Stories
April 17, 2024
Harpreet Kaur recieves Distinguished Dissertation Award at Celebration of Excellence
Harpreet Kaur has received the William R. Lamberson Distinguished Dissertation award. She completed her Ph.D. in Plant, Insect and Microbial Sciences in 2023. Harpreet Kaur Portions of Kaur’s dissertation, “Drainage Water Management Practices Affect Water Quality, Soil Properties, and Crop Production,” have been submitted to 11 journal publications, and five of those have been published in reputable journals. Additionally, Kaur has presented her research to national and international groups. In addition to her Ph.D., Kaur completed an M.S. in statistics simultaneously, giving her a deeper understanding of statistical analysis of her findings. “I have been impressed by her academic achievements…
April 12, 2024
Soyon Park receives Early Investigator Research Award from College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Soyon Park, assistant professor of plant science and technology, has received the Early Investigator Research Award. Trained in plant molecular biology, Park’s expertise lies in chlorophyll degradation, plant-agrobacteria interactions, and host-parasitic plant interactions. Her research, published in prestigious journals like Plant Cell and Molecular Cell, focuses on understanding host and parasitic plant interactions, particularly with parasitic plants like Cuscuta and Phelipanche, aiming to devise effective control strategies to enhance crop yield. Notably, her lab developed a groundbreaking Cuscuta transformation method, bypassing the time-consuming tissue culture process. This achievement led to a $2 million NSF proposal with Park as the principal…
April 11, 2024
Groundbreaking for new building named for former Sen. Roy Blunt held at Fisher Delta Research, Extension and Education Center
Robert Cook, Don Rone, Paul T. Combs, David Haggard, Patrick McHaney, Aaron Brandt, Gary Wheeler, Chris Chinn, Jason Bean, Roy Blunt, Keith Holloway, Shelly Fisher, Trent Haggard, Charlie Kruse, Dave Blakemore, Mun Choi, Justin Rone, Rob Kallenbach, Chad Higgins, Shibu Jose and Chris Daubert. A groundbreaking was held Friday, April 5, for the Roy Blunt Soil Testing and Research Laboratory at the University of Missouri’s Fisher Delta Research, Extension and Education Center (FD-REEC) in Portageville, Mo. “As a longtime Delta Day attendee and Delta Center advocate, I’m pleased to have been part of spearheading a new facility that will support…
April 2, 2024
Plant Science and Technology professor named to Soil Health Institute board of directors
Rob Myers, extension professor in the Division of Plant Science and Technology, was announced as a new member of the Soil Health Institute board of directors. Rob Myers The Soil Health Institute is a global non-profit with a mission of safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils through scientific research and advancement. The Institute brings together leaders in science and industry to conduct research and empower farmers and landowners to adopt soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. Myers appointment was effective April 1.
April 2, 2024
Bethany Bedeker Named Driver to Distinction
CAFNR Vice Chancellor and Dean Christopher Daubert surprised Bethany Bedeker, cover crop outreach manager, with the Driver to Distinction award at the faculty and staff meeting March 21, 2024, for her tireless work engaging with farmers as part of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture.
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
Wyss is the Student Success Communicator in CAFNR Marketing & Communications
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…