Charles Simpson honored for lifetime dedication to peanuts

7Jul

Story by Kay Ledbetter

For 54 years, Charles Simpson, Ph.D., has been making a difference in the peanut products America eats – and on July 1, he was honored by the American Peanut Council with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the USA Peanut Congress in New Orleans.

Simpson, peanut germplasm explorer and breeder for Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Stephenville, was recognized “for his tireless efforts in peanut germplasm collection and preservation.”

Charles Simpson, peanut germplasm explorer, breeder and Texas A&M AgriLife Research emeritus (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Simpson, a professor emeritus in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences plant breeding program, retired in 2003 but still maintains an extensive germplasm collection at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville.

“This award is the most prestigious honor in the industry,” said Shelly Nutt, executive director and leadership in the Texas Peanut Producers Board, who nominated Simpson. “Dr. Simpson has been recognized internationally for his efforts in collection preservation, maintenance, distribution and use of wild and exotic germplasm.

“Still today, he remains one of the leading experts in wild species peanuts and his accomplishments have opened the possibility of using the vast reservoir of genes in wild peanuts to improve cultivated peanuts,” Nutt said in her nomination.

Simpson still diligently “volunteers” daily at the greenhouses to preserve and utilize the peanut collection, mentor colleagues and students, and provide expert advice to industry partners, said Bill McCutchen, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife center director at Stephenville.

“Dr. Simpson is a treasure of knowledge for the industry and very deserving of this award,” McCutchen said. “Even almost 20 years after his retirement, he actively remains involved in maintaining the collection here, making him the foremost authority in the U.S. with respect to collection, evaluation and preservation of genetic resources of peanuts.”

The Texas Peanut Producers board has pledged funds to the Charles Simpson Endowment for the AgriLife Research peanut collection, one of the largest, most diverse collections worldwide, and can no longer be replicated, McCutchen said.

A lifetime dedicated to peanuts

Simpson has spent over 50 years serving the peanut industry as a breeder, successfully transferring at minimum seven different disease resistances as well as high oil content into over 23 cultivars and an additional seven germplasm releases.

One of his major accomplishments over his long career occurred when his program released the first root-knot nematode-resistant peanut cultivar created from a wild species peanut introgression. He introduced resistance genes from wild species collected in east-central Bolivia in 1980 to address root-knot nematode, a serious threat to peanut production in parts of Texas.

He released COAN, the first root-knot resistant peanut cultivar in the world, as well as Webb, the first high oleic nematode-resistant peanut released by the AgriLife Research program. The gene introgression for nematode resistance was made from a complex hybrid involving three wild species peanuts.

But Simpson might be most renowned in peanut breeding circles for his lifelong passion for collecting and preserving wild and cultivated Arachis germplasm. His extensive germplasm-gathering forays have included trips to Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

In 1980, Simpson assumed the role as co-leader of the Arachis – flowering plants in the pea family – germplasm project and traveled annually until 2004. His desire to collect and preserve the peanut species carried him to remote and inaccessible areas of South America on over 28 collection expeditions, his nomination stated.

His work was funded by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, a part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. Through his collection trips, Simpson and his colleagues collected over 1,800 wild peanut accessions, over 5,500 cultivated landraces and over 500 Rhizomatous accessions.

Charles Simpson, Ph.D., stands among his collection in the greenhouse. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by John Cason)

Today, his research continues to influence. In a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, Plant Breeding Partnerships: Genomics-Assisted Introgression and Molecular Dissection of Resistance to Pests and Diseases in Peanut, the breeding team will transfer novel wild species alleles from a population developed by Simpson into a set of back-crossed breeding lines sharing a common, popular genetic background. Each possesses a small segment of chromosomal DNA inherited from the wild species parents.

Sharing knowledge for future generations

Simpson has been author or co-author on 22 species descriptions and was a leader in translating the peanut monograph describing 69 of the 81 wild species into English. In addition, he was co-editor of subsequent supplemental publications with new species descriptions.

He also has authored or co-authored 133 refereed journal articles, 179 scientific presentations, 131 popular press articles and 19 book chapters.

“I am deeply grateful for this recognition of the work I have loved doing for the past 53 years,” Simpson said. “There are no plans on my part to stop doing the work to aid the younger generation in utilizing the valuable plant collection we have assembled. The collection will be the lifeblood of peanut improvement for many years into the future.”

