Current Team
Gurbir Singh (Ph.D.)
Faculty Advisor
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Soil, Agroecology, and Landscape Management Assistant Professor. Leads research, education, and extension for soil science and agronomy at the University of Missouri. Serving as State Extension Specialist for Landscape Management. Dr. Singh leads programs on Nutrient Management, Industrial hemp production, and Landscape and Drainage Water Management.
Rose M. Paul
Ph.D. Candidate in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences (2024-2027)
Rose is studying nitrogen responses in corn with different landscape positions, biological products, and cover crops. Her focus is on evaluating soil health in response to different nitrogen fertilizers in combination with nitrification inhibitors. Dr. Singh is serving as a major advisor for her dissertation. She enjoys working with fellow graduate students and the friendly and resourceful staff at Greenley Farm.
Rajinder Kaur
M.S. in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences (2024-2026).
Rajinder is an M.S. student at the University of Missouri, and Dr. Singh is serving as a major advisor. She graduated with her B.S. from Punjab Agricultural University, India. Rajinder is studying trends in soil phosphorus and potassium levels influenced by cropping systems and their contributions to a decision-support system for optimal applications.
William Lee
M.S. in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences (2024-2026)
William graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the fall of 2023 with a B.S. degree in Plant Science. His thesis research focuses on forage agronomy, examining the production and grazing of grain sorghum as a feed alternative for livestock operations. His work has the potential to help livestock producers reduce feed costs and increase profitability. Dr. Singh is serving on William’s M.S. committee.
Zarina Khurramova
M.S. in Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences (2025-2026)
Zarina started her M.S. degree at the School of Natural Resources in spring 2025. She is working on the effects of landscape position and nitrogen management on crop production and nutrient losses in Missouri. Her study aims to generate practical, science-based insights that can help farmers adopt more efficient, environmentally friendly nitrogen management strategies. Dr. Singh is serving on her M.S. committee.
Manjot Kaur
M.S. in Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences (2024-2026)
Manjot received her B.S. from Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, and is now working towards her M.S. in Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. She is studying the impact of flooding stress on soybean production and potential management strategies for flooding recovery. What Manjot loves about Greenley Farm is the cooperative work environment, and she believes the research conducted here is very novel. Dr. Singh is serving on her M.S. committee.
Kaitlin Campbell
M.S. in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences (2025-2027)
Kaitlin received her B.S. from Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. She graduated in the Spring of 2025 and began her M.S. program at the University of Missouri Lee Greenley Jr. Memorial Research Farm in the fall of 2025. Her research covers nitrogen management in corn, including nitrogen stabilizers, variable rate application, landscape positions, and cover crops. Kaitlin has been a long-time employee of Greenley Farm. Dr. Singh is serving on her M.S. committee.
Matt Wommack
Ph.D. Candidate in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences (2019- 2027)
Matt graduated in 2010 with his undergraduate degree and began his career at Monsanto. In 2017, he finished his MS in Environmental Plant Science at Missouri State University. He is studying short-stature corn responses to varying rates of nitrogen and fungicide and their effects on ear height. Another focus is testing the effect of plant growth regulators on commercial corn. After 14 years at Monsanto/Bayer, he is now a professor at Missouri State University. Dr. Singh is serving on his doctoral committee.
Fengkai Tian
Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri in Biological Engineering (2024-2026)
Fengkai got his B.S. in Statistics and Mathematics & M.S. in Data Science at the University of Missouri, specializing in High Performance Computing. He loves writing a good story using different datasets, with the goal of finding interesting things, which is a pretty much daily part of his job. For his doctoral research, he is working on developing an AI-enabled recommendation system for crops in Missouri. Dr. Singh is serving on her M.S. committee.
Rodney Freeman
Research Specialist-I (2022-Present)
Rodney has been an inspiration for undergraduate and graduate students. He helps manage all the research trials, has a busy schedule, and juggles research, keeping equipment running, and field and lab work. He manages over 15 acres of rice, which requires tremendous effort and constant water management.
Nichole Miller
Research Specialist-II (2022-Present)
Nichole helps manage field and lab research trials. All the organization and bookkeeping of the research trials is conducted by her. She is a tremendous asset to the program. Nichole also manages the soil and water quality lab at the Greenley Research Center and oversees research data collection. Nichole mentors all undergraduate and graduate students in the program.
Kamal Deep
Education Program Coordinator for the From the Ground Up Project (2025-Present)
Deep joined the program in 2025 and is the state coordinator for “From the ground up Project”. He manages on-farm projects across 5 clusters comprising 30 growers throughout Missouri. His job involves a lot of travelling and coordinating research activities on these on-farm trials.
Previous Researchers, Students, Postdocs, and Scholars Mentored by Dr. Singh
Harpreet Kaur Sidhu (Ph.D.)
