Dr. Bao-Luo Ma

Dr. Ma conducts nationally and internationally recognized research that supports the STB science priorities of identifying plant traits for cultivar improvement, and designing best management strategies and crop production systems that improve agriculture productivity, sustainability and profitability.
Specifically, his research projects are designed to understand crop plant reactions to abiotic stresses as well as to develop risk assessment technologies for different environment-induced stresses in crop stand establishment, growth, development, and yield formation under nutrient-limited (deficiency or over-fertilization), saline, drought, cold, crowded or other adverse conditions. The overall objectives are identification, understanding, and mitigation of risks associated with abiotic stresses impacting cropping systems.
Current research and/or projects
Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Soil Sustainability in Canola Production across Canada
Breeding, Genomics, and Agronomy Research to Improve Oat Yield and Quality
Investigation of Critical Tissue Sulfur Concentration and Nitrogen to Sulfur Ratio for Optimizing Canola Production in Eastern Canada
Research and/or project statements
Developing crop-based indicators for detecting abiotic stresses and sensing crop nutrient requirements
Systematic assessment of nutrient cycling in agroecosystems
Understanding the physiological basis for the growth, development and yield of oats and other field crops
Mitigating risks of abiotic stresses impacting crop production systems
Professional activities / interests
Improving nutrient use efficiency of grain cereal and oilseed crops
Developing best management practices
Advancing knowledge and developing technologies for more efficient use of plant nutrients and achieve concurrent improvements in NUE, crop yields, and producers' profit as well as sustaining the environment across different ecoregions in Canada
Education and awards
Ph.D. Agronomy, McGill University, 1991
Fellow, American Society of Agronomy, 2007
Fellow, Canadian Society of Agronomy, 2011
Fellow of Crop Science Society of America, 2012
International experience and/or work
Served two 3-year terms as the Technical Editor of Crop Science journal
Served a 3-year term as a Senior Associate Editor of Agronomy Journal
Co-supervised MSc. and PhD students, supervised post-doctoral fellows and international professors / researchers
Served as external examiner for PhD theses of Canadian and international universities
Key publications
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Ma, B.L. 2022. Nitrogen management, use efficiency and seed yield of canola hybrids in diverse Canadian production ecosystems. Oral presentation at the CSA-CWSS Annual Meeting. Halifax, NS. Nov. 14-18.
2022 - View publication details
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Wen, G., and B.L. Ma. 2022. Early detection of the health status of abiotic-stressed crops using electrical signals. Oral presentation at the CSA-CWSS Annual Meeting. Halifax, NS. Nov. 14-18.
2022 - View publication details
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Wen, G., and B.L. Ma. 2022. Machine learning-based nitrogen recommendation on Canola Crops. Oral presentation at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD. Nov. 6-9, 2022.
2022 - View publication details
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Ma, B.L., and D. L. Smith. 2022. Interactive effect of nitrogen and sulfur supply on yield and related traits of canola. Oral presentation at the International Plant Sulfur Workshop. Western University, London, ON, Canada. July 15-18, 2022
2022 - View publication details
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Wen, G., and B.L. Ma. 2021. Assessing canola nitrogen management strategies with machine learning-based modelling approach. Oral presentation at the Canadian Phytopathological Society- The Canadian Society of Agronomy- Canadian Society for Horticultural Science Tri-Society Virtual Conference. Jul. 5-9
2021 - View publication details
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Guo, X., Nan, Y., He, H., Ma, B.L., McLaughlin, N.B., Wu, X., Chen, B., Gao, Y. (2021). Post-flowering nitrogen uptake leads to the genotypic variation in seed nitrogen accumulation of oilseed rape. Plant and Soil, [online] 461(1-2), 281-294. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04815-7
2021 - View publication details
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Li, P., Ma, B., Palta, J.A., Ding, T., Cheng, Z., Lv, G., Xiong, Y. (2021). Wheat breeding highlights drought tolerance while ignores the advantages of drought avoidance: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Agronomy, [online] 122 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2020.126196
2021 - View publication details
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Ma, B.L. 2020. A nutrient balance approach to growing canola in Eastern Canada. Canala FactSheets. Eastern Canada Oilseed Development Alliance (ECODA). Charlottetown, PEI Canada. https://www.ecodainc.ca/fertility/
