2026 Michelle Watt: Plant Science and Agronomy Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Plant Science and Agronomy	52	1891	1737	152	140	133	11175

Overview

What is she best known for?

The fields of study she is best known for:

Botany
Agriculture
Ecology

The scientist’s investigation covers issues in Agronomy, Botany, Root system, Rhizosphere and Soil water. Her Agronomy research is multidisciplinary, incorporating elements of Ecophysiology and Nutrient. Michelle Watt interconnects Exocytosis and Cluster root in the investigation of issues within Botany.

In her work, Microbial ecology is strongly intertwined with Crop, which is a subfield of Root system. She has researched Rhizosphere in several fields, including Abiotic component, Soil microbiology and Cell biology. Her Soil water research includes elements of Mucilage and Root hair.

Her most cited work include:

Traits and selection strategies to improve root systems and water uptake in water-limited wheat crops (441 citations)
Breeding for improved water productivity in temperate cereals: phenotyping, quantitative trait loci, markers and the selection environment (240 citations)
Brachypodium as a Model for the Grasses: Today and the Future (198 citations)

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

Agronomy, Botany, Root system, Rhizosphere and Shoot are her primary areas of study. Her studies deal with areas such as Soil water, Ecophysiology and Nutrient as well as Agronomy. The study incorporates disciplines such as Rhizobia, Brachypodium distachyon and Root hair in addition to Botany.

Her Root system study combines topics in areas such as Germplasm, Brachypodium, Irrigation and Seedling. Michelle Watt works mostly in the field of Rhizosphere, limiting it down to topics relating to Soil microbiology and, in certain cases, Microbiome. Her Shoot research incorporates themes from Biomass, Genetic variation, Water-use efficiency and Tillage.

She most often published in these fields:

Agronomy (43.09%)
Botany (28.46%)
Root system (26.02%)

What were the highlights of her more recent work (between 2017-2021)?

Agronomy (43.09%)
Horticulture (16.26%)
Shoot (18.70%)

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

Michelle Watt mainly investigates Agronomy, Horticulture, Shoot, Rhizosphere and Botany. The Agronomy study combines topics in areas such as Phenotype and Nutrient. Her Horticulture research is multidisciplinary, incorporating perspectives in Biomass and Edaphic.

Her research integrates issues of Food quality, Chlorophyll, Brachypodium, Brassica oleracea and Habit in her study of Shoot. Her research in Rhizosphere intersects with topics in Root system architecture, Root system and Winter wheat. Her studies in Botany integrate themes in fields like Metabolomics, Symbiosis, Ecosystem, Phosphate and Root hair.

Between 2017 and 2021, her most popular works were:

Energy costs of salt tolerance in crop plants (93 citations)
Energy costs of salinity tolerance in crop plants. (30 citations)
Soil compaction and the architectural plasticity of root systems (28 citations)

In her most recent research, the most cited papers focused on:

Botany
Agriculture
Ecology

Her primary areas of investigation include Rhizosphere, Crop, Root system, Botany and Agronomy. Her Rhizosphere research is multidisciplinary, relying on both Adaptation, Agricultural engineering, Bulk density and Aerenchyma formation. Her Crop research includes themes of Agricultural productivity, Hydroponics, Biotechnology and Germplasm.

Her Root system research incorporates elements of Microorganism, Arabidopsis, Soil compaction and Hordeum vulgare. Her Botany research integrates issues from Metabolite, Ecosystem, Phosphate and Metabolomics. Her work on Shoot as part of general Agronomy study is frequently linked to Art, bridging the gap between disciplines.

Best Publications

Traits and selection strategies to improve root systems and water uptake in water-limited wheat crops

A.P. Wasson;R.A. Richards;R. Chatrath;S.C. Misra

976
Citations
Energy costs of salt tolerance in crop plants

Rana Munns;Rana Munns;David A Day;Wieland Fricke;Michelle Watt

484
Citations
Breeding for improved water productivity in temperate cereals: phenotyping, quantitative trait loci, markers and the selection environment

Richard A. Richards;Greg J. Rebetzke;Michelle Watt;A. G. (Tony) Condon

392
Citations
Large root systems: are they useful in adapting wheat to dry environments?

Jairo A. Palta;Xing Chen;Xing Chen;Stephen P. Milroy;Greg J. Rebetzke

341
Citations
Evolution of bacterial communities in the wheat crop rhizosphere

Suzanne Donn;John A. Kirkegaard;Geetha Perera;Alan E. Richardson

341
Citations
Brachypodium as a Model for the Grasses: Today and the Future

Jelena Brkljacic;Erich Grotewold;Randy Scholl;Todd C. Mockler

318
Citations
Soil compaction and the architectural plasticity of root systems

José Correa;Johannes A Postma;Michelle Watt;Tobias Wojciechowski

316
Citations
Proteoid roots. Physiology and development

Michelle Watt;John R. Evans

316
Citations
Soil conditions and cereal root system architecture: review and considerations for linking Darwin and Weaver

Sarah M. Rich;Michelle Watt

303
Citations
Rates of root and organism growth, soil conditions, and temporal and spatial development of the rhizosphere.

Michelle Watt;Wendy K. Silk;John B. Passioura

301
Citations
Microbiome and Exudates of the Root and Rhizosphere of Brachypodium distachyon, a Model for Wheat.

Akitomo Kawasaki;Suzanne Donn;Peter R. Ryan;Ulrike Mathesius

278
Citations
Sense and nonsense in conservation agriculture: Principles, pragmatism and productivity in Australian mixed farming systems

John A. Kirkegaard;Mark K. Conyers;James R. Hunt;Clive A. Kirkby

245
Citations
Nutrient deficiency effects on root architecture and root-to-shoot ratio in arable crops

Unknown

243
Citations
Linking development and determinacy with organic acid efflux from proteoid roots of white lupin grown with low phosphorus and ambient or elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration

Michelle Watt;John R. Evans

237
Citations
FORMATION AND STABILIZATION OF RHIZOSHEATHS OF ZEA MAYS L. : EFFECT OF SOIL WATER CONTENT

Michelle Watt;Margaret E. McCully;Martin J. Canny

235
Citations
Mechanisms for cellular transport and release of allelochemicals from plant roots into the rhizosphere

Leslie A. Weston;Peter R. Ryan;Michelle Watt

233
Citations
Crop Improvement from Phenotyping Roots: Highlights Reveal Expanding Opportunities.

Saoirse R. Tracy;Kerstin A. Nagel;Johannes A. Postma;Heike Fassbender

230
Citations
Numbers and locations of native bacteria on field-grown wheat roots quantified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Michelle Watt;Philip Hugenholtz;Rosemary White;Kerry Vinall

222
Citations
Alleviation of salinity stress in plants by endophytic plant-fungal symbiosis: Current knowledge, perspectives and future directions

Sneha Gupta;Martino Schillaci;Robert Walker;Penelope M. C. Smith

215
Citations
OpenSimRoot: widening the scope and application of root architectural models.

Johannes A. Postma;Christian Kuppe;Markus R. Owen;Nathan L. Mellor

202
Citations
A screening method to identify genetic variation in root growth response to a salinity gradient

Afrasyab Rahnama;Rana Munns;Kazem Poustini;Michelle Watt

179
Citations
Non-destructive quantification of cereal roots in soil using high-resolution X-ray tomography

Richard J. Flavel;Christopher N. Guppy;Matthew Tighe;Michelle Watt

162
Citations