Texas Tech’s Department of Plant & Soil Science launched its 2026 Student Research Symposium this month, featuring 44 oral presentations and posters from both undergraduate and graduate research scholars. The academic unit’s annual program was held Thursday (Apr. 23) at the Texas Tech Dairy Barn.
'Our goal is to continue shaping the symposium into an event that is truly led by students for their fellow students, with faculty mentors providing guidance and support.'
“Our goal is to continue shaping the symposium into an event that is truly led by students for their fellow students, with faculty mentors providing guidance and support,” said Rosalyn Shim, symposium coordinator and Associate Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics within the Department of Plant & Soil Science.
“By placing students in leadership roles, from decision-making and coordination to communication and event management, we are intentionally providing leadership training that goes beyond traditional academic preparation,” she said. “Students oversee key aspects of the symposium, including managing abstract submissions, developing the program, coordinating judges, creating evaluation criteria for presentations, and executing the logistical components of the event.”
Separately, Shim added that the symposium has long served as a platform for students at different stages of their programs to present their research and receive valuable feedback from peers and experts. With graduate students overseeing the organization of the symposium, the event not only showcases student research but also serves as a training ground where students build confidence, accountability, and essential leadership and professional skills such as project management, problem-solving, teamwork, and collaboration, preparing them for future careers.
Among the winning PSS students presenting research posters or presentations were:
Poster presentations:
First Place: Shraddha Tomar (Ph.D. | Horticulture) How Rootstocks Influence Grapevine Responses to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
Second Place: Vaishnavi Deshmukh (MS | Plant Molecular Biology) Functional Analysis of an Inflorescence Development Gene Involved in Sorghum Spikelet Patterning and Fertility
Third Place: Avinash Dhar (Ph.D. | Environmental Microbiome Sciences) Influence of Local Sources on Grassland Aerobiome Structure and Function
Oral presentations:
First Place: Md. Monjurul Huda (Ph.D. | Plant Genetics, Breeding & Biotechnology) Exogenous Dormancy in Upland Cotton Is Driven by Seed Coat Structural and Compositional Variation
Second Place: Anagha Sunil (MS | Fiber & Biopolymers) Natural Nanofibers, Smarter Sprays: Chitin-Stabilized Emulsions
Third Place: Erin Fielding (MS | Crop Science) Row Spacing Effects on Dryland Cotton Productivity
Six Department of Plant & Soil Science students were core organizers for this year’s symposium. They include:
- Anjal Nainabasti, a master’s student from Nepal
- Megan Singletary, a doctoral student from Mission, Texas
- Priyambada Khadka, a master’s student from Nepal
- Hamza Fokar, a master’s student from Lubbock, Texas
- Elizabeth Brzozowske, a master’s student from Plano, Texas
- Taylor Smith, a master’s student from New Home, Texas
Other Department of Plant & Soil Science students presenting oral presentations and posters at the symposium by topic included:
Poster Presentations
- Amir Shahin Shamsabadi (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymer) High-pressure Carbon Dioxide Treatment for Surface Area Enhancement of Dried Cellulose Gels from Cotton Linters
- Andrea Caprini Sagiorato (MS |Weed Science) Can Reduced-Input Herbicide Programs Control Palmer Amaranth in West Texas Cotton?
- Chakri Voruganti (Ph.D. | Crop Science) Integrative Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Responses Reveal Chilling Stress Mitigation by a Lignin-Based Molecular Heater
- Diego Arcelay-Sanchez (MS | Soil science) Impacts of Wet and Dry Cycles on a Playa Lake's Soil Carbon and Microbial Community
- Erin Fielding (MS | Crop Science) Effects of Weed Control Timing on Conventional and Wide-Row Cotton Production
- Faith Alonge (MS | Soil science) Assessing the Efficiency of Wastewater-Derived Struvite in Enhancing Soil Phosphorus Dynamics Using Soil Incubation Assays
- John Kohler (MS | Weed Science) Residual Control of Palmer Amaranth with Pyroxasulfone-Coated Fertilizer in Cotton
- Matthew Woolard (Ph.D. | Weed Science) Do WSSA Group 15 Herbicides, Topramezone, and L-Glufosinate Tank-Mixtures Increase Axant Flex Cotton Response?
