Dr. Surendra Bhattarai

Research Interests:

My research focuses on improving the sustainability and productivity of Wyoming’s forage and livestock industries through applied research and extension. My primary focus lies in forage agronomy and breeding with particular emphasis on improving both grass and legume forage species for western US conditions. Through extension programs, I collaborate with producers to apply my findings.

Selected peer-reviewed publications:

Bhattarai, S., Khanal, N., Anderson, N.P., Yoder, C. 2024. Plant growth regulator effects on red fescue seed crops in diverse production environments. Crop Science. 64 (6): 3608-3618. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21386

Bhattarai, S., Wang, H., Poudel, H., Biligetu, B. 2024. Evaluating effectiveness of clonal plant selection of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) in mixed stand: Mean performance and stability in a multi-environment trial. Plant Breeding. 143(5):713–724. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbr.13194

Poudel, H., Bhattarai, S., Singer, S., Biligetu, B., Acharya, S. 2023. An insight into sainfoin breeding: challenges and achievements. Agronomy Journal. 115: :2843–2858. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21439

Bhattarai, S., Lundell, S., and Biligetu, B. 2022. Effect of sodium chloride salt on germination, growth, and elemental composition of alfalfa cultivars with contrasting tolerance to salinity. Agronomy. 12:2516. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102516

Bhattarai, S., Fu, Y.B., Coulman, B., Tanino, K.K., Karunakaran, C., and Biligetu, B. 2021. Transcriptomic analysis of differentially expressed genes in leaves and roots of two alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars with different salt tolerance. BMC Plant Biology. 21:446. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-021-03201-4

Bhattarai, S., Liu, N., Karunakaran, C., Tanino, K.K., Fu, Y.B., Coulman, B., Warkentin, T., and Biligetu, B. 2021. Tissue specific changes in elements and organic compounds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars differing in salt tolerance under salt stress. Journal of Plant Physiology. 264:153485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153485

Bhattarai, S., Biswas, D., Fu, Y.B., and Biligetu, B. 2020. Morphological, Physiological, and Genetic Responses to Salt Stress in Alfalfa: A Review. Agronomy. 10(4):577. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10040577

Li, P., Bhattarai, S., Peterson, G.W., Coulman, B., Schellenberg, M.P., Biligetu, B., and Fu, Y.B. 2018. Genetic diversity of northern wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus ssp. lanceolatus) as revealed by genotyping-by-sequencing. Diversity. 10(2): 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/d10020023

Bhattarai, S., and Biligetu, B. 2018. Effects of seed size, seed pod removal and temperature on seed germination of Onobrychis viciifolia. Seed Science and Technology. 46(1): 113–117. https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2018.46.1.11

Bhattarai, S., Coulman, B., Beattie, A.D., and Biligetu, B. 2018. Assessment of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) germplasm for agro-morphogical traits and nutritive value. Grass and Forage Science. 73: 958–966. https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12372

Bhattarai, S., Coulman, B., Fu, Y.B., Beattie, A. D., and Biligetu, B. 2017. Genetic diversity and relationship of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) germplasm as revealed by amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Canadian Journal of Plant Sciences. 98(3): 543–551. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2017-0094

Bhattarai, S., Coulman, B., and Biligetu, B. 2016. Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.): Renewed interest as a forage legume for western Canada. Canadian Journal of Plant Sciences. 96(5): 748–756. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2015-0378