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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

Mollie Rappe

Hannah Burrack in front of a corn field.

Oct 7, 2020

N.C. PSI Names New Platform Directors

The North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative named four new platform directors and the interim director of operations. These leaders will guide the initiative’s research, Extension and education activities. 

Sep 23, 2020

Collins Continues Support for Agricultural Innovation

Bill Collins and Ann Collins named a study room in the new Plant Sciences Building. Learn why they feel supporting the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative is vital for the future of North Carolina. 
A small, red fly on a blueberry, against a black background.

Aug 31, 2020

A New IDEA: Pairing Trainees with Computational Experts During the Pandemic

This spring in the midst of a pandemic, a committee of CALS faculty members matched graduate students and postdocs with data they needed to analyze or model computationally to computational experts with the necessary expertise. Learn more about how the collaboration is going for three trainees. 
Foreground: grassland with native flowers. Background: three metal and tarp structures with dark clouds overhead.

Aug 28, 2020

New Grants Support Microbiome and Resiliency Studies

Christine Hawkes and Kevin Garcia recently received separate federal grants to study plant and soil microbiomes to understand how the soil captures carbon and how symbiotic root fungi help legumes get potassium. This research will improve the resiliency of agriculture. 
A sandy field of soybeans

Jun 29, 2020

Using Leaf Fungi to Improve Crop Resilience

An interdisciplinary team led by Christine Hawkes is identifying beneficial fungi found in five key crops with the aim of using them to help plants fend off diseases and tolerate drought stress. 
A group of students in a corn field as the sun sets. (From Summer 2019)

Jun 22, 2020

CALS Researchers Return to the Bench and Field

As NC State ramps up the Research Restart process, here’s how three researchers from across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are returning to the lab bench and test field after time away due to COVID-19. 
A small white box on PVC pipe poles over plots of soybeans in sandy soil.

Jun 9, 2020

Low-Cost Cameras Could Be Sensors to Remotely Monitor Crop Stress

Researchers from CALS and COE, led by postdoctoral research scholar Paula Ramos-Giraldo, have worked together to construct a low-cost camera system to monitor crop stress remotely. Their StressCam will aid researchers, plant breeders and ultimately farmers. 
Owen Wagner (far left) and other foundational supporters for the Plant Sciences Initiative during the Plant Sciences Building groundbreaking on September 6, 2019.

May 13, 2020

Partner Profile: North Carolina Soybean Producers Association

The North Carolina Soybean Producers Association was one of the first commodity groups to pledge their support for the North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (N.C. PSI). Owen Wanger, CEO of the association, shares why it supports the N.C. PSI. 
A corn field in North Carolina

May 7, 2020

Faculty Focus: Holland Wins International Maize Genetics Award

Jim Holland, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service plant breeder and geneticist based in NC State’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, received an international maize genetics award for his decades of research on corn diversity and breeding in disease resistance. 
Boxes of gloves, safety goggles and masks in a lab.

Apr 8, 2020

CALS Donates Protective Equipment, Supplies to Area Hospitals

CALS researchers donated truckloads of personal protective equipment including disposable gloves and N95 masks to area medical systems. Learn why two of them decided to give.