Most of my recent research has focused on diagnosing and addressing sustainability problems in the rice-wheat cropping systems of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Key areas of investigation have been: solarization for improving the root/soil health of transplanted crops (rice, vegetables); permanent raised bed systems to reduce the economic, water and soil problems of conventional and arsenic effected rice based cropping systems; quantifying soil carbon sequestration under minimum and zero tillage practices; seed priming and enrichment approaches to alleviate pervasive soil micronutrient deficiencies; developing lime recommendations for acid soils in Bangladesh; and assessing grain and herbaceous legumes for multiple benefits other than nitrogen. Domestically I have worked on projects investigating: dynamics and environmental controls of methane oxidation and production under different agroecosystems; temporal variability of nitrogen mineralization from various local, municipal sludge materials; soil quality monitoring of a sustainable agriculture project on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay; fertilizer nitrogen utilization and losses by spring wheat using 15N; and alternative soil indices for biological nitrogen supply to maize.

Developed farmer handouts, training materials and promotional packages to be used in dissemination of Solarization for Healthy Seedlings and Permanent Raised Beds for rice-wheat cropping systems in Bangladesh and Nepal. At the request of the International Rice Research Institute I conducted a hands-on training for national agricultural scientists from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan on “Soil & Root Health Issues for Water Saving Rice Systems.”