Stories
April 1, 2024
Mizzou Plant Sciences students see success at the National Collegiate Landscape Competition
For the first time, seven Mizzou students competed in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) conducted through the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP).
April 1, 2024
Biochemistry and Plant Sciences Students win awards at 2024 Midwest American Society of Plant Biologists Meeting
Four CAFNR undergraduates won awards at the 2024 Midwest American Society of Plant Biologists Meeting held at Purdue University.
March 14, 2024
Get to know Soyon Park
Park is an assistant professor in the Division of Plant Science & Technology.
March 5, 2024
2024 CAFNR Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program Winners Announced
The third batch of proposals funded by CAFNR’s Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program has been announced. The Joy of Discovery Seed Grant Program supports nascent, collaborative, multi transdisciplinary research with the goal of developing a competitive proposal for federal funding. The following proposals were selected (listed by the PI, Co-PI/s and title of the project): Mandy Bish (Plant Science and Technology); Characterization of Soil Microbial Communities Across Ecoregions as a Step TowardsImproving Soil Health Indicators Gary Stacey (Plant Science and Technology), collaborator from Yeshiva University; Development of Novel Calcium Sensors Chung-Ho Lin (School of Natural Resources), Isa Kupke (School of Natural…
Feb. 27, 2024
Growing a legacy: Leading the way in soybean breeding
Over the past several decades, the soybean breeding program at Mizzou, which is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ (CAFNR) Division of Plant Science and Technology, has emerged as a leader in the field. “The breeding programs at MU both here in Columbia and at the Fisher Delta Research Center are really known as the leaders in conventional and herbicide resistant cultivar development as well as understanding the genetic architecture of seed composition traits, soybean cyst nematode resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance among others” said Andrew Scaboo, assistant professor and soybean breeder in the Division of…
Feb. 27, 2024
CAFNR soybean breeding team publishes groundbreaking discovery in fight against the crop’s biggest pest threat
Soybean cyst nematodes are small, parasitic worms that live within the soil and attack nearby plants, and they are a particular problem for soybean farmers in Missouri and across the nation. There has mostly been only one genetic mechanism used to fight these pests for the last four decades, but a Mizzou soybean breeder’s team have unlocked a key to creating a soybean plant that holds the power of increased resistance within its DNA. “Soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) are the number one pest in soybeans,” said Andrew Scaboo, assistant professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology and co-leader…
Feb. 22, 2024
Plant Sciences student Demi White selected as MizzouForward Undergraduate Research Training Grant Recipient
White, a junior majoring in plant sciences with a minor in microbiology, will be conducting an independent research project under the mentorship of Soyon Park.
Feb. 21, 2024
Postdoctoral fellow spotlight: Q&A with Ranjita Sinha
What is your research focus? My research is focused on understanding the physiological and molecular responses of plants to different combinations of abiotic stresses. While growing in field, crops are frequently challenged with various stresses, simultaneously or sequentially, negatively impacting overall yield and farmer’s earnings. I have been studying the impact of stresses that are predominantly present in fields, such as salt, heat, soil pollutants, high-light, drought, and their different combinations on crops such as rice, maize, soybean, and model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana. I am working to decipher the molecular responses of plants to stress combinations. Combinations of different…
Feb. 19, 2024
CAFNR welcomes new faculty — Spring 2024
Five new faculty members join CAFNR for the spring 2024 semester
Feb. 2, 2024
Graduate Student Spotlight: Q&A with Angelica Crosby
What is your research focus? I will be studying nutrient management in cotton grown in a peanut-cotton rotation. Why does this field interest you? Peanuts are still relatively new to the state, but we are seeing a lot of our cotton producers take interest and including them in their field rotations already. We know that peanuts as a leguminous crop host nitrogen-fixing bacteria and it is important for our growers to know how that could be affecting their cotton production in terms of fertilizer application. Why did you decide to come to Mizzou? I have actually worked for the MU…