
- Collection and identification of odour volatiles
Time frame:
Can be adjusted to fit a bachelor or master thesis, or practical research training. The time for field work may stretch between late June to August. Experimental sites are plots in Garden lab in Alnarp. Techniques for collection and identification of odour volatiles require no specific skills in advance; just an interest in the methods and scientific questions. Volatile collection and identification can be performed in parallel with studies of pollinators and pollination in the field.
Title: Plant-plant interactions in the soil and influence on competitive ability in a wild potato relative
Supervisor:
Åsa Lankinen, Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Background: In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the influence of microbes on the health in plants and animals. In plants, microbes associated with roots or leaves – the microbiome – have been shown to support plant growth, resilience to stress and defence against diseases, which can be important for crop production. However, less attention has been given to how the microbiome may be interlinked with plant-plant interactions, such as if microbes could help plants to outcompete their neighbours. Despite the fact that plants lack brains, we are beginning to see that plants have the capacity to evaluate and respond to their environment.
Aims: In this project you will explore plant-plant interactions in the soil in the wild perennial climber Solanum dulcamara that is related to potato.
- Study how S. dulcamara is affected by growing alone or in shared soil in the same amount of resources, when combined with a plant from similar or different origin, i.e. to test if plants can sense the presence of other plants and respond to it.
- Study how plant-plant interactions in the soil are influenced by the presence or absence of microbes or differences in soil type with known differences in microbial communities.
What you will be doing:
- Set up greenhouse experiments with plants and soil collected from nearby wild populations
- Follow plant development across experimental treatments
This project entails:
- Growing plants from different wild populations in experimental treatments in the greenhouse using soil collected from the wild populations
- Measuring above and below ground traits
Time frame:
Can be adjusted to fit a bachelor or master thesis. Plant material and soil can be collected from wild populations during most of the year.
Title: Two Ways, One Biostimulant: Comparing Potato Responses to Pythium oligandrum Tubers Inoculation vs. Drench Application
Supervision:
Laura Grenville-Briggs Didymus (laura.grenville.briggs@slu.se)
Natalia Ramírez (natalia.ramirez@slu.se)
Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Background:
Plant biostimulants are increasingly used in sustainable agriculture to enhance crop growth, stress resilience, and nutrient use efficiency. Pythium oligandrum is a beneficial oomycete known for both biocontrol and plant growth–promoting effects. However, the efficacy of biostimulant treatments often depends on the method of application.
In potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), biostimulants can be applied either directly to the tuber surface before planting or as a drench to the root zone of young plants. The comparative effectiveness of these two methods is not well understood, particularly regarding early growth, root establishment, and overall plant vigor.
This project will experimentally test how Desirée potatoes respond to P. oligandrum when applied to tubers versus drench applications under greenhouse conditions, providing insight into the most effective delivery method for biostimulant treatments in soil-grown plants.
Aim:
To compare the effects of Pythium oligandrum applied to Desirée potato tubers before planting versus drench application on plant growth and root development under greenhouse conditions.
Objectives:
- Compare growth responses of Desirée potato plants treated with P. oligandrum via tuber inoculation or drench application.
- Quantify differences in root and shoot development between the two application methods.
- Assess overall plant vigor and early establishment under both treatments.
Methodology:
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Plant Material: Potato tubers of the cultivar Desirée will be sourced from uniform, disease-free stock.
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Greenhouse Setup: Tubers will be planted in pots containing standard potting soil and grown in controlled greenhouse conditions (light, temperature, and humidity monitored).
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Biostimulant Treatments:
Tuber Inoculation: Tubers will be coated with a P. oligandrum suspension prior to planting.
Drench Application: An equivalent dose of P. oligandrum will be applied as a root-zone drench to young plants after emergence.
Control: Untreated Desirée plants will serve as negative controls.
- Phenotyping: Plant performance will be assessed through shoot height, leaf number, root length, root biomass, total biomass, and overall vigor at multiple time points.
- Data Analysis: Statistical analyses (ANOVA, post-hoc tests) will determine differences between application methods, with assessment of effect size and significance.
Expected Outcomes:
- Identification of the more effective P. oligandrum application method for Desirée potatoes under greenhouse conditions.
- Quantitative understanding of early plant growth and root development responses to tuber inoculation versus drench application.
- Practical recommendations for growers and researchers regarding biostimulant application strategies in potatoes.
Where You Will Work:
- Greenhouse facilities for potato cultivation and biostimulant experiments.
- Well-equipped oomycete laboratories and in vitro laboratories for preparation of P. oligandrum inoculum.
- Growth chambers and labs for plant phenotyping and data analysis.
Duration:
4 months (full-time)
Location:
SLU Alnarp
Multiple openings are available for master’s thesis projects, including long-term (1 year) and short-term (3–6 months) projects. If this project interests you, the scope and experimental design can be discussed in detail with the supervisors.
Title: Pollination in agricultural settings – with international field work!
Supervisor:
Carolina Diller, Researcher, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Campus Alnarp, SLU
http://carolinadiller.weebly.com/
Brief description: Interested in working in pollination or plant reproduction and collecting your data outside of Sweden?
