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Plant Science and Agronomy
South Africa
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Plant Science and Agronomy

D-Index
117
Citations
60741
World Ranking
76
National Ranking
2

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in South Africa Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Plant Science and Agronomy in South Africa Leader Award
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa

Overview

What is he best known for?

The fields of study he is best known for:

  • Botany
  • Ecology
  • Enzyme

Botany, Traditional medicine, Medicinal plants, Germination and Antibacterial agent are his primary areas of study. His research on Botany focuses in particular on Plant physiology. His studies in Traditional medicine integrate themes in fields like Antibacterial activity, Pharmacognosy and Antimicrobial.

The Medicinal plants study which covers Bark that intersects with Ethyl acetate. His Germination research incorporates themes from Smoke and Seedling. The concepts of his Cytokinin study are interwoven with issues in Callus and Algae.

His most cited work include:

  • Dissecting the roles of osmolyte accumulation during stress (1025 citations)
  • Biological activities and distribution of plant saponins. (917 citations)
  • Proline synthesis and degradation: a model system for elucidating stress-related signal transduction (395 citations)

What are the main themes of his work throughout his whole career to date?

The scientist’s investigation covers issues in Botany, Cytokinin, Germination, Traditional medicine and Horticulture. His Botany research is multidisciplinary, incorporating perspectives in Explant culture, Micropropagation and Tissue culture. His Cytokinin research is multidisciplinary, incorporating elements of Plant physiology, Endogeny and Metabolism.

The study incorporates disciplines such as Smoke and Seedling in addition to Germination. His work deals with themes such as Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial activity and Antimicrobial, which intersect with Traditional medicine. J. Van Staden has researched Shoot in several fields, including Kinetin and Murashige and Skoog medium.

He most often published in these fields:

  • Botany (57.59%)
  • Cytokinin (16.80%)
  • Germination (16.50%)

What were the highlights of his more recent work (between 2009-2021)?

  • Botany (57.59%)
  • Traditional medicine (15.49%)
  • Medicinal plants (9.01%)

In recent papers he was focusing on the following fields of study:

His primary areas of study are Botany, Traditional medicine, Medicinal plants, Germination and Antimicrobial. He works on Botany which deals in particular with Shoot. In his research, Flavonoid is intimately related to Antibacterial activity, which falls under the overarching field of Traditional medicine.

J. Van Staden regularly links together related areas like Anti-inflammatory in his Medicinal plants studies. His Germination study combines topics from a wide range of disciplines, such as Smoke and Seedling. His Antimicrobial study contributes to a more complete understanding of Microbiology.

Between 2009 and 2021, his most popular works were:

  • Anti-inflammatory, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and phytochemical properties of medicinal plants used for pain-related ailments in South Africa. (114 citations)
  • Quality from the field: The impact of environmental factors as quality determinants in medicinal plants (109 citations)
  • Antimicrobial properties and phenolic contents of medicinal plants used by the Venda people for conditions related to venereal diseases. (90 citations)

Best Publications

  • Biological activities and distribution of plant saponins.

    S.G. Sparg;M.E. Light;J. van Staden

  • Dissecting the roles of osmolyte accumulation during stress

    P. D. Hare;W. A. Cress;J. Van Staden

  • Somaclonal variation in plants: causes and detection methods

    Michael W. Bairu;Adeyemi O. Aremu;Johannes Van Staden

  • Proline synthesis and degradation: a model system for elucidating stress-related signal transduction

    P.D. Hare;W.A. Cress;J. van Staden

  • Assessing African medicinal plants for efficacy and safety: pharmacological screening and toxicology.

    C.W. Fennell;K.L. Lindsey;L.J. McGaw;S.G. Sparg

  • Preliminary screening of some traditional zulu medicinal plants for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities.

    J Lin;A.R Opoku;M Geheeb-Keller;A.D Hutchings

  • Photosynthetic response of transgenic soybean plants, containing an Arabidopsis P5CR gene, during heat and drought stress.

