Johannah Pigott, a Transition Year student from Colaiste Treasa, Kanturk, Co. Cork, is the winner of the Teagasc award at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2022 (BTYSTE). Johannah’s project looked at the potential of nematodes to replace chemical pesticides.
The winners of the 58th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) have been announced today Friday, 14 January. Johannah Pigott, a Transition Year student from Colaiste Treasa, Kanturk, Co. Cork, is the winner of the Teagasc award. Johannah’s project was entitled: ‘Infectivity of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae at different temperatures’. She looked at the use of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) as an alternative to the use of pesticides for the control of plant insect pests. Johannah explains: “I believe that EPN could be implemented in Irish farms, households and garden centres as a safer, more reliable alternative to the pesticides being used presently”.
A budding horticulturalist, Johannah’s project was motivated by the need to produce food in a more sustainable way by reducing reliance on synthetic insecticides. Her project looked at the optimal temperature at which to apply EPN and she believes this knowledge could help us to identify the most suitable time to apply EPN to manage insect pests outdoors in Ireland.
Johannah Pigott was chosen by a team of judges as the winner of the Teagasc prize and her project also earned her third place in the Biological and Ecological (Individual) category at the event.
Her teacher, Joanne Corkery, acknowledged the contribution of Dr Thomae Kakouli-Duarte at Institute of Technology Carlow for advice and providing inoculum for the project.
The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2022 comes to an end today but all the fantastic content and shows delivered throughout the week and the videos submitted by participants about their projects will remain up online until the end of January, make sure to check out all the content here: https://portal.btyoungscientist.com/
Johannah’s video about her winning project can be viewed here.