Student Receives Senior Merit Award

22Apr

The Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences congratulates the outstanding students receiving 2021 Senior Merit Awards. Presented by the College for over 50 years, these awards recognize the best of the best graduating seniors.

Walker Crane

Walker Crane

Walker Crane is a Plant & Environmental Soil Science major. In his free time, Walker enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing golf. Upon graduation this May, he will continue his education with a Masters in Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Congratulations Walker on your hard work and dedication!

Baldi, Hague, Ibrahim receive Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence

14Jan

Congratulations to Heather Baldi, LeAnn Hague, and Amir Ibrahim, Ph.D. who all received Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence this year. These awards recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions displayed by faculty, students and staff members across Texas A&M AgriLife.

Teaching Awards

The Graduate Student Teaching Award was presented to Heather Baldi, graduate research assistant, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Baldi’s duties as a graduate teaching assistant involved directing, mentoring and advising student-led science projects and presentations. She also helped train graduate students and undergraduate student workers on the perennial grass breeding and genetics lab procedures. She also served as an officer in the Soil and Crop Sciences Graduate Organization. Her research advisor said, “I believe Heather will be a superior instructor and researcher in the future, and I have no doubt she will be successful in her career.”

Staff Awards

The Office and Administrative Staff Award was presented to LeAnn Hague, senior academic advisor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean’s office. Hague helped develop/coordinate the Distance Education Program in Plant Breeding in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, provided administrative support for the Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences graduate program, and coordinated several symposia for the Plant Breeding Grand Challenges initiative. A nominator said Hague, “has the unique ability to counsel students who are excelling as well as students who are struggling. Her counsel is practical, with the appropriate levels of compassion, empathy and kindness, but with sternness when necessary.”

International Achievement Award

The International Involvement Award was presented to Amir Ibrahim, Ph.D., professor and AgriLife Research small grains breeder, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Ibrahim is an international leader in wheat breeding, known for his work as an educator, graduate student advisor, geneticist and expert in end-use quality characteristics. Ibrahim served as an ambassador for the U.S. Wheat Industry in seven countries. In addition to his duties as a professor and researcher, he serves as the department liaison for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas.

A full list of award winners was announced on AgriLife Today.

Two Texas A&M students named Borlaug Scholars by plant breeders association

3Jul

By: Beth Ann Luedeker
Two students from the Texas A&M University’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Tia Dunbar and Ammani Kyanam, were among those named as Borlaug Scholars for 2020 by the National Association of Plant Breeders, NAPB.

“Both Tia and Ammani’s resumes reveal outstanding students with the potential to follow closely in the footsteps of Dr. Norman Borlaug in relieving hunger and poverty through plant breeding,” said Don Jones, chair, NAPB Borlaug Scholars committee.

The scholars program is named after Dr. Norman Borlaug, a plant breeder known as the Father of the Green Revolution.

The NAPB Borlaug Scholarship awards are given to exceptional students aspiring to careers in plant breeding and genetics and who have a strong desire to contribute to the improvement of the plants that we all depend upon for our daily needs, according to NAPB.

This is especially critical in this age of continually increasing populations, climate change and uncertain global food security – issues Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution and also a plant breeder, cared about deeply. Plant breeding uniquely addresses these challenges through applied research and improving technologies, according to the association.

Dunbar is a master’s student under Michael Thomson, Ph.D., professor and HM Beachell Rice Chair with Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Kyanam is a doctoral student working with Bill Rooney, Ph.D., AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow and sorghum breeder.

Each wants to help improve agriculture through plant breeding, but they are approaching it from different angles.

Tia Dunbar

Dunbar is working to optimize “in planta” gene-editing techniques using nanotechnologies, while Kyanam is mapping quantitative trait loci, or QTL, for sugarcane aphid tolerance and evaluating a chemical male gametocide.

Tia Dunbar

“Most gene editing methods for crop improvement require time and labor-intensive in vitro tissue culture techniques,” Dunbar said in her application. “Bypassing the in vitro regeneration processes could facilitate gene editing and expand its use.”

“If we are successful, our optimized gene-editing protocol will enable accelerated improvement of rice,” Dunbar said.