    J.A. De Ronde;W.A. Cress;W.A. Cress;G.H.J. Krüger;R.J. Strasser

  • Zulu medicinal plants with antibacterial activity

    J E Kelmanson;A K Jäger;J van Staden

  • The use of charcoal in in vitro culture – A review

    M.J. Pan;J. van Staden

  • Towards the scientific validation of traditional medicinal plants

    J.L.S. Taylor;T. Rabe;L.J. McGaw;A.K. Jäger

  • Isolation of the major germination cue from plant-derived smoke

    J van Staden;Anna Jäger;ME Light;BV Burger

  • Antibacterial, anthelmintic and anti-amoebic activity in South African medicinal plants

    LJ McGaw;Anna Jäger;J van Staden

  • Evidence for the presence of plant growth regulators in commercial seaweed products

    I. J. Crouch;J. van Staden

  • Screening of traditionally used South African plants for antifungal activity against Candida albicans.

    M.L Motsei;K.L Lindsey;J van Staden;A.K Jäger

  • Smoke as a germination cue: a review

    N.A.C. Brown;J. van Staden

  • The involvement of cytokinins in plant responses to environmental stress

    P.D. Hare;W.A. Cress;J. van Staden

  • A critical review on exploiting the pharmaceutical potential of plant endophytic fungi.

    Shubhpriya Gupta;Preeti Chaturvedi;Manoj G. Kulkarni;Johannes Van Staden

  • The occurrence of trehalose in the leaves of the desiccation-tolerant angiosperm Myrothamnus flabellifolius welw.

    P.M. Drennan;M.T. Smith;D. Goldsworthy;J. van Staden

  • Cytokinins in macroalgae

    W.A. Stirk;O. Novák;M. Strnad;J. van Staden

  • Quality from the field: The impact of environmental factors as quality determinants in medicinal plants

    B. Ncube;J.F. Finnie;J. Van Staden

  • Effects of plant growth regulators on the antioxidant system in callus of two maize cultivars subjected to water stress

    L. Li;J. van Staden

  • Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cholinesterase and mutagenic effects of extracts obtained from some trees used in South African traditional medicine

    I.M.S. Eldeen;E.E. Elgorashi;J. van Staden

  • Optimizing the micropropagation protocol for the endangered Aloe polyphylla: can meta-topolin and its derivatives serve as replacement for benzyladenine and zeatin?

    Michael W. Bairu;Wendy A. Stirk;Karel Dolezal;Johannes Van Staden

  • Plant part substitution – a way to conserve endangered medicinal plants?

    S Zschocke;T Rabe;J.L.S Taylor;A.K Jäger

  • Plant-derived smoke and smoke extracts stimulate seed germination of the fire-climax grass Themeda triandra

    B.J.M. Baxter;J. Van Staden;J.E. Granger;N.A.C. Brown

  • Topolins: A panacea to plant tissue culture challenges?

    Adeyemi O. Aremu;Michael W. Bairu;Karel Doležal;Jeffrey F. Finnie

  • Auxin and cytokinin relationships in 24 microalgal strains(1)

    Wendy A. Stirk;Vince Ördög;Vince Ördög;Ondřej Novák;Jakub Rolčík

  • Effect of seaweed concentrate on the growth and mineral nutrition of nutrient-stressed lettuce

    I.J. Crouch;R.P. Beckett;J. van Staden

Frequent Co-Authors

Jeffrey F. Finnie
Jeffrey F. Finnie University of KwaZulu-Natal
Adeyemi O. Aremu
Adeyemi O. Aremu North-West University
Wendy A. Stirk
Wendy A. Stirk University of KwaZulu-Natal
Miroslav Strnad
Miroslav Strnad Palacký University, Olomouc
Karel Doležal
Karel Doležal Palacký University, Olomouc
Richard P. Beckett
Richard P. Beckett University of KwaZulu-Natal
Steven D. Johnson
Steven D. Johnson University of KwaZulu-Natal
Jiří Grúz
Jiří Grúz Palacký University, Olomouc
Ondřej Novák
Ondřej Novák Czech Academy of Sciences
Olaniyi Amos Fawole
Olaniyi Amos Fawole University of Johannesburg

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