PhD student
I began my career with an honors degree in Applied Biology and Biochemistry from the National University of Science and Technology- Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In 2009, I enrolled for an MSc in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology studying the genetic diversity of wild Sorghum subspecies arundinaceum from Zimbabwe using simple sequence repeats (SSRs), ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and intergenic spacers (IGS). This project was funded by the Third World Academy of Sciences-Wild Sorghum (TWAS) Grant and the National University of Science and Technology for 3 years. In 2017, I joined the Potato Pathology Programme for PhD studies in Plant Science focusing on the impact of crop rotation effects on soil and plant health in a dryland production system situated in the Eastern Free State, South Africa.
My research interests include plant and soil health, genetic diversity of neglected and underutilized species, biostatistics and plant pathology.
Mushonga K, Steyn JM, Swart WJ, van der Waals JE. (2020) Plant-soil feedback responses of four dryland crop species under greenhouse conditions. Plant-Environment Interactions 10.1002/pei3.10035