While her research currently focuses on rice, Dunbar hopes to pursue a career that applies gene-editing techniques to a broader range of organisms.

“Growing up, my family did not always have access to healthy food, so I chose to major in plant breeding to learn more about crop improvement,” Dunbar said. “I see biotechnology as the key to manipulate agriculture to better serve the growing population and ease the suffering caused by hunger and malnutrition.”

Ammani Kyanam

Kyanam said she chose to pursue agriculture because of Borlaug, “but I chose plant breeding when I learned how direct an impact it had on the livelihoods of farmers, especially small farmers.”

Ammani Kyanam

As an undergraduate at the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University in Hyderabad, India, Kyanam participated in the Rural Agricultural Work Experience Programme, RAWEP, where she shadowed a small farmer for a crop season.

“My inquiries showed me that farmers had progressive views about purchasing seed, and the boon that was BT cotton,” she said. “It also helped that my father was a seed salesman, and I had learned how important quality seed is to a farming operation.”

Fortunately for Kyanam, she not only loved plant breeding as a subject, but also has a knack for it. Her current focus is streamlining the sorghum breeding process.

“For my doctoral research, I am testing a chemical gametocide, triflouromethanesulfonamide, to assess its potential in generating testcross hybrid seed,” she said. “Hybrid seed production relies on male-sterile seed parents, and the current process to develop those parents is tedious and time consuming.”

Kyanam plans to pursue a career in an applied breeding program, developing new breeding materials and commercial hybrids, as well as evaluating pre-commercial hybrids.

“My secondary goal is to work in science communication and to contribute to clearing up the misinformation that is so prevalent,” Kyanam said.
Students making a difference

Both young women are active outside the classroom as well.

Dunbar is an officer in the Texas A&M Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science chapter and the University’s Women in Science and Engineering organization. She is an active member of Texas A&M’s Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences and was on the organizing committee for the Texas A&M Plant Breeding Symposium in 2020.

Kyanam is a founding member of the Corteva Plant Science Series’ Student Advisory Council and a graduate student liaison for NAPB’s communication committee. She has chaired several plant breeding symposia at Texas A&M and was a founding officer in the Soil and Crop Sciences Graduate Organization.

Redmon among Texas A&M honorees at annual crop, soil science conferences

11Nov

Writer: Kay Ledbetter

A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service leader will be honored along with other Texas A&M faculty and students for their professional achievements Nov. 10-13 in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio.

The recognitions will be made by the Crop Sciences Society of America, or CSSA; the American Society of Agronomy, or ASA; and the Soil Sciences Society of America, or SSSA, during their annual conference.

ASA Fellow

Dr. Larry Redmon has been named a Fellow of the Agronomy Society of America.

Larry Redmon, Ph.D., will be named an ASA Fellow on Nov. 12. Redmon is the associate department head and AgriLife Extension program leader for the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M, administering one of the largest agronomic extension units in the country.

He also serves as the AgriLife Extension state forage specialist, where he participates in educational programs across the state; and he serves as AgriLife Extension’s first endowed specialist responsible for oversight of the Bennett Trust Endowment and associated land stewardship programs in the Edwards Plateau.

ASA’s annual awards are presented for outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, national and international service, and research. Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by ASA. Members nominate colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service.

Redmon is a certified professional in forage and grassland, wildlife biology, turfgrass management and rangeland management. His research and educational outreach focus on establishment, management and utilization of forages to improve production systems and protect valuable natural resources.

Internationally recognized for his work in forage management, he has made presentations to delegations from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Poland, Tunisia and Venezuela.

Redmon has garnered $7.8 million in grants, produced 32 refereed journal articles and 98 Extension publications, helped to train 35 graduate students, and has participated in 1,275 educational programs with over 82,000 attendees.

He has provided leadership for both ASA and CSSA, and at the regional, state and local levels in educational program and materials development in both Oklahoma and Texas. He currently serves as associate editor for the Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment publication.

Redmon previously received two Certificate of Excellence awards from ASA for the Lone Star Healthy Streams program, as well as for his electronic newsletter, “The Pasture Gazette.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate in range science from Texas A&M. He spent six years with Oklahoma State University before joining AgriLife Extension in 1999 as a forage specialist at Overton. He moved to College Station in 2004.

