Department of Crop Production EcologyBiology with a specialisation in ecology - The Department of Crop Production Ecology is seeking a PhD student in plant breeding and plant protection against insect pests.Description:Chemical insecticides have been an important tool for limiting crop losses caused by insect pests and insect-borne viruses, but their availability has declined sharply in recent years. Crop varieties with resistance, tolerance or other traits that enable them to avoid insect damage and viruses spread by insects will therefore be a cornerstone of future integrated pest management. The vision for the new project 'Node for Plant Breeding against Insect Pests and Viruses' within the centre SLU Grogrund is to reduce crop losses caused by pests and insect-borne viruses through crop breeding. The project focuses on insect pests and viruses in wheat, field beans, peas and sugar beet and is a collaboration between five departments at SLU and three plant breeding companies.We are seeking a highly motivated individual for a PhD position within the Node, focusing on the broad bean beetle (Bruchus rufimanus), a key pest of field bean. Infestations by the broad bean beetle pose an obstacle to developing field bean cultivation and a market for field beans for human consumption.The PhD programme comprises both research and coursework. The main tasks within the research component will be:Examine the insect's life cycle in the field and in storageDevelop methods for screening of broad bean beetle infestations in a large panel of plant breeding materialContributing to the development of DNA markers for resistance or tolerance to broan bean beetle, for future application in plant breedingYou will collaborate on the project with other PhD students and senior researchers in pl…