Debankur Sanyal

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Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• K, R., Dutta, S., R, T., Bhowmik, R., Chourasia, N. K., Meena, J. K., Das, A., Kumaraswamy, H., Sanyal, D., & Mandal, S. N. (2025). Breeding minor pulses for climate resilience in the era of genomics: opportunities and prospects. In Breeding Climate Resilient and Future Ready Pulse Crops. Springer.
• Sanyal, D. (2020).

  Friends and Foes: Phyto-Microbial Interactions in Molecular Perspective

  . In Phyto-Microbiome in Stress Regulation(pp 81-98).
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  Soil acts as an natural abode for plants as well as for diverse micro/macroflora and fauna, and thus provides the rhizosphere environment, the fraction of soil surrounding the root system, where plants interact with their root microbiomes. Plants maintain a continuum of interactions with associated microbes that have effects on their cellular physiology resulting in changes in development and function, which can have both positive and negative outcomes. Plant-microbial or microbial-microbial interactions that occur at the plant root-soil interface can also have dynamic effects on the rhizosphere microbiome that greatly affects the overall health and vigor of plants, a key metric in agricultural productivity. This chapter reviews the current understanding of the range of interactions happening in the rhizosphere and the recent advancements that next generation sequencing technologies have had on the ability to identify and classify the rhizosphere microbiome.
• Sanyal, D. (2017).

  Brick Making: Soil Degradation

  . In Encyclopedia of Soil ScienceEdition: Third Edition. CRC Press eBooks. doi:10.1081/e-ess3-120052925
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  Bricks, a primary tool of urbanization, are made of soils. In the age of urbanization, a large amount of bricks are needed, which in turn destroy agricultural soils. Due to desurfacing, the most fertile portion of a soil profile is getting degraded. Most importantly, soil organic matter along with primary nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, is lost from the soil, destroying soil microbial activities and depleting soil fertility as well as productivity. Hence, this important but ignored aspect of land degradation needs comprehensive studies to understand the extent of problem and remedial measures. In this entry, economic cost of nutrients lost due to desurfacing is estimated. Some management strategies for rehabilitation of desurfaced soils have also come up from few studies. Further studies will reveal more unknown facts about soil degradation by brick making and its management.

Journals/Publications

• Bansal, S., Sanyal, D., Graham, C., Gonzalez Hernandez, J., Menendez, H., & Kumar, S. (2024). Impacts of stocking densities on soil biochemical and microbial properties in a mixed-grass prairie ecosystem at two landscape positions. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8. doi:10.3389/fsufs.2024.1254973
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  Grazing management is a critical land-use requirement that facilitates the preservation of plant community composition, soil properties and environmental quality. Grazing density of livestock has a significant impact on soil health, and there is a need to study the interactions of grazing densities and topographical positions influencing soil biochemical and microbial properties. This study was conducted at Cottonwood Field Station in Philip, South Dakota to assess the influence of more than 7 years of low, medium, and high grazing stocking densities (0.33, 0.41, 0.72 animal units/ac, respectively) at summit and footslope landscape positions on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fractions, microbial community composition, and enzymatic activities in a mixed-grass prairie ecosystem. Medium grazing density showed a 16% increase in soil N at the footslope compared with summit. Low grazing density significantly reduced microbial biomass C (~269 μg g−1 soil) and N (~26 μg g−1 soil) at summit compared with other grazing densities and landscape positions, except, the summit at high grazing density. Medium grazing density significantly enhanced hot-water extractable N by 21–23% at footslope compared with low grazing density at the footslope and high grazing density at the summit. Low grazing density increased urease (3.64 μg NH4+ g−1 soil h−1) at footslope than all other grazing densities and landscape positions. Low grazing density enhanced β-glucosidase by 75% than high grazing density; alkaline phosphatase was significantly greater by 60% at footslope than summit. High grazing density at the summit decreased total PLFA (mean 56.53 nmol g−1 soil) due to lower AM fungi, G (+), G (−) and actinomycetes biomass. Microbial stress indicators such as G (+)/G (−), saturated/unsaturated, monosaturated/polysaturated, GNeg stress revealed that high grazing density especially at summit position posed elevated physiological stressed conditions to the microbial community. Overall, long-term medium grazing density of 0.41 animal units/ac may enhance soil N, microbial composition, microbial biomass C and N, hot-water extractable C and N fractions, and reduce stress conditions for microbial community at both footslope as well as summit landscape positions. Moreover, long-term overgrazing of pastures, particularly at summit slopes, appears to inhibit microbial populations and degrade overall soil health.
• Loya, J., Subramanian, S., Kalil, A., Keene, C., Sanyal, D., Eberly, J., & Graham, C. (2024). Assessing the use of native rhizobia to improve nitrogen fixation under abiotic stress. Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment, 7(4). doi:10.1002/agg2.20573
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  Biological nitrogen fixation by rhizobia bacteria plays a pivotal role in sustainable agriculture by converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can assimilate, thereby reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. This process can be dramatically reduced by various abiotic stressors. Native rhizobia strains, which are naturally occurring, may be better adapted to the local soil and climatic conditions, making them more resilient to stress factors such as drought, salinity, temperature extremes, and pH variations compared to commercial strains that may have been developed in and for different environments. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of native rhizobia species with a commercial inoculant and uninoculated controls in maintaining nitrogen fixation under induced stress by delayed planting in field peas over two growing seasons (2021 and 2022) in central South Dakota. Our findings indicate that native rhizobia, while not outperforming the commercial inoculant, demonstrated competitive nitrogen fixation capacities. Overall, total nitrogen fixation was not statistically different between a commercial inoculant and native rhizobia formulations. Planting date emerged as a significant factor influencing nitrogen fixation, with later planting substantially reducing overall effectiveness. These results highlight the potential of native rhizobia as an alternative to commercial inoculants and underscore the need for increased screening throughput and improved methods to assess rhizobia efficacy and nodule competition in field settings.
• Sanyal, D. (2023).