Other Award Winners:

Golden Opportunity Scholars – Kade Flynn, a College Station native, is a junior geology major who works in the soils lab at Texas A&M.

Nicole Shigley

Frank D. Keim Graduate Fellowship – Nicole Shigley, of Spring, TX, is working on her master’s degree in soil science. Shigley was a Golden Opportunity Scholar last year, and recently coached the soil judging team as they qualified for nationals.

Gabriel Janish

Greenfield Scholars – ASA – Gabriel Janish, of Bellville, is a junior working toward his plant and environmental soil science degree. He was part of the Champion Aggie Quiz Bowl team at the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences conference a year ago.

Aniruddha Maity

Gerald O. Mott Award – CSSA – Aniruddha Maity, of Kolkata, India, a doctoral student in plant breeding. His research is focused on the physiological and molecular aspects of seed dormancy and shattering in ryegrass.

Sarah Marsh

National Association of Plant Breeders Borlaug Undergraduate Scholars – Sarah Marsh, Arbuckle, California, a senior plant and environmental soil science student. She is a member of the undergraduate Agronomy Society, along with participating in a study abroad program to Brazil. She has been recognized with the Texas A&M President’s Endowed Scholarship, as well as numerous department-level scholarships.

Julie Howe, Ph.D.

Lloyd R. Frederick Soil Teaching Travel Study Award- SSSA – Julie Howe, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research soil chemistry and fertility associate professor, College Station.

Boaxin “Bob” Chang

Chris Stiegler Turf Science Student Travel Award and Fellowship – CSSA – This award will be presented to both Boaxin “Bob” Chang, a doctoral student in soil sciences from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and Will Bowling, a master’s student in turfgrass science from Suwanee, Georgia.

Will Bowling

Caitlin Lakey

Caitlyn Lakey of Porter, TX, received a U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture internship earlier in the year and will be recognized at the meetings. Lakey is working on her master’s degree in plant breeding. She also has previously been a Golden Opportunity Scholar.

Undergraduate Awards Banquet

23Apr

By: Beth Ann Luedeker

Congratulations to all the scholarship and awards recipients recognized at the awards banquet held April 11 at the Hildebrand Equine Center. While officially an undergraduate banquet, many graduate students received recognition and awards that night as well.

Dr. Kim Dooley, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Operations, delivered the keynote address. During her address Dooley outlined what she feels it means to be an Aggie.

Being an Aggie means being Authentic, being Grateful, setting Goals, having Integrity and having Enthusiasm, Dooley said.

Attendees also heard from student leaders about the array of extracurricular learning activities available, including the Agronomy Society, Turf Club, Soil and Water Conservation Society, and the Soil Crop Graduate Student Organization.

Awards and Recognitions

The primary purpose of the banquet is to recognize the efforts of students through the presentation of travel awards and scholarships. This year the department presented over $86,500 in scholarships and awards. Graduate students who had received other fellowships and awards were also recognized.

Outstanding Plant and Environmental Soil Science (PSSC) and Turfgrass Science (TGSC) were recognized. They are:

student receiving award from department head

Outstanding Freshman – PSSC: Eduardo De La Garza

Outstanding Freshman – TGSC: Ty Riley

Gabriel Janish receiving award from Dr. David Baltensperger

Outstanding Sophomore – PSSC: Gabriel Janish

Outstanding Sophomore – TGSC: Bailey Simmons

Outstanding Junior – PSSC: Nickolas Frisbee

Outstanding Junior – TGSC: Ryan Earp

Outstanding Senior – PSSC: Caitlyn Lakey

Outstanding Senior – TGSC: Kaitlin Tanner

A complete list of the undergraduate scholarship recipients, donors, and other awards earned by the students, faculty and staff can be found on the department’s website:
https://soilcrop.tamu.edu/academics_files/2019UGAwardsBanquet.pdf

Two Soil and Crop Sciences faculty members recognized at Beltwide Cotton Conference

31Jan

Writer: Kay Ledbetter

Two Texas A&M AgriLife faculty members brought back honors from the recent National Cotton Council’s 2019 Beltwide Cotton Conference in New Orleans.

Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state cotton specialist, College Station, was presented the 2019 Outstanding Career Research Award for Cotton Agronomy. The award is sponsored by BASF.

