Plants are frequently exposed to conditions that are less than optimal for growth and development. Various stress factors greatly limit agricultural production and reduce the availability of food, feed, and fiber. The Fritschi lab is interested in the mechanisms by which plants respond to unfavorable environmental conditions in order to enhance plant productivity. One project aims to elucidate mechanisms underlying the drought sensitivity of nitrogen fixation in soybean to develop strategies that will lead to more drought-tolerant cultivars.

• MU faculty earn funding through the Missouri Life Sciences Research Trust Fund (Dec 2008)
• MU Researchers Create Drought Conditions to Unearth Solutions (July 2009)
• A Dry Subject: CAFNR researchers study the effects of drought by making their own (Jun 2009)

• Certificate of Merit, USDA-ARS (2004)
• Gerald O. Mott Meritorious Graduate Student Award, Crop Science Society of America (2000)
• Paul Robbin Harris Award, University of Florida (1996)

Roberts CA, Houx JH, Fritschi FB. Near-infrared analysis of sweet sorghum bagasse. Crop Science 2011;51(5):2284-2288.

Roberts BA, Fritschi FB, Horwath WR, Scow KM, Rains WD, Travis RL. Comparisons of soil microbial communities influenced by soil texture, nitrogen fertility, and rotations. Soil Science 2011, Article in Press.

Wang C, Fritschi FB, Stacey G, Yang Z. Phenology-based assessment of perennial energy crops in North American tallgrass prairie. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 2011;101(4):742-751.

Houx JH, Wiebold WJ, Fritschi FB. Long-term tillage and crop rotation determines the mineral nutrient distributions of some elements in a Vertic Epiaqualf. Soil and Tillage Research 2011;112(1):27-35.

Fritschi FB, H Lin, and MA Walker. Scanning electron microscopy reveals different response pattern of four Vitis genotypes to Xylella fastidiosa infection. Plant Disease 2008;92(2):276-286.

Fritschi FB, JC Cabrera-La Rosa, RL Groves, H Lin, and MW Johnson. Behavioral responses of Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) on four Vitis genotypes, Env. Ent. 2007;36:926-937.

Fritschi FB, H Lin, and MA Walker. Xylella fastidiosa population dynamics in grapevine genotypes differing in susceptibility to Pierce’s disease. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 2007;58:326-332.

Fritschi FB and JD Ray. Genotypic variation in soybean chlorophyll content, a/b ratio and leaf N. Photosynthetica 2007;45:92-98.

Ray JD, FB Fritschi, and LG Heatherly. Large early season fertilizer N application affects protein and oil concentration in soybean seed. Field Crops Res. 2006;99:67-74.

Ray JD, LG Heatherly, and FB Fritschi. Influence of large amounts of nitrogen on nonirrigated and irrigated soybean. Crop Science 2006;46:52-60.

Fritschi FB, BA Roberts, DW Rains, and RL Travis. Nitrogen recovery from 15N-labeled incorporated cotton residues and recovery of residual fertilizer N by Acala and Pima cotton. Soil Science Society of America Journal 2005;69:718-728.

Fritschi FB, BA Roberts, DW Rains, RL Travis, and RB Hutmacher. Fate of nitrogen-15 applied to irrigated Acala and Pima cotton. Agronomy Journal 2004;96:646-655.

Fritschi, F.B., B.A. Roberts, R.L. Travis, D.W. Rains, and R.B. Hutmacher (2004) Seasonal nitrogen concentration, uptake, and partitioning pattern of irrigated Acala and Pima cotton as influenced by nitrogen fertility level, Crop Science, 44:516-527.

Hutmacher RB, RL Travis, DW Rains, RN Vargas, BA Roberts, BL Weir, SD Wright, DS Munk, BH Marsh, MP Keeley, FB Fritschi, DJ Munier, RL Nichlos, and R Delgado. Response of recent Acala cotton varieties to variable nitrogen rates in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Agronomy Journal 2004;96:48-62.

Fritschi FB, BA Roberts, RL Travis, DW Rains, and RB Hutmacher. Response of irrigated Acala and Pima cotton to N fertilization: growth, dry matter partitioning, and yield. Agronomy Journal 2003;95:133-146.

Fritschi FB, KJ Boote, LE Sollenberger, and LH Allen, Jr. Carbon dioxide and temperature effects on forage establishment: Tissue composition and nutritive value. Global Change Biology 1999;5:743-753.

Fritschi FB, KJ Boote, LE Sollenberger, LH Allen, Jr, and TR Sinclair. Carbon dioxide and temperature effects on forage establishment: Photosynthesis and biomass production. Global Change Biology 1999;5:441-453.