Research Areas
The faculty and staff in the department are involved in research projects
in several areas. One important part of research in the department
is student experience. Undergraduate and graduate students work with
faculty members on research projects. During this time, the students
are able to gain hands-on experience in their field of study which is a
fundamental part of education. Many faculty members also maintain
laboratories specific to their areas of research. The information
on the labs and ongoing research projects can be found below organized
by research area.
Bioenergy Crops, Dr. Michael Collins
The primary goal of the feedstocks research of the Sustainable
Energy Research Center at Mississippi State University is to develop
agronomically, economically, and environmentally sustainable cropping systems
for production, harvesting, and handling of biomass crops in Mississippi. The
crops being studied include: switchgrass, castor, giant miscanthus, sunflower
and various other lignocellulosic and oilseed crops.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/pssfeedstocks/
Cotton Breeding, Dr. Ted Wallace
Dr. Wallace’s research goals include: a) development of high yielding good
fiber quality cotton lines from a wide source of germplasm,
b) selection of nectariless genotypes that produce good yields when grown
under damaging levels of plant bug populations, and c) participation
in the University cotton variety trial and coordination of a program
that allows public cotton breeders to evaluate advanced breeding lines
over a wide range of environments.
http://cottonrbtn.com/
Cotton Germplasm Enhancement, Dr. Jack C. McCarty
Dr. McCarty’s primary area of research is germplasm enhancement and genetic
improvement of upland cotton. His research includes evaluation and utilization
of useful traits from photoperiodic primitive cotton accessions.
USDA-ARS, Genetics and Precision Agriculture Research Unit
www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=64-06-15-15
Environmental Plant Physiology, Climate Change and Crop Modeling Dr.
K. Raja Reddy
Dr. Reddy and his team are working to understand mechanisms of plant responses
to several environmental factors (temperature, atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration, ultraviolet-B radiation, water deficits, nutrition etc.)
at the biochemical, leaf, and canopy level in the controlled environments
to observations of whole systems in the field. Also, he is trying to advance
the development of mechanistic crop simulation models and remote sensing
algorithms to understand crop physiology and evaluate crop management strategies
and physiological traits for genetic yield improvement. Part of the work
includes applying modeling tools for crop production management, and policy
decision of the impact of climate perturbations on crop production.
http://www.spar.msstate.edu/
Environmental Soil Management Laboratory, Dr.
Michael Cox
Dr. Cox studies site specific soil management issues with the objective
of increasing the efficiency of crop production practices while minimizing
their potential for adverse environmental effects. His research also
involves evaluating Best Management Practices to reduce nutrient and
sediment movement from food and fiber production areas to adjacent water
bodies.
Row Crops, Dr. Normie Buehring
Dr. Buehring is currently working with conservation tillage and row crop
production management systems.
http://msucares.com/nmrec/personnelfiles/index.html
Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture, Dr.
Richard L. Harkess
Dr. Harkess’s research is focused on greenhouse and woody ornamental plants
including studying flowering, new crop development, and production technology
and techniques.
http://www2.msstate.edu/~harkessr/research.html
Landscape Ornamental Performance, Rose Cultivar Evaluation, Cut Flower
Production Dr. R. Crofton Sloan
Dr. Sloan is evaluating the effect of rose rootstock on rose cultivar performance,
the long term effect of soil amendments on plant growth and soil properties,
rose cultivars and field grown cut flower production.
http://msucares.com/nmrec/index.html
Ornamental crop production, Dr. Guihong Bi
Dr. Bi’s research focuses on improving the production efficiency of ornamental
crops and expanding knowledge of new crop production practices for the
state's expanding green industry.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/cmrec/truckcrops.htm
Propagation and Production of Ornamental Nursery Crops, Dr. Eugene
K. (Gene) Blythe
Dr. Blythe’s research is centered on applied production research to support
an expanding ornamental horticulture industry in Mississippi and the Gulf
States region. His research focus includes commercial plant propagation,
nursery production systems, and evaluation of ornamental plants for performance
in specific regions, along with the application of nontraditional statistical
methods in horticultural research.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/crec/smbes.html
Vegetable Crop Production, Dr. William (Bill) Evans
Dr. Evan’s focus areas include crop quality, soils and substrates, nutrients/fertility,
waste utilization, and organic production. His laboratory and cooperative
activities currently include carbon and photosynthesis studies, pigment
determination (lycopene, chlorophyll, etc.), and soil and plant nutrient
extractions and analyses.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/cmrec/truckcrops.htm
Aquatic Weed Management, Dr. John D. Madsen
Dr. Madsen and his fellow researchers are studying the biology, ecology,
and management of invasive aquatic weeds in Mississippi, the Mid-South,
and across the country. His studies include the life history and
phenology of established and emerging aquatic weed species, methods to
detect and monitor aquatic weeds, field assessment of management programs,
and development and evaluation of existing and new management techniques.
http://www.gri.msstate.edu/lwa/invspec.php
Forage Crops, Highway Rights of Way, Terrestrial Invasive
Weeds, and Turf, Dr. John Byrd
Dr. Byrd is developing economically feasible management strategies for
weeds in these environments.
Rice Weed Management Dr., Jason A. Bond
Dr. Bonds primary research areas include development of economic rice weed
management programs, characterization of the interactions between rice
and weed species, and investigation of rice-based cropping systems. He
is also working to develop systems for management of diseases and insects
in rice.
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/drec/
Soybean Weed Management, Site-Specific Weed Management, Dr.
David Shaw
Weed scientists from six states, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska,
Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, will conduct similar studies over a four-year
period at on-farm sites to determine the viability of various cropping
management strategies for the sustainability of Roundup Ready programs
as an effective tool for weed control.
More Research Programs
Genomics
Mississippi Genome Exploration Laboratory (MGEL), Dr. Daniel Peterson
MGEL is a diverse group of scholars/scientists interested in learning more
about the genomes and genetics of plants (and a few fungi and animals
as well).
http://www.mgel.msstate.edu/about.htm
Specialty Crops
Mississippi Specialty Crops Research Program, Dr. Valtcho Jeliazkov
Dr. Jeliazkov and his fellow scientists are developing a program on specialty
crops and value-added products in Mississippi. Their group is evaluating
medicinal and aromatic crops (MAC) as new cash crops for the region.
They are also developing cropping systems with oilseed crops for bioenergy/biodiesel
production. The overall goal of the program is to increase profitability
of cropping systems in Mississippi and the southern U.S.
http://www.msstate.edu/courses/vj40/home.html
For more information about the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences see
the