2026 journal Outstanding Paper Awards

Each year, ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, and its journals recognize outstanding journal papers with annual awards presented at the CANVAS meeting. Following are this year’s winners. Note that biographies of the lead authors as well as information about all 2026 ASA, CSSA, and SSSA awards can be viewed here.

Journal Outstanding Paper Awards

Articles that are eligible for the Journal Outstanding Paper Awards are published during the preceding two years. The articles undergo a selection process based on evaluation of how the article has advanced knowledge in the profession, the effectiveness of communication, and its methodology, originality, and impact.

Agronomy Journal

"Sustainable Sweetpotato Production in the United States: Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities” by Justin George; Gadi P. Reddy; Phillip A. Wadl; William Rutter; Julianna Culbreath; Pierre W. Lau; Tahir Rashid; Matthew C. Allan; Suzanne D. Johaningsmeier; Amanda M. Nelson; Ming Li Wang; Augustine Gubba; Kai-Shu Ling; Yan Meng; Daniel J. Collins; Sathish K Ponniah; and Prasanna H Gowda. See https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21539

Crop Science

Original Research: “Genetic Gains in Short-Season Corn Hybrids: Grain Yield, Yield Components, and Grain Quality Traits” by Sotirios Archontoulis; Kyle King; Antonella Ferela; Tony J. Vyn; Slobodan Trifunovic; Doug Eudy; Charles Hurburgh; and Kendall R. Lamkey. See https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21199

Review: “Plant-Based Protein Crops and Their Improvement: Current Status and Future Perspectives” by Arti Singh; Asheesh K. Singh; Dinakaran Elango; Joscif Raigne; Liza Van der Laan; Ashlyn Rairdin; and Chandrakant Soregaon. See https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21389

Soil Science Society of America Journal

“Soil Landscapes of the United States (SOLUS): Developing Predictive Soil Property Maps of the Conterminous United States Using Hybrid Training Sets” by Travis W. Nauman; Suzann Kienast-Brown; Stephen M. Roecker; Colby Brungard; David White; Jessica Philippe; and James A. Thompson. See https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20769

Agricultural & Environmental Letters

“Biostimulant or Biological? The Complexity of Defining, Categorizing, and Regulating Microbial Inoculants” by Connor N. Sible; Juliann R. Seebauer; and Frederick E. Below. See https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.70027

Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment

“Three Years of Cover Crops Management Increased Soil Organic Matter and Labile Carbon Pools in a Subtropical Vegetable Agroecosystem” by Precious Nyabami; Ethan Weinrich; Gabriel Maltais-Landry; and Yang Lin. See https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20454

Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management

Applied Turfgrass Science Section: “Seeded Bermudagrass Establishment as Affected by Nitrogen Source, Rate, and Application Frequency” by Jada S. Powlen; and Cale A. Bigelow. See https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20250

Crop Management Section: “Low Soybean Plant Population: Is Replanting Necessary?” by Carrie Ortel; Laura E. Lindsey; Shaun Casteel; Hans Kandel; Emerson Nafziger; Jeremy Ross; Emma Matcham; David Moseley; Giovani Preza Fontes; and Shawn P. Conley. See https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70032

Forage and Grazinglands Section: “Improved Management of the Bermudagrass Stem Maggot” by Lisa L. Baxter; William F. Anderson; William G. Hudson; Esteban F. Rios; Cody H. Bowling; Dennis W. Hancock; Roger N. Gates; and Justin C. Burt. See https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20269

Forage and Grazinglands Section: “Winter Hay-Feeding Effects on Soil Properties in a Rotationally Grazed Pasture System in the Ozark Highlands” by Larry Berry; Kristofor R. Brye; Andrew Sharpley; Ron Morrow; Dirk Phillipp; Tim A. Glover; James M. Burke; Mike B. Daniels. See https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70025

Journal of Environmental Quality

“Environmental Life Cycle of Fentanyl: From the Cradle to an Unknown Grave” by Deseree J. Reid; Kaizad F. Patel; Angela M. Melville; Vanessa L. Bailey; Kristin M. Omberg; and Loreen R. Lamoureux. See https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.70016

Journal of Plant Registrations

“Registration of High-Yielding, High-Protein Soybean Germplasm USDA-N7007 Derived from Wild Soybean PI 366122” by Benjamin Fallen; Marta Robertson; Earl Taliercio; M. A. Rouf Mian, Jr.; and Thomas E. Carter. See https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20383

Natural Sciences Education

“Do Demographic Factors Impact Plant Knowledge and Plant Awareness Disparity?” by Sarah Linderwell; Christina L. M. Hargiss; and Jack Norland. See https://doi.org/10.1002/nse2.20146

The Plant Genome

“Evolutionary Computing to Assemble Standing Genetic Diversity and Achieve Long-Term Genetic Gain” by Kira Villiers; Kai P. Voss-Fels; Eric Dinglasan; Bertus Jacobs; Lee Hickey; and Ben J. Hayes. See https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20467

The Plant Phenome Journal

“Do Not Benchmark Phenomic Prediction Against Genomic Prediction Accuracy” by Fangyi Wang; Mitchell J Feldmann; and Daniel E. Runcie. See https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.70029

Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems

“Beyond Urban Farm and Community Garden, a New Typology of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Europe” by Jan-Eelco Jansma; Esther J. Veen; and Daniela Müller. See https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20056

Vadose Zone Journal

“The PDI Model System for Parameterizing Soil Hydraulic Properties” by Andre Peters; Wolfgang Durner; and Sascha Iden. See https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20338