Joanna McTigue

Jo’s role in the AHDB crop protection team focuses on addressing grower needs in ornamental crops, protected vining crops and mushrooms. Jo instigates EAMU authorisations and oversees product efficacy and crop safety trials, plus residue trials within these crop sectors. Jo’s specialism in worker exposure risk assessment is particularly relevant to enabling EAMUs in crops grown under protection and in ornamental cropping systems. Jo also manages the AHDB risk registers ensuring active substance status is disseminated to all crop registers with the aim that the registers remain a valuable AHDB tool for recognising priorities within each crop group. 

Jo champions biopesticides within the team; with a PhD and research background in viral and fungal control of lepidopteran pests, she works to ensure that a greater range of biological products become available to growers. In her role she talks regularly with growers, regulators, manufacturers, and European counterparts to advance sustainable solutions to growers.

Prior to joining AHDB, Jo worked in contract research, conducting and then managing efficacy field trials, and compiling reports and Biological Assessment Dossiers to support product registrations. Her partiality to horticulture stems from spending many years working in the family garden centre.