- Md Shahabuddin Ahmed (MS | Crop science) Reduction of seed coat nep formation and improvement of fiber quality in drought-stressed cotton via acetic acid and ethanol-priming technology
- Nilesh Sagwal (Ph.D. | Agronomy) Phenotyping Texas cotton cultivars for heat and drought stress tolerance using field-based heat tents
- Pranav Kumar (Ph.D. | Microbial Ecology) Abiotic Stress Influences Microbial Community Assembly in the Rhizosphere of Boreal Tree Species
- Sai Krishna Lekkala (Ph.D.| Plant Biotechnology / Plant Transformation) Comparative Regeneration Capacity of Modern Cotton Cultivars and Coker 312 Using RUBY-Based Transformation
- Seth Cope (BS | Crop & Forages) Development of Panicle-RootScan3D: A Platform for Integrated Phenotyping of Root and Panicle Architecture in Sorghum
- Shishir Kanti Talukder (Ph.D. | Crop Physiology) Integrating semi-hydroponic phenotyping and genome-wide association approaches to dissect salt tolerance in cotton and sorghum
- Srijana Bharati (MS | Plant & Microbial Ecology) In vitro screening of Vanilla planifolia genotypes for PEG-induced osmotic stress tolerance: physiological and biochemical responses
- Taylor Smith (MS | Soil science) Impact of Compost Applications on Soil Microbiomes and Cotton Productivity
Oral Presentations
- Amir Shahin Shamsabadi (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymer) High-pressure carbon dioxide treatment for surface area enhancement of dried cellulose gels from cotton linters
- Anjana Chakkalakkal Sabu (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymer) Systematic Isolation of Biopolymers Toward Complete Sorghum Stover Valorization and Multifunctional Product Development
- Charles Naapoal (MS | Crop Science / Peanut Breeding & Genetics) Dual-Trait Selection in Peanut: Combining Drought Tolerance with A. flavus Resistance
- Christian Stephens (Ph.D. | Plant Genetics, Breeding, & Biotechnology) Applied Breeding Scheme for Improving Yield-Related Traits in Texas-Bred Rice Cultivar Presidio Utilizing Landrace ST12
- Derseh Yilie Limeneh (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymer) Sustainable Biopolymer Fractionation from Semi-Arid Agricultural Feedstocks
- Emily Kuykendall (MS | Horticulture) Varietal Differences of Pomegranates (Punica grantium) Grown on the Texas High Plains
- Faisal Rahman (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymers) Repurposing Cottonseed Protein Isolate for the Development of Enhanced Alginate-Based Hydrogels and Cryogels
- Gaganjot Singh Sodhi (MS | Weed Science / Agronomy) Evaluating Sorghum-Cotton Rotation Effects on Weed Pressure and Water Use Efficiency
- Houra Farkhondehnia (Ph.D. | Fiber & Biopolymer) Effect of Surface Charge and Drying Method on Dye Adsorption of Regenerated Cellulose Beads Prepared from Hydrolyzed Cotton Linter Using NMMO
- Madeline Jordan-Hadaway (MS | Entomology) Host Plants of Pollen Specialists in Texas High Plains Cotton Agroecosystems: A Regional Assessment
- Mahjabin Ferdaous Mim (Ph.D. | Soil Science) Soil Microbiome Variability Across Crop Rotational Stages in a Semi-Arid Producer Field
- Manpreet Singh (Ph.D. | Soil Science) Simulating Vadose Zone Hydrophysical and Thermal Processes to Evaluate Their Potential Effects on Beneficial Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Communities in Semiarid Agroecosystems
- Mayank Pratap Singh Bangari (Ph.D. | Crop science) Biomechanical and Geometric Dynamics Determining Stem Lodging in Grain Sorghum
- Md Mehedi Hasan (Ph.D. | Entomology) Seasonality of Decomposer Beetle Guilds in the Texas High Plains Cotton Agroecosystem
- Md Mobinul Haque Adon (Ph.D. | Biopolymer) Extracting anthocyanins from Hi-A™ corn cobs: A Valorization Approach Via Optimized Methods and Characterization
- Muskan Tiwari (MS | Crop Sciences) Transcriptomic Analysis of Arachis hypogaea to Identify Genes Conferring Resistance to Meloidogyne arenaria
- Paolo Tagaloguin (Ph.D. | Plant Genetics, Breeding & Biotechnology) Wild Rice Introgressions Reveal Regulatory and Epigenetic Hubs Underlying Salt Tolerance in Rice
- Reshma Panackal Shibu (Ph.D. | Fibers & Biopolymers) Scaling Strength: Nanochitin for Next-Gen Composites
- Sandesh Bhatta (Ph.D. | Soil Science) Nitrogen Transformations in Soil Following Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Application
- Seth Cope (BS | Crop & Forages) Development of Panicle-RootScan3D: A Platform for Integrated Phenotyping of Root and Panicle Architecture in Sorghum
- Shishir Kanti Talukder (Ph.D. | Crop Physiology) Metabolic Signatures Differentiate Early-Stage Chilling Responses in Field-Grown Sorghum and Maize
- Teja Saddapalli (Ph.D. | Crop Science) Polished Desalinated Produced Water as an Alternative Irrigation Source for Crop Production
CONTACT: Krishna Jagadish, Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-7953 or kjagadish.sv@ttu.edu
0424M26 | PSS CORE ORGANIZERS GROUP PHOTO: (L to R) Anjal Nainabasti, Megan Singletary, Priyambada Khadka, Hamza Fokar, Elizabeth Brzozowske and Taylor Smith