Professor of Agricultural Science
PhD (Sydney)
| Contact Campus | Sandy Bay Campus |
| Building | Life Sciences Building |
| Telephone | +61 3 6226 2611 |
| Fax | +61 3 6226 7444 |
| David.McNeil@utas.edu.au |
Professor McNeil has a teaching role in the following undergraduate units:
KLA365 - Horticultural Science (Unit Coordinator)
KLA331 - Agronomy (Lecturer, plant breeding)
KLA316 - Agricultural Tecnology and Innovation (Lecturer, irrigation technology)
He supervises postgraduate students locally and internationally in the area of value chains, molecular crop breeding, fruit quality management and bacteriophage technology.
Professor McNeil has published over 100 scientific papers with ~ 2000 citations as well as similar numbers of extension and conference publications. His research publications have covered a wide range; including crop/plant agronomy/physiology, nutritional and quality evaluation, pathology, processing, production and research economics, growth modelling, effects of climate change, molecular mapping, Genetic Modification, mutation and traditional breeding, rhizobiology, bacteriophage use and bio control, market testing and consumer evaluation. David McNeil has also edited 3 books on lentils, walnuts and pulses & climate change and contributed to many others as well as producing a major compendium on nut tree research in New Zealand.
A full publication list of is available on Professor McNeil's WARP research report.
Some of these are available for download from Professor McNeil's eprints page.
Professor Mc Neil completed a PhD on lupins in 1979 and has worked in several universities and agriculture department since, in breeding, research, development and extension for pulse and grain legumes, nut trees, fruit trees, peanuts, flowers, medicinal crops, vegetables, grape vines, berries, cereals and alternative timber species. As well as producing his own research he has supervised over 55 postgraduate projects and managed large groups of professional staff. A key area of effort has been to expand scientific, genetic and value chain understanding of new crops, particularly nut crops, and the situations in which new productive, viable and sustainable industries can develop. As such his work goes beyond the science of cropping to researching how agribusiness chains function and the consequences for agribusiness participants from growers to consumers. Professor McNeil has had a major involvement with industry in developing new crops from breeding to consumer values. He has released selections of walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts in New Zealand as well as leading groups breeding a variety of field crops. He was recently the scientific convenor of the 6th International Walnut Symposium and has been invited to prepare several book chapters on safety and quality management in walnuts at both the farm and consumer level.
He has been Professor of Horticulture at Lincoln University, Adjunct Professor in Agriculture at Melbourne University as well as Chair of Agricultural Science at the University of Tasmania. In addition to university appointments he has worked internationally (NZ, USA) and within state agriculture departments (NSW, WA, Tas, Vic) and on a USAID project. He has also had study leave periods in China, UK, Germany, Australia and the USA looking at walnut and hazelnut research in particular from production/breeding to management and value chains.