Professor Vorster is an associate professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. He leads the Molecular Plant Physiology research group in the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), as well as the South African Herbicide Resistance Initiative (SAHRI). Since sustainable crop production in drier environments is becoming increasingly significant under changing climate conditions, his research focused on plant stress physiology, and in particular on how plants adapt to stress. Over the past 10 years, his research group has studied the impact of drought on soybean crops and the ability of these plants to fix nitrogen under drought conditions. This has led to the identification of key genes that regulate development under stress and can be used to select more drought-tolerant cultivars. More recently, his research has also included the study of herbicide resistance mechanisms in weeds and the development of effective management strategies to ensure effective and sustainable crop production. He is currently the president of the South African Society of Crop Production and serves on the management board of the South African Journal of Plant and Soil.
