Dr Tom Thirkell is a plant physiological ecologist with interests in sustainable agriculture, crop nutrition and soil microbial ecology. His work focuses on the interactions between crop plants and soil microbes, especially the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. At the Crop Science Centre, he’s using complimentary greenhouse and field trial experiments to investigate the role of mycorrhizas in crop nutrition. Specifically, he is looking at the role of plant nutrient sensing in determining mycorrhizal benefit to barley, and exploring the potential to breed cereals for improved interactions with these fungal symbionts.