overview
The long-range goal of my sorghum improvement program is to enhance the productivity and profitability of grain, forage and bioenergy sorghum production systems. The sorghum breeding program is used as a mechanism to develop and release sorghum germplasm to meet this goal. In addition to the release of improved sorghum genotypes, research in the program emphasizes the genetic and molecular genetic inheritance of disease resistance, grain quality and agronomic productivity and adaptability. The research provides opportunities for graduate student training in fundamental and applied aspects of plant improvement. Specific research interests include the development of sorghum germplasm for bioenergy (both sweet and biomass), grain and forage Instruct SCSC 642 annually each fall semester.
education and training
- Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Minnesota - (Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States) 1992
selected publications
Academic Articles175
- Bagnall, G. C., Koonjoo, N., Altobelli, S. A., Conradi, M. S., Fukushima, E., Kuethe, D. O., ... Morgan, C. (2020). Low-field magnetic resonance imaging of roots in intact clayey and silty soils. Geoderma. 370, 114356-114356.
- Carvalho, H., Heilman, J. L., McInnes, K. J., Rooney, W. L., & Lewis, K. L. (2020). Epicuticular wax and its effect on canopy temperature and water use of Sorghum. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 284, 107893-107893.
- Prom, L. K., Cuevas, H. E., Ahn, E., Isakeit, T., Rooney, W. L., & Magill, C. (2020). Genome-wide association study of grain mold resistance in sorghum association panel as affected by inoculation with Alternaria alternata alone and Alternaria alternata, Fusarium thapsinum, and Curvularia lunata combined. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 157(4), 783-798.
- Gomez, F. E., Mullet, J. E., Muliana, A. H., Niklas, K. J., & Rooney, W. L. (2020). The genetic architecture of biomechanical traits in sorghum. CROP SCIENCE. 60(1), 82-99.
- Appiah-Nkansah, N. B., Li, J., Rooney, W., & Wang, D. (2019). A review of sweet sorghum as a viable renewable bioenergy crop and its techno-economic analysis. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 143, 1121-1132.
Books1
Chapters5
- Rooney, W. L. (2016). Sorghum: Production and Improvement Practices. Encyclopedia of Food Grains. (pp. 201-206). Elsevier.
- Rooney, W. L. (2014). Sorghum. Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems. (pp. 109-129). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Serna-Saldivar, S. O., & Rooney, W. L. (2014). Production and supply logistics of sweet sorghum as an energy feedstock. Sustainable Bioenergy Production. (pp. 193-212). CRC Press.
- Stefaniak, T. R., & Rooney, W. L. (2013). Breeding Sorghum as a Bioenergy Crop. Bioenergy Feedstocks. (pp. 83-116). John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
- Bransby, D. I., Allen, D. J., Gutterson, N., Ikonen, G., Richard, E., Rooney, W., & van Santen, E. (2010). Engineering Advantages, Challenges and Status of Grass Energy Crops. Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Production of Energy and Co-products. (pp. 125-154). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Conference Papers16
- Fix, A., Patil, B. S., Leskovar, D. I., Rooney, W. L., Smith, W., & Crosby, K. (2019). Mission Melon: Improving Qualitative Traits in Cucumis Melo Using Phenomics. HORTSCIENCE. 54(9), S189-S190.
- Han, X., Thomasson, J. A., Bagnall, C., Pugh, N. A., Horne, D. W., Rooney, W. L., ... Cope, D. A. (2018). Calibrated plant height estimates with structure from motion from fixed-wing UAV images. MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES IN COMPUTER VISION. 10664, 106640d.
- Chi, N., Crosby, K., & Rooney, W. L. (2017). Heritability Estimates and Gene Effects for Heat-tolerance Traits in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). HORTSCIENCE. 52(9), S410-S410.
- Shi, Y., Murray, S. C., Rooney, W. L., Valasek, J., Olsenholler, J., Pugh, N. A., ... Thomasson, J. A. (2016). Corn and sorghum phenotyping using a fixed-wing UAV-based remote sensing system. MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES IN COMPUTER VISION. 9866, 98660e-98660e-8.
- Murray, S. C., Knox, L., Hartley, B., Méndez-Dorado, M. A., Richardson, G., Thomasson, J. A., ... Rooney, W. L.,Murray, S. C., Knox, L., Hartley, B., Méndez-Dorado, M. A., Richardson, G., Thomasson, J. A., ... Rooney, W. L. (2016). High clearance phenotyping systems for season-long measurement of corn, sorghum and other row crops to complement unmanned aerial vehicle systems. MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES IN COMPUTER VISION. 9866, 986607-986607-8.
patents
Patents5
- Mullet, J., & Rooney, W. (2016). Method for production of sorghum hybrids with selected flowering times.
-
- Rooney, W., Hodnett, G., Kuhlman, L., Stelly, D., & Price, H. (2013). Intergeneric hybrid plants and methods for production thereof.
-
- Mullet, J., Rooney, W., Klein, P., Morishige, D., Murphy, R., & Brady, J. (2012). Discovery and utilization of sorghum genes (Ma5/Ma6).
researcher on
Principal Investigator4
- Automated TERRA Phenotyping System for Genetic Improvement of Energy Crops awarded by Department of Energy 2015 - 2018
Co-Principal Investigator5
- Genomics of Energy Sorghum’s Water Use Efficiency/Drought Resilience awarded by DOE-Office Of Science 2014 - 2018
awards and honors
recent teaching activities
- BICH491 Hnr-research Instructor
- BICH491 Research Instructor
- GENE491 Hnr-research Instructor
- GENE491 Research Instructor
- GENE491 Research: In-ab Instructor
chaired theses and dissertations
- Andrews, Bethany Joann (2016-08). Evaluation of Photoperiod Sensitive Grain Sorghum Hybrids for Heterosis and Grain Quality Traits. (Master's Thesis)
- Vacek, Luke Anthony (2016-05). The Effects of Cytoplasm on the Yield and Quality of Sorghum Biomass Hybrids. (Master's Thesis)
- Hayes, Chad Matthew (2016-05). Evaluation and QTL Mapping of Leaf Composition Traits Associated with the Stay-Green Phenotype in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. (Doctoral Dissertation)
- Pugh, Nicholas Ace (2015-08). Heritability and Quantitative Trait Loci for Popping Characteristics in Sorghum Grain. (Master's Thesis)
- Gomez, Francisco Ernesto (2015-08). Biomechanics of Bioenergy Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) moench]. (Master's Thesis)
Email
wlr@tamu.edu
First Name
William
Last Name
Rooney
mailing address
Texas A&M University; Soil & Crop Science; 2474 TAMU
College Station, TX 77845-2474
USA