PhD defence - Saad Mir

Optimizing productivity and resource efficiency in cereal-legume intercropping and controlled environments using biostimulants and organic amendments.

Assessment Committee

Associate Professor Torben Bo Toldam-Andersen, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Senior Researcher Silvia Pampana, University of Pisa
Professor Henrik Hauggaard-Nielsen, Roskilde University

Supervisors

Associate Professor Bhim Bahadur Ghaley
Jean W. H. Yong

Department

Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences

Place

Building: 17, Room: A8-18.02, Højbakkegård Allé 17, 2630 Taastrup

Email address to gain access to the thesis: saad@plen.ku.dk.
You will either receive a copy of the thesis or be informed where you can read a physical copy.
Recipients of copies of the thesis are not allowed to share or distribute it due to copyright compliance.

Short description of the thesis

The PhD thesis evaluates climate-smart strategies to improve productivity, resource efficiency, and sustainable intensification in field and controlled environment agriculture (CEA). In field experiments, pea-barley intercropping with organic amendments and biostimulants, enhanced grain yield, biomass, protein content, land productivity, and water-use efficiency while reducing reliance on synthetic inputs. Optimized light spectrum and intensity with biostimulant in CEA improved crop growth, quality traits, physiological performance, and resource-use efficiency. Across both production systems, integrating ecological and technological approaches enhanced productivity and climate resilience, offering practical evidence for climate-smart food production under rising population pressure and climate change.