Walker named best

Tim Walker, an agronomist at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville and Mississippi State University associate research professor, was recently named the 2012 Rice Researcher of the Year. A Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station scientist, Walker has worked in Stoneville since 2002. He holds a doctoral degree in agronomy from MSU.

Walker’s research focus is on optimum nutrient rates and timings for newly released rice cultivars. Most recently, he has been instrumental in the development and release of two new rice varieties, Rex and Clearfield. Developing a new seed variety can take 10 years or longer.

Walker also evaluates soil test methods and makes recommendations for high-yielding rice and soybean crop systems.

Walker is a member of the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Mississippi Agricultural Industry Council and the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.