  Cover Crop Composition in Long-Term No-Till Soils in Semi-Arid Environments Do Not Influence Soil Health Measurements

  . Soil Science Society of America Journal, 87(3), 528-540. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20523
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  Evaluating the influence of grass or broadleaf cover crops on soil health measurements is common in the U.S Midwest. However, the comparison among different cover crop mixtures, including blends of both grass and broadleaf species is limited. Eleven cover crop experiments were conducted in South Dakota from 2018-2020. Cover crops were planted in the fall after small grains harvest as mixtures of dominantly grasses or broadleaves, a 50/50 grass/broadleaf mixture, and a no cover crop control. Soil and plant surface residue samples were collected in the fall before winter kill and in the spring before cover crop termination and corn planting. Soil samples were analyzed for permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), and soil respiration. Cover crops regardless of composition compared to the no cover crop control did not affect fall or spring cover crop/previous crop residue biomass in 7 of the 11 site-years, suggesting growing cover crops may accelerate decomposition of previous crop residue. Cover crops did not improve soil health measurements compared to the no cover crop control or were there differences among cover crop mixtures. Weather and soil properties (precipitation, soil organic matter, and pH) were related to differences in soil heath measurements among site-years. In the first year of planting a multi-species mixture of grasses and/or broadleaves after small grain harvest, growers should not expect to find differences in soil health measurements. Long-term trials are needed to determine whether these different cover crop mixtures over time result in changes in soil health.
• Sanyal, D. (2023).

  A Soil Health Needs Assessment Survey in Arizona

  . University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. doi:https://extension.arizona.edu/pubs/soil-health-needs-assessment-survey-arizona
• Sanyal, D. (2023).

  Surviving These Drying Times: The Role of a Desert Agricultural Extension Agent in Helping Farmers Face Drought

