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Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science

Peter Kovacs

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Title

Associate Professor, Precision Agriculture Cropping Systems

Office Building

Raven Precision Agriculture Center

Office

119

Mailing Address

Raven Precision Ag Building 119
Agronomy, Horticulture & Plant Science-Box 2100A
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

Biography

Dr. Kovács born and raised in Hungary, where he grew up in a small town, in the country’s primary agricultural production area. Péter received his M.S. degree in agricultural engineering at the Szent István University. He participated in a double degree program through the Erasmus student exchange program to earn his M.S. degree in geographical information management at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Kovács participated in farm exchange program sponsored by the Hungarian Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. He has worked on a family farm in west central Minnesota, and witnessed the adaptation of the use of precision agriculture tools in crop production.

During his Ph.D. studies at Purdue University he was also involved teaching labs for undergraduate courses, and was a graduate advisor for the Agronomy Club.

He is also actively involved in the reviewing process for several International Journals.

Dr. Kovács has joined South Dakota State University in 2016 with research and teaching appointment. His research focus is on precision agriculture cropping systems.

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Education

  • M.S. in agricultural engineering | Szent István University, GödöllÅ‘, Hungary
  • M.S. in geographical information management | Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
  • Ph.D. in agronomy | Purdue University

Academic Responsibilities

  • PS-103 Crop Production class
  • PRAG-423/523 Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrient Management
  • PS/HO-494 Internship, and PS/HO-490 Internship Seminar courses
  • Internship coordinator
  • Faculty advisor of the Agronomy and Precision Agriculture Club

Committees and Professional Memberships

  • International Society of Precision Agriculture, 2014-present
  • American Society of Agronomy, 2012-present
  • Crop Science Society of America, 2012-present
  • Soil Science Society of America, 2012-present

Awards and Honors

  • 2024, Club Advisor of the Year, South Dakota State University College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science
  • 2021, Malo Excellence in Teaching Award, South Dakota State University Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science
  • 2018, Teacher of the Year, Agronomy and Conservation Club, South Dakota State University
  • 2013, Scholar Award, International Plant Nutrition Institute
  • 2012, Outstanding Graduate Student, North Central Extension Industry Soil Fertility Conference

Grants

  • Investigating impact of starter fertilizer placement on plant development, grain yield and nutrient uptake. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2021.
  • Investigating fertilizer response and requirement in high protein soybean varieties. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2021.
  • Sulfur source and application timing effect on soybean yield. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2019-2021.
  • Survey of South Dakota producers' current nutrient management practices. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2019-2020.
  • In-season N application in corn to improve fertilizer efficiency in eastern South Dakota. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2018-2020.
  • Effect of cultural practices on soybean seed quality: A review and research studies. United Soybean Board, 2017-2020.
  • In-season N application in corn to improve fertilizer efficiency in eastern South Dakota. South Dakota Nutrient Research and Educational Council, 2018-2020.

Areas of Research

  • Precision agriculture
  • Cropping systems
  • Plant nutrition
  • Tillage systems
  • Applied crop physiology

Goal of the research program to improve the production of crops relevant to South Dakota using precision agriculture techniques while keep environmental stewardship in focus. My research focus is to improve crop production and input (e.g. nutrient, seed, etc.) use efficiency through the understanding of genotype x environment x management practice interactions and incorporate precision agriculture and remote sensing techniques into crop management and (immediate or future) decision making process(es).
In addition, we address today’s agronomic challenges and evaluate upcoming production systems and resources.

