The University of Western Australia’s Institute of Agriculture Director Professor Kadambot Siddique has been recognised in two categories on the Clarivate list of Highly Cited Researchers 2021.

The UWA Institute of Agriculture (IOA) Hackett Professor Siddique and Emeritus Professor Hans Lambers were included in both the Agricultural Sciences and Plant and Animal Science categories.

An additional three UWA researchers in agriculture and related areas were also named on the prestigious list; Professor Nanthi Bolan from the School of Agriculture and Environment (Environment and Ecology), Professor David Edwards from the School of Biological Sciences (Cross-Field), and IOA Adjunct Professor Muhammad Farooq (Agricultural Sciences).

The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade.

Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1 per cent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index.

As Hackett Professor of Agriculture, Professor Siddique’s major contribution to dryland agriculture has been crop yield improvements in grain legumes and wheat in the fields of crop physiology, production agronomy, farming systems, germplasm development and breeding.

Professor Siddique’s research is relevant to the farming community and aims to solve real problems through meticulous scientific research methodology and collaboration with leading institutions in China, India and around the world.

A biodiversity expert, Emeritus Professor Lambers’s research has contributed significantly to our understanding of the mineral nutrition of Australian plants and particularly how they obtain phosphorus from the soil and use it efficiently.

One of the world’s leading soil scientists, Professor Bolan is a member of the ARC College of Experts and has initiated and fostered collaborations with industry and research institutions both nationally and internationally.

His research deals with the management of soil fertility for sustainable agricultural production and environmental protection.

Professor Edwards leads a team of researchers who work with industry to carry out bioinformatics research in genetics and genomics, with a focus on wheat, brassica and chickpea crops.

Adjunct Professor Farooq is an Associate Professor in Crop Sciences at the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.

His research focus includes the response of crops to abiotic stresses, developing seed enhancements for improving crop performance, cost-effective biofortification of grain crops and non-chemical weed control.