Ag/Env & Wildlife Sci

KINGSVILLE — The Agriculture Science department at Texas A&M University-Kingsville hosted its annual Agricultural Mechanics Project Show Tuesday, April 26 on the university campus. The show featured over 80 projects from high school students who displayed their creations along University Boulevard and presented their work to judges.“We have a variety of projects ranging from restored tractors to 30-ft. trailers. We have barbecue pits, we have animal handling systems...

Texas A&M University-Kingsville students assisted a surgical team with the Texas State Aquarium as they performed surgeries on green sea turtles Wednesday, March 9, 2022 in the Veterinary Technology facility on campus. Texas State Aquarium employees utilized a laser at the facility to treat Fibropapillomatosis (FP), a tumor-causing disease that affects some sea turtles. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the disease causes cauliflower-like...

KINGSVILLE—Texas A&M University-Kingsville students and faculty received multiple awards at the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society (TCTWS) state meeting held Thursday, Feb 24 through Saturday, Feb. 26 in Marble Falls. Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Plant ID teams won both first and second place in the competition. Individual Plant ID place winners include Peter Cole in first place and Shaelyn Rainey in second place. Eric Grahmann won first place in...

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents recently designated 12 Texas A&M System faculty members and seven agency service, extension or research professionals as Regents Professors and Regents Fellows for 2020-2021. One of the 12 faculty members is Dr. Fidel Hernández, Texas A&M University-Kingsville professor in the Department of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences and the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Professor in Quail Research with the Caesar Kleberg...

KINGSVILLE (October 15, 2021) — The Texas A&M University-Kingsville Soil Judging Team took first place in team competition in the Southern Region Soil Judging Competition held at West Texas A&M University on October 11-13, 2021. Team members Alexander Meza from Mission, Amberly Zaragoza from San Antonio and Erik Zamora from Brownsville were coached by Dr. Ammar Bhandari, assistant professor in the agriculture, agribusiness and environmental sciences department....

Dr. Madhurababu Kunta, plant pathologist and research associate professor at Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s Citrus Center in Weslaco, has been featured in publications for an article he wrote on citrus disease. Kunta’s article The Return of Asiatic Citrus Canker to Texas: Surveys and Eradication Efforts was published this summer. It reports the efforts taken after a citrus canker strain was recently found in the Upper Gulf Coast area of...

KINGSVILLE — Texas Native Seeds (TNS), a research program of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, recently received a grant from the Texas Department of Transporation (TxDOT). The $1.5 million grant was awarded for the project “Native Plant and Pollinator Seed Source Development and Specification Program Cooperation.” The funds will be used during the years 2022 to...

KINGSVILLE (August 11, 2021) — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents recently approved the naming of the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Soils Science Laboratory in honor of the late Clarence F. “Dick” Schendel ’51, ’55. Located within the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Texas A&M-Kingsville, the laboratory is utilized for both teaching and research purposes. Dick...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected two Texas A&M University-Kingsville faculty members as 2021 E. Kika De La Garza Fellows. They are among the 25 faculty and staff chosen from Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) across the nation. Dr. Ammar Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Soil Health, Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management was selected as a Science Fellow. “It means a lot for me to get selected for this program,” Bhandari said....

KINGSVILLE — High school students from across Texas visited the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus for the Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course June 21-24. The course at the university, in partnership with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, was one of three Texas 4-H Livestock Ambassador Short Course in the state. Nearly 20 students enrolled in the course at Texas A&M-Kingsville. While on campus, the students toured facilities, learned...

KINGSVILLE — The Veterinary Technology Program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville held its first Veterinary Science Camp on campus June 7-9. The three-day camp hosted 25 high school students from different areas of Texas including Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston. Christine Hoskinson, Assistant Director for the Veterinary Technology Program, said the camp was held to give high school students interested in veterinary medicine experience in the...

KINGSVILLE — Nearly two dozen Texas A&M-Kingsville Veterinary Technology graduates celebrated their transition from students to veterinary healthcare professionals. They recited the veterinary technician oath and received a pin at one of three separate ceremonies on Friday, May 7, 2021 at the Veterinary Technology facility. Graduates who received a pin include Syerra Montalvo, Sarah Garza, Christian Resendez, Megan Guzman, Gilbert Ramos, Shyana Rodriguez,...

Dr. Steven Lukefahr, a Texas A&M University-Kingsville Regents Professor, has been awarded the Piper Professor Teaching Award for the year 2021.The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, a non-profit, charitable corporation that was organized in 1950, annually honors 10 professors in the state of Texas for superior teaching at the college level. The roster of Piper Professors includes outstanding professors from two and four-year colleges and universities, public and private.In 1994, he joined...

KINGSVILLE — Texas Native Seeds (TNS),a research program of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, recently received a grant that will fund research to identify planting methods and native seeds sources that could help lower solar operating costs, improve biodiversity including pollinator habitat, improve erosion control and determine if lower ambient temperatures below panels improves project output. The...

Texas A&M University-Kingsville students and faculty received more than a dozen awards at the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society (TCTWS) state meeting. Due to COVID, the annual conference was held virtually in February 2021. Dr. Scott Henke, Regents Professor and Chair of the Rangeland and Wildlife Science Department in Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, reported that students from Texas A&M-Kingsville submitted about half of the...

An assistant research professor at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center received an award to fund research on treatment and control of the citrus greening disease. The United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service awarded $349,794 to Dr. Madhura Kunta for his project “Providing Practical Solutions for Huanglongbing Treatment and Prevention.” According to the project description, Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most severe threat to...

Cutline: Pictured here are donors to the new Agricultural Leaders Scholarship Endowment at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Shown from left, are Dr. Mark Hussey, president of Texas A&M University-Kingsville; Tom Best, Glenda Best, Judy Colston and Bill Colston Jr. by Elaine Barnes Coordinator, Alumni & Donor Communications Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Office of Alumni Services & Giving Feb. 12, 2021 (Kingsville, TX) – The Texas A&M University-Kingsville...

A new podcast will shed light on wildlife issues in South Texas. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak, a Texas A&M University-Kingsville professor and certified senior wildland fire ecologist, has been selected to receive the 2021 Harvey Weil Sportsman Conservationist Award from the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi. The award of $100,000 will fund her podcast project “A Talk on the Wild Side.” “A Talk on the Wild Side” is scheduled to begin in June and will be...

KINGSVILLE (January 11, 2021) —Four retired faculty members are being honored as Professor Emeritus—a designation that recognizes their on-going commitment to scholarship. The 2020 Professors Emeriti are: Fred Bryant, professor and Leroy G. Denman Jr. Endowed Director of Wildlife Research of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI); Tim Fulbright, Regents Professor in the department of rangeland and wildlife sciences and Meadows Professor for Arid...

Dr. Scott Henke, Regents Professor and Chair of the Dept. of Rangeland and Wildlife Sciences, presented three new books he wrote to Dr. Mark Hussey, President of Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Dr. David Hewitt, Leroy G. Denman, Jr. Endowed Director of Wildlife Research and Executive Directorof the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) and Dr. Shad Nelson, Dean of the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources,...