This story was first published in the Davis College NewsCenter. See the original article here.
Texas Tech University's Department of Plant & Soil Science launched its 2023 Plant & Soil Science Student Research Symposium this month, featuring more than 30 oral presentations and posters from both undergraduate and graduate research scholars. The academic unit's annual program was held Wednesday (Apr. 19) in the Dairy Barn. Among the winners were:
Graduate Poster Finalists
- Megan Mills (1st Place) Axant Flex cotton response to Topramezone in the Texas High Plains (M.S. Weed Science)
- Lauren Selph (2nd Place) Crop rotation and cover crop effects on soil moisture in a transitional organic system (Ph.D. Soil Science)
- Arjun Kafle (3rd Place) Effect of deficit irrigation and biochar application on growth, physiology, yield, and water productivity of cucumber in West Texas (Ph.D. Horticulture)
Graduate Oral Presentation Finalists
- Lauren Selph (1st Place) Crop rotation and cover crop effects on soil moisture in a transitional organic system (Ph.D. Soil Science)
- Megan Mills (2nd Place) Axant Flex cotton response to Topramezone in the Texas High Plains (M.S. Weed Science)
- Shivani Kathi (Tie 3rd Place) Increasing vitamin C in arugula and broccoli microgreens (Ph.D. Horticulture)
- Lois Nwoko (Tie 3rd Place) An improved method for protoplast isolation and gene-editing from soybean root, callus and transgenic hairy-roots (M.S. IGCAST)
Undergraduate Poster Finalists
- Christian Stephens (1st Place) Marker-assisted introgression of QTLs regulating number of grains and primary branching in rice towards yield improvement (B.S. Plant Breeding & Genetics)
- Nick Wilson (Tie 2nd Place) Effects of seed technology and microbial inoculums on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization in cotton (B.S. Crop Science)
- Mei Gill (Tie 2nd Place) Soil physical quality indicators as affected by long-term pasture management practices (B.S. Soil Science)
Other Department of Plant & Soil Science students participating in the annual research symposium included:
- Raavi Arora (Ph.D. Soil Science) Influence of legume inclusion on greenhouse gas emissions from pasture systems in the Southern High Plains of Texas
- Preetaman Bajwa (M.S. Crop Science) Effect of planting dates and seeding densities on growth and yield of Industrial hemp in West Texas
- Alethia Brito-Bello (Ph.D. IGCAST) Green microalgae as a source of biopesticides to improve agricultural practices
- Sharandeep Chahal (M.S. Plant Ecology & Conservation) Nutrient niches of orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF)
- Katherine Coyle (M.S. Soil Science) Investigating adsorption capacities of WWTP products and their potential use as fertilizer
- Leonidas D'Agostino (Ph.D. IGCAST) Developing single nucleus transcriptome technology for the study of soybean root nodulation
- Hector-Rogelio Najera-Gonzalez (Ph.D.IGCAST) Development of a chemical switch to improve phosphorus assimilation and usage efficiency in plants
- Cary Hicks (B.S. Crop Science) Investigating a putative immune receptor specific to grapevine fanleaf virus strain GHu infection and symptom development
- Madeline Jordan (B.S. Horticulture) Genetic variation of stomatal density in corn
- Sanjida Keya (Ph.D. IGCAST) Exogenous salicylic acid helps to mitigate saline stress in cotton
- Adil Khan (Ph.D. IGCAST) Transcriptome analysis of high-temperature stress in sorghum seed development
- Arjun Ojha Kshetry (Ph.D. IGCAST) Tissue-culture-free genetic transformation and gene-editing in plants
- Zhiyuan Liu (Ph.D. IGCAST) Develop PACE markers for waxy-sorghum Marker-Assisted Selection
- Mylea Lovell (Ph.D. IGCAST) Synthetic tetraploidization as a strategy to face abiotic stresses in crops
- Megan Mills (M.S. Weed Science) Palmer amaranth control with Isoxaflutole applied preplant incorporated or preemergence in cotton
- Bandana Osti (M.S. Plant Breeding & Genetics) Impact of cold stress on sphingolipid and glycerol lipid profile of upland cotton during seed germination (Gossypium hirsutum L.)
- FNU Pallavi (Ph.D. IGCAST) Deciphering the dynamics of sugarcane aphid resistance mechanism in sorghum
- Aqeela Sehrish (Ph.D. Horticulture) Efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatment under water-stress in cotton seedlings
- Lauren Selph (Ph.D. Soil Science) Allelopathic cover crops for palmer amaranth control in a semi-arid organic system
- Hopi Avinash Shrestha (Ph.D. Plant Breeding & Genetics) Novel genetic variation for reduced glanding identified in the cotton landrace
- Jonah Trevino (Ph.D. Horticulture) Evaluating community garden signage and elements
- Koy Stanley, Aliah Cardenas, Victoria Winkler (B.S. Crop Science/Soil Science) Temperature and flooding impacts on nutrient release from soils treated with swine waste