2020 - View publication details
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Ma, B.L., Zheng, Z.M., de Silva, N., Whalen, J.K., Pageau, D., Vanasse, A., Caldwell, C., Earl, H., Smith, D.L. (2020). Graphical analysis of nitrogen and sulfur supply on yield and related traits of canola in eastern Canada. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, [online] 118(3), 293-309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10705-020-10097-3
2020 - View publication details
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Xiong, L., Liang, C., Ma, B., Shah, F., Wu, W. (2020). Carbon footprint and yield performance assessment under plastic film mulching for winter wheat production. Journal of Cleaner Production, [online] 270 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122468
2020 - View publication details
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Wu, W., Shah, F., Duncan, R.W., Ma, B.L. (2020). Grain yield, root growth habit and lodging of eight oilseed rape genotypes in response to a short period of heat stress during flowering. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, [online] 287 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107954
2020 - View publication details
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Ma, B., Ma, B.L., McLaughlin, N.B., Mi, J., Yang, Y., Liu, J. (2020). Exploring soil amendment strategies with polyacrylamide to improve soil health and oat productivity in a dryland farming ecosystem: One-time versus repeated annual application. Land Degradation & Development, [online] 31(9), 1176-1192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3482
2020 - View publication details
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Biswas, D.K., Ma, B.L., Xu, H., Li, Y., Jiang, G. (2020). Lutein-mediated photoprotection of photosynthetic machinery in Arabidopsis thaliana exposed to chronic low ultraviolet-B radiation. Journal of Plant Physiology, [online] 248 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2020.153160
2020 - View publication details
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Ma, B., Zheng, Z.M. (2020). Canopy reflectance, stalk sugar and juice yields in specialty corn hybrids as affected by nitrogen management strategies. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, [online] 100(3), 1080-1091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10113
2020 - View publication details
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Wang, Z., Ma, B.L., Yu, X., Gao, J., Sun, J., Su, Z., Yu, S. (2019). Physiological Basis of Heterosis for Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Maize. Scientific Reports, [online] 9(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54864-x
2019 - View publication details
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Dong, T., Shang, J., Liu, J., Qian, B., Jing, Q., Ma, B., Huffman, T., Geng, X., Sow, A., Shi, Y., Canisius, F., Jiao, X., Kovacs, J.M., Walters, D., Cable, J., Wilson, J. (2019). Using RapidEye imagery to identify within-field variability of crop growth and yield in Ontario, Canada. Precision Agriculture, [online] 20(6), 1231-1250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11119-019-09646-w
2019 - View publication details
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Ma, B.L. 2019. Crop rotation: An effective system to improve crop production efficiency and minimize C footprints. Invited keynote speaker presentation at the 6th International Symposium on Environment, Natural Resources and Ecological Conservation (ISENREC2019). Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, November 24-30.
2019 - View publication details
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Dong, T., Shang, J., Chen, J.M., Liu, J., Qian, B., Ma, B., Morrison, M.J., Zhang, C., Liu, Y., Shi, Y., Pan, H., Zhou, G. (2019). Assessment of portable chlorophyll meters for measuring crop leaf chlorophyll concentration. Remote Sensing, [online] 11(22), http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs11222706
2019 - View publication details
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Wu, W., Ma, B.L., Fan, J.J., Sun, M., Yi, Y., Guo, W.S., Voldeng, H.D. (2019). Management of nitrogen fertilization to balance reducing lodging risk and increasing yield and protein content in spring wheat. Field Crops Research, [online] 241 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107584
2019 - View publication details
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Ma, B.L., Zheng, Z., Whalen, J.K., Caldwell, C., Vanasse, A., Pageau, D., Scott, P., Earl, H., Smith, D.L. (2019). Uptake and nutrient balance of nitrogen, sulfur, and boron for optimal canola production in eastern Canada. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, [online] 182(2), 252-264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201700615
2019 - View publication details
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Contact
Research facility
Expertise
Affiliations
Adjunct Professor, McGill University
Adjunct Professor, Nipissing University