Grains Genebank Dr Katherine Whitehouse plants seed for future generations

Dr Whitehouse joined Agriculture Victoria at their Horsham Grains Genebank site in 2018, and has since spent her time researching seed longevity.

She is one of just a few international experts working in applied seed longevity research and her principal goal is the effective utilisation of germplasm - the living tissue from which new plants are grown - for hundreds of years.

"I am really passionate about global food security and my research focusses on improving and optimising seed longevity and quality management systems to ensure germplasm availability for hundreds of years", she said.

"I have spent a lot of time streamlining and optimising the efficiencies of our genebank processes including seed production, harvest, drying and storage.

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"My recent research has focussed on lentils, as it is one of our mandate crops but one which at present we know very little about its longevity."

Since 2018 Dr Whitehouse has set up two experiments, one determining the lentil's inherent longevity, the second identifying how to optimise longevity by maximising seed quality at harvest.

This will allow scientists to quantify lentil seed longevity under genebank storage conditions and help to better manage the lentil collection.

"I enjoy applied research as I know it will evoke change and lead to improvements. My area of work helps to ensure the availability of genetic resources into the future and to improve crops to tackle climate change and food security - two things I am very passionate about," she said.

Results will be used to optimise regeneration protocol at the Australian Grains Genebank to ensure high quality seeds are produced every time.

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