Jonathan Lynch

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Jonathan Lynch

Lynch named recipient of American Society of Plant Biologists award

5/10/18

Jonathan Lynch, distinguished professor of plant science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named the 2018 winner of the Dennis R. Hoagland Award for his work in improving scientific understanding of crop productivity and plant nutrition to improve production and food security.

A computer simulation of root characteristics.

Researchers receive $7 million grant to develop deeper crop roots

1/13/17

Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $7 million grant to design a low-cost, integrated system that can identify and screen for high-yielding, deeper-rooted crops. The interdisciplinary team will combine a suite of technologies designed to identify phenotypes and genes related to desirable root traits, with the goal of enhancing the breeding of crop varieties better adapted for nitrogen and water acquisition and carbon sequestration.

panoramic Larson farm

Study finds that maize roots have evolved to be more nitrogen efficient

4/16/15

Selective breeding of maize over the last century to create hybrids with desirable shoot characteristics and increased yield may have contributed indirectly to the evolution of root systems that are more efficient in acquiring nutrients, such as nitrogen, from the soil, according to researchers.

Beans in Africa

Professor leads project to breed beans resistant to climate stresses

11/5/13

With support from a $5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, an international team led by Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will establish the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Climate-Resilient Beans. The project will employ novel techniques to accelerate breeding programs for common bean aimed at conferring traits that can increase yield under heat and drought stress.

Researcher working on corn varieties that need less nitrogen

3/14/08

Jonathan Lynch has made a name for himself doing ground-breaking (pun intended) research on the roots of bean and soybean plants in an effort to improve crop yields in places such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. The professor of plant nutrition in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has worked with colleagues in China, Africa and Latin America to develop bean and soybean varieties with better root systems that produce better yields in low-phosphorus soils -- work that has major implications for the developing world.

The Fractal Path to Better Beans

12/1/95

Black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, snap, green, string, wax, butter beans - all, to a breeder, are varieties of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. It's a staple crop for small and subsistence farmers the world around, yet it grows with varying success. The average yield in some developing countries—500 kilograms per hectare, or less—is often a mere 10 percent of the textbook yield.

"There's not enough fertilizer," explains Penn State plant nutritionist Jonathan Lynch. "Phosphorous, especially, is limiting."