Research

The crop and soil sciences department research activities focus on the following six thrust areas: crop ecology and management, plant breeding and molecular biology, turfgrass science, biogeochemical processes, land use, and soil and water quality. The research program is composed of 32 Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station and Northeast Regional projects. Crop and Soil Sciences faculty and staff join with faculty of other Penn State departments and technical personnel from various federal agencies including the Agricultural Research Service and the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to complete research.

 

Ongoing research in crop ecology and management focuses on the integrated crop management for efficient and sustainable production of corn, soybeans, and forage crops and its ecology.

 

Projects in plant breeding and molecular biology include the genetic improvement of maize and turfgrass through breeding and biology, as well as plant stress biology.

 

Turfgrass science research studies turfgrass management for home lawns, industrial sites, and recreational areas. This research program also collaborates with the Department of Plant Pathology to study disease control in agronomic crops and turfgrass science. 

 

Biogeochemical process research covers such topics as soil microbial ecology, biogeochemistry and nitrogen dynamics, and soil environmental chemistry, among others.

 

Topics of interest in our land use research includes developing and refining techniques for the construction of geographic information systems and other databases to facilitate land-use analyses and decision-making and analyzing data acquired through satellite-based remote sensing of land resources.

 

Our soil and water quality research program focuses on soil management for on-site waste disposal, nutrient and pesticide management for water quality protection, as well as topics related to soil testing, hydropedology, and soil, water, and solute interactions.

 

Further information on the research program can be found at http://cropsoil.psu.edu/deptfoci.htm.