Maria Zaccaro-Gruener, a graduate student in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, has been named Outstanding Ph.D. Student for 2021 by the Southern Weed Science Society (SWSS).

Zaccaro-Gruener is a doctoral student in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. She is advised by Distinguished Professor and Elms Farming Chair of Weed Science Jason Norsworthy. Norsworthy is also a researcher and scientist with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

Zaccaro-Gruener's dissertation focuses on evaluating dicamba translocation and metabolism in soybean, understanding factors affecting volatilization of dicamba and ascertaining the contribution of dicamba volatilization to injury observed on soybean in Arkansas and other locations.

She has authored and co-authored five peer-reviewed papers, 13 extension or technical reports and 57 abstracts from scientific presentations. Zaccaro-Gruener, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has presented research and won awards at the Arkansas Crop Protection Association, Gamma Sigma Delta, Weed Science Society of America and SWSS.

In addition, five other students from CSES earned awards at the 75th Southern Weed Science Society annual meeting held in Austin, Texas, in January.

Mason Castner won the Ph.D. division poster contest, "Use of Radio-Labeled Herbicides to Understand Interactions Between Dicamba and Glufosinate."

Bodie Cotter placed first in the master's division poster contest, "Does Coating Urea with Florpyrauxifen-Benzyl Reduce Risk for Damage to Adjacent Soybean?"

Pamela Carvalho-Moore won the Ph.D. division paper presentation, "Initial Insights into the Mechanism of Glufosinate Resistance in Palmer amaranth."

Noah Reed finished second in the M.S. poster category, "Impact of Drill Spacing and Nozzle Selection on Spray Coverage and Weed Control in Rice."

Ty Smith was second in the M.S. paper presentation section, "Long-Term Management Strategies for Palmer Amaranth Control in Cotton."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.