Alondra Cruz, Ph.D.

Office Location
Goddard Basement | Room 007C

Education
Ph.D. | Plant & Soil Science | Texas Tech University | 2025
M.S. | Sustainable Tropical Agriculture | Zamorano University | 2022
B.A. | Environmental Science | Florida State University | 2018

Dissertation Summary
My dissertation focused on evaluating forage sorghum and pearl millet as sustainable alternative forages that can be grown in drought and nutrient limited environments. I focused on analyzing how abiotic stresses and cultural management practices affected the nutritional value and accumulation of antinutritional factors, like dhurrin and nitrates, under grazing and silage scenarios.By prioritizing pearl millet and sorghum forages and adopting innovative approaches, we can work towards ensuring agricultural sustainability in water-limited regions like the Texas High Plains.

Areas of Expertise
Forage Science & Nutrition
Integrated Crop-Forage-Livestock Systems
Forage Sorghum
Sustainable Agriculture
Drought Tolerant Agriculture Product Systems

Publications
Cruz, A., Saini, D. K., Aviles, D.F, Norris, A., Jagadish, S. V. K. (2024). Sorghum and pearl millet as sustainable alternative forage options for water limited environments: Opportunities and challenges. Advances in Agronomy. LINK

Cruz, A., Bangari, M.P.S, Aviles, D.A., Impa, S.M., Ostmeyer, T.J., Ritchie, G., Hayes, C., Norris, A.B., Jagadish, S.V.K (2025). Assessment of biomass and nutritive value of warm season annual forages, including prussic acid free sorghum. Plant Physiology Reports. LINK

Cruz, A., Bangari, M.P.S., Saini, D.K., Ichinose, Y., Aviles, D.F., Hayes, C., Ritchie, G., Norris, A.B., Jagadish, S.V.K. Productivity and nutritive value of alternative forages including prussic-acid free sorghum under varying irrigation and N levels. Submitted to Field Crops Research. Kumari, A., Cruz, A., Dhiman, P., Impa, S.M., Tuinstra, M., Patil, G., Jagadish, S.V.K. (2025). Phenylpropanoid derived flavonoid biosynthesis pathway compensates for abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in dhurrin-free forage sorghum. Environmental and Experimental Botany. LINK

Aviles, D.F., Cruz, A., Cooper-Norris, C.E., Crossland, W.L., Jagadish, S.V.K., Norris, A.B. (2025). Assessment of alternative warm-season annual grasses for forage production in water-limited environments. Grasses. LINK

Advisor
Dr. Caitlyn Cooper-Norris