Plant Science and Technology

Two men in blue jeans and work boots place tubing into the ground of a harvested corn field to collect a water sample

Jan. 30, 2024

Grant to expand water testing capabilities for northern Missourians

A USDA grant is funding a new water testing facility at MU’s Lee Greenley Jr. Memorial Farm

Jan. 26, 2024

Three CAFNR faculty awarded MU Research Council Grants

The University of Missouri’s Division of Research, Innovation and Impact awarded the second round of Research Council Grants in December to 16 faculty members, three of which call CAFNR home. The CAFNR faculty awarded and their projects are: Lesa Beamer, Professor, Biochemistry, Obtaining Preliminary Data on Enzyme Structure for CryoEM StudiesGlyphosate Dreams Samniqueka Halsey, Assistant Professor, Natural Resources, Identifying Tick-Borne Pathogen Prevalence Among Prairies in Central Missouri Zipei Zhang, Assistant Professor, Food Science, Development of Novel Bioflim Inactivation Adjuvants to Enhance Food Safety This internal funding of up to $15,000 supports research, scholarship and creative endeavors that lead to book…

asian man in light blue shirt

Jan. 24, 2024

Feng Lin

Lin is a soybean breeder at the Fisher Delta Research, Extension, and Education Center (FD-REEC) focusing on soybean cultivar development and germplasm enhancement (maturity group III and IV). His primary goal is to ensure a steady flow of releasing superior conventional and herbicide tolerant soybean varieties adaptive to Southeast Missouri and Mid-South U.S. His research focuses on the improvement of soybean seed quality traits (high yield potential, high protein, high oleic, etc), pest and disease resistance (SCN, RKN, PRR, etc), abiotic stress tolerance (drought, flooding, salinity, etc), and incorporation of genetic diversities. Education background Ph.D., Purdue University…

Jan. 10, 2024

CAFNR Ag-celerator for Agricultural Technologies (CAAT) winners announced

The CAFNR Ag-celerator for Agricultural Technologies (CAAT) is a translational research funding opportunity for faculty in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).

Three people, one female and two male, posing for a photo.

Dec. 18, 2023

CAFNR Students Selected as Missouri Farm Bureau Ambassadors

Madison Meyer, sophomore plant sciences major, and Caleb Simpson, freshman agribusiness management major, were named the 2024 Missouri Farm Bureau Ambassadors at the 109th Missouri Farm Bureau annual meeting at the Lake of the Ozarks during the first weekend in December.

Dec. 18, 2023

CAFNR Student Award Gilman Scholarship to Study Abroad

Carlee Long, senior in agribusiness management, and Kenny Henk, sophomore in plant sciences, have received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

William Lee (left) and fellow plant science and technology student Felicity Guttmann (right) presented a poster about Agronomy Club at a recent conference.

Dec. 14, 2023

CAFNR Senior Spotlight – Q&A with William Lee

Get to know plant science and technology senior William Lee.

Ivair Valmorbida

Dec. 11, 2023

Ivair Valmorbida

Research areas include: IPM Insect Resistance Management Insect Ecology Applied Entomology Educational background Ph.D., Entomology, Iowa State University  M.S., Agronomy – Entomology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil B.S., Agronomy, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil…

Sushil S. Chhapekar standing outside.

Dec. 4, 2023

Sushil Chhapekar

Dr. Sushil’s key focus is to dissect and characterize the novel loci/genes through gene editing and to develop functional markers to assist genomics-assisted breeding for nematode resistance. His goal is to enhance the understanding of molecular aspects of plant-nematode interaction and translate this knowledge to provide new genetic resources for limiting the impact of nematodes in the northern and southern regions of the U.S. Throughout his research discoveries, he develops genomes, transcriptome, miRNAome for important stress and nutraceutical traits in major crop species and characterized the gene functions. He is implementing high throughput technologies including single-cell RNA-sequencing and gene editing…

Michelle Brooks

Dec. 4, 2023

Michelle Brooks