Mizzou Plant Science & Technology

09/10/2026

Welcome Davide Dal Pos, Assistant Professor and Director of the Enns Entomology Museum!

Join us in giving a warm welcome to our newest CAFNR faculty!

🐅Shelley Curry, Assistant Professor of Meat Science, Division of Mizzou Animal Sciences
🐅Davide Dal Pos, Assistant Professor and Director of the Enns Entomology Museum, Division of Mizzou Plant Science & Technology
🐅Elliott Dennis, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, and inaugural Mershon Family Production Economics Scholar, Division of Applied Social Sciences
🐅Hannah Hemmelgarn, Assistant Research Professor and Associate Director of the Center for Agroforestry, Mizzou School of Natural Resources
🐅Nicholas Meier, Assistant Research Professor, School of Natural Resources
🐅Chaise Murphy, Assistant Teaching Professor, Division of Food, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences

We're excited to have these talented CAFNR community members accelerating our land-grant mission of teaching, research and extension!

09/08/2026

We had a great time meeting FFA students from across the state today at the Career Exploration Day at Bradford!

University of Missouri - CAFNR
Mizzou Ag Pest Detectives

09/04/2026

Measurements were taken and elevations were recorded! Students in PLNT_SCI 2254: Landscape Design persevered through the heat this week to gather site information for an upcoming design project, developing skills that will be invaluable in their future careers, particularly for those pursuing the University of Missouri's Certificate in Landscape Design.

09/03/2026

We enjoyed meeting with new and returning PST students tonight at Mizzou CAFNR Fall Round Up!

Mizzou Agronomy Club
Mizzou SAIFD
Mizzou Agricultural Systems Technology Club
Mizzou 1/4 Scale Tractor Pulling Team
Mizzou NWTF
Mizzou Horticulture Club

09/02/2026

PLNT_SCI 3220: Special Occasion Floral Design has been busy practicing balloon installations. Their work will be on display tonight at Fall Round Up.

09/02/2026

Know of a student in K-12 that is interested in exploring more about plants? Have them join us for Junior Plant Scientist Day or Plant Science Discovery Lab on October 24th! These events are free but please make sure to register to secure your students spot.

08/24/2026

It was a great first day of classes. So happy to have our students back on campus!

MIZ -PST!

08/20/2026

We enjoyed visiting with alumni and future tigers today at the Missouri State Fair!

08/12/2026

Congratulations to Plant Sciences student and PST Ambassador Jacob Hicks! Jacob is pursuing the Breeding, Biology, Biotechnology emphasis within Plant Sciences.

Two unique programs allowed Jacob Hicks to jumpstart his research journey when he arrived on the University of Missouri campus two years ago: the Brazeal Scholarship and the FRIPS Program. This summer, another program allowed Hicks to build on the important work he began as a freshman.

Through the Cherng Summer Scholars program, Hicks, a junior plant sciences major, has spent the summer researching plants in the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. These plants contain genes involved in producing compounds called acylsugars. Those sugars help defend the plants against various threats, like insects, viruses, fungi and even some environmental stresses. While the compounds share a basic structure, small variations can give them different functions.

Hicks worked to identify the coding sequence for that first gene, ASAT1, which provides instructions for an enzyme that helps build acylsugars. He conducted his research through the laboratory of Craig Schenck, an assistant professor of biochemistry.

“Many of the plants in this family are major agricultural crops,” Hicks said. “It would be very advantageous if we could figure out ways to better defend them in agricultural settings. Our work aims to understand the basic science of how the acylsugars are produced because of the real-world implications.”

Learn more about his work: https://honors.missouri.edu/news/2026/08/digging-into-the-defenses-of-plants/

Mizzou College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Mizzou Plant Science & Technology