Dr Jonne Rodenburg BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA

Jonne Rodenburg joined the University of Greenwich in January 2018, after a 13-years tenure at the CGIAR Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice).

Jonne obtained a BSc and MSc-degree from Wageningen University (WU) in 1999. His MSc research project focused on the effects of slash-and-burn agriculture on spatial variation in soil fertility in rubber-rice agroforests in Indonesia, in collaboration with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). In 2005 he obtained a PhD-degree from the same university. His PhD research was on defence mechanisms (resistance and tolerance) in sorghum against the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica. Fieldwork for this study was in Mali, at the experimental farm of ICRISAT. Prior to obtaining his PhD-degree, Jonne started as agronomist at AfricaRice. He was first based in Mali (2004-2005) and then moved to Benin (2005-2007), Senegal (2007-2009) and Tanzania (2009-2016). His last home base was in Côte d'Ivoire (2016-2017). At AfricaRice his work focused mainly on weed problems, with a special interest in parasitic weeds (Striga asiatica, S. hermonthica, Rhamphicarpa fistulosa) in rain-fed rice systems. Together with his co-workers and students, he identified suitable rice varieties and agronomic management practices for the control of these pests. He also worked on bird - weed interactions, mechanical weed control, Good Agricultural Practices and the System of Rice Intensification in irrigated rice systems and Conservation Agriculture practices in rain-fed uplands. The prime aim of his research is to develop feasible and effective practices for smallholder rice farmers to raise their productivity and input-use efficiency in a sustainable and cost-effective manner.

Jonne is also an Associate Editor of the Elsevier journal Field Crops Research, and a subject editor of the Wiley journal Weed Research.

A full staff profile can be seen on the Natural Resources Institute website.