Next Generation Optical Analysis for Agrochemical Research & Development

The increasing global population places an ever-increasing pressure on the agricultural industry to meet the demands of food supply in a sustainable manner. This PhD CASE award in collaboration with Syngenta, a world-leading agri-business provides a great opportunity for a graduate from the physical sciences who wishes to help feed the world. Syngenta develop agrochemical products that are applied to plant materials in order to protect crop from pests, increasing yield with minimal environmental impact.

This project aims to apply a cutting-edge laser imaging technique (stimulated Raman scattering) as a novel analytical technique that will allow in-situ analysis of agrochemicals in living plant tissues at the cellular level. The ability to visualise agrochemical products on a leaf surface to reveal interactions between the materials of the product and with the leaf surface will enable a step change in agrochemical design, through determination of the spatial distribution of the materials and their roles within the applied products. The technology developed in this project will ultimately lead to the development of future agrochemical products that are tailored to maximise efficacy and minimise environmental impact. This fully funded EPSRC industry CASE award is especially well suited to graduates from a chemistry or physics background, who will benefit from training and experience in industrial research and development.