The Plant and Soil Sciences Department at Oklahoma State University is an exciting place to study and work.  Our faculty and staff are committed to excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, research, and extension.  We offer a comprehensive educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in trying to solve some of the world’s most pressing needs with respect to food, feed, fiber, and fuel.

Please explore our website and see the opportunities our department can offer you.  If you have questions or comments about what you see here, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  If you are a prospective student who is interested in finding out more about our department, we would love to hear from you!

 

 

 

The Okanola project at OSU was started to promote canola in Oklahoma 

 Winter canola not only catches the eyes of drivers passing the bright yellow fields, it has caught the attention of some Oklahoma agricultural producers. 

Josh Bushong, the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service winter canola extension specialist, said it is estimated that about 275,000 acres of winter canola were planted in the southern Great Plains states.

“It's been on a pretty steep incline,” Bushong said.

Bushong explained that farmers harvest the seed and then the canola crushers will crush that seed for its oil. And he added that the local markets have and are expected to continue to increase.

The canola in this area is primarily used for cooking oil.

“We started the Okanola project at OSU here back in 2003-2004 to promote canola in Oklahoma,” he said. “Basically we started in order to try to give wheat farmers an option to rotate with.”

Bushong said this is a winter crop that grows the same time as winter wheat does. Why rotate? He said that there are wheat fields that have “grassy weeds” in them and some of the weeds have started showing resistance to some herbicides.

Those weeds could lead to dockage, a discount, for producers.

Bushong said, “Utilizing canola as a weed management tool has been one of the main reasons wheat producers have adopted the crop.”

Roger Gribble, a longtime OSU northwest area extension agronomy specialist, said research at Lahoma, west of Enid, has shown the most profitable crop rotation is wheat and canola.

“And a lot of it goes to the weather factors that we have faced here in the last three years,” Gribble said. “We've got some moisture in the fall, winter and spring but we haven't got it in the summer. So as a result, in crop rotation, the winter crops are currently leading the pack.”

 

 

Reusing by-products in agricultural fields

Removing Dissolved P from Runoff

As farmers and researchers, including Norton, wait to hear about the fate of FGD gypsum, Chad Penn and Josh McGrath are looking into another way to help farmers and reuse wastes. They are using by-products, including gypsum, to answer a specific and important question—how can we best remove dissolved phosphorus from agricultural runoff? There are two forms of phosphorus (P) in urban and agricultural runoff—dissolved and particulate. Particulate P is attached to sediment or soil particles, and its transport can be limited by controlling erosion. Dissolved P, however, cannot be stopped by erosion control, and it can lead to algal blooms and decreased water quality once it reaches surface waters. “As long as soil P levels are high, more P will be transported out of the system every time you get a runoff event,” says Penn, associate professor at Oklahoma State University and member of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA.  Select the following link for the full article Reusing by-products in agricultural fields.

 

Bill Gates is checking out the new GreenSeeker handheld crop sensor at a recent event at CIMMYT.

As you know, the GreenSeeker was developed at OSU and is now marketed by Trimble. The fellow in the red cap and sunglasses is Carlos Slim.  According to Forbes,the Mexican telecom magnate and his family are worth $73 billion, ranked No. 1 in the world.  Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is now ranked No. 2.

"CIMMYT inaugurated a new US$ 25 million research complex at its headquarters in El Batan. The new advanced bioscience research facilities, 45 kilometers (20 miles) from Mexico City, marked its grand opening to a crowd of more than 100 invited guests.

The event was attended by Bill Gates, Carlos Slim, Lic. Enrique Martínez y Martínez, Mexican Secretary of Agriculture and leader of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), and Dr. Eruviel Ávila Villegas, Governor of the State of Mexico.

The new bioscience complex will allow researchers to speed the development of valuable seed, by way of more precise characterization of its genetic traits, such as heat and drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance, and seed health, as well as the nutritional and industrial quality of the grain. CIMMYT was the cradle of the Green Revolution 60 years ago. By providing cutting-edge facilities and an enhanced research capacity, this alliance will significantly improve farm productivity. 

“We are enthusiastic about this alliance,” said Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Bringing together the collective experience of our respective organizations, we can promote innovation to transform the lives of farmers in Mexico and around the world. Investing in agricultural development is one of the most effective investments we can make. It allows farming communities to become self-sufficient and prosperous by growing and selling more of what they produce.”

 

National Corn Grower Association Scholarships

For the sixth year in a row, BASF will team with NCGA to provide scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing an agricultural degree. This year, the scholarship has been renamed the William C. Berg Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship Program, in memory of Ohio corn grower and NCGA colleague Bill Berg, a long-time member of the NCGA Grower Services Action Team and supporter of the scholarship program who passed away unexpectedly last year. “Anyone who ever met Bill knew he had a passion for agriculture; this seemed like a fitting way to honor his memory and support the future of the industry he loved so much,” said Pam Johnson, President of NCGA. The program will award scholarships of $1,000 each to the following students:  Emily Brundick of Argyle, Missouri – a first year graduate student at the University of Missouri, studying agriculture economics.   Kyle Parmley of Perry, Oklahoma – a junior at Oklahoma State University, studying plant and soil sciences. Nicholas Peterson of Clearlake, Minnesota – a junior at the University of Minnesota, studying applied plant science. Sterling Schnepf of Granville, Iowa – a junior at Iowa State University, studying animal science. Congratulations Kyle.