Stories
Oct. 6, 2025
Jeff Barizon Named Driver to Distinction
Barizon was presented with the award on Oct. 6, 2025.
Sep. 25, 2025
Q&A with Emily Althoff
Emily Althoff is an assistant extension professor and the state extension specialist of urban entomology.
Sep. 10, 2025
CAFNR welcomes new faculty for Fall 2025
CAFNR welcomes 12 new faculty members.
Sep. 8, 2025
Michelle Brooks Named Driver to Distinction
CAFNR Vice Chancellor and Dean Christopher Daubert recognized Instructor Michelle Brooks with the CAFNR Driver to Distinction award during a surprise visit to her classroom Sept. 4, 2025. Heike Bücking, director of the Division of Plant Science and Technology; Debbie Finke, professor and associate director of the Division of Plant Science and Technology; Vicki Bryan, coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group; and David Braun, director of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, joined Daubert for the surprise. Brooks was honored for her years of service to the Mizzou plant community’s research and teaching needs.
Aug. 20, 2025
Poplar tree discovery could help shape the future of energy and biomaterials
A new study, led by researchers at Mizzou, has uncovered how poplar trees can naturally adjust a key part of their wood chemistry based on changes in their environment. This discovery could help create better biofuels and other sustainable products.
Aug. 14, 2025
Q&A with Summer Welcome leader Dylan Hoyt
Dylan Hoyt, a sophomore from Martinsburg, Missouri, majoring in plant sciences, served as a Summer Welcome Leader.
Aug. 12, 2025
Biochar improves soil health for cotton production, study confirms
A team of researchers led by the University of Missouri is giving new purpose to an established material — biochar, a charcoal-like substance made from leftover plant waste — and showing how it can address challenges facing today’s cotton growers.
Aug. 12, 2025
Drones can more efficiently measure the health of corn plants, study finds
Researchers at the University of Missouri have found a mix of drones and AI can help farmers measure the health of their corn more efficiently.
Aug. 11, 2025
Message from Heike Bücking
Dear Alumni and Friends, Welcome to the Fall semester. I am delighted to share with you some of the remarkable achievements in 2024 from the Division of Plant Science and Technology (DPST). Our faculty and staff continue to provide learning and leadership opportunities for our students in classrooms, research laboratories, field, and international settings. Our mission is to keep students on track towards graduation, and to provide them with high quality education and the foundation for life-long career success. Recent investments into a new teaching space enabled us to equip a new digital teaching lab with computers and software packages…
July 30, 2025
Researchers identify key survival strategy for soybeans during heat and drought
María Ángeles Peláez-Vico, Ron Mittler and Ranjita Sinha It’s a hot, dry summer afternoon, and the skies offer no relief for a field of soybeans. But within those green leaves, these plants are quietly fighting back. Researchers at the University of Missouri recently discovered that soybeans have a natural defense strategy — called differential transpiration — that helps protect the plant’s reproductive tissues (flowers and seed pods) during extreme weather conditions. Think of it as nature’s version of targeted air conditioning. Ron Mittler “Soybeans keep their stomata — tiny pores used for plant breathing and cooling by evaporation — open…