  . Journal of NACAA.
• Sanyal, D. (2023). Does socio-economic dynamics influence crop yield variability?. Current Science, 125(8), 846-852.
• Sanyal, D., & Masson, R. (2023). Yuma Soil Health Survey 2022: A Discussion on POX-C, PMN, and Soil Protein. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D., Andrade Sanchez, P., Stackpole, C., & Heun, J. T. (2023). Evaluating an in-situ, low-cost soil CO2 sensor as a soil health assessment tool in agricultural soils. Extension publication AZ2074, 5.
• Sanyal, D., Mukherjee, A., Rahhal, A., Wolthuizen, J., Karki, D., Clark, J., & Bly, A. (2023). Cover crops did not improve soil health but hydroclimatology may guide decisions preventing cash crop yield loss. Frontiers in Soil Science, 3. doi:10.3389/fsoil.2023.1111821
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  Introduction: Cover crop (CC) is an essential tool to improve or maintain soil health, potentially improving cash crop productivity. Several recent reports of cash crop yield reduction following cover cropping necessitated this research to guide efficient CC decisions in the season before corn (Zea mays) or soybean (Glycine max) is to be grown. Methods: Therefore, we designed this multi-year, multi-location study to include the farmers who plant CC following the harvest of a small grain crop, majorly wheat (Triticum aestivum) or oats (Avena sativa), and then grow corn or soybean cash crop in the subsequent season. We also selected the farmers who used a fall CC mix that was winter-terminated, to avoid further complexities. The major objective of this study was to document soil health changes and cash crop yields following CC in eight selected locations around SD for three consecutive CC seasons between 2017-2020. Experimental plots were laid out at the farmer-cooperators’ CC fields, where no cover (NC) ‘control’ was tested against CC in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Soil samples were analyzed for selected soil health indicators (SHIs): potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC), soil respiration (SR), soil microbial biomass (SMB), soil nitrate-nitrogen, soil organic matter (SOM), and other basic soil properties (pH, electrical conductivity, etc.); crop and residue biomass were calculated, and cash crop economic yields were measured. Results and discussion: No statistically significant (p30 g kg-1). These findings directed us to investigate hydroclimatological parameters and climatological indices such as accumulated precipitation, standardized precipitation index (SPI), and standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index (SPEI) for their impact on CC’s influence on cash crop yields. Conclusion: Our analyses indicated that hydroclimatology, especially SPEI for the month before CC planting can be used as a tool to guide successful CC decisions, reducing the risk of cash crop yield loss. Further investigations with SPI and SPEI, along with other climatological parameters are needed to explore and design better CC management tools.
• Sanyal, D. (2022).

  Soil Health Changes from Grassland to Row Crop Conversion in the Northern Great Plains

  . Crops and Soils. doi:10.1002/crso.20219
• Sanyal, D., & Graham, C. (2022). Using the Haney Soil Test to Predict Nitrogen Requirements in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Nitrogen MDPI, 3(2), 376-386. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3020024
• Sanyal, D. (2021).

  Agriculture Triggered Drought is Causing Desertification

  . Modern concepts & developments in agronomy. doi:10.31031/mcda.2021.08.000699
• Sanyal, D. (2021).

  Identifying Diversity and Activities of Soil Microbes Using Pigmentation Patterns on Buried Cotton Strips: A Novel Approach

  . Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. doi:10.1080/00103624.2021.1908328
• Sanyal, D. (2021).

  Influence of Nitrogen Fertilization Rate on Soil Respiration: A Study Using a Rapid Soil Respiration Assay

  . Nitrogen. doi:10.3390/nitrogen2020014
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  Efficient nitrogen (N) management is one of the primary objectives of agronomic research as N is expensive and a major environmental pollutant. Soil microbes regulate N cycling and soil respiration (SR) measures soil microbial activity. The Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health (CASH) soil respiration protocol is a rapid test, and a study was designed to approve this test as a potential tool for corn (Zea mays L.) N management. Five locations were selected around South Dakota (SD) where corn received 0, 45, 90, and 180 kg N ha−1 during summer of 2019. Soil samples were collected before planting and at the V6 corn growth stage to measure SR. We found that N fertilization increased SR and the highest SR was recorded at Ipswich (1.94 mg CO2 g−1) while SR was lowest at Bushnell (1.45 mg CO2 g−1). Higher SR was recorded at the sites where no-till farming was practiced, and soil had higher initial nitrate and organic matter content. SR was weakly correlated with corn grain yield, which indicated a potential area for future research. We concluded that split N application or an additional N application at a later growth stage might boost corn productivity in soil with higher microbial activity.
• Sanyal, D. (2021).

  Soil health changes from grassland to row crops conversion on Natric Aridisols in South Dakota, USA

  . Geoderma Regional. doi:10.1016/j.geodrs.2021.e00425
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  In the northern Great Plains vast amounts of native grassland have given way to crops, mostly small grains and corn, over the past half century. It is well understood that over the long-term, grassland conversion accelerates erosion and generally decreases many soil functions. It is less clear, however, what short-term effects occur to the soil from grassland conversion; after the first or second year of conversion. The objectives of this study were to assess the short-term (first year) effects of converting land that is considered long-term grassland to small grain production through either conventional tillage (CT) or no-till (NT) practices using various indicators of soil health and to demonstrate how tools such as the Comprehensive Assessment for Soil Health (CASH), can be used to document soil health indicator decline immediately upon conversion from grassland to small grains. The CASH offers a suite of chemical, physical and biological soil tests to broadly assess soil health. In general, these indicators showed a more rapid decline in soil health under CT than NT. After the first year of grassland conversion, aggregate stability declined by 7% and 19% in the NT and CT plots, respectively when compared to the grassland control. Likewise, CT produced significantly greater declines in permanganate oxidizable carbon (POX-C) and soil protein (ACE-Protein), particularly under reduced precipitation. This study highlights how the CASH can provide an intuitive framework for monitoring the effects of land use change and can be used by land managers to identify potential soil constraints and formulate potential interventions. • Grassland conversion can impact soil health, even in the short term. • CASH framework can be used to gauge changes in soil health. • Grassland conversion to wheat declined WAS, ACE-Protein & Respiration. • Conventional tillage effect on soil health was more pronounced than no-till.
• Sanyal, D. (2020).

