The late Merle White Weaver, a graduate of the University of Tasmania, gifted a portion of her estate to establish a scholarship to encourage women graduates in the South-East Asian and Pacific area to pursue postgraduate study and research.
The funds are managed by TPT Wealth.
Base Scholarship
May 2023*
*Please check back regularly as this date is subject to change
Understanding pest and disease dynamics within farming systems and the ability to relate incidence and seasonal conditions to grain yield loss is a clear and present challenge for the agricultural science community. Currently, management of many pests, diseases and weeds in crops relies on an estimated economic damage threshold. The threshold is used to help identify when a pest population should be reduced to prevent yield loss.
However, this approach does not consider the environment, the timing of pest control in relation to crop development, the pest lifecycle or the economic cost to future crops. Further, in many farming systems, the decision to control a pest or disease outbreak is required before the economic threshold is reached, in which case identifying and forecasting drivers for epidemics can support and improve the outcomes of pest and disease control decisions.
In contrast to traditional reactive approaches, this project will develop a proactive forecasting approach, providing end-users with the ability to plan and holistically manage pest populations well before any economic damage thresholds are attained.
Funding
The successful applicant will be awarded with a Commonwealth RTP scholarship valued at approximately $27,500 AUD/year (tax-free) for 3.5 years.
Eligibility
Questions may be directed to: 
Dr Matthew Harrison
Senior Scientist
Tasmanian Institute for Agriculture,
University of Tasmania
Australia
Matthew.harrison@utas.edu.au
Additional information on the project can be found here.
