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Even though it was a poor year for crop production in Texas, we had a great year with our students. Congratulations to our December graduates. It is great to see our students transition into the world where they will continue to make a difference. It is reassuring to know that agriculture continues to be in the hands of well-trained, bright and highly motivated young people.
Commodity prices are as competitive for the crops we work with as they have been in several years, and awareness of the importance of our soils and environment is increasing rapidly. These factors lead to the great employment opportunities for our graduates. We need more students in our Plant and Environmental Soil Science and Turfgrass Science majors. Our graduate programs continue to produce students who are sought out by academia and industry.
It has been a great year for our faculty: educational forums, conferences, research, publishing their work for use by others, releasing new cultivars, developing new technologies, bringing in grants to continue the research that is foundational to our educational and Extension programs. Efforts to sequester and preserve more carbon in our soils through cropping systems has become a key area of focus, and this year Julie Howe, Ph.D., and Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., received notice that they were awarded the largest grant ever approved in Texas A&M AgriLife Research. We also received similar awards as cooperators working in this area.
There are two new faculty members on our team this year: Prem Woli, Ph.D., data agronomist at Overton and Manuel Chavarria, Ph.D., turfgrass Extension specialist at College Station.
Congratulations to Chrissie Segars, Ph.D., and Murilo Maeda, Ph.D., as they transition to new roles in private industry.
Congratulations to our recently promoted faculty members: promoted to Professor were Julie Howe, Ph.D., Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., Muthu Bagavathiannan. Ph.D., and Fugen Dou, Ph.D.,; and promoted to Associate Professor was Scott Nolte, Ph.D.
We are looking forward to our holiday break and the time we will have to spend with family. Please remember our Christmas Open House from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at our home on December 20.
Wishing you all a special season and Happy New Year!
Thanks & Gig 'em!
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| David Baltensperger, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head
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Top News from Soil and Crop Sciences
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Department Celebrates Fall Graduation
Several students in the department are expected to walk the Reed Arena stage this Friday during fall commencement ceremonies that took place December 16-17
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Army veteran finds a new mission in agriculture Former combat engineer, paratrooper Greg Wilson applies experience in war-torn Afghanistan to agriculture. Wilson earned his bachelor’s in agronomy and entomology in 2013 and his master’s in plant breeding in 2017. He is now working as an AgriLife Extension program specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo.
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Faculty, students earn honors at national conference
Several faculty members and students received top awards during this year’s annual meeting of the Tri-Societies held in Baltimore in November. Both faculty and students stepped into leadership positions during the meeting, and the awards included recognition as Fellows, and top posters and research presentations from students.
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Hagler Fellow to collaborate with department
The department welcomes Donald Sparks, Ph.D., who was selected as the 2022 Hagler Institute of Advanced Study Fellow. Sparks will be collaborating with Julie Howe, Ph.D., and members of her lab.
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Developing a public hemp germplasm collection
Texas A&M AgriLife researchers led by Russell Jessup, Ph.D., are working to develop industrial hemp cultivars specifically for Texas that are heat and drought tolerant, as well as meet legal requirements consistently. The cultivars will help to improve the genetic diversity of the current industrial hemp germplasm collection for Texas, which in turn will benefit farmers, as well as the biofuel, fiber and other commodity markets in the future.
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DeLaune recognized as a Texas A&M System Regents Fellow
The Texas A&M University System recently named Texas A&M AgriLife Research professor Paul DeLaune, Ph.D., as one of this year’s Regents Fellows. DeLaune was honored with seven other Texas A&M AgriLife and Texas A&M faculty members.
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Rajan selected to EPA agricultural environmental issues committee
Professor Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., was recently appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee. The committee provides independent policy advice, information and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on a range of environmental issues that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities.
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Congratulations to master’s students Hayden Taylor, Matthew Stewart and Gustavo Camargo Silva on placing the Texas Plant Protection Conference’s poster contest. Taylor won first and Stewart second, with Camargo winning third. Doctoral students Zachary Howard and Ubaldo Torres also placed in the doctoral student category. Howard received first place and Torres received third place.
Silva is advised by Muthu Bagavathiannan, Ph.D., Stewart is co-advised by Regan Noland, Ph.D., and Ben Knight, Ph.D., and Taylor is advised by Scott Nolte, Ph.D. Torres is advised by Bagavathiannan and Howard by Nolte.
The Texas Plant Protection Association also recognized Ronnie Schnell, Ph.D., for serving as the 2021-2022 TPPA president during the conference’s awards luncheon.
Congratulations also go out to doctoral candidate Sarah Kezar, who received TPPA’s Graduate Student Award in the Ph.D. student category. Master’s student Morgan McCulloch also received the Graduate Student Award in the master’s student category.
Kezar is advised by Muthu Bagavathiannan, Ph.D., and McCulloch is advised by Reagan Noland, Ph.D.
A group of faculty and students were on hand during the Brazos Valley Farmers’ Market on December 3 to raise awareness of World Soil Day, which was December 5. Visitors learned about the importance of soils through demonstrations and children’s activities and speaking to our faculty.
Congratulations to Steve Hague, Ph.D., who was named the Director of Undergraduate Research at the university. Hague will be starting his new role on January 1.
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December 2022
- December 15 by 6 p.m.: Grades due for all degree candidates
- December 19 by Noon: Final grades due for all students
- December 16: Graduation
- December 17: Master's and Doctoral Degree Commencement and Hooding Ceremony
January 2023
- January 10-12: Beltwide Cotton Conference, New Orleans
- January 10-11: Blackland Income Growth Conference, Waco
- January 11: Texas A&M AgriLife Superior Service Awards Reception, Hildebrand Center
- January 10: Soil and Crop Department Awards Presentation, Heep 103
- January 12-13: AgriLife Connect/Vice Chancellor Awards, Rudder Theatre
- January 13-18: Plant and Animal Genome Conference, San Diego
- January 16-19: Sports Field Management Association Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah
- January 23-26: Southern Weed Science Society, Baton Rouge
- January 30-31: Turfgrass Producer of Texas Annual Meeting & Trade Show, Bay City Civic Center
February 2023
- February 5-10: Golf Course Superientendents Association of America Conference, Orlando
- February 12-13: Texas Seed Trade Association Annual Conference, Horseshoe Bay Resort
- February 16: Texas A&M Plant Breeding Symposium, Annenberg Pres Conference Center
- February 22-24:Texas Chapter The Wildlife Society, Houston
- February 20-23: Turfgrass Ecology & Management Short Course - English
- February 27-28: Turfgrass Ecology & Management Short Course - Spanish
March 2023
- March 2-5: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington DC:
- March 6: Discover Extension March Cohort, College Station
- March 27-31: Ranch Management University
- March 30-31: Integration Symposium
Don't miss out on upcoming events across our department, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife.
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About the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences is one of the largest such departments in the nation and is preeminent throughout the world. Through our undergraduate and graduate programs, we're training future leaders, poised to advance soil and crop sciences to solve global issues in human, economic and environmental health. Our world-famous faculty have a presence in every county in Texas. Working in partnership with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, their goal is to conduct soil and crop sciences research through trials and experimentation and then transfer that new knowledge to the public.
aglifesciences.tamu.edu | soilcrop.tamu.edu
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