Joseph A. Burke, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Soil Chemistry and Fertility at Texas A&M AgriLife Research – Lubbock. As a Ph.D. student, his research focused on understanding the role of conservation management practices such as no-tillage and cover crops on soil properties and how these practices can be optimized for semi-arid cotton production in west Texas. Dr. Burke is currently investigating nutrient dynamics in agricultural and natural ecosystems; establishing baseline organic carbon stocks in Texas corn, cotton, and sorghum cropping systems; developing an undergraduate and graduate course in regenerative agriculture in semi-arid cropping systems; and helping create a hands-on soil health testing kit for producers.  

Joseph earned a B.S. in Agricultural Education (Magna Cum Laude) and a M.S. in Plant and Soil Science, both from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Texas A&M University. As a M.S. student, received the Gary Peterson Dryland Soil Management Award from the Soil Science Society of America, won four regional and national conference research oral and poster presentation awards, and was honored as the George Tereshkovich Outstanding Graduate Student (2018) for the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Texas Tech University. As a Ph.D. student, Joseph was awarded the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Strategic Initiative Assistantship in Water and Soil Health (2018-2021) and Bayer Crop Science Encompass Fellowship (2021-2022); has received the Graduate Student Research Award (2021) and Graduate Student Teaching Award (2019) from the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences; and won 17 state, national, and international conference research oral and poster presentation awards.

 Citations:

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles –

1.       Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, P.B. DeLaune, C.J. Cobos, and J.W. Keeling. 2022. Soil Water Dynamics and Cotton Production Following Cover Crop Use in a Semi-Arid Ecoregion. Agronomy. 12.1306.

2. Lewis, K.L., G. Morgan, H. Frame, D. Fromme, D. Dodds, K. Edminsten, B. Robertson, R. Bowman, T. Cutts, D. Delaney, R. Nichols, and J.A. Burke. 2021. Cotton yield response to potassium across the United States Cotton Belt. Agronomy Journal. 113:3600-3614. DOI: 10.1002/agj2.20719.

3.       Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, G.L. Ritchie, P.B. DeLaune, J.W. Keeling, V. Acosta-Martinez, J.M. Moore, and T. McLendon. 2021. Net positive water content following cover crops with no-tillage in irrigated semi-arid cotton production. Soil & Tillage Research. 208:104869. DOI: 10.1016.j.still.2020.104869.

4.       Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, G.L. Ritchie, J. Moore-Kucera, P.B. DeLaune, and J.W. Keeling. 2019. Temporal carbon and nitrogen dynamics in cotton production on the Texas High Plains. Agronomy Journal. 111(5):2218-2225. DOI: 10.2134/agronj2019.02.0066.

5.       Lewis, K.L., J.A. Burke, W. Keeling, D. McCallister, P.B. DeLaune, and J.W. Keeling. 2018. Soil benefits and yield limitations of cover crop use in Texas High Plains cotton. Agronomy Journal. 110(4):1616-1623. DOI: 10.2134/agronj2018.02.0092.

Editor Review Proceedings –

1. Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, and J.L. Foster. 2021. Nitrogen dynamics following cover crops in Texas High Plains cotton. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. Virtual Conference.

2. Lewis, K.L., J.W. Keeling, P.B. DeLaune, J.A. Burke, A.R. Bumguardner, and C.J. Cobos. 2021. Optimizing nitrogen management across cotton cropping systems. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. Virtual Conference.

3. Cobos, C.J., K.L. Lewis, M.D. McDonald, P.B. DeLaune, and J.A. Burke. 2021. Greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen dynamics in Texas High Plains cotton. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. Virtual Conference.

4. Burke, J.A., and K.L. Lewis. 2020. Nitrogen management in conservation systems to increase use efficiency and cotton production. Proceedings of the Great Plains Soil Fertility Conference. Denver, CO.

5. Burke, J.A., and K.L. Lewis. 2020. Nitrogen management in conservation systems to increase use efficiency and cotton production. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. Austin, TX.

6. Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, and P.B. DeLaune. 2019. A novel evaluation of soil health in semi-arid Texas cotton production. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. New Orleans, LA.

7. Lewis, K.L., J.W. Keeling, D. McCallister, P.B. DeLaune, J.A. Burke, and W. Keeling. 2019. Economic comparison of cover crop use in Texas High Plains cotton. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. New Orleans, LA.

8. Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, G.L. Ritchie, J.W. Keeling, and P.B. DeLaune. 2018. Long-term impacts of conservation management practices on aggregation, soil moisture, and cotton yield. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. San Antonio, TX.

9. Burke, J.A., K.L. Lewis, J.W. Keeling, and P.B. DeLaune. 2018. Temporal variability of soil carbon and nitrogen in semi-arid soil on the Texas High Plains. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. San Antonio, TX.

10. White, C.D.R., J.A. Burke, K.L. Lewis, J.W. Keeling, and P.B. DeLaune. 2017. Effects of conservation management practices on cotton yield and soil quality. Beltwide Cotton Conferences Proceedings. Dallas, TX.