  Influence of Rhizobium inoculation on dry bean yield and symbiotic nitrogen fixation potential

  . Journal of Plant Nutrition. doi:10.1080/01904167.2020.1711946
• Sanyal, D. (2020).

  Understanding the Impacts of Sowing Time and Tillage in Optimizing the Micro-Environment for Rainfed Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) Production in the Lower Indo-Gangetic Plain

  . Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. doi:10.1007/s42729-020-00319-6
• Sanyal, D. (2020).

  Understanding the expression dynamics of symbiont rhizobial nifH and nitrogen assimilatory NR and GS genes in dry bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) genotypes at various growth stages

  . Legume science. doi:10.1002/leg3.26
• Sanyal, D. (2019).

  Influence of stabilizer addition and application rate on nitrogen use efficiency of corn

  . Crops and Soils. doi:10.2134/cs2019.52.0409
• Sanyal, D. (2019).

  Organic and Inorganic Integrated Fertilization Improves Non-exchangeable Potassium Release and Potassium Availability in Soil

  . Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. doi:10.1080/00103624.2019.1648660
• Sanyal, D. (2018).

  Determining Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Dry Bean Cultivars Using Ureide Method and Isotope Dilution Techniques

  . Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 49(16), 2042-2052. doi:10.1080/00103624.2018.1495727
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  Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) is an environmentally safe source of nitrogen (N) to the crop plants. In total, 12 dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars from pinto, navy, black, and kidney m...
• Sanyal, D. (2018).

  Hydromulch Application to Bare Soil: Soil Temperature Dynamics and Evaporative Fluxes

  . Agricultural & Environmental Letters. doi:10.2134/ael2018.03.0014

Proceedings Publications

• Elshikha, D., Attalah, S., Elsadek, E., Waller, P., Thorp, K., Sanyal, D., Bautista, E., Norton, R., Hunsaker, D., Williams, C., Wall, G., Barnes, E., & Orr, E. (2024). The Impact of Gravity Drip and Flood Irrigation on Development, Water Productivity, and Fiber Yield of Cotton in Semi-Arid Conditions of Arizona. In American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
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  The present study was conducted to examine the effects of two irrigation methods with different application rates on cotton (ST 4595B3XF variety) growth, irrigation water productivity, and fiber yield in Arizona. Five treatments, namely gravity drip (GD) with 100%, 80%, and 60% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and flood (F) with 100% and 80% of ETc (GD 100%, GD 80%, GD 60%, F100%, and F80%, respectively), were arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates during 2023. Deficit irrigation (DI) reduced cotton height and canopy cover with both GD and F irrigations. Compared with the F system, the enhanced vegetative growth resulted in a notable increase in total irrigation requirements, particularly evident in the GD 100% (1337.50 mm) and GD 80% (1106.60 mm). The highest fiber yield values of 1621 kg ha−1 and 1465 kg ha−1 were recorded under an irrigation rate of 100% ETc for both GD and F irrigation. However, decreasing irrigation rates to 80% and 60% ETc negatively affected fiber yield under the two irrigation systems. Improvement of irrigation water productivity (WPI), accompanied by saving irrigation water and a high fiber yield, could be obtained by shifting irrigation from the GD 100% (I = 1337.50 mm, WPI = 0.121 kg m−3) and F100% rates (I = 1162.00 mm, WPI = 0.125 kg m−3) toward the GD 80% rate (I =1106.60 mm, WPI = 0.130 kg m−3). The lowest micronaire (MIC) values were recorded under F 80 % and F 100% (4.36 and 4.97, respectively). The 100% treatment of F and GD showed higher fiber strength (STR) (29.51 and 28.29 HVI g tex−1, respectively). However, the upper half mean length (UHML), uniformity index (UI), and short fiber content (SFC) values showed a downward trend under both GD and F treatments, reflecting their correlation with the total applied water. Elongation at failure (ELO) was consistent among irrigation treatments. This study provides significant guidance for adopting DI strategies in cotton under semi-arid conditions.
• Elshikha, D. E., Ray, D. T., Attalah, S., Dierig, D., Wang, G., Waller, P. M., Hunsaker, D. J., Sanyal, D., Thorp, K. R., Katterman, M. E., Williams, C., Williams, C., Katterman, M. E., Thorp, K. R., Hunsaker, D. J., Sanyal, D., Wang, G., Waller, P. M., Attalah, S., , Dierig, D., et al. (2023, Spring).

