LINKS
Field Crops Extension and Research Team
Nutifafa (Fafa) Adotey
Assistant Professor, Soil and Nutrient Management Specialist
Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: 731-425-4711
Email: nadotey@tennessee.edu
Ryan Blair
Extension Area Specialist
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4733
Email: rblair2@utk.edu
Ryan serves as the Area Crop Production Specialist with responsibilities for the county standard variety testing program across the state for corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton.
Sebe Brown
Assistant Professor, Field Crops IPM Specialist
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4793
Email:sbrow175@utk.edu
Dr. Brown is an extension-research entomologist with the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology in Jackson, TN. Sebe has statewide responsibilities for arthropod pest management in major field crops including corn, cotton, soybean, sorghum and wheat. His educational and applied research programs focus on the most important pests affecting these crops.
Heather Young Kelly
Professor, Field Crops Pathologist & IPM Coordinator
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4713
Email: youngkelly@utk.edu
Dr. Kelly serves as extension-research plant pathologist at The University of Tennessee in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology in Jackson, TN. The majority of her time is concentrated on the control of diseases in cotton, corn, soybean, and wheat. She is responsible for all disease control recommendations of field crops except tobacco for Tennessee. This includes the development of statewide educational programs covering cotton, corn, soybean, and small grains. More information can be found on Dr. Kelly’s faculty page.
Jake McNeal
Assistant Professor, Corn and Soybean Specialist
Department of Plant Sciences
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 3830
Phone: (731)-425-4706
Email: jmcneal4@utk.edu
Dr. McNeal serves as Corn and Soybean Specialist at The University of Tennessee where he has a 100% Extension appointment in the Department of Plant Sciences. Jake received his M.S. (2016) and Ph.D. (2021) from Mississippi State University where he was trained as a systems agronomist in corn, cotton, and soybean production systems. His research focused on sensor-based irrigation management (M.S.) and on evaluating the impact of spray droplet size and carrier volume on the efficacy of pesticide applications in the Mid-South and Southeast (Ph.D.). Through applied research, Jake and his program are working to identify limiting factors to corn and soybean production in Tennessee by taking a systems approach to develop economically sustainable agronomic practices for these cropping systems.
Tyson Raper
Associate Professor, Cotton and Small Grains Specialist
Department of Plant Sciences
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4707
Email: traper@utk.edu
Dr. Raper received his Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of Arkansas, his M.S. in 2011 from Mississippi State University and his B.S. in 2009 from Auburn University. His research has focused on the remote detection of nutrient deficiencies in cotton and the use of soil moisture measurements to quantify severity of seasonal drought stress. Tyson has a 75% Extension and 25% Research appointment at the University of Tennessee. This appointment consists of conducting applied research, developing extension publications, presenting educational programs and troubleshooting on-farm cotton and small-grains issues. His research program focuses on cotton variety testing (both official and county test demonstrations), plant nutrition and site-specific management.
Avat Shekoofa
Associate Professor, Crop Physiologist-Water Stress and Irrigation
Department of Plant Science
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4704
Email: ashekoof@utk.edu
Dr. Shekoofa’s Ph.D. research was focused on kernel development of maize as affected by source/sink ratio. (Her dissertation was written and presented in English.) She was a visiting scientist at Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina from 2009-2010. She conducted postdoc research at North Carolina State University (NCSU) on water stress in turfgrass and crop species. Particular emphasis was given to identifying genetic traits that impart drought tolerance. Dr. Shekoofa’s current research in the Department of Plant Sciences centers on developing an active and nationally recognized program in crop physiology with a focus on plant water saving potential. Her true passion in research lies in discovering more about the action of the environment on plant water movement, leaves stomata conductance, transpiration response, plant resistance, and resilience to environmental changes such as water and/or heat stress.
Larry Steckel
Professor, Row Crop Weed Specialist
Department of Plant Science
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4705
Email: lsteckel@utk.edu
Dr. Steckel received his M.S. in Weed Science from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He worked as an agronomist in the seed industry for 10 years before returning to school to obtain his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois. He joined the Plant Sciences Department at the University of Tennessee in 2003. Currently, Dr. Steckel directs much of his research and extension efforts on very troublesome and economically important weeds, and he and his graduate students evaluate novel integrated weed management technologies in Tennessee row crop agriculture.
Scott Stewart
Director, West TN Research and Education Center
(Professor, Dept. Entomology and Plant Pathology)
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 425-4709
Email: sdstewart@utk.edu
Dr. Stewart is the Director of The West Tennessee Research and Education Center. Before that, he was an Extension Entomology Specialist with expertise in row crops, also at the University of Tennessee. Scott grew up in Iowa, received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees and Texas A&M University and Auburn University, respectively, before working for Mississippi State University and ultimately joining the faculty at UT in 2002.
Virginia Sykes
Asst. Professor, Variety Testing and Agroecology Specialist
Department of Plant Science
347 Ellington Plant Sciences Building
2431 Joe Johnson Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4561
Phone: (865) 974-7285
Email: vsykes@utk.edu
Dr. Sykes leads the corn, soybean, silage, and cover crop variety trials, with a focus on delivering high quality, easily accessible, timely data to stakeholders (search.utcrops.com). Her agroecology work focuses primarily on determining species and best management practices that optimize economic and ecological benefits of conservation agriculture practices in Tennessee. Current work includes evaluations of short and long-term impacts of cover cropping and crop rotations, living mulch, dual-purpose cover crops, and winter oilseed double-crops for sustainable food and fuel (appointment: 75% Extension, 25% Research).
Xinhua (Frank) Yin
Professor, Systems Agronomist
Department of Plant Sciences
West TN Research and Education Center
605 Airways Blvd.
Jackson, TN 38301
Phone: (731) 424-1643
Email: xyin2@utk.edu
Dr. Yin has a 100% research appointment working in the area of systems agronomy. Frank brings much needed expertise in precision agriculture and nutrient management to our already strong team of research and Extension scientists in Jackson.