Team

Kurtis Pilkington, M.Sc Student (2021-)

Co-supervised with Dr. David Hooker

B.Sc.Agr, University of Guelph (2020)

Thesis topic: Effect of plant growth regulators on winter wheat yield, lodging and biomechanics

Jongwon Kang, Ph.D Student (2022-)

M.Sc, Plant Breeding, Chungbuk National University, South Korea (2021). Advisor: Dr. Yoon-Sup So.

Jongwon’s Ph.D research is focused on corn physiology and agronomy. His research includes: using the DNDC biogeochemical model to analyze the effect of nitrogen application timing on N2O emissions, improving corn phenology predictions by incorporating solar radiation into traditional GDD models, analyzing weather/soil/crop datasets to understand what conditions are conducive to late nitrogen applications in corn.

Gavin Brady, M.Sc Student (2022-)

Co-supervised with Dr. John Lauzon

B.Sc.Agr, University of Guelph (2022)

My research currently focuses on gaining better understanding of the effects of drought upon corn nitrogen uptake and metabolism. Furthermore, the impacts of differing N sources, timings, application methods, and rates are also being analyzed. The aim of this research is to contribute towards an updated best nitrogen management plan.

Lance Javier, MSc Student (2023- present)

I am researching the underlying causes of poor stand establishment and reduced yield observed in cropping systems with higher levels of surface residue, such as no-tillage or cover-cropped systems. There is a heavy emphasis on seedbed quality indicators (e.g., residue level, soil structure), and how these might affect germination and emergence patterns in corn and soybean across on-farm research trials in Eastern Ontario. My goal is to promote the adoption of soil health building practices like no-tillage and cover cropping by equipping farmers with actionable insights to address stand establishment issues on their farms. 

Seth Ristma, M.Sc student (2022-present)

Co-supervised with Dr. David Hooker

I’m currently working on a planting date project that looks at 12 and 10 different hybrids/varieties of corn and soybean planted in April, May, and June to analyze the interaction between planting date and crop maturity, along with soybean seeding rate. The goal is to create
profitable, data-backed Ontario-specific recommendations for farmers to use in order to improve early/late planting decisions, along with investigating the plant-to-plant variability in corn across
different maturity selection and planting date

Lauren Miller, Honor’s Undergrad Project (2023-present)

I am an undergraduate student in my 4^th year of Plant Science, here at Guelph. I have the privilege to work in this lab for my Undergraduate Research Project in Agriculture. The goals for my project are to standardize methodology for compaction of field soils, and gain a deeper understanding of how compaction influences root system architecture of corn and soy. Instead of destroying the root system to analyze these effects, I’ll be using an x-ray scanner made available by the School of Environmental Sciences and Dr. Richard Heck. I am glad for the research experience I have gained since being part of this lab.