13 graduate students from around Illinois participated in the second annual Student Research Poster Competition at Soybean Summit on February 1, 2024, in Champaign. While the presented research topics touched generally on soybeans, the students displayed a wide range of expertise within their projects.

The students who presented posters are listed below with their poster title, school, and advisor. You can read more about each poster at https://www.ilsoyadvisor.com/student-agronomy-research-projects/.

• Does nitrogen management in winter wheat affect its yield and nitrate-n leaching in a wheat-soybean double cropping system? – Oluwaseun Ola, PhD student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Amir Sadeghpour
• Soybean performance and soil nitrous oxide emissions after six and eight years of tillage and cover cropping – Folahanmi Adeyemi, PhD student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Amir Sadeghpour
• Assessing fall applied phosphorus sources and wheat cover crop on the following soybean performance – Moein Javid, MS student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Amir Sadeghpour
• Does a long-term no-till in corn-soybean rotation decrease nitrous oxide emissions in Southern Illinois? – Sowmya Koduru, PhD student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Amir Sadeghpour
• Palmer amaranth: discovering weaknesses of seedlings for management in soybean fields – Cimmy Nakum, MS student at University of Illinois Chicago under Dr. Kate Warpeha
• Stem diseases of soybean: Identifying the prevalent causing pathogens across Illinois – Danillo Leite, PhD student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Ahmad Fakhoury
• Impact of pennycress in different illinois crop rotation systems on soybean yield – Rashmi Dangol, MS student at Illinois State University under Dr. Nicholas Heller
• Detection of soybean SCN infection using multi-scale remote sensing – Yuhua Wang, MS student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Ruopu Li
• Towards sustainable soybeans: A yearlong assessment of soil health, water quality and climate footprint of Illinois soybeans – Heidi Allen Asensio, PhD student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under Dr. Andrew Margenot
• Liposomal encapsulation of trichoderma cell-free filtrate and its antifungal activity against Fusarium virguliforme – Jonna Atienza-Parcon, PhD student at Southern Illinois University under Dr. Ahmad Fakhoury
• Soybean planting date impacts the response to agronomic management – Miranda Ochs, MS student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under Dr. Fred Below
• Assessing the impacts of crop rotations on crop productivity and environmental sustainability in the U.S. Midwest – Ziyi Li, PhD student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under Dr. Kaiyu Guan
• Managing decomposition of cereal rye residues in no-till soybean for timely nutrient release – Darby Danzl, MS student at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under Dr. Fred Below

(L-R) Heidi Allen Asensio, Darby Danzl, Danillo Leite (Photo – J. Jones)

First place in the competition went to Heidi Allen Asensio, second place to Danillo Leite, and third place to Darby Danzl. The students fielded questions from farmers and ag professionals throughout the day and participated in the competition at the conclusion of the Soybean Summit presentations.

“Being able to share my research with everyone at the event was an amazing experience. Typically, the scientific conferences I present posters at do not have any farmers in attendance, so the Soybean Summit provided a unique opportunity for me to share our findings with them. As a researcher, nothing is more rewarding than having a positive impact on farming operations, as this is our goal when we design these studies,” said Danzl.

At the Illinois Soybean Association, we truly value the opportunity to support students, especially those pursuing careers in agriculture. The Student Research Poster Competition is one way we get students in front of farmers to share their research and receive feedback from a practicality standpoint. Farmers can learn about new and emerging science that could influence their operation into the future. It’s a win-win for all! We hope you can join us next year at Soybean Summit to engage with cutting edge experts and student researchers.