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

Research

Jan 8, 2025

A Century of and for Growth

This year marked the centennial celebration of our department—a century of excellence in teaching, research, and extension that continues to translate into new frontiers of agricultural and environmental innovation. Join us for a look back at 2024 through our Year in Review. 
irrigation equipment on a trailer

Nov 21, 2024

Industry Partnership Aims to Tackle Hog Farm Wastewater

CALS researchers have partnered with an international irrigation company to help develop a more environmentally friendly solution for managing wastewater from hog farms. 
Steph Kulesza takes soil samples

Nov 8, 2024

After the Storm: Soil Strike Team Helps Farmers Assess Land

A team of soil scientists from the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences recently visited western North Carolina to support local Extension agents in evaluating shifting landscapes and soil impacts due to Hurricane Helene. 
a woman and a man stand in a field of green crops

Sep 25, 2024

New NC State Web Tool Delivers Precise Soybean Planting Recommendations

BeanPACK, a new soybean growers decision support tool designed to revolutionize on-farm recommendations, will be released Oct. 1, in time to inform statewide planting decisions for the 2025 growing season.… 
Research center buildings in Mills River

Sep 18, 2024

USDA Funds NC State Specialty Crop, Organic Research

Learn more about new U.S. Department of Agriculture funding for NC State research on nursery crop automation, Christmas tree genetics, carbon storage in soil, and organic farming research priorities. 
Picture of corn plant against the sky.

Aug 28, 2024

Diverse Crop Rotations Reduce Risk of Crop Loss Under Poor Growing Conditions

This post was written by Autumn Canady at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are responding to the increasingly uncertain climate. The warmer and more unpredictable weather has been a source of instability on U.S. farms. ARS agroecologists turned to history for a solution to… 
A herd of beef cattle graze various cover crop test plots

Feb 19, 2024

Organic Accelerator: New Study Investigates Grazing Living Mulches for Soil Health

Organic demand is hot, but organic farms are declining in North Carolina. Ekrem Ozlu and four partner institutions embark on a four-year USDA NIFA project to evaluate cover crop mixes and animals grazing living mulches to jumpstart soil health in organic systems. 
NC State's Owen Duckworth works in his soil biogeochemistry lab

Nov 27, 2023

Unearthing Soil Solutions for Arsenic Remediation

Arsenic naturally occurs in many North Carolina soils. Owen Duckworth’s lab collaborates with the University of North Carolina’s Superfund Research Program to understand the distribution and effects of naturally occurring arsenic in North Carolina. 
North Carolina soybean breeding plots flooded for research evaluation.

Nov 6, 2023

USDA-ARS Releases Novel Flood-Tolerant Soybean Germplasm

Ben Fall and the USDA-ARS Soybean Nitrogen Fixation Research Unit has released the first maturity group (MG) VI flood-tolerant soybean line with commercially competitive yield and elevated seed oil. 

Oct 9, 2023

A New Leaf in Tobacco Breeding

Tobacco is still a major North Carolina cash crop. Ramsey Lewis' modern Nicotiana research ranges from the agronomic improvement of commercial varieties to the genus’ broader use as a model plant.