For fifth-generation Tasmanian farmer, Rupert Hansen, agriculture is in his blood.
The University of Tasmania Bachelor of Agriculture with Honours student from the Huon Valley has a deep family connection to Tasmania's fruit industry and the Hansen name is renowned in the Apple Isle.
"My family has a strong legacy in the Tasmanian orcharding industry. Agricultural science has always been my likely path of choice, it was deeply rooted in my upbringing and heritage," Rupert said.
"Growing up on the farm, I developed a deep appreciation for the land and a genuine enthusiasm for farming. Agriculture is fundamental to society, with farmers carrying the vital responsibility of feeding and clothing the world while carefully managing and protecting the environment for a sustainable future.
Rupert is the recipient of this year's Fruit Growers Tasmania Honours Scholarship through the University of Tasmania scholarship program.
Fruit Growers Tasmania, the peak body representing the interests of the state's apple, pear, berry and stone fruit industries, offer the scholarship to support a student whose honours project will further improve the technical capacity and value of fruit industries to Tasmania.
Working with researchers at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), Rupert is researching carbon isotope fractionation in apple trees to identify how orchard floor management can improve water use efficiency in perennial horticulture systems.
"We're looking at introducing various different soil amendments under the trees to conserve soil water and increase the efficiency of water use through measuring the integrated effects of control of stomatal pores during photosynthesis," Rupert said.
"We've got a variety of different treatments from mulches and composts, legume cover crop mixes and new mowing practices to industry standard herbicide treatments. They're to simply change the dynamics of the soil below the trees and to see how we can actually impact the tree physiology to create a more water efficient growing environment."
Rupert is undertaking his research at an organic orchard in the Huon Valley, R & R Smith, with support from the Hort Innovation funded PIPS 4 Profit Sustainable Soils Project AP22003.
Rupert's supervisor, TIA Professor Dugald Close says the research will benefit growers.
"This is a great example of industry-prioritised, relevant research, in partnership with an innovative and forward-thinking company. The work will lead to understanding the benefits of applied practices through investigation of fundamental tree physiology", Professor Close said.
"This research is important for organic orchards like Smith's because we need to look at ways of optimising the soil-plant relationship without introducing synthetic chemicals." Rupert said.
"To keep production efficient into the future we need to be innovative. It's definitely a responsibility that myself and all of my peers in ag science have. We need to continue to innovate otherwise food and fibre is simply going to become too hard to produce and it's going to be too expensive to produce to be readily available."
He says his upbringing in an orchard in the Huon Valley helped develop his passion for agriculture.
"It's an opportunity that a lot of kids don't get. Growing up I was very lucky to have been surrounded by that farming environment. It gave me the opportunities to do things that others don't," he said.
Rupert is keen to do the Hansen name proud and continue his family's orchard legacy.
"I'm currently the only person in the family undertaking any sort of tertiary education around agriculture which feels pretty special."
"I'm really interested in changing the field of agriculture and progressing us into the future - there are some challenges moving forward around providing food and fibre for the global community.
"With climate variability, resource scarcity and a growing population - it's becoming gradually more and more difficult to maintain sustainable growth in our production systems, so I'm keen to see what we can come up with.
"By studying agricultural science I am opening the doors to many future opportunities, equipping myself with the knowledge and tools to innovate agriculture and feed the world into the future."
