Research interests

• Chickpea breeding
• Exploitation of exotic germplasm
• Characterisation and assessment of morphological variants

Background

Ted Knights heads the Department’s chickpea breeding program based at Tamworth Agricultural Institute. He is also the leader of Pulse Breeding Australia’s chickpea breeding subprogram which has collaborators in all other mainland states.

He joined the Department (then NSW Dept of Agriculture) as a student in 1970. After graduating from Sydney University he was appointed chickpea breeder at Wagga Wagga in 1974, transferring to Tamworth in 1986.

He has been responsible, either alone or in collaboration with interstate colleagues, for the release of more than 10 chickpea varieties.

In addition to his breeding work, he has been involved in many chickpea projects with collaborators from interstate and overseas. These projects have covered a range of disciplines from disease resistance and management to agronomy and seed quality. He has published widely in peer-reviewed papers and co-authored general chapters on chickpea in a number of reference books.

Qualifications

• BScAgr – University of Sydney 1974
• MScAgr – University of Sydney 1989

Current projects

• National chickpea breeding program 
• Integrated disease management of ascochyta blight in chickpea 

Recent Publications

Knights EJ, Southwell RJ, Schwinghamer MW and Harden S (2008) Resistance to Phytophthora medicaginis Hansen and Maxwell in wild Cicer species and its use in breeding root rot resistant chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 59: 383-387.

Bretag TW, MacLeod WJ, Kimber RBE, Moore KJ, Knights EJC and Davidson JA (2008) Management of ascochyta blight in Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology 37: 486-497.

Wood JA, Knights EJ and Harden S (2007) Milling performance in desi-type chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.): effects of genotype, environment and seed size. J. Sci. Food and Agriculture 88: 108-115.

Knights EJ, Acikgoz N, Warkentin T, Bejiga G, Yadav SS and Sandhu JS (2007) Area, production and distribution. (in) Chickpea Breeding & Management, pp 167–178. Yadav SS, Redden R, Chen W and Sharma B (Eds). CAB International, Wallingford, U.K.

Gaur PM, Gowda CLL, Knights EJ, Warkentin T, Acikgoz N, Yadav SS, Bahl PN (2007) Breeding Achievements. In Chickpea Breeding & Management, (eds Yadav SS et al.), CABI Wallingford. pp 391-416.

Kumar J, Dusunceli, Knights EJ, Materne M, Warkentin T, Chen W, Gaur PM, Bejiga G, Yadav SS, Satyanarayana MM, Yadav M (2007) Chickpea farmers. In Chickpea Breeding & Management, (eds Yadav SS et al.), CABI Wallingford. pp 602-616.

Yadav SS, Kumar J, Turner NC, Berger J, Redden R, McNeil D, Materne M, Knights EJ, Bahl PN (2004). Breeding for improved productivity, multiple resistance and wide adaptation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Plant Genetic Resources: Characterisation and Utilisation 2: 181-187.

Bakr MA, MacLeod WJ, Johanson C, Afzal MA, Knights EJ, Pande S, Bretag TW, Taylor PWJ, Mondal NA, Islam S, Siddique KHM (2004). Developing resistant varieties and integrated management package against botrytis grey mould of chickpea: an international effort. Bangladesh Journal of Plant Pathology 20: 77-80.

Berger JD, Turner NC, Siddique KHM, Knights EJ, Brinsmead RB, Mock I, Edmondson C and Khan TN. 2004. Genotype by environment studies across Australia reveal the importance of phenology for chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) improvement. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55: 1071-1084.

Knights EJ (2004) Chickpea: Overview. In ‘Encyclopedia of Grain Science, Volume 1’, (eds Wrigley et al.), Elsevier Oxford. pp 280-287.

Fields of Research

• 070305 Crop and Pasture Improvement (Selection and Breeding)

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Plant breeding
• Disease resistance