  Guayule germination and growth under subsurface gravity drip and furrow irrigation in Arizona

  . In 2023 ASABE Annual International Meeting, Paper number 2300034, 19.

Presentations

• Sanyal, D., Arp, T., Martinez, M., Pettit, T., & Stackpole, C. (2024). Enhancing Soil Health in the Desert: Roles of Soil Conditioners and Biofertilizers. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, 2024. San Antonio, TX.
• Zamora, E., Dattamudi, S., Foster-Malone, J., Sanyal, D., Schuster, G., McGinty, J., & Vurranki, S. (2024). Effect of Cover Crop Mixtures and Tillage Practices on Soil Health and Agricultural Sustainability in a Long Term Research Field. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, April). Soil Health Program for Alfalfa and Forage Crops in Arizona. The 2022 Annual UA Alfalfa & Forage Workshop. Maricopa, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, April). Soil Health Research & Extension Program For Arizona: An Outlook. A Ranching/Farming into the Future Workshop. Elfrida, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, April). Soil Health Research Based Extension Program for Arizona: An Outlook. The 2022 UArizona Agricultural Production Seminar. Mesa, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, August). Soil Health and Conservation: A Comprehensive Approach. Arizona's Conservation Districts Annual Conference. Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Association of Conservation Districts.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, December). Cover Crop Considerations for High-elevation Agriculture. Controlled Environmental Agriculture, Rotational Grazing, Virtual Fencing, Cover Crops, Point of Sale Systems, and Agritourism Seminar. Snowflake, AZ: University of Arizona and USDA.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, December). Understanding Soil Test Results. Stakeholder training. Phoenix, AZ: Spaces of Opportunity.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, February). Soil Health Needs, Assessment & Management in Arid & Semi-Arid Environments of Arizona. Southwest Ag Summit (SWAG). Yuma, AZ: Fertizona, Alexander, YFVA, University of Arizona, Arizona Western College Foundation, Yuma County Farm Bureau.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, January). Soil Health Improvements in Arid and Semi-Arid Environments of Arizona. The 2022 UArizona Cooperative Extension Field Crops “Clinics”. Goodyear, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, January). Soil Health Needs & Management. Very Small Farm BSAAO workshop for New Mexico & Nevada. Virtual: Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Office of Food Safety, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, July). Soil Health: The Role of Soil Amendments. Soil Amendments: Science, Guidelines, and Good Neighbor Practices. Yuma, AZ.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, May). Building Soil Health with Cover Crops. 2022 Southern AZ Beginning Rancher/Farmer Education. Benson, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, November). Managing Carbon in the Desert: Introducing Healthy Desert Soils Initiative. Water and Agriculture: Chile-Arizona Experience Webinar. Virtual: Agricultural Office, Embassy of Chile and Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), The University of Arizona.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, November). Introducing the Healthy Desert Soils Initiative. Desert Agriculture Research Symposium. Yuma, AZ: Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, October). Healthy Soils for Healthy Foods: A Climate-Smart Approach. International Conference on Contribution of Agriculture for Challenges and Opportunity of Food Security till 2030. Virtual: Mangalayatan University, Madhya Pradesh, India.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, October). Healthy Soils for Urban Farms. Urban Ag/Beginner Farmer Annual Seminar. Phoenix, AZ: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
• Sanyal, D. (2022, September). Chile Pepper Production in the Southwest USA-Soil Health Approach. International Pepper Conference. Pearce, AZ.

Poster Presentations

• Arp, T., Sanyal, D., Pettit, T., Martinez, M., & Stackpole, C. (2024). Alternative Cover Crop Management in the Desert: A Report from Arizona. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, 2024. San Antonio, TX.
• Sanyal, D. (2023). Evaluating Potential Cover Crops for Soil Health Improvements in the Desert Southwest. ASA-CSSA-SSSA 2023. St. Louis, MO.