Alex Mangialardi
After an early morning high school football practice, Alex Mangialardi went to his family鈥檚 farm in Shelby with one instruction from his dad: chop out the pigweeds.
Fast forward a few years, and Mangialardi, now a doctoral candidate at 幺力视频, is still combating weeds, but in a more scientific way.聽 He is focused on managing Palmer amaranth, also known as pigweed, a prolific weed that plagues the South.
Genetic modifications have helped control the weed, so while Mangialardi鈥檚 days of handpicking weeds are over, he continues to fight weeds through his agronomy studies, specializing in weed science. His mentor, Jason Bond, a weed scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MSU research/extension plant and soil sciences professor at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, has been instrumental in his development.
Bond highlights the uniqueness of Mangialardi鈥檚 experience, noting that he will earn all three of his degrees from MSU.
鈥淚n any operation, there鈥檚 a progression from being not quite aware of everything that鈥檚 going on to being aware of everything, and Alex has worked through all those steps, and now he can do anything I can do, and I think that鈥檚 the way that鈥檚 supposed to work, particularly when you鈥檝e finished two degrees in one place,鈥 Bond said. 鈥淗e is very effective and very capable.鈥
Mangialardi鈥檚 educational journey began at Ole Miss, seeking a biology degree and hoping to work in healthcare, but after two years he returned to his roots鈥griculture. He worked at the station in Stoneville over the summer, earning his bachelor鈥檚 degree in agronomy in 2019.
Under Bond鈥檚 mentorship, Mangialardi focused on controlling failed stands of corn and soybean and received his master鈥檚 degree from MSU in 2022. Now, as he works toward his third MSU degree, hoping for a May 2025 graduation, he鈥檚 focused on finding solutions to control Palmer amaranth without the common herbicide paraquat.
Preliminary findings are promising, with other products working efficiently when used correctly. While his background on the family farm instilled unique skills, the intricacies of agricultural research were new to him.
鈥淲hen I first began, I didn鈥檛 realize everything that goes into growing a crop on a day-to-day basis,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize all the little tasks that go into research. That was probably the biggest thing for me: all the tedious work that goes into it.鈥
Managing those nuances makes Mangialardi an asset to MSU鈥檚 weed science program, Bond said.
鈥淎 weed science program is not crop specific, so you learn how to grow all those crops,鈥 Bond said. 鈥淚f you've never been around cotton, you will learn something about growing cotton, because in weed science, everything happens at the first part of the year, so you鈥檒l watch all the stages of the plant.鈥
For Mangialardi, his education and future career tie back to his days helping his family.
鈥淛ason does a good job building programs for growers, and I just hope my work will help people like my dad and other growers who need problem solvers,鈥 Mangialardi said.