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Harpreet was a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri. Dr. Singh served as a member of the M.S. and Ph.D. Committees. She graduated in the spring of 2020 with her Master’s in watershed sciences from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. For her doctoral research, she investigated the impact of cover crops on nutrient loss on a terraced tiled field, as well as soil health and drainage water management. Harpreet graduated with a Master’s in Statistics and a Doctorate in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences in 2023.
Mehtab M. Aslam (Ph.D.)
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Mehtab was a Postdoc (2024-2025) at the University of Missouri Greenley Research Farm. She served as a State Coordinator for “From the Ground Up Project”. Mehtab also worked on evaluating soybean root morphology and agronomic yield as affected by the use of biological strain/products on various landscape positions.
Pranay Kumar Kadari (M.S.)
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Pranay graduated from Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University in 2022 with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Sciences. He earned his MS degree in the summer of 2025. His research focused on the effects of nitrogen application timing and rate, along with various nitrogen stabilizers, on crop production, gaseous emissions, soil, and water quality at different topographic positions.
Charchit Bansal (M.S.)
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Charchit received his B.S. in Agriculture from Punjab Agricultural University, India, in 2023. He graduated with an M.S. in Plant Sciences in Fall 2025 from the University of Missouri. His research focused on drainage water management in terraced fields, using new tile-inlet technologies to reduce nutrient and sediment loss from drainage water.
Anjeeta (M.S.)
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Anjeeta received a B.S. in Agriculture Sciences from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, India, in 2023. She graduated with an M.S. degree in Fall 2025. Dr. Singh served on the master’s committee. Anjeeta worked on developing agronomic management practices for industrial hemp production in Missouri. She conducted multilocation trials in Missouri for industrial hemp variety testing and nitrogen management.
Dustin Steinkamp (M.S.)
Dustin graduated from Western Illinois University with a B.S. in agriculture in 2023. He graduated with an M.S. degree from the University of Missouri Lee Greenley Jr. Memorial Farm in Summer 2025. His thesis research focused on field evaluations of dicyandiamide rates and enhanced-efficiency urea treatments for corn. Dr. Singh served on the master’s committee.
Tharindu Rambadagalla (M.S.)
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Tharindu earned his B.S. in Agricultural Technology and Management with a major in Crop Sciences from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 2022. Tharindu conducted field research at the Greenley Research Center, evaluating the effects of winter cover crops on nitrogen dynamics in agricultural systems. His study also examined the overall performance of corn-soybean rotations when integrated with cover crops, a practice particularly relevant to sustainable agriculture. Dr. Singh served on Tharindu’s M.S. committee and earned his MS in the summer of 2025.
Dean Frossard (M.S.)
Dean graduated from Columbia College with a BS in environmental science and a minor in biology. Dr. Singh served on Dean’s M.S. committee. Dean studied the effects of different nitrogen fertilizer rates and nitrogen inhibitors on greenhouse gas emissions and corn production at the Lee Greenley Jr. Memorial Research Farm and graduated in 2024.
Chad Hankins (M.S.)
Mr. Hankins was an M.S. student at Mississippi State University (MS-State). Dr. Singh served as a Major Advisor during his tenure at MS-State. Chad graduated in 2023 with his Master’s and worked on evaluating conventional and strip tillage systems with fertilizer placement in irrigated and dryland corn and soybean in the Mississippi Delta.
Amilcar Vargas Loyo (Ph.D.)
Researchgate
Amilcar was a doctoral student at Mississippi State University (MS-State). Dr. Singh served as a Major Advisor during his tenure at MS-State. Amilcar graduated in 2024 with his Ph.D. and worked on evaluating the effects of irrigation systems, row patterns, and nutrient management strategies on corn and soybeans. His dissertation title was optimizing water, nitrogen and row patterns for irrigated corn and soybean in the Mississippi Delta. Amilcar is the superintendent at C.M. Stripling Irrigation Research Park, University of Georgia.
Dillon Russel (M.S.)
Dillon is a native of Greenville, MS. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Mississippi State University in 2019. After working as a summer worker under Dr. Jason Krutz from 2015-2017, Dillon decided to pursue graduate studies in irrigation research. Dillon’s thesis research evaluated the effect of irrigation scheduling thresholds and cover crops on corn and soybean production. Dr. Singh served on his thesis committee and established trials for his MS research. Dillon is now pursuing his Ph.D. at Mississippi State University.
Thomas (Trey) B. Freeland (M.S.)
Trey was born and raised in Leland, MS. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Mississippi State University. Growing up here, Trey has always known of the great research at the Delta Research and Extension Center. When he learned of NCAAR’s work in irrigation and water management, he knew he had to further his education at NCAAR. Trey’s thesis research examined the effects of furrow irrigation spacing on Sharkey clay soils during corn planting. His research helped demonstrate how to effectively space irrigation to reduce flooding on clay soils. Dr. Singh served on his thesis committee and helped manage corn production at NCAAR.
