Welcome to the H. SINTIM LAB at the University of Georgia.
The H. SINTIM LAB – directed by Dr. Henry Yabbey Sintim – is within the Crop and Soil Sciences Department and based at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. The mission of the program is to Optimize Plant Nutrition and Revitalize Soil Health, especially under row crop production systems in Georgia.
The state of Georgia has a sub-tropical climate, characterized by hot and humid summers and cool to mild winters. Also, the soils are predominantly Ultisols, which are highly weathered and characterized as having a clay-enriched subsoil with relatively low native fertility or a base saturation of less than 35% in the subsoil. Under intensive weathering and poor soil management conditions, some areas in the state have lost the sandy topsoil layer. More importantly, both sand and kaolinite clay minerals have very low cation exchange capacity, making crop production systems in Georgia less resilient. A slight change in soil and environmental conditions can adversely impact crop performance.
The H. SINTIM LAB optimizes nutrient management strategies that increase row crop productivity, limit costs, and have a minimum adverse impact on the environment. The program also researches innovative soil health assessment strategies and regenerative agricultural frameworks that integrate seamlessly into existing farming systems, while minimizing soil disturbance and promoting the build-up of soil organic matter and biodiversity.
While the main focus of the H. SINTIM LAB is to serve the State of Georgia, we are also open to scientific collaborations that benefit the country and the world at large.