Mason MacDonald

Mason MacDonald is an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecophysiology at Dalhousie University's Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture. His research focuses on plant stress physiology, postharvest biology, and agricultural technologies. Key areas include understanding mechanisms of postharvest needle abscission in conifers, optimizing nutrient management for Christmas trees, and developing stress-tolerant crop varieties through seed priming and preconditioning techniques.

Research Interests:

• Plant Ecophysiology
• Postharvest Physiology of Conifers
• Seed Priming Technologies
• Drought Tolerance Mechanisms
• Remote Sensing in Agriculture

Publications highlight innovations in using UAV-based sensing for crop monitoring, lipid biochemistry in plant senescence, and modified atmospheric packaging for cannabis preservation. His work bridges fundamental plant biology with applied agricultural solutions.

Advising & Grants: Currently supervises graduate students in plant stress biology and has secured grants for research into conifer physiology and sustainable crop production. Collaborates with industry partners on postharvest technology development.

Labs: Conducts research in the Cox Institute laboratories at Dalhousie's Agricultural Campus in Truro, Nova Scotia.