Peter P. Motavalli, Ph.D.

Professor
Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition

• Phone: 573-884-3212
• Fax: 573-884-5070
• E-mail: MotavalliP@missouri.edu
• Address: 302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building

Education

• B.S.F.S. 1978, Georgetown University, Foreign Service
• M.S. 1984, University of Wisconsin, Soil Science
• Ph.D. 1989, Cornell University, Soil Science

Research

• Soil fertility and plant nutrition; soil carbon and nutrient management; adaptation and mitigation of climate change; development of soil management practices to overcome the negative effects of climate change and soil degradation in food insecure countries.

Research Summary

The major emphasis of Motavalli’s research is to determine the impact of soil amendments and agricultural management practices on plant productivity and the environmental fate of soil carbon and plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

His current research focuses on the development of land use practices that will allow landowners to mitigate and adapt to climate change including use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers and other practices to overcome the possible deleterious effects of flooded soils on plant production and emissions of greenhouse gases from soils.

Other research areas include development of soil management practices to overcome the negative effects of climate change and soil degradation in food insecure countries and testing new methods for evaluating soil and plant tissue properties for assisting in land management decisions.

Teaching

• Soil Science/Environmental Science 3290 Soils and the Environment (Writing Intensive)
• Soil Science/Plant Science 4313/7313 Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition
• Soil Science/Plant Science 4314/7314 Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition Laboratory
• Soil Science 9414 Advanced Soil Fertility
• Soil Science/Atmospheric Science 9087 Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Science Seminar

Selected Publications

• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2015. Reducing nitrogen loss with managed drainage and polymer-coated urea. J. Environ. Qual.44:256-264. doi:10.2134/jeq2014.05.0238.
• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, P.P. Motavalli, and S.H. Anderson. 2015. Corn yield response to managed drainage and polymer-coated urea. Agron. J. 107:435-441.
• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, P.P. Motavalli, M. Nathan, and C. Dudenhoeffer. 2015. Reducing phosphorus loss in tile water with managed drainage in a claypan soil. J. Environ. Qual. 44:585-593. doi:10.2134/jeq2014.04.0146
• Sudduth, K.A., H.J. Kim, and P.P. Motavalli. 2014. Soil. p. 23-61. In L.M. Moretto and K. Kalcher (eds.). Environmental analysis by electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Vol. 1. Fundamentals. Springer, Berlin, Germany.
• Nelson, K.A., P.P. Motavalli, and M. Nathan. 2014. Nitrogen fertilizer sources and application timing affects wheat and inter-seeded red clover yields on claypan soils. Agronomy 4:497-513. doi:10.3390/agronomy4040497.
• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2014. Reducing nitrogen loss in subsurface tile drainage water with managed drainage and polymer-coated urea in a river bottom soil. Journal of Water Resource and Protection. 6:988-997.
• Banks, M.L.L., R.J. Kremer, F. Eivazi, P.P. Motavalli, and K.A. Nelson. 2014. Effects of selected surfactants on nutrient uptake in corn ( Zea mays L.). J. Plant Nutrition. 38:1036-1049. DOI: 10.1080/01904167.2014.881878.
• Udawatta, R.P., K.A. Nelson, S. Jose, and P.P. Motavalli. 2014. Temporal and spatial differences in crop yields of a mature silver maple alley cropping system. Agron. J. 106:407-415.
• Nelson, K.A., and P.P. Motavalli. 2014. Nitrogen source, drainage, and irrigation affects corn yield response in a claypan soil. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 29:875-884.
• Nelson, K.A., P.P. Motavalli, and C.J. Dudenhoeffer. 2014. Cropping system affects polymer-coated urea release and corn yield response in claypan soils. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 200:54-65.
• Aguilera, J., P.P. Motavalli, C. Valdivia, and M.A. Gonzales. 2013. Impacts of cultivation and fallow length on soil carbon and nitrogen availability in the Bolivian Andean Highland Region. Mountain Res. and Dev. 33(4):391-403.
• Aguilera, J., P.P. Motavalli, M.A. Gonzales, and C. Valdivia. 2013. Response of a potato-based cropping system to conventional and alternative fertilizers in the Andean Highlands. Intl. J. of Plant & Soil Sci. 3:139-162.
• Aguilera, J., P.P. Motavalli, M.A. Gonzales, and C. Valdivia. 2013. Evaluation of a rapid field test method for assessing nitrogen status in potato plant tissue in rural communities in the Bolivian Andean Highlands. Comm. in Soil Sci. and Plant Anal. Published online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2013.857680.
• Motavalli, P.P., K.A. Nelson, R.P. Udawatta, S. Jose, and S. Bardhan. 2013. Global achievements in sustainable land management. Int. Soil and Water Conserv. Res. 1:1-10.
• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2013. Corn yield response to polymer- and non-coated urea placement and timings following red clover. Int. J. Plant Prod. 7 (3):373-392.
• Gomez-Montano, L., A. Jumpponen, M. A. Gonzales, J. Cusicanqui, C. Valdivia, P. Motavalli, M. Herman, K. A. Garrett. 2013. Do bacterial and fungal communities in soils of the Bolivian Altiplano change under shorter fallow periods? Soil Biol. and Biochem. 65:50-59.
• Nash, P.R., K.A. Nelson, and P.P. Motavalli. 2013. Corn yield response to timing of strip-tillage and nitrogen source applications. Agron. J. 105:623-630.
• Motavalli, P.P., R.P. Udawatta, and S. Bardhan. 2013. Apparent soil electrical conductivity used to determine soil phosphorus variability in poultry litter-amended pastures. Am. J. Exp. Agric. 3(1):124-141.
• Chung, S.O., K.A. Sudduth, P.P. Motavalli, and N.R. Kitchen. 2013. Relating mobile sensor soil strength to penetrometer cone index. Soil and Tillage Res. 129:9-18.
• Dudenhoeffer, C., K.A. Nelson, P.P. Motavalli, B.A. Burdick, D. Dunn, and K. Goyne. 2013. Utility of phosphorus enhancers and strip-tillage for corn production. J. Agric. Sci. 5:37-46.