Harkirat Kaur joined the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences as an assistant professor and extension specialist in July 2024.

What is your hometown? Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small village called Munak Khurd in Punjab, a state in the northwestern part of India. Punjab in my native language means “the land of five rivers.” It is primarily an agrarian state and holds the title of “India’s Breadbasket.”

What is your educational/professional background, including your previous position?
I got my PhD in crop and soil science from Michigan State University in spring of 2024, where I worked as a research assistant as well. Prior to that I did my bachelor’s at Punjab Agricultural University, India. My training has been in corn agronomy with a focus on plant-pathogen interactions and their impact on the yield and quality of silage and grain corn. I have worked on evaluating various components of disease triangle and how they impact the occurrence of ear rots, mycotoxins, and tar spot. My research efforts have always been directed towards exploring crop stresses to facilitate development of economically and environmentally sustainable integrated management strategies for the growers.

What is your field of research, and how did you get into it?
My research field is crop and soil science with a focus on crop production systems. I have always been intrigued by various interactions of plant systems, and agronomy being the science so closely related to the grower has always been of interest to me. My quest with corn agronomy research started due to an internship project during my undergraduate. It helped me to understand the importance of interactions between various biotic and abiotic components of crop production. Graduate school further provided an opportunity to delve into these interactions and use them to explore the integrated management strategies for economical and sustainable corn production.

What are the main goals of your current research and outreach programs?
I want to focus my resources to promote an economically and environmentally sustainable corn production while maintaining ecological integrity. My primary goal is to provide easy accessibility of research to the growers. As a corn agronomist, I want my program to be a collaborative space where we approach corn research holistically and generate pragmatic insights for crop production.

What was your first visit to campus like?
My first campus visit was during my interview. The campus felt such a welcoming place with so many things to explore. Also, the fact that Babcock Dairy was just across the road was a great incentive. 🙂

What’s one thing you hope students who take a class with you will come away with?
I hope the students I work with go away with a desire to be inquisitive. My aim will be to train them to take multidisciplinary approaches while evaluating a research problem.

Do you feel your work relates in any way to the Wisconsin Idea? If so, please describe how.
For sure! To me, research is useful only when it can have an impact on its stakeholders. I think with the corn program at UW-Madison, I have an opportunity to work with the Wisconsin growers, address their issues and build a more sustainable corn production system and take it to the mainstream.

What’s something interesting about your area of expertise you can share that will make us sound smarter at parties?
Why should anyone study corn? Because when everything is destroyed after an apocalypse, corn will be the last crop standing (source: Interstellar, the movie). On a more serious note, corn is one of the most ubiquitous crops known to mankind. You can find it in many processed food items, but it also forms an integral part of cosmetics, room fresheners, and even certain antibiotics.

What are your hobbies and other interests?
I love to bake. I am fascinated by French pastries and Italian bread, and always get a great satisfaction in trying a new challenging recipe. I also like to dance and play squash. A passive activity that I enjoy is going to stand-up comedy open mics.