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Department of Crop and Soil Sciences

Skyline of Raleigh North Carolina

Nov 2, 2020

From Sunrise to Startups, Grad Students Plan Futures

Whether it’s organic peanut production, better options for soybean crop rotation or finding new ways to help crops thrive, CALS graduate students are poised to make a difference. 

A man wearing a red t-shirt standing in a field of tall grass.

Oct 23, 2020

Making Virtual Class Work

Thanks to wise planning and a hefty dose of creativity, Crop and Soil Sciences instructors are taking remote-learning students outside the classroom and even a bit further this year. 

Man and woman talking in a corn field

Oct 7, 2020

Measuring Greenhouse Gases Starts in Soil

Researchers from NC State’s Crop and Soil Sciences and the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) are pioneering research methodology to understand and harness the power of our soil to affect climate change. 

Two children building a stick structure in the woods

Sep 4, 2020

Outdoor Play: At Your Doorstep

The answers to some of the most vexing social, educational and health challenges that today’s children face lie right at our doorsteps. That’s the message NC State University extension specialists share… 

Cotton field with the sun shining

Jun 24, 2020

Decision Tools Bolster Cotton Picks

Not all farms grow food. Cotton is NC’s second-largest cash crop with over a half-million acres grown each year. NC State Crop and Soil Sciences Extension offers agronomic decision tools to help growers navigate their way to success. 

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. 

A young woman in a strawberry field with a bucket of strawberries

May 20, 2020

A Change of Pace

Michelle Pace Davis is a sixth generation Johnston County farmer who has learned the importance of farm adaptability, agricultural education and customer connections. Part of her farm’s mission is to invite and educate - including students from her alma mater 

Many reaches toward plants being grown under LED lights in an indoor farm.

May 7, 2020

Growing Upward

On his path toward a career in international development, Mark Watson has built an expansive portfolio. He's earned three majors, two minors and two concentrations; gained research experience in Lima, Peru, and at NC State; and developed and led a student club on the cutting-edge practice of vertical farming. 

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.