Publications

  1. Kovács, P. and S. Casteel. 2023. Evaluation of a high-speed planter in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production. Agron. J. 115, 1174-1187.
  2. Almeida, L.F.A., A.A. Correndo, J. Ross, M. Licht, S. Casteel, M. Singh, S. Naeve, R. Vann, J. Bais, H. Kandel, L. Lindsey, S. Conley, J. Kleinjan, P. Kovács, D. Berning, T. Hefley, M. Reiter, D. Holshouser, I.A. Ciampitti. 2023. Soybean yield response to nitrogen and sulfur fertilization in the United States: contribution of soil N and N fixation processes. European Journal of Agronomy. 145, 126791.
  3. De Borja Reis, A, L.H. Morro Rosso, D. Davidson, P. Kovács, L.C. Purcell, F.E. Below, S.N. Casteel, H. Kandel, S.L. Naeve, S. Archontoulis and I.A. Ciampitti. 2022. Soybean management for seed composition: The perspective of US farmers. Agronomy Journal. 114:2608-2617.
  4. De Borja Reis, A, L.H. Moro Rosso, E. Adee, D. Davidson, P. Kovács, L.C. Purcell, F.E. Below, S.N. Casteel, C. Knott; H. Kandel ,S.L. Naeve, M.P. Singh, S. Archontoulis, and I.A. Ciampitti. 2022. Seed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense in the U.S. soybean systems. Field Crops Research. 283:108537.
  5. Clark, J., J.D. Ulrich-Schad, P. Kovács, A. Bly, E. Avemegah. 2022. Farmer adoption of efficient inorganic nitrogen fertilizer management practices in South Dakota. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 77, 568-578.
  6. de Borja Reis, A.F., L.H. Moro Rosso, D. Davidson, P. Kovács, L. C. Purcell, F.E. Below, S.N. Casteel, C. Knott, H. Kandel, S.L. Naeve, W. Carciochi, W.J. Ross, V.R. Favoretto, S. Archontoulis and I.A. Ciampitti. 2021. Sulfur fertilization in soybean: A meta-analysis on yield and seed composition. European Journal of Agronomy. 127: 126285.
  7. de Borja Reis, A.F., L.H. Moro Rosso, L. C. Purcell, S.L .Naeve, S.N. Casteel, P. Kovács, S. Archontoulis, D. Davidson and I.A. Ciampitti. 2021. Environmental factors associated with nitrogen fixation prediction in soybean. Frontiers in Plant Science. 675410.
  8. Bergman, K., I.A. Ciampitti, P. Sexton and P. Kovács. 2021. Fungicide, insecticide and foliar fertilizer effect on soybean yield, seed composition and canopy retention. Agrosystems, Geoscience and Environment. e20116.
  9. Gautam, A., J. Guzman, P. Kovács and S. Kumar. 2021. Manure and inorganic fertilization impacts on soil nutrients, aggregate stability, and organic carbon and nitrogen in different aggregate fractions. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science. 0421.
  10. Avemegah, E., W. Gu, A. Abulbasher, K. Koci, A. Ogunyiola, J. Eduful, S. Li, K. Barington, T. Wang, D. Kolady, L. Perkins, J. Leffler, P. Kovács, J. Clark, D. Clay and J. Ulrich-Schad. 2020. An examination of best practices for survey research with agricultural producers. Society and Natural Resources. DOI:10.1080/08941920.2020.1804651.
  11. Gautam A., U. Sekaran, J. Guzman, P. Kovács, J.L.G. Hernandez and S. Kumar. 2020. Responses of soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities to long-term application of mineral fertilizer and beef manure. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators. 8:100073.
  12. Carciochi, W., L.M. Rosso, M. Secchi, A. Torres, S. Naeve, S. Casteel, P. Kovács, D. Davidson, L. Purcell, S. Archontoulis and I. Ciampitti. 2019. Soybean yield, biological N2 fixation and seed composition responses to additional inoculation in the United States. Sci. Rep. 9:19908.
  13. Assefa, Y., L.C. Purcell, M. Salmeron, S. Naeve, S.N. Casteel, P. Kovács, S. Archontoulis, M. Licht, F. Below, H. Kandel, L.E. Lindsey, J. Gaska, S. Conley, C. Shapiro, J.M. Orlowski, B.R. Golden, G. Kaur, M. Singh, K. Thelen, R. Laurenz, D. Davidson and I.A. Cimapitti. 2019. Assessing Variation in US Soybean Seed Composition (Protein and Oil). Frontiers in Plant Science. DOI:10.3389/fpls.2019.00298.
  14. Y. Assefa, N. Bajjalieh, S. Archontoulis, S. Casteel, D. Davidson, P. Kovács, S. Naeve and Ignacio A. Ciampitti. 2018. Spatial Characterization of Soybean Yield and Quality (Amino Acids, Oil, and Protein) for United States. Scientific Reports vol. 8, Article number: 14653. DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-32895-0.
  15. Kovács, P. and T.J. Vyn. 2017. Relationships between ear-leaf nutrient concentrations at silking and corn biomass and grain yields at maturity. Agron. J. 109:2898-2906.
  16. Tamagno, S., G.R. Balboa, Y. Assefa, P. Kovács, S.N. Casteel, F. Salvagiotti, F.O. García, W.M. Stewart and I.A. Ciampitti. 2017. Nutrient partitioning and stoichiometry in soybean: A synthesis-analysis. Field Crops Research. 200:18-27.
  17. Kovács, P., G.E. Van Scoyoc, T.A. Doerge, J.J. Camberato and T.J. Vyn. 2015. Anhydrous ammonia timing and rate effects on maize N use efficiencies with parallel-to-row placement. Agronomy Journal. 107:1205-1214.
  18. Omonode, R.A., P. Kovács and T.J. Vyn. 2015. Tillage and nitrogen rate effects on area- and yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions from pre-plant anhydrous ammonia. Agronomy Journal.107:605-614.
  19. Kovács, P. and T.J. Vyn. 2014. Full-season retrospectives on causes of plant-to-plant variability in maize grain yield response to nitrogen and tillage. Agronomy Journal. 106:1746-1757.
  20. Kovács, P., G.E. Van Scoyoc, T.A. Doerge, J.J. Camberato and T.J. Vyn. 2014. Pre-plant anhydrous ammonia placement consequences on no-till versus conventional-till maize growth and N responses. Agronomy Journal. 160:634-644.

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