Apply for SLU’s Global International fieldwork scholarships (Deadline 30 October): International fieldwork scholarships for your thesis | slu.se and contact me.
We can design a project together in countries such as Thailand or South Africa, and maybe Argentina.*
Title: Genetic mapping and phenotypic characterization of Fragaria vesca (wild strawberry)
Supervisor:
Sebastián Arenas (sebastian.arenas@slu.se), ), Department of Plant Protection, Campus Alnarp, SLU
Carolina Diller, ), Department of Plant Protection, Campus Alnarp, SLU
Brief description: Understanding the genetic architecture of agronomic traits in Fragaria vesca is essential for advancing strawberry breeding programs. In this project, we will combine phenotyping of diverse plant material, statistics analysis with DNA extraction and preparation for downstream genetic analyses (e.g. GWAS and QTL mapping). By integrating phenotypic and genomic data, we aim to identify genetic variants underlying key adaptive and agronomic traits in this important model crop.
What you will be lerning:
- Bioinformatics
- Statistics (R-language)
- Laboratory work
What you will be doing:
- Phenotypic characterization of Fragaria vesca plants under controlled conditions.
- Recording morphological and agronomic traits (e.g. flowering time, growth, yield-related traits).
- Laboratory work, including leaf sampling, DNA extraction and quality control.
- Preparation of samples for sequencing and genotyping.
- Data entry and organization to support genetic mapping analyses.
Title: Reproductive health in light of climate change: heat tolerance in wild strawberry flowers
Supervisor:
Carolina Diller, Researcher, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Campus Alnarp, SLU
http://carolinadiller.weebly.com/
Brief description: Due to climate change, plants are increasingly exposed to heat waves when flowering. This is bad news for the temperature sensitive pollen grains, as high temperatures can lead to increased pollen sterility.
Interested in being part of the solution?
What you will be doing: In this project, we will be screening for pollen heat tolerant genotypes in the strawberry wild crop relative, Fragaria vesca (smultron).
This project entails:
- biotron work
- working with flower traits
- the plan to expose 30 wild strawberry genotypes representing North-, Central- and Southern Europe to heat stress and measure pollen viability, petal size and fruit production.
Title: Pollinator attraction in wild strawberry flowers
Supervisor:
Carolina Diller, Researcher, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Campus Alnarp, SLU
http://carolinadiller.weebly.com/
Brief description: We have a collection of 200 genotypes of wild strawberries that have been collected across Europe. We would like to screen for pollinator attractive traits and measure pollinator visitation.
What you will be doing: In this project we would like to screen for pollinator attractive traits and measure pollinator visitation.
This project entails:
- working outside
- measuring flower traits and observing pollinator visitation
Title: Fertilizer Levels and Their Impact on the Bioactivity of Pythium oligandrum in a 50:50 Sand–Compost Soil Mix
Supervision:
Laura Grenville-Briggs Didymus (laura.grenville.briggs@slu.se) and Natalia Ramírez (natalia.ramirez@slu.se), Department of Plant Protection Biology, SLU
Background:
Pythium oligandrum is a mycoparasitic oomycete known for its bioestimulant and biocontrol properties in agriculture. Previous studies have shown that soil composition influences its efficacy, with compost-rich soils enhancing its effect. However, we don’t know if this was because of some physical properties or due to the higher nutrient levels. how different levels of fertilizer interact with P. oligandrum in a controlled soil mix remains unexplored as well as the efficacy compare with mineral fertilizers.
Objectives:
- To evaluate how different levels of fertilizer influence the biostimulant effect of P. oligandrum on plants.
- To determine whether high fertilizer inputs suppress or enhance the beneficial effects of P. oligandrum.
- To assess plant growth, tuber number and weight, and P. oligandrum presence after treatments.
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To compare fertilizer application vs P. oligandrum on bio-stimulation effects.
Soil Conditions and Setup:
- Soil mixture: 50% sand + 50% compost
- Container setup: Pots 5L and soil weight grown in the biotron
- Plant species: Potato Desiree plant from in vitro
Timeline:
1st week propagating in vitro shoots
3rd week transferring shoots to pots biotron
5th -9th week inoculating weekly from the 21st of July during a month (4 applications)
Measured Parameters:
- Plant Growth: Biomass (fresh/dry weight), height, number of shoots, number and weight of tubers
- P. oligandrum check: qPCR to verify colonization
Expected Outcomes:
- Identification of optimal fertilizer levels that improve P. oligandrum activity
- Understanding of whether nutrient excess suppresses biological stimulation
- Insights to refine biostimulant use in fertilized agricultural systems
- Future Applications
Findings may guide practical recommendations for combining fertilizers and biostimulants, helping farmers balance chemical inputs with biological tools for sustainable crop production.
Where you will work:
- Greenhouse and/or Control growth chambers for the biocontrol and bio-stimulation experiments in planta.
- Well-equipped labs for oomycete, molecular and in vitro work.
Duration:
4 months (full-time)
Location:
SLU Alnarp
We have multiple openings for master's thesis, both long (1 year) and short-term (3 - 6 months) projects. If this interests you, please contact me and we can chat further on the details of the project.
