The University of Minnesota Extension has a new member on its weed science team. Debalin Sarangi started his new job at the St. Paul campus as Extension assistance professor in July, filling the Extension opening left after the retirement of Jeff Gunsolus, who had a 33-year career at the university.
Sarangi did his Ph.D. work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and postdoctoral research at Texas A&M. He accepted an Extension faculty position at the University of Wyoming and enjoyed the natural beauty of Yellowstone. However, another destination kept calling for him.
Related: U-MN conducts statewide weed survey
“I spent four years in Nebraska and like the Midwest,” Sarangi says. When the Minnesota position opened up, he and his wife, Srecbarna, considered the professional opportunity, as well as where they would like to settle and start a family.
“The University of Minnesota has a lot of opportunities, and my wife likes the campus environment,” he says. “Plus, this position is a good fit for my career. My Ph.D. thesis was on waterhemp.”
Weed, herbicide focus
Currently, Sarangi is leading a weed seed survey that encompasses the state. He expects that project will carry into next year. He encourages growers to send suspected herbicide-resistant weed seed heads to his lab for testing.
“Next summer, if you see any weed survive herbicide, let me know,” he said. “I’d be happy to come and see the field and to test the weed.”
This past growing season, he received multiple calls from growers who saw waterhemp escapes. “Some states, like Kansas and Missouri, are already seeing waterhemp populations popping up,” he said. He noted that a 2015 survey by Gunsolus indicated preemergence Roundup Ready resistance. “We need to know if we have hot spots.”
At an Extension meeting in Crookston this summer, he learned that farmers want local research to be done to identify cover crops species that will work with weed management in corn and soybean fields. Sarangi said he plans to start work in that location next year and plant cover crops in the fall.
A larger focus area for Sarangi will involve bringing new weed management technology to Minnesota fields. That is, harvest weed seed control. The practice is used in small grains in Australia, and some research has started in a few U.S. states. HWSC can be handled two ways — chaff in the combine or in the chaff expelled onto the field. Both involve special combine attachments.
With the attachment called a weed destructor, weed seeds are thrown into a cage and milled into a powder. The other option is called chaff lining. A chute is attached to the combine and lays the chaff in a line in the field, allowing for natural decomposition or treatment in that strip.
“We don’t have the technology here yet,” Sarangi says. “We’re working with industry to get that equipment.”
And if any commodity groups would like to help fund future HWSC projects, Sarangi would welcome the financial help.
Weed questions or concerns? Contact Sarangi at [email protected] or 612-625-8130.
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