Rate My Professor Kevin Mcphee

Kevin McPhee is Professor of Plant Genetics and Breeding in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology at Montana State University, a position he has held since January 2017. He earned a B.S. in Agronomy from the University of Wyoming in 1991 and a Ph.D. in Agronomy from the University of Idaho in 1995. Prior to MSU, McPhee served as a professor of plant science and genetics at North Dakota State University for eight years, where he built a pulse crop breeding program. Hired by MSU to establish a pulse crop research initiative aligned with Montana's expanding pulse industry, his expertise encompasses crop breeding and genetics with a focus on dry edible pea, lentil, and chickpea.

McPhee's research centers on genetic improvement of pulse crops, employing marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction, and genome-wide association studies to enhance traits such as disease resistance to Ascochyta blight and Fusarium wilt, yield, days to maturity, nitrogen fixation, root traits, and seed quality including protein, starch, and micronutrient levels like iron and zinc. His key publications include "Pea (Pisum sativum L.) in the Genomic Era" (Agronomy, 2012), "Microsatellite marker polymorphism and mapping in pea (Pisum sativum L.)" (Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2005), "Screening techniques and sources of resistance to root diseases in cool season food legumes" (Euphytica, 2006), "Iron-, zinc-, and magnesium-rich field peas (Pisum sativum L.) with naturally low phytic acid: A potential food-based solution to global micronutrient malnutrition" (Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2012), and "Multi-trait multi-environment genomic prediction of preliminary yield trial in pulse crop" (2024). McPhee has contributed to pulse variety releases, including the green pea PS0877MT457, and his scholarship has garnered over 3,300 citations. He advises the ALLIUM Fellows Program and presents seminars such as "Genetic Improvement of Pulse Crops".