SOIL 415 & on Zoom
Join us Wednesdays at 3:30 for our fall departmental seminar series. This week's guest is visiting scholar Ghulam Murtaza Jamro, PhD, a professor in the Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University in Sindh, Pakistan.
Title: "Potassium for Stress Resilience in Dryland Agriculture: Evidence from Pakistan"
Abstract: Dryland agriculture in Pakistan is increasingly constrained by drought, heat stress, salinity, heavy-metal contamination, and nutrient imbalance under a changing climate. Potassium (K), despite its central role in regulating plant water relations, stress tolerance, and yield stability, remains systematically underutilized across the semi- arid regions of Pakistan. This seminar synthesizes multi-crop experimental evidence from Pakistan, aligned with global dryland research, to position potassium as a strategic nutrient for climate resilience. Field and controlled studies consistently show that poor soil K activity ratios—rather than low total soil K concentrations—are a major constraint on crop performance. Adoption of 4R Nutrient Stewardship potassium strategies, including soil-specific K sources, optimized application rates, appropriate placement and timing, seed priming, and integration with organic and bio-activated K amendments, significantly enhanced tolerance to drought, heat stress, and cadmium toxicity across major crops. Despite strong experimental evidence, fertilizer policies and on-farm nutrient management in Pakistan remain largely nitrogen-centric, with limited emphasis on potassium management in dryland systems. This seminar highlights priority policy actions, including better integration of recycled and organic potassium sources with mineral fertilizers and explicit inclusion of potassium in climate-smart nutrient management strategies to safeguard food security under accelerating climate change in Pakistan.
Dr. Ghulam Murtaza Jamro is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate at the University of Minnesota under the HEC Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program. He earned his Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Alberta and currently serves as Professor at Department of Soil Science, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam (Campus Umerkot), Pakistan. He has previously held key administrative roles, including Coordinator of Postgraduate Programs and Manager of Research Management at SAU Tandojam.
With over 19 years of academic and research experience, Dr. Jamro specializes in soil biogeochemistry, land reclamation, plant nutrition, and climate-resilient agriculture. He has authored more than 50 peer-r viewed publications and has received several prestigious honors, including the Productive Scientist of Pakistan Award and the University Best Teacher Award.
Dr. Jamro actively engages in both national and international collaborations, including partnerships with the Food and Agriculture Organization, Action Against Hunger, and Engro Fertilizers Pvt. Ltd.. He is a member of several leading professional societies, notably the Soil Science Society of Pakistan, where he currently serves as General Secretary. He has organized numerous national and international seminars and Soil Science Congresses across Pakistan.