Dr Millicent Smith
Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability
Researcher biography
Dr Millicent Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology at The University of Queensland. Her research is focused on understanding the physiological mechanisms that underpin yield stability and quality in grain legumes. Millicent works closely with breeders, both in Australia and overseas, to develop improved knowledge on abiotic stress adaptation and tools to accelerate genetic gain. Dr Smith leads a national research project funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation focused on deploying novel phenotyping and genomics approaches to fast-track the development of new chickpea varieties that display lower yield loss in response to high temperature. Millicent is passionate about training the next generation of plant scientists. She leads a growing research team of postdoctoral scientists, postgraduate and undergraduate research students and has been awarded for her innovative teaching approaches applied to large undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Publications
Book Chapters
Smith, Millicent R. and Rao, Idupulapati M. (2021). Common bean. Crop physiology case histories for major crops. (pp. 384-406) London, United Kingdom: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-819194-1.00012-8
Dumschott, Kathryn, Merchant, Andrew and Smith, Millicent (2018). Metabolic adaptation and allocation of metabolites to phloem transport and regulation under stress. Metabolic adaptations in plants during abiotic stress. (pp. 21-26) edited by Akula Ramakrishna and Sarvajeet Singh Gill. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b22206-2
Journal Articles
Brunner, Stephanie M., Dinglasan, Eric, Baraibar, Silvina, Alahmad, Samir, Katsikis, Christina, van der Meer, Sarah, Godoy, Jayfred, Moody, David, Smith, Millicent, Hickey, Lee and Robinson, Hannah (2024). Characterizing stay-green in barley across diverse environments: unveiling novel haplotypes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (6) 120, 120. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04612-1
Okemo, Pauline, Wijesundra, Upendra, Nakandala, Upuli, Dillon, Natalie, Chandora, Rahul, Campbell, Bradley, Smith, Millicent, Hardner, Craig, Cadorna, Charles A., Martin, Guillaume, Yahiaoui, Nabila, Garsmeur, Olivier, Pompidor, Nicolas, D’Hont, Angelique and Henry, Robert J. (2024). Crop domestication in the Asia Pacific region: a review. Agriculture Communications, 2 (1) 100032, 100032. doi: 10.1016/j.agrcom.2024.100032
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Dudley, Caitlin, Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Dinglasan, Eric, Wenham, Kylie, Noble, Thomas, Kelly, Lisa, Douglas, Colin A, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent R (2024). Fusarium wilt constrains mungbean yield due to reduction in source availability. AoB Plants, 16 (2) plae021, plae021. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plae021
Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kang, Yichen, Smith, Daniel, Nair, Ramakrishnan M., Douglas, Colin A., Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee T. and Smith, Millicent R. (2023). Featured cover. Food and Energy Security, 12 (6). doi: 10.1002/fes3.516
Krishnasamy, Suresh, Smith, Millicent R., Narayan, Edward, Abdul Aziz, Ammar and Hoffman, Eleanor W. (2023). Developing virtual field trips for agriculture. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 31 (3), 3-19. doi: 10.30722/ijisme.31.03.001
Kashyap, Mayuri, Torniainen, Jari, Bertling, Karl, Kundu, Urbi, Singh, Khushboo, Donose, Bogdan, Gillespie, Tim, Lim, Yah Leng, Indjin, Dragan, Li, Lian He, Linfield, Edmund, Davies, Giles, Dean, Paul, Smith, Millicent, Chapman, Scott, Bandyopadhyay, Aparajita, Sengupta, Amartya and Rakic, Aleksandar (2023). Coherent Terahertz laser feedback interferometry for hydration sensing in leaves. Optics Express, 31 (15), 23877-23888. doi: 10.1364/oe.490217
Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kang, Yichen, Smith, Daniel, Nair, Ramakrishnan M., Douglas, Colin A., Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee T. and Smith, Millicent R. (2023). Building a better Mungbean: breeding for reproductive resilience in a changing climate. Food and Energy Security, 12 (6) e467. doi: 10.1002/fes3.467