Dr. Katie Lewis, Texas A&M AgriLife Research soil scientist, Lubbock, was presented The Dr. J. Tom Cothren Outstanding Young Cotton Soil Scientist Award. One is given each year, and the recipient must have earned a doctorate within the past 10 years and demonstrate a strong research, teaching and advising program. The award is sponsored by PhytoGen Cotton.

Texas A&M AgriLife faculty Dr. Gaylon Morgan, College Station, and Dr. Katie Lewis, Lubbock, brought back honors to Texas from the annual Beltwide Cotton Conference. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Dr. Gaylon Morgan

“Dr. Morgan is a catalyst who is known to develop teams and working groups across agencies to support the cotton industry in Texas and across the Cotton Belt,” said Dr. Randy Boman, senior technical service manager in cotton for Indigo Ag, in a letter of support.

“He and his team do an outstanding job of integrating outreach programming, applied research efforts, student training and grant acquisition to provide cutting-edge information to the clientele through county agent-led programming, professional meetings and various media outlets.”

In just two years, Morgan and his collaborating AgriLife Extension specialists across the state made more than 14,600 educational contacts in 278 cotton variety educational meetings on variety performance alone. Approximately 9,000 test-plot trial reports have been distributed to producers, cotton gins and consultants via educational meetings also during that time.

Morgan helped develop enterprise budgets to assess the per-acre costs of using herbicides rather than mechanical means to destroy stalks in two regions of the state. He also researched new herbicides for destroying stalks of the new auxin-tolerant cotton varieties and worked to obtain a state label and make it available to Texas cotton growers.

Another area of concentration for Morgan is nitrogen fertilizer, the nomination stated. Surveys indicate more than 19,000 producers have seen presentations on crediting soil residual nitrogen based on his work since 2007.

“I am very honored to win this award,” Morgan said. “I have witnessed many great and internationally recognized colleagues win this career award at the Beltwide. I was completely surprised and humbled by just being nominated for the award, much less to win it.”

Morgan has been recognized with three Superior Service Awards by AgriLife Extension as a member of the Auxin Herbicide Educational Team, the Cotton Variety Evaluation and Education Team and the Cotton Root Rot Management Team, and one individual award.

Additionally, he has been honored by the Texas County Agricultural Agents Association with the Statewide Extension Specialist award, as the Beltwide Cotton Specialist of the Year by Bayer Crop Sciences and with the Academic/Agency Award by Texas Plant Protection Association.

Dr. Katie Lewis

“As the daughter of a South Texas cotton and grain farmer, Katie was introduced at a young age to the challenges of cotton farming and how they can drastically change the bottom line,” said Dr. Jaroy Moore, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center director at Lubbock.

“Naturally, cotton is the central focus of her research program where she concentrates on soil fertility responses in both dryland and irrigated soils,” Moore said. “Her work is vitally important to the Southern High Plains, Texas and the nation, while helping educate future scientists, farmers, society and policymakers.”

While only in her third year with AgriLife Research, Lewis is continually striving to enhance her understanding of the critical challenges currently facing agriculture and society, her nomination stated.

“Dr. Lewis considers soil to be one of our most valuable natural resources, with the ability to produce food, feed and fiber, recycle wastes, filter and break down contaminants, and sequester carbon,” said nominator Dr. Glen Ritchie, AgriLife Research and Texas Tech University cotton physiologist, Lubbock.

Lewis has a joint appointment with Texas Tech, so she is engaged in research, teaching and service. In her first three years, she obtained federal, state and private research funding, taught at a graduate and undergraduate level, attracted and advised high-quality graduate students, and served her community, universities and professional organizations.

“Even though Katie does not have an official AgriLife Extension appointment, she passionately serves her community by participating in grower meetings and field days and consulting farmers on soil and nutrient management decisions,” Ritchie said. “Her passion and desire to enhance the profitability and sustainability of farming operations is evident to her students, colleagues, industry partners and farming community.”

AgriLife Extension recognizes Superior Service

30Jan

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service presented its Superior Service Awards, the agency’s highest honors, during a ceremony at the AgriLife Center January 8. Several members of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences were among those honored.

Ranch Management University earned a team award and Ward Ling received the Superior Service – Extension Program Specialist award.

