WPGA 2022 Graduate Scholarship Recipient

Meet Paul Gabriel, a Molecular Biology/ Pecan Root Microbiome Graduate Student at New Mexico State University. Paul’s research will concentrate “on the influence of soil microbiome on the nutrient and water uptake of pecan tree roots since they lack root hairs. Different orchard floor treatments are applied to monitor the shift in root zone microbial population and abundance of the beneficial microbial population. Here, the horticultural and tree health outcomes would be used to measure the efficient nutrient and water acquisition from the various orchard floor treatments and microbial inoculation. Likewise, the symbiotic activities of these microbes and pecan trees would be evaluated based on their leaves’ physical and chemical characteristics. Both molecular and microscopy approaches would be used to monitor the microbiome changes over a given period. Since many concerns of pecan farmers center on the reduced use of chemical fertilizers and how to improve pecan water uptake, this research would be a solution to these growing concerns.”