Kansas State University

The K-State wheat breeding teams in Manhattan and Hays have loaded up the plates of wheat farmers across Kansas and the entire region with four new high-yielding varieties for 2016 and 2017! You can certainly be proud of the work being done by the breeding teams in your Agronomy Department – they are second to none!

1. Joe: Hard white wheat for western Kansas

This new hard white wheat variety is for western Kansas. Joe will be available to plant in the fall of 2016. This variety was named after Joe Martin, retired wheat breeder from K-State’s Agricultural Research Center-Hays.

Joe was bred and developed in the wheat breeding program at K-State’s Agricultural Research Center at Hays, and released by Guorong Zhang, wheat breeder at the Hays station. The pedigree of Joe includes Jagger, Arlin, Trego, and a Colorado experimental line. Continue reading “Four new wheat varieties: Joe, Larry, Tatanka, and Zenda” →

You can now find exciting new information from the Department of Agronomy on mobile devices and computers in more ways than ever! We have many social media and other electronic efforts now to choose from: Agronomy eUpdate, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat (coming soon), in addition to our regular web site.

Your department is doing more great work than ever in teaching, research, and Extension. We’ll do everything we can to keep you up-to-the-minute on everything we’re doing. Our social media and electronic forums will emphasize efficient agronomic practices, current research, student accomplishments within the department, new faculty hires and retirements, and much more. Continue reading “Social Media Supercharges Communications from Department of Agronomy!” →

Andres Patrignani, Soil Water Processes

Dr. Andres Patrignani is the new assistant professor in soil water processes in the Department of Agronomy. Patrignani joined the department in May 2016 and holds the position formerly held by Dr. Loyd Stone, who is now retired.

Patrignani grew up in the city of Venado Tuerto, Argentina. In 2008, he received his B.S. degree in Agronomic Engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario located in Rosario, Argentina. He then participated in a year-long internship through Monsanto and the Argentine No-till Farmers Association working in South Dakota State University’s soil fertility lab. Continue reading “New Faculty: Andres Patrignani” →

Dale Fjell

Dale Fjell, former State Extension Crop Production Specialist at K-State, retired on Sept. 1, 2016. At the time of his retirement, Fjell was the Northeast Area Extension Director.

Fjell, a native of Nebraska, first came to K-State in the fall of 1974 to go to graduate school in Biochemistry. He eventually decided to change directions a bit. Fjell accepted an offer from Gary Paulsen, professor of crop physiology, for a full-time research assistant position. Continue reading “Retirements from Agronomy: Dale Fjell and Dave Mengel” →