China's 2008 Scholar Award Recipients

	Ms. Xiaofeng HU is completing her Ph.D. degree at Southwest University in Chongqing, China, with a thesis title of “Effect of Slow Release Compound Fertilizers (SRCF) on Environment and Crops.” The development of SRCF technology offers several potential advantages. The SRCFs offer the opportunity to improve resource utilization, improve profitability, and reduce environmental concerns in China. Her experiments on farms are studying effects of SRCFs produced by the university, primarily involving N for rice.
	Mr. Xiaokun LI is completing his Ph.D. degree program at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. His dissertation title is “Research on Two Kinds of Fish Grasses and Balanced Fertilization”, and seeks to improve understanding of grasses produced for fresh water fish production. Working with sudangrass and rye grass, his study is showing the advantage of properly balanced applications of N, P, and K to increase forage yields.
	Ms. Wenjuan LI is pursuing studies for a Ph.D. degree at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) with a thesis title of “Effect of Potassium on Sugar, Phenol Metabolism, and Its Relation to Corn Stalk Rot.” Her study has found that when corn (maize) plants are infected by the stalk rot pathogen, they tend to absorb more K, which increases resistance. Her work has also provided greater insight about the mechanisms involving plant nutrition and plant protection. Detailed analysis of sugar metabolism is expected to provide more understanding regarding the effects on cell walls and structure. For the future, Ms. LI hopes to work as a professional agricultural scientist in plant nutrition.