Under the supervision of Professor Philippe Seguin and Tanya Copley, PhD, CEROM, Ximena is studying the threat that herbicide-resistant weeds pose in Canada and abroad.
"In collaboration with Universit茅 de Laval, UQAM, Agriculture and听Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), and the Centre de recherche sur les听grains (CEROM), we are evaluating the impact of intercropping cover听crops at reducing herbicide usage in the traditional Quebec crop听rotation听 like corn, soybean, and wheat," she explains. Cover crops are non-harvested听plants grown to protect the soil from erosion and weeds, among other things. "During听my PhD, I will assess their influence on the main crop yield, seed听quality, microbiome diversity, and root health."鈥�
Ximena is looking forward to a career focused on 鈥�supporting sustainable agriculture and听food security, and believes that the tools and experience she's gained at 平特五不中 will help her get there.
"Professors in the Plant Science Department are actively involved in finding solutions to problems of national and global relevance."