Professor Paul Petrie is the Program Leader of the Irrigated Crops group at the South Australian Research and Development Institute; he also holds the roles of Affiliate Professor at Adelaide University and Associate Professor at Flinders University.
Paul has extensive experience in the Australian wine industry which includes working in research and extension at the Australian Wine Research Institute and as the National Viticulturist at Treasury Wine Estates. He grew up helping his parents establish a vineyard on their irrigated grain and vegetable farm in New Zealand and completed and a PhD at Lincoln University before moving to Australia for a role at CSIRO.
Paul’s research focuses on supporting the resilience of Australian orchards and vineyards, improving their productivity and ability to adapt to climate change. He also has an active interest in the application of technology to the horticultural industry and has previously developed smartphone based systems to monitor crop water status and disease severity. Paul also supports a wide range of horticultural projects, including the development of high-density almond and apricot orchards and the assessment of the recovery of apples and cherries after bushfire damage.