Kentucky State University Graduate Student Awarded for their Research in Soil Health
Kentucky State University (KSU) graduate student, Prashant Bhatt, was awarded third place in the Graduate Student Oral Presentation, Soil Health Session, at the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA, International Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. Bhatt, who will graduate in May 2025 with a Master’s of Science in Environmental Science, presented his research titled, “Integration of Industrial Hemp in Conventional Crop Rotation System and its Effect on Soil Health.” “It is a great experience to be in these kinds of conferences where we directly interact with our scientific community to get feedback or give our experiences to them,” said Bhatt.
Under the guidance of advisors, Dr. Shawn Lucas and Dr. Anuj Chiluwal, the project assessed the potential of industrial hemp to improve soil health under sustainable agriculture practices. Research was conducted over three and a half years by using industrial hemp as a rotational crop and comparing results with corn-soybean rotation.
Research found that the inclusion of industrial hemp in crop rotation has significant potential to improve soil structural stability. But in the case of active carbon of soil, it has shown similar effects compared with corn-soybean rotation. Analysis and research are still ongoing but initial results can play a significant role in exploring the additional benefits of this crop.
