NDSU plant sciences master’s student Nathan Haugrud from Rothsay, Minnesota, was awarded the Alan Dexter Scholarship by the Sugarbeet Research and Education Board of Minnesota and North Dakota. The scholarship was presented during the 48th annual North Dakota State University/University of Minnesota Sugarbeet Research Reporting Session held Jan. 9 in Fargo.

The scholarship is awarded to Master of Science or doctoral students at NDSU or the University of Minnesota whose thesis project objective is related to an aspect of sugarbeet production, processing or economics. Dexter is a professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Sciences at NDSU and retired NDSU/U of M Extension sugarbeet and weed control specialist.

Haugrud became interested in studying plant sciences through his time working on his family’s farm. “The discipline of weed science, particularly weed management, has always been interesting to me,” he said. He completed his bachelor’s degree in crop and weed Sciences at NDSU.

His graduate research thesis is “Cultivation to Supplement Residual Soil Herbicides in Sugarbeet,” and he is advised by Tom Peters, NDSU assistant professor of plant sciences and NDSU/U of M Extension sugarbeet and weed science specialist. In the future, Haugrud would like to work in agricultural research, especially weed science.

The Sugarbeet Research and Education Board of Minnesota and North Dakota is a cooperative of sugarbeet growers with a purpose to promote research, education and sugar production throughout Minnesota and North Dakota.

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