Beebout Sarah

Biography

"Sarah’s current research is focused on increasing the amount of zinc that is taken up by rice plants, for the purposes of human and plant nutrition. Zinc is an important micronutrient for both plants and humans. Its deficiency in the soil can result in poor grain yields for farmers and in less nutritious rice for consumers. Her research group is working to provide accurate recommendations to growers working in a wide variety of environmental conditions so that they can cost-effectively grow larger quantities of nutritious rice. Sarah’s work also supports the HarvestPlus zinc biofortification program, which aims to develop more nutritious rice varieties through advanced plant breeding techniques. The soil science research helps to explain the effect of the growing environment on the ability of the new types of rice to have consistently higher amounts of zinc in their grain. Sarah’s research interests also include some of the other chemical changes that happen in the soil when it is alternately flooded and dried during typical rice growing cycles. Some of these include varying decomposition of rice straw, production of greenhouse gases, and changes in form and plant availability of other elements in soil, such as iron, sulfur, and cadmium. Sarah is also the Deputy Division Head for the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD). She supports and guides the division’s risk management and quality assurance program"

Research Interest

Crop and Environmental Sciences