Dr. Bob Whitson, Interim Associate Director for State Operations (left) and Dr. Parr Rosson, Interim Director AgriLife Extension (right), presented the awards to Ranch Management University team members Matt Brown, Dr. Larry Redmon, Dr. Jason Cleere, (back row) Linda Francis and Dr. Jim Cathey (front row). Not pictured is team member Dr. David Anderson. (TAMU Soil and Crop Sciences photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)

The Ranch Management University (RMU) team is led by Dr. Larry Redmon, Associate Department Head for Extension in Soil and Crop Sciences. Team members include Dr. David Anderson, economist-livestock marketing; Dr. Jason Cleere, beef cattle specialist; Linda Francis, Soil and Crop Sciences administrative coordinator; Matt Brown, Soil and Crop Sciences program specialist; and Dr. Jim Cathey, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute associate director.

RMU was established in 2010 to address a growing population of absentee landowners who have grown up in urban environments and lack formal training in the management of natural resources. It is held twice each year, in April and October.

According to the nomination, the five-day course provides basic information regarding economically and environmentally sound management of soil, plant, animal and water resources, and introduces participants to the educational resources available to them through AgriLife Extension.

The workshop combines classroom instruction with field demonstrations in a range of subjects including sprayer calibration, hay sampling, aquatic weed identification and management, soil sampling, beef cattle management, and feral hog control.

To date, attendees have come to College Station from all over Texas and from California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Costa Rica for the workshop.

Ward Ling, center, received the Superior Service – Extension Program Specialist award from Dr. Bob Whitson and Dr. Parr Rosson. (TAMU Soil and Crop Sciences photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)

Program Specialist Ward Ling is the coordinator of both the Geronimo/Alligator Creeks watershed and the Mill Creek watershed.

He joined the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences in 2009 to oversee the development and implementation of a watershed protection plan for the Geronimo and Alligator Creeks watershed, adding the Mill Creek watershed in 2018.

Ling’s primary duty is to educate stakeholders in the watersheds in best management practices for their activities and to encourage the vountary adoption of these practices. He also performs due diligence for projects planned along the creeks to ensure that the creeks are not damaged.

“Before coming to AgriLife Extension, I worked in a regulatory program of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). This job appealed to me because of its voluntary nature,” Ling stated.

Protection of a watershed is a long term committment by stakeholders within that watershed. It took three years for Ling and the stakeholders to develop the watershed protection plan (WPP) and get it approved by the TCEQ. Now he is implementing programs to educate stakeholders, both agricultural landowners and urban residents.

“My job is to increase awareness and to educate people so they want to adopt these practices,” he said. “They are not building any more creeks and rivers so we need to protect what we have.”

Ling’s programs include septic system maintenance, water well management and creek clean-ups.

“We started doing annual watershed clean-up along the Alligator and Geronimo creeks in 2013 and usually have between 150 – 200 people participate,” he said. “In the six years of the project we have had 1,120 volunteers and taken 16,000 pounds of trash out of the watershed.”

Texas A&M AgriLife Research recognizes two Faculty Fellows

23Jan

Writer: Kay Ledbetter

Texas A&M AgriLife Research recognized two faculty members from the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department — as a Faculty Fellow and Senior Faculty Fellow — on Jan. 8.

Dr. Cristine Morgan, a soil physicist, was honored with the Faculty Fellow title for impactful research recognized by her colleagues in the U.S. and globally. Her research has affected change both within and outside of her discipline, according to her nomination.

Dr. Bill Rooney, a plant breeding and genetics professor, was recognized with a Senior Faculty Fellow Award – he received the Faculty Fellow in 2011 – for his extensive research and direction of the AgriLife Research Sorghum Improvement Program at College Station, his nomination stated.

Morgan has led a major shift in moving her discipline from laboratory studies to addressing critical challenges using technically innovative, field-based methods, said Dr. David Baltensperger, head of the department of soil and crop sciences.

Dr. Cristine Morgan

Baltensperger said Morgan also has translated her skill set to other disciplines such as ecosystem sciences, civil engineering, anthropology, geology and biosystems and agricultural engineering.

“Dr. Morgan’s standing in the Soil Science Society of America as an elected member of the board of directors and the co-coordinator of the first International Soils Contest for the International Union of Soil Science indicates she is viewed by her peers as a leader in soil science,” Baltensperger said.

