Project: Low-input Agriculture in Cool Climate Boreal Ecosystems
Postdoctoral Researcher Intern
Yeukai Katanda
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Science and the Environment, Boreal Ecosystem Research Initiative, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Profile
Yeukai Katanda holds an M.Sc. in Soil Science and is currently the research coordinator for the CleanTech/MITACS project. In addition to supporting the collaboration between Grenfell Campus and partners from the NL provincial government and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd., Yeukai is instrumental in providing technical and administrative support to eight graduate students and five professors. Her areas of expertise include experimental designs, project implementation, data analyses and reporting.
Graduate Student Interns
Sabrina Ellsworth
PhD Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Thesis Title: The Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer Stabilizers on Nitrogen Losses and Mineral Nitrogen Dynamics under Various Cropping Systems in Newfoundland and Labrador
Supervisor: Dr. Mumtaz Cheema
Profile
Sabrina Ellsworth was born and raised in the Bay of Islands on the west coast of Newfoundland. Sabrina’s passion for agriculture started from her upbringing in a rural community, surrounded by family who hunted, fished, farmed, and preserved most of what they ate. With this way of life embedded in her roots, Sabrina pursued her formal agricultural education at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture), where she received a Bachelor of Science (Animal Science) in 2002 and a Master of Science (Agri-Environmental Science) in 2005. Sabrina is currently Manager of Agricultural Research with the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture and is now pursuing a PhD in Boreal Ecosystem and Agriculture Science, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her dissertation focus is on effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer stabilizers (urease and nitrification inhibitors) on N losses (nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia volatilization and leaching) and mineral N dynamics in corn silage production under various rotation systems in Newfoundland and Labrador. This study will contribute new knowledge about N dynamics and GHG emissions resulting from different crop rotations and nitrogen fertilizer management in boreal agriculture.
Muhammad M. Farhain
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Supervisor: Dr. Lakshman Galagedara
Profile
Muhammad Farhain has completed an advanced postgraduate degree, Master of Philosophy in Agronomy from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. He has expertise in irrigation agronomy and soil management. Currently, he is a master's student in the Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is working on a project, in collaboration with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper that aims to improve the physicochemical properties of growth media by using wood ash and paper sludge under the supervision of Dr. Lakshman Galagedara. This research supports the utilization of paper mill waste in the agriculture industry instead of landfilling, where it causes environmental pollution; repurposing the waste will also generate revenue for CBPPL. The main purpose of his research is to “assess the effect of different combinations of wood wastes with biochar on hydrological properties of soil-based potting media".
Bilal Javed
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Supervisor: Dr. Mumtaz Cheema
Profile
Bilal Javed is a current graduate student in the Boreal Ecosystem and Agriculture Sciences program at Grenfell Campus Memorial University of Newfoundland. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. He developed his research interests in plant growth and development during his bachelor’s studies. At Grenfell, he is working as a Mitacs intern in collaboration with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited. He is testing mill wastes (wood ash and paper sludge) as sources of liming and nutrients for plant growth and NL acidic soils by using agronomic and horticulture crops. This investigation will provide the mill with an alternative to dumping these wastes at landfill sites; in addition, NL farmers can avail of cheaper inputs for growing crops instead of lime and chemical fertilizers, which are quite expensive.
Ayodeji O. Medaiyese
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Thesis Title: Utility of Wood Ash, Paper Sludge and Biochar Amendments for the Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Acidic Boreal Soils
Supervisor: Dr. Adrian Unc
Profile
Ayodeji Medaiyese is a graduate student in the Boreal Ecosystem and Agriculture Sciences program at Grenfell Campus Memorial University of Newfoundland, and he is currently doing a graduate internship through Mitacs. He graduated from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Zoology where courses spurred his passion for agriculture to ensure environmental quality and food sustainability. Currently, Ayodeji’s research interests at Grenfell focus on soil microbiology and genomics inquiries related to agriculture, with respect to agricultural production and environmental sustainability. Specifically, he is currently investigating the effect of wood ash and paper sludge on soil microbial activity and for the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs) in acid boreal soils. These amendments may affect soil microbial activity, resulting in potential impacts on soil N transformations (i.e. N losses (GHG) and N availability), which may indicate how these amendments will respond in field conditions.
Irfan Mushtaq
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Profile
Irfan Mushtaq is a current graduate student at the School of Science and Environment, Grenfell campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is currently doing graduate internship at CleanTech project. He graduated from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan with a BSc (Hons.) Agriculture Agronomy where courses studied spurred his passion for agriculture to ensure environmental quality and food sustainability. Currently, Irfan’s research is focusing on effect of nitrogen fertilizer stablizer (nitrification and urease inhibitors) on soil microbial diversity, genes expression and abundance involved in nitrogen cycle. His current research focus is to minimize the nitrogen losses as well as to reduce the nitrous oxide emission as a result of denitrification for sustainable agriculture. He is hoping this research will improve the climatic conditions of Newfoundland and Labarador, Canada.
Therese A. Nzwinda
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Profile
Therese Audrey M. Nzwinda is a graduate student in the Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and she is currently doing her graduate internship via the Clean Tech program. She graduated from the Catholic University Institute of Buea, Cameroon with a B.Sc. in Integrated Agriculture. She is interested in agronomy and promoting sustainable agricultural development. Currently, her research interests at Grenfell focus on the quantity and quality of various feed crops grown with different type of nitrogen fertilizers. Specifically, she is evaluating the effects of nitrogen fertilizer stabilizers on the growth, yield, quality, and nitrogen uptake of annual feed crops. These different nitrogen fertilizer formulations with urease and nitrification inhibitors can improve nitrogen use efficiency and minimize nitrogen losses in agricultural fields. However, this is yet to be proven for feed crops in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) field conditions, warranting further investigation.
Rathnayake J. Rathnayake Mudiyanselage
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Thesis Title: Evaluation of Forestry and Aquaculture Industry Waste Product Combinations to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emission during Composting
Supervisor: Dr. Krishnipillai Mano
Profile
Jayamini Rathnayake graduated from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka with a B.Sc. in Agriculture specialized in horticulture and landscape gardening. Her research area is composting of natural resource by-products in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL): optimal mixing ratios to reduce GHG emission and improve compost quality. Her project seeks to determine the optimal mixing ratios of wood ash (WA), paper sludge (SL) (paper mill waste), dry wood shavings (WS) and biochar (BC) with fish waste (FW) to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during composting. Her role in this project is mixing different ratios of natural waste by-products mentioned above, to find the possibility of making compost and find the best mixing ratio for composting that will reduce GHG emissions during composting. The aim is to increase agriculture by providing an environmentally friendly and economical solution for recycling of organic by-products of industries in NL.
Thilini K. Wickremasinghe
M.Sc. Candidate, Boreal Ecosystem and Agricultural Sciences program, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University
Thesis Title: A Quality and Safety Analysis of Natural Media Amendments on Kale and Annual Ryegrass Grown Under a Controlled Environment
Supervisor: Dr. Raymond Thomas
Profile
Thilini K. Wickremasinghe is a master’s candidate in the Boreal Ecosystems and Agricultural Sciences program at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland. She completed her bachelor's degree in Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (UWU-SL). She also completed a master's degree in Biotechnology at Anglia Ruskin University-UK. Currently, her research focus is on formulations of different natural growing media amendment using mill wastes and their benefits on the vegetable crops cultivated in NL. Her research interests are food quality, microbiology, genetics and bioprocess technologies.