Nithya Rajan’s journey from the field to the forefront of crop science
Texas A&M AgriLife agronomist partners with producers to study nitrogen efficiency and crop systems
For agronomist Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., some of the most insightful and important conversations happen far from the lab. Many conversations that fuel her research occur while standing in a farmer’s field.
Rajan’s research has taken her from those farmer’s fields to a rare occurrence of earning two national Fellow awards for crop sciences in the same year, highlighting her as a leading expert in the profession.
Her story in Texas agriculture began on long drives crisscrossing the Rolling Plains, where collaboration with producers changed how she thought about the science behind healthy, productive soil.
Those Texas fields were physically, and figuratively, as far from home as she could be. But those experiences for Rajan, who is a Texas A&M AgriLife Research agronomy and agroecology professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, provided the foundation upon which her career is building at Texas A&M AgriLife.
The highlight of her career so far is earning Fellow titles with both the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America in 2025. Each distinction is reserved for a very small fraction of members and among the highest honors in the profession.
“I’m grateful for the recognition, and I don’t take it lightly,” Rajan said. “So much of this work is a team effort with students, colleagues, producer partners and mentors who have helped shape my work, and it motivates me to keep building on what we’re learning.”
Embracing the land-grant mission
Rajan’s research focuses on improving soil health, increasing nitrogen efficiency and developing cropping systems that help agricultural operations stay productive while using resources more effectively.
“Working with farmers helped me understand how mechanized agriculture functions here, what challenges producers are facing, and it pushed me to ask research questions that matter on the ground,” she said.
That producer-focused perspective now defines Rajan’s work as a cropping systems scientist with AgriLife Research and as director of the Hood Family Center for Greenhouse Gas Management in Agriculture and Forestry – a joint initiative of AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University.
But Rajan’s path toward impactful soil science started in 2010 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Vernon after completing her doctorate at Texas Tech University. Her role as a cropping system agronomist across the Texas High Plains introduced her to and shaped the producer perspective she applies to research.
“Texas A&M AgriLife has an incredible community of scientists, and we have a real opportunity to keep leading by translating strong science into solutions that work on the ground and last for generations.”
Nithya Rajan, Ph.D.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research agronomist
In 2024, she moved to College Station where she is applying her experience to a range of transformative initiatives focused on sustainable agriculture and producer-ready solutions. Her research is garnering national and international attention for its impact to improve soil health, reduce input costs for farmers and keep their working lands productive for generations.
Rajan increasingly is focusing on measuring how conservation practices influence soil health, reduce inputs like fertilizer and impact greenhouse gas emissions. One of her first funded projects focused on organic agriculture, and she continues to expand research in organic production and other agricultural systems reliant on improved soil health.
Her approach remains grounded in meeting practical challenges for producers in ways that show measurable and reliable benefits to producers.
“Farmers want clarity as they consider new programs and incentives,” Rajan said. “We hope to provide credible measurements and straightforward guidance to support sound decisions.”
Blazing a trail in emerging BNI research
One of Rajan’s most ambitious research efforts to date focuses on biological nitrification inhibition, BNI, a plant trait she believes could transform how farmers manage nitrogen fertilizer.
BNI is based on a simple but powerful concept. Some plants naturally release compounds from their roots that suppress soil nitrification — the microbial process that converts ammonium to nitrate. By slowing that process, crops can retain more nitrogen in forms they can use while reducing leaching and gaseous nitrogen losses.
To explore the potential of this trait, Rajan partnered with Bill Rooney, Ph.D., an internationally recognized sorghum breeder and colleague in the Department of Soil and Crop sciences, to evaluate sorghum lines for their ability to express BNI characteristics. A seed grant from AgriLife Research and U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NIFA, helped launch that next step.
The research team is now expanding BNI research into additional crops, including wheat, corn and cover crops. The team recently received the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Teams in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for their efforts.
“BNI is a unique opportunity,” Rajan said. “It can help producers lower fertilizer inputs while maintaining yield and at the same time reduce nitrogen losses and emissions.”
Working toward long-lasting impacts
Rajan has been widely recognized for her research and leadership.
She has received the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Research, Vice-Chancellors Award for Mid-Career Research, and was named Outstanding Scientist of the Year by the Texas A&M AgriLife Director in 2024.
For Rajan, the ultimate goal remains the same as when she first began working alongside producers in the Rolling Plains: research that leads to practical solutions in the field.
“I want to keep building programs that serve producers and create durable impact,” she said. “Texas A&M AgriLife has an incredible community of scientists, and we have a real opportunity to keep leading by translating strong science into solutions that work on the ground and last for generations.”