Geetika, Geetika, Hammer, Graeme, Smith, Millicent, Singh, Vijaya, Collins, Marisa, Mellor, Vincent, Wenham, Kylie and Rachaputi, Rao C.N. (2022). Quantifying physiological determinants of potential yield in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek). Field Crops Research, 287 108648, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108648
Barmukh, Rutwik, Roorkiwal, Manish, Dixit, Girish P., Bajaj, Prasad, Kholova, Jana, Smith, Millicent R., Chitikineni, Annapurna, Bharadwaj, Chellapilla, Sheshshayee, M. S., Rathore, Abhishek, Tripathi, Shailesh, Yasin, Mohammad, Vijayakumar, Adiveppa G., Sagurthi, Someswar Rao, Siddique, Kadambot H. M. and Varshney, Rajeev K. (2022). Characterization of 'QTL-hotspot' introgression lines reveals physiological mechanisms and candidate genes associated with drought adaptation in chickpea. Journal of Experimental Botany, 73 (22), 7255-7272. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erac348
Akinlade, Oluwaseun J., Voss-Fels, Kai, Costilla, Roy, Kholova, Jana, Choudhary, Sunita, Varshney, Rajeev K., Hickey, Lee T. and Smith, Millicent R. (2022). Designing chickpea for a hotter drier world. Euphytica, 218 (7) 100. doi: 10.1007/s10681-022-03048-2
Geetika, Geetika, Collins, Marisa, Singh, Vijaya, Hammer, Graeme, Mellor, Vincent, Smith, Millicent and Rachaputi, Rao C. N. (2022). Canopy and reproductive development in mungbean (Vigna radiata). Crop and Pasture Science, 73 (10), 1142-1155. doi: 10.1071/cp21209
Merchant, Andrew, Smith, Millicent and Windt, Carel (2022). In situ pod growth rate reveals contrasting diurnal sensitivity to water deficit in Phaseolus vulgaris. Journal of Experimental Botany, 73 (11), 3774-3786. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erac097
Smith, Millicent R., Dinglasan, Eric, Veneklaas, Erik, Polania, Jose, Rao, Idupulapati M., Beebe, Stephen E. and Merchant, Andrew (2022). Effect of Drought and Low P on Yield and Nutritional Content in Common Bean. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13 814325, 1-14. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.814325
Smith, Millicent R., Reis Hodecker, Barbara Elias, Fuentes, David and Merchant, Andrew (2022). Investigating nutrient supply effects on plant growth and seed nutrient content in common bean. Plants, 11 (6) 737, 737. doi: 10.3390/plants11060737
Bhatta, Madhav, Sandro, Pablo, Smith, Millicent R., Delaney, Oscar, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Gutierrez, Lucia and Hickey, Lee T. (2021). Need for speed: manipulating plant growth to accelerate breeding cycles. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 60 101986, 101986. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.101986
Smith, Millicent R., Fuentes, David and Merchant, Andrew (2019). Chemical and isotopic markers detect water deficit and its influence on nutrient allocation in Phaseolus vulgaris. Physiologia Plantarum, 167 (3), 391-403. doi: 10.1111/ppl.12899
Smith, Millicent R., Veneklaas, Erik, Polania, Jose, Rao, Idupulapati M., Beebe, Stephen E. and Merchant, Andrew (2019). Field drought conditions impact yield but not nutritional quality of the seed in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). PLoS ONE, 14 (6). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217099
Smith, Millicent R., Rao, Idupulapati M. and Merchant, Andrew (2018). Source-sink relationships in crop plants and their Influence on yield development and nutritional quality. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01889
Smith, Millicent R. and Merchant, A. (2018). Limitations to using phloem sap to assess tree water and nutrient status. Tree Physiology, 39 (2), 332-339. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpy132
Smith, Millicent, Wild, Birgit, Richter, Andreas, Simonin, Kevin and Merchant, Andrew (2016). Carbon isotope composition of carbohydrates and polyols in leaf and phloem sap of Phaseolus vulgaris L. influences predictions of plant water use efficiency. Plant and Cell Physiology, 57 (8), 1756-1766. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcw099
Conference Papers
Smith, Millicent (2023). Phenotyping innovations to develop mungbean crops for the future. Australian Pulse Conference, Toowoomba, QLD Australia, 21-23 March 2023.
Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2023). Breeding technologies to develop summer pulse crops. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
Smith, Millicent, Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kohl, Theresa, Douglas, Colin, Ryan, Merrill, Potgieter, Andries, Chapman, Scott, Robinson, Hannah, Dinglasan, Eric and Hickey, Lee (2023). Physiological insight to improve mungbean productivity. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Douglas, Colin, Dudley, Caitlin, Ryan, Merrill, Smith, Millicent, Chapman, Scott, Robinson, Hannah, Potgieter, Andries and Hickey, Lee (2023). Understanding the genetics of mungbean senescence behaviour using longitudinal UAV data. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Voss-Fels, Kai, Dinglasan, Eric, Robinson, Hannah, Smith, Millicent, Varshney, Rajeev and Hickey, Lee (2022). Haplotype-based GWAS and genomic prediction as a path to increase genetic gain in chickpea. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 31 October-2 November 2022.
Smith, Millicent, Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Douglas, Colin, Ryan, Merrill, Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah and Hickey, Lee (2022). Physiological insight to improve mungbean productivity. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 31 October - 2 November 2022.
Campbell, Bradley, Godwin, Ian, Mace, Emma, Sukal, Amit, Waqainabete, Logo, Restall, Jemma and Smith, Millicent (2022). Ensuring the future of taro. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 31 October - 2 November 2022.
Smith, Millicent, Campbell, Bradley, Restall, Jemma, Chapman, Scott, Godwin, Ian, Sukal, Amit and Guzzon, Filippo (2022). Phenotyping innovations to develop climate resilient taro. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 31 October - 2 November 2022.
Geetika, Geetika, Brumley, Douglas, Hammer, Graeme, Smith, Millicent, Singh, Vijaya, Collins, Marisa, Mellor, Vincent, Wenham, Kylie and Rachaputi, RCN (2022). Quantifying physiological determinants of potential yield in mungbean. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 31 October-2 November 2022.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Douglas, Colin, Ryan, Merrill, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee, Smith, Millicent and Potgieter, Andries (2022). The use of multi-spectral sensing technologies from a UAV to enhance mungbean productivity. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 31 October-2 November 2022.
Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Dinglasan, Eric, Voss-Fels, Kai, Robinson, Hannah, Varshney, Rajeev, Smith, Millicent and Hickey, Lee (2022). Haplotype-based GWAS and genomic prediction: path to increase genetic gain in chickpea. 8th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress: Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 12-13 October 2022.
Smith, Millicent, Campbell, Bradley, Restall, Jemma, Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Godwin, Ian, Chapman, Scott, Sukal, Amit, Robinson, Hannah, Ryan, Merrill, Potgieter, Andries and Hickey, Lee (2022). Phenotyping innovations to harness genetic diversity for climate resilience. International Plant Phenotyping Symposium, Wageningen, Netherlands, 27-30 September 2022.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Douglas, Colin, Dudley, Caitlin, Ryan, Merrill, Smith, Millicent, Chapman, Scott, Robinson, Hannah, Potgieter, Andries and Hickey, Lee (2022). Understanding the genetics of mungbean canopy development using longitudinal UAV data. International Plant Phenotyping Symposium, Wageningen, Netherlands, 27-30 September 2022.
Suresh Krishnasamy, Smith, Millicent R., Narayan, Edward, Abdul Aziz, Ammar and Hoffman, Eleanor W. (2022). Developing virtual field trips for Agriculture. The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, Perth, WA Australia, 28-30 September 2022. Sydney, Australia: The University of Sydney.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Douglas, Colin, Udvardi, Michael, Massel, Karen, Beveridge, Christine, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee, Potgieter, Andries and Smith, Millicent (2022). New technologies to accelerate mungbean improvement. Queensland Legume Symposium, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 22 July 2022.
Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Voss-Fels, Kai, Dinglasan, Eric, Robinson, Hannah, Smith, Millicent, Varshney, Rajeev and Hickey, Lee (2022). Evaluating genomic prediction models for key traits using a chickpea MAGIC population. Queensland Legume Symposium, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 22 July 2022.
Smith, Millicent, Robinson, Hannah and Powell, Owen (2022). ON the Pulse. Protein Futures, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15 June 2022.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Hickey, Lee, Douglas, Colin, Smith, Millicent, Robinson, Hannah and Potgieter, Andries (2022). UAV-based technologies to reveal the secrets of mungbean yield. Australasian Plant Breeding Conference, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 9-11 May 2022.
Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Voss-Fels, Kai, Costilla, Roy, Kholova, Jana, Choudhary, Sunita, Varshney, Rajeev, Smith, Millicent and Hickey, Lee (2022). Predicting a path to increase genetic gain in chickpea. Australasian Plant Breeding Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 9-11 May 2022.
Williams, Alwyn, Wenham, Kylie, Smith, Millicent, Rachaputi, R. C. N. and Collins, Marisa (2022). Mungbean responses to elevated day- and night-time temperatures. System Solutions for Complex Problems, Toowoomba, QLD Australia, 18-22 September 2022. Toowoomba, QLD Australia: Australian Society of Agronomy.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Douglas, Colin, Potgieter, Andries, Voss-Fels, Kai, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2021). Improving mungbean productivity. Australian Society of Plant Scientists Conference, Brisbane/Hybrid, 25 November 2021.
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Douglas, Colin, Potgieter, Andries, Voss-Fels, Kai, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2021). Exploring variation in key traits to improve mungbean productivity. Bean Improvement Co-operative & North American Pulse Improvement Association Biennial Meeting, Virtual, 2-3 November 2021.
Kholova, Jana, Chandalavada, Keerthi, Vadez, Vincent, Choudhary, Sunita, M., Govindaraj , Bagade, Prasanth, Smith, Millicent, Lindsay, Regan, Gerth, Stefan, Claussen, Joelle, Palmer, William, Matheka, Athanas, Cobb, Joshua N. and NG, Enghwa (2019). Development of mobile sensors for estimation of grain qualities and contaminants to enhance nutrition and safety of grain-products in developing countries; current status. International Conference on Near Infrared Spectroscopy , Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, 15-20 September 2019.
Smith, Millicent, Kholova, Jana, Roorkiwal, Manish, Barmukh, Rutwik, Thudi, Mahendar and Varshney, Rajeev (2019). Dissection of Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Drought Tolerance in Chickpea. Plant & Animal Genome Conference XXVII, San Diego, CA, United States, 12-16 January 2019.
Seminar Paper
Alahmad, Samir, Kang, Yichen, Rambla, Charlotte, Van Der Meer, Sarah, Smith, Millicent, Christopher, Jack, Chenu, Karine, Able, Jason A., Voss-Fels, Kai, Jordan, David R., Borrell, Andrew K., Smith, Daniel, Chapman, Scott, Watt, Michelle, Ober, Eric, Potgieter, Andries B., Wasson, Anton, Hickey, Lee T. and Robinson, Hannah (2022). Exploring root-shoot dynamics to enhance yield potential and stability of future wheat cultivars. Australian Breeding Assembly, August 2022, Narrabri, NSW, Australia. Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Thesis
Smith, Millicent (2018). Novel techniques to improve yield quantity and quality in common bean. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture and the Environment, The University of Sydney.
Data Collections
Hickey, Lee, Van Haeften, Shanice and Smith, Millicent (2023). Mungbean UAV imagery. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/62fc842
Hickey, Lee, Van Haeften, Shanice and Smith, Millicent (2023). Mungbean phenology and yield data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/0fd1ff2