Jacob Rix (M.S.)
Jacob Rix is a native of Omaha, Nebraska. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanized systems management at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His earliest memories of irrigation were center pivot startups with his grandfather. Jacob’s thesis research evaluated furrow infiltration on surface sealing loam soils in corn. Practical biological, chemical, and mechanical treatments were investigated as potential remedies. Jacob also contributed to NCAAR’s Soil Moisture Monitoring Showcase. Dr. Singh served on his M.S.
committee. Jacob is an Agricultural Project Engineer at Settje Agri-Services and Engineering, Inc.
James Dew (M.S.)
James’ master’s research focused on evaluating the effects of adding and removing specific nutrient strategies on high-yielding corn production systems in the Mississippi Delta. His project was funded by the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board. James graduated with an MS in fall 2022, and Dr. Singh served as a committee member.
Camden Oglesby (M.S.)
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Camden evaluated nitrogen management systems for corn production in Mississippi. He compared different crop canopy sensors and correlated the developed vegetative indices with the agronomically optimum nitrogen rate for corn. Dr. Singh served on his master’s committee and helped manage the nitrogen rate response trial at the Mississippi Delta Stoneville.
Ashani Thilakarthne (Ph.D.)
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Dr. Thilakarthne evaluated the effects of cover crops and tillage on surface runoff and subsurface leaching losses from a corn-soybean production system in southern Illinois. Dr. Singh served on her dissertation committee. Ashani is currently an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Bhupinder Singh (Ph.D.)
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Bhupinder was a post-doc at the National Center for Alluvial Aquifer Research Center, Mississippi State University, Leland, MS. He worked in Dr. Singh’s lab and evaluated skip row and every row irrigation for the soybean production system. He also contributed to the development of several research trials evaluating plant physiology under different irrigation systems. Bhupinder is currently an assistant professor at the University of Arizona.
Akanksha Sehgal (Ph.D.)
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Dr. Sehgal was a post-doc at the National Center for Alluvial Aquifer Research Center, Mississippi State University, Leland, MS. She worked on evaluating genotype and environment interaction effects on cotton nectar production, physiology, yield, and cotton fiber properties. Akanksha published a long-term centennial dataset for cotton rotation for the mid-south US region. The most profitable rotation was corn-cotton-cotton, followed by corn-cotton, with annual expected profits of $1042/ha and $1024/ ha, respectively.
Michael Prudent (M.S.)
Michael worked as an extension agent for Grenada County, Mississippi, while working towards his M.S. degree. Dr. Singh served on his M.S. committee and established and maintained his research plots. Michael successfully defended and completed this thesis in 2025. His MS research evaluated “Impact of overseeding cover crops on dryland soybeans in Mississippi Delta.”
Amrinder S. Jakhar (M.S.)
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Amrinder received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from Punjab Agricultural University. Amrinder’s thesis quantified the impacts of biochar and gypsum on soil properties, water quality, and crop production in soybean and cotton systems in the Mississippi Delta. Dr. Singh served on Amrinder’s M.S. committee and maintained the biochar/gypsum trial for USDA-ARS during his tenure at MS-State. Amrinder is pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Georgia and evaluting variable rate nitrogen management using drones and UAVs.
Erkin Ravshanov (Visiting Scholar)
Erkin was an undergraduate student from Uzbekistan and was a visiting scholar at Greenley Research Center in 2024.
Rasulben Yuldashev (Visiting Scholar)
Rasulben was a graduate student from Uzbekistan and was a visiting scholar at Greenley Research Center in 2024.
Umesh Mathada Rangappa (Visiting Scholar)
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Dr. Rangappa was a visiting scholar at Dr. Singh’s lab. He evaluated the effects of different tillage systems on corn grain yields and on soil physical properties. The evaluated tillage systems were subsoiling, strip tillage, and no-tillage.
Tarandeep Kaur (Visiting Scholar)
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Dr. Kaur came to Mississippi State University as a Visiting Scholar. Tarandeep worked on evaluating root architecture for winter cover crops. Dr. Kaur is currently an Assistant Professor of Agronomy at Khalsa College, Amritsar.
Zahiriddin Berdimuratov (Visiting Scholar)
Zahiriddin (Zach) was a graduate student from Uzbekistan and was a visiting scholar at Greenley Research Center in 2024.
Other undergraduate and graduate students mentored by Dr. Singh
Trace Steadman
Hayden Burford
Ryan Hall
Dixant Yadav
Ayush Kumar
Gurjot Singh
Curtis Knight
Reuben Alawode
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