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MSU scientist receives cotton physiology award
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University plant physiologist was honored for significantly contributing to the understanding of cotton physiology, growth and development.
K. Raja Reddy, professor in MSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, received the 2010 Outstanding Research Award in Cotton Physiology at the 2011 Beltwide Cotton Physiology Conference in Atlanta in January. The award is sponsored by the Arysta Life Science Corporation.
Mike Collins, director of the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri, nominated Reddy for the award. Collins said Reddy’s cotton modeling research is used by researchers and farmers around the country.
“He developed a method to use daily temperature records to project the incremental growth and development of various plant organs for each day,” Collins said. “It has been incorporated into a comprehensive cotton crop model, GOSSYM, which predicts cotton responses on a daily basis, depending on real weather conditions. The model provides real-time information that is useful to producers during the season for determining additional management practices to optimize yields.”
Reddy’s nominators praised his contributions to cotton physiology, particularly in abiotic stress responses and cotton modeling.
“Dr. Reddy has made profound impacts on cotton modeling, including climate change,” said Dan Reynolds, plant and soil science interim head. “He has been in the forefront of scientific developments in agro-climatology and agronomic modeling, as well as remote sensing.”
A 23-year veteran at MSU, Reddy has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, including 106 refereed journals and 28 book chapters.
Reddy earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, India. He is the recipient of several awards including the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Outstanding Worker Award and the American Society of Agronomy Award of Excellence. He is a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America.
