Crop and Soil Sciences
Navigating the “Perfect Storm” in
Agriculture
Costs of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, diesel fuel, and pesticides are at an all time high. In comparison, increasing competition in the global market place has driven down worldwide commodity prices. Increasingly, agriculture is being blamed for environmental problems such as deteriorating air and water quality due to reactive nitrogen leakage and soil erosion. Synchrony of these events has lead to the characterization of agriculture’s dilemma as the “Perfect Storm.” Dr. Pan has spent 19 years of faculty service and 3 years as chair of Crop and Soil Sciences endeavoring to improve nutrient use efficiencies, reduce fertilizer requirements, while increasing the value and diversity of agricultural products. He has developed nationally recognized expertise in the areas of variability of nitrogen use efficiency influenced by crop genetic diversity and cropping system management, root development and nutrient uptake activity, and site-specific nutrient management. His research has promoted the adoption of winter cover crops in the irrigated Columbia Basin for reducing PM-10 emissions and reducing nitrate leaching by more than 100 kg N per hectare.
Dr. Pan is currently conducting interdisciplinary research on straw utilization to provide alternatives to field burning of wheat and bluegrass and for improving seeding conditions for no-till cereal production. He is collaborating with bioresource engineering faculty at the University of Washington to develop alternative crop straw pulping techniques to produce fiber, energy chemicals, and potential soil amendments for improving soil quality. His team has been supported by USDA-NRI, the Washington Department of Ecology, and various private industry cooperators. A new direction will be to evaluate crop residue pulping in a fiber recycling type facility as a platform for extracting industrial chemicals and biofuel feedstocks for identifying value-added products for our agricultural producers, while decreasing their input costs and minimizing detrimental impacts on the environment. He and his faculty are currently evaluating a range of energy feedstock crops such as switchgrass, safflower, canola, mustard, and Arundo donax.
Contact Information
William L. Pan, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Crop and Soil Sciences
Washington State University
Johnson 201
Pullman, WA 99164-6420
Telephone: 509-335-3471
E-mail: wlpan@wsu.edu
Environmental and Natural Resources
- Jeffrey Joireman
- Judith Morrison
- Pius Ndegwa
- William L. Pan
- Vikram Yadama
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The Green Revolution, Earth Day and rural life were early influencing factors that lead Dr. William Pan to pursue a career in the agricultural sciences. He earned his B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, an M.S. in Agronomy at the University of Missouri, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science at North Carolina State University. He joined WSU in 1984 focusing on soil fertility management and soil-plant-rhizosphere processes. Dr. Pan is currently Chair and Professor in Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University. His recent collaborations with University of Washington are leading to emerging commercial integrations of the agricultural and pulp/paper industries for addressing resource use, and environmental and energy issues faced by the two industries. His work has culminated in over 40 refereed publications, 7 book chapters and numerous invited conference papers and presentations. This research has been supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State crop commodity commissions, private industry, and foundations. |
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