“As a researcher, her reputation of performing quality, cutting-edge research and incorporation of practical and creative solutions is demonstrated by her success in grantsmanship,” he said.

Morgan’s successful grants portfolio includes the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as agricultural industry and state organizations.

Morgan’s impact reaches beyond academia through mentoring of students and leadership among non-academic stakeholders as evidenced by her work with the Soil Health Institute, recognition by the White House and international leadership involving economists, sociologists and capital markets to achieve global soil security, the nomination stated.

Her most cited accomplishment has been the development of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, VisNIR, technology and methodology to quantify soil constituents, such as organic carbon, inorganic carbon, clay content and petroleum hydrocarbons in situ, the nomination continued. She transformed VisNIR technology from a newly explored laboratory instrument to a robust and reliable field method that maps soil profiles without pulling physical soil samples.

This technology enables collection of fine-spatial resolution soil data for application in digital agriculture including environmentally specific plant responses and soil chemical and physical processes. She has filed a patent application, and in partnership with The Climate Corp., continues to make her inventions commercially applicable.

Morgan also organized three international Soil Security Symposia. This leadership resulted in an invitation to be a member of the coordinating coalition for soil health led by the Soil Health Institute with 11 other blue-ribbon organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, The Fertilizer Institute and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

In the last five years, Morgan has directed research funded at over $7 million. For over $6 million of these funds, she is the principal investigator and has allocated 70 percent of the money to support research programs in sociology, agricultural economics, plant breeding, genetics, hydrology, physics and agricultural engineering.

Dr. Bill Rooney

Rooney was named a Texas A&M Regents Professor in 2015, and in 2018 was designated as the Borlaug-Monsanto Chair in International Crop Improvement.

His research pertains to the genetics of important traits in sorghum and sorghum germplasm, germplasm development and application in U.S. and world sorghum production systems. He also trains graduate students in plant breeding and genetics using the sorghum breeding program as a model program.

Rooney’s program originally focused on grain sorghum but expanded and pioneered research in the use of sorghum as a bioenergy crop and specialty grain crop, Baltensperger said.

Utilizing a base of sorghum germplasm, Rooney, his research group and a wide group of collaborators conducted research into the genetics of biomass sorghum yield, composition and stress tolerance, and developed parental lines of sorghums used to create the first bioenergy sorghum hybrids, Baltensperger said.

In the specialty crop area, his program produced and licensed the first black sorghums, prized for their high antioxidant profile and health benefits. These products are now used in GrainBerry Cereals, which are marketed nationwide.

Over the past five years, this research has attracted over $10 million to Texas A&M and AgriLife Research from an array of funding sources, which include Ceres, Inc., a bioenergy crop seed company, Chevron, Inc. and the USDA DOE, NRI and SunGrant Program.

In addition to sorghum-specific research, Rooney has been involved in the development of a wide hybridization sorghum program designed to enhance and improve sorghum and other potential bioenergy species through hybrids.

The program developed unique genotypes of sorghum capable of hybridization with sugarcane. This allows production of sorghum/sugarcane hybrids, which provide researchers valuable opportunities to transfer important traits between the two crops or even possibly the development of a new bioenergy hybrid combining useful traits from both parents in a seed-propagated crop. While this work remains years from application, the wide hybridization work represents a new and novel discovery with potentially wide-ranging applications.

Because he is recognized as an excellent educator, researcher and communicator, Rooney is in demand as a speaker at national and international meetings and is considered one of the leading experts in the world in sorghum improvement for feed, food, forage and fuel uses, Baltensperger said.

Rooney has been engaged with administration to interact with major corporate sponsors and has the unique ability to communicate highly complex and technical processes to corporate executives in a way that relates to their bottom line.

Ibrahim earns Texas A&M honor as Regents Professor

23Jan

Writer: Kay Ledbetter

Dr. Amir Ibrahim, Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder and tenured professor in the Texas A&M University department of soil and crop sciences in College Station, was honored as a Texas A&M Regents Professor recently in College Station.

The Texas A&M Board of Regents established the Regents Professor Awards program in 1996 and the Regents Fellow Service Awards program in 1998 to recognize employees who have made exemplary contributions to their university or agency and to the people of Texas.

