Soil Fertility Team

Manbir Rakkar

Assistant Professor of Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management

rakkar.4@osu.edu

131 Williams Hall

1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691

I was born and raised in Punjab, India. I completed my PhD in agronomy with a specialization in soil and water sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I have diverse research experience and have worked on topics such as evaluating potassium fertilizer recommendations, soil ecosystem services in integrated crop-livestock system, soil health under annual and perennial cropping systems and soil acidification in semi-arid environments. My research aims to unveil the complex soil dynamics, understand interactions of soil processes, and resolve soil issues using inter-disciplinary approaches. Due to my research background in soil physics, chemistry, and biology, I evaluate all phases of soil to develop holist best management practices for a range of crop-soil systems. In addition to research, I engage in extension activities to disseminate research findings, learn about regional agricultural concerns, and execute farmer-oriented research projects to develop sustainable and vibrant agriculture systems.

Current Members

Aline de Camargo Santos, Postdoctoral Scholar

Aline started her career in agricultural research as an agronomist in 2012 at the University of São Paulo. She continued her studies, earning a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida in the summers of 2019 and 2023, respectively. Throughout her career journey, she has focused on plant and soil nutrition, plant ecophysiology, and crop stress resilience. Her ultimate goal is to use her multidisciplinary training to conduct research that has a positive impact on farmers and enables collaboration with researchers at local, regional, and international levels. The primary objective of her research is the development of affordable technologies and strategies to overcome the many adversities that affect farmers. Additionally, she looks forward to improving science communication, which she sees as a way to translate scientific findings into practical results that meet the needs of farmers.

Louceline Fleuridor, Postdoctoral Scholar

Jaspreet Singh, M.S. Student 

Naiima Abdi, Student Intern

Naiima Abdi is an undergraduate student at The Ohio State University, currently pursuing her bachelor's degree after earning an associate’s degree in Biology. As a participant in the DOSU (Destination Ohio State University) program, Naiima is gaining valuable research experience through a student intern position at the Soil Fertility Lab under the guidance of Dr. Aline de Camargo Santos. She is eager to deepen her understanding of soil science, expand her practical skills, and contribute to the lab’s research on crop production, soil health, and nutrient management. 

Kauê Barbosa, Visiting Scholar

Kauê Barbosa is an undergraduate in Agronomy at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Brazil. During his undergraduate studies, he was part of the Soil-Water-Plant (SAP) research group  from 2019 to 2021, developing projects focused on the physical and chemical analysis of soils, soil sample collection and preparation, fertilization recommendations, soil salinity, and plant adaptation to salt stress. He then completed an academic exchange program in France from 2021 to 2022. In 2021, he specialized on agroecology at the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT). In 2022, he joined the Laboratory of Ecological Functions and Environment, where he worked on comparing conventional and conservation soil management systems and their effects on wheat production across different agricultural regions of France. In 2024, he participated in the First Northeastern Soil Competition in Brazil, where his team earned second place in soil identification and classification. Kauê is excited to be part of the new team at the OSU's Soil Fertility and Health Laboratory, where he hopes to deepen his knowledge in soil health, fertility, no-tillage, and crop rotation. He aims to apply his expertise toward the development of agricultural systems that are resilient to climate change and promote food security. He believes that through sustainable agriculture and soil conservation practices, it is possible to preserve natural resources and ensure access of the food for people around the world.

Ben Robinson, Research Associate
robinson.1757@osu.edu

Ben was raised in an agricultural environment on his family’s dairy farm, where he developed hands-on experience in livestock management, including milking, feeding, and overall herd care, as well as crop production. He earned an Associate’s degree from The Ohio State University in 2015 and began his professional career in the Horticulture and Crop Sciences Department, contributing to the development of agricultural production strategies for the novel crop "Rubber dandelions" (Taraxacum kok-saghyz).
In 2021, Ben transitioned to his current role in the Soil Fertility and Soil Health Lab, where his research focuses on soil fertility, soil health, and the emerging crop "Kernza", an intermediate wheatgrass. He oversees the daily operations of field experiments and laboratory soil processing, ensuring the precision and efficiency of research activities. His commitment to understanding the interactions among management practices, fertilization, and agricultural technological advancements in soil health enables him to support farmers -including himself - in driving agricultural innovation.

Roger Downer, Research Associate
downer.2@osu.edu

Roger has a PhD in Biology from The University of Portsmouth (UK) 1998. Thesis title “The impact of spray modifiers on pesticide dose transfer”. Prior to moving from England to join the Laboratory for Pest Control Application Technology at The Ohio State University in 1989, Roger spent 20 years in the Agrochemical Industry as an entomologist but with a significant input into and interest in pesticide application. He has traveled to many parts of the world carrying out insecticide development field trials primarily in cotton. For the past 25 + years he has been involved in a wide range of projects including research into the role, use and effectiveness of adjuvants in crop protection with a special interest in drift management. He joined the Doohan Weed Lab in November 2011 where he is involved in a variety of projects including laboratory and field performance evaluation of adjuvants and formulations for weed control. Roger is also involved in projects and organizations evaluating the role of pollinators in agricultural crop production and the effect pesticides have on those pollinators. He is currently a co-chair of the Pollinator Partnership task force on pesticides.

Former Lab Leaders

Leonardo Deiss Assistant Professor in Soil Science and Nutrient Management Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Colorado State University l.deiss@colostate.edu Building: Plant Sciences, Room: 136 Fort Collins, CO 80523

Steve Culman Director of the Central Oregon Agricultural Research and Extension Center Oregon State University culmans@oregonstate.edu Central Oregon Agriculture Research and Extension Center 850 NW Dogwood Lane Madras, OR 97741-8988

Muhammad Tariq Saeed
Visiting Scholar