prof.dr.ir. J (Jonne) Rodenburg

Prof. Dr. Ir. Jonne (J.) Rodenburg is an Associate Professor of Weed Ecology at the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University. His research focuses on the ecology, biology, and ecological management of weeds in field crops.

He earned his MSc from Wageningen University in 1999, followed by a PhD from the same institution in 2005. Prior to completing his PhD, he began working as an Agronomist at the Africa Rice Center (CGIAR) in 2004, where he specialized in rice agronomy and weed management. During his tenure, he was based in Mali, Benin, Senegal, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire.

In 2018, Jonne relocated to the UK to join the Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich. In 2022, he was appointed Professor of Agronomy there. The following year, in 2023, he published the book Parasitic Plants in African Agriculture with CABI. Jonne is president of the International Parasitic Plants Society (IPPS), since August 2024. He rejoined Wageningen University in September 2024.

His research explores the ecology of crops, weeds, and parasitic weeds, with the overarching goal of improving the efficacy and sustainability of ecological weed management strategies in arable farming systems. He aims to understand how weeds and weed communities respond to environmental and management changes, and how crop management could adapt to emerging weed challenges.

One of Jonne’s current projects investigates the potential of the soil microbiome to suppress the parasitic weed Striga (including S. asiatica and S. hermonthica) in African cereal crops. This research aims to develop feasible Striga management strategies that can be applied by smallholder farmers across Africa.