“I am grateful to the Board of Regents for this special recognition,” Ibrahim said. “I am also grateful to my department head and awards committee for nominating me when I was merely doing my job to serve the people of Texas, specifically, and the global community in general.”

Ibrahim has made significant professional achievements during the past 18 years in the educational aspect of his job, according to his nomination.

Dr. Amir Ibrahim (center), Texas A&M AgriLife Research wheat breeder in the Texas A&M University department of soil and crop sciences in College Station, was recognized as a Texas A&M Regents Professor. With Ibrahim are Charles Schwartz, Texas A&M Board of Regents chair, left, and Elaine Mendoza, vice chair, right, (Texas A&M photo)

He serves as an adviser or co-adviser of 10 doctoral students and one master’s student and has served as the adviser or co-adviser of 17 doctoral and 15 master’s students, most of whom hold research and leadership positions in the public and private sectors.

A third of his graduate students are in positions of responsibility in the agricultural industry; 11 are in the field of crop improvement, with nine of those in the U.S. and two in other countries.

In his area of research, Ibrahim has released or co-released 18 winter wheat and three oat cultivars while at Texas A&M. Ten of the 18 wheat releases and co-releases were planted on almost 1.3 million acres in seven states during the 2017-2018 growing season, the nomination noted.

Ibrahim has obtained $5 million in funding to support his research, the nomination stated. He has shared his research findings by publishing 99 refereed journal articles, 37 Extension papers, 11 technical reports, two book chapters and 105 abstracts and proceedings.

Dr. David Baltensperger, soil and crop sciences department head, especially noted Ibrahim’s leadership abilities. He is project leader of the Small Grains Breeding program, chair of the AgriGenomics laboratory Advisory Committee and the past chair of Texas Plant Protection Association, as well as a member of TAMU Plant Release Committee and Texas Small Grains Advisory Committee. He also served as an associate editor for the Journal of Plant Registrations and was a member of the U.S. Wheat Germplasm Committee.

The effectiveness and quality of Ibrahim’s scholarly activities are seen in his growing influence in the international arena that includes collaborative efforts with the TAMU Borlaug Institute as well as with his research expertise in wheat breeding and genetics, his nomination stated. He is in demand as an international expert in such areas as Mexico, Northern Africa, Western Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Ibrahim continues to be committed to the dissemination of information and improved cultivars that will provide relief of poverty and hunger through improved agriculture via his formal and informal educational efforts. He has given 31 invited presentations in 17 countries.

His most recent release, TAM 305 hard red winter wheat, was highlighted in CSA News for its superior resistance to disease, according to the nomination, which further noted this cultivar is in demand by wheat breeders throughout the world to use in their breeding programs.

Of the 21 wheat and oat cultivars released, he was the lead breeder for 10 of these releases. His released cultivars in the U.S. High Plains, primarily Lyman and Ideal, have the best indigenous resistance among U.S. hard red winter wheat to fusarium head blight, a devastating fungal disease, without a genetic drag on yield or quality.

The nomination states his wheat releases in Texas combine high yield potential, superior end-use quality attributes, heat and drought tolerance, and leaf, stripe and stem rust resistance. Ibrahim is currently pyramiding minor genes into Texas and U.S. germplasm to enhance durable resistance to wheat rusts to enable wheat breeders to focus on improving yield potential.

Ibrahim participated in the development of genetic markers that enhanced and improved his breeding efforts. Among his collaborative efforts are molecular markers for greenbug, Hessian fly, wheat curl mite and wheat streak mosaic virus resistance. He has also validated and adopted 20 high-value KASP-based markers in the breeding program.

Ibrahim also manages and leads the Uniform Disease Nursery at Castroville. This nursery serves the entire wheat breeding community, both public and private, in ensuring that wheat cultivars available to U.S. and global producers are resistant to the latest biotypes of wheat leaf, stripe and stem rusts as well as oat crown and stem rusts.

He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Sciences of America and AgriLife Research. He has received the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Award for the Best International Impact and Dean’s Award for the Best Multidisciplinary Team. He has also received the Texas A&M Technology Commercialization Team Innovation Award, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor’s team award, and the Texas A&M soil and crop sciences department Individual Achievement Research Award.

Ibrahim is a member of the Crop Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy and Sigma Xi Honor Society.