Research


The overall objectives and mission is as follows:

To understand mechanisms of plant responses to several environmental factors at the biochemical, leaf and canopy level in the controlled environments to observations of whole systems in the field.

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.

Apply modeling tools for crop production management, and policy decision of the impact of climate perturbations on crop production.

Current Research Topics

  • Responses of crop plants to Ultraviolet-B radiation and to interactive effects of climate variables. Agency: USDA UV-B Monitoring Network, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
  • Responses to climate change of C4 and C3 species native to South-central region. Agency: National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC) as part of DOE.
  • Agricultural Response to Global Climate Change and its Impact on Decision Support. Agency: NASA, Center through MSU-Geo-Resources Institute, Mississippi State, MS, USA
  • An approach to positively shift the production of rainfed soybean by foliar application of glycine betaine. Agency: Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board, Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station, Mississippi State, MS.

Past Research Topics

  • 2004 On-farm application of crop models. Agency: USDA-ARS, Alternate Crops and Systems Lab, Baltimore, MD, Amount: $260,000.
  • 2001 Remote monitoring of crop physiology and growth parameters: Development and validation of reliable algorithms. Agency: NASA, John C. Stennis Space Center through MSU-Remote Sensing Technology Center, Mississippi State, MS, USA, Amount: $600,000.
  • 2001 To validate the use of a new meter for estimating the chlorophyll content of leaves for Spectrum technologies. Agency: Spectrum Technologies Inc., TN, Amount $2000.
  • Impacts of climate change on cotton production: A south-central assessment cotton growth and development in a changing environment. Agency: National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC) as part of DOE, Amount: 470,000.
  • Process-based system for reliable remote monitoring of agronomic plant nutrition, growth regulation, water stress and insect pressure. Agency: NASA, through MSU-Remote Sensing Technology Center, MS, Amount: $474,139.
  • 1999 Effects of temperature on growth and development of creeping bent grass and Bermuda grass. MOA, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, Amount: 8,500.