HS News Spring'08

NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD
- by Julia Kornegay
- Since 2007, the Department of Horticultural Science has added several new faculty members that bring outstanding experience and energy to the department.
- Barbara Fair joined us in August, 2007 as the Landscape Extension Specialist. Her responsibilities are to collaborate with the NC landscape industry, county extension agents, and urban planners and developers to develop and implement outreach and extension programs that emphasize sustainable landscape designs and ‘Best Management Landscape Practices’ for residential and urban areas. Her position also has a 30% teaching responsibility. Dr. Fair earned her PhD in Landscape Horticulture at The Ohio State University. She has two degrees from Penn State, one in Forest Science and the other in Urban Forestry. She has worked as a regional urban forester in Ohio and as a city forester in Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to NCSU, she was an Assistant Professor of Landscape Horticulture at Eastern Kentucky University (see photo 1 at right).
- Chris Gunter is the Vegetable Production Specialist in the Horticultural Science Department. His responsibilities are to develop an innovative statewide extension and research program in support of North Carolina’s commercial vegetable industry with the goal of increasing the adoption of integrated, economical and environmentally-sound production practices, with an emphasis on Solanaceous and Cruciferous cropping systems. He is the co-chair of the NCSU Food Safety Taskforce - a multidisciplinary team dedicated to improving produce safety through research and education. Dr. Gunter received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 2001 and afterwards worked as a Cropping Systems Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University until he joined NCSU in 2007 (see photo 2 at right).
- George Allen is the Director of the CALS Plant Transformation Lab (PTL) and an Assistant Research Professor in Horticultural Science. The PTL collaborates with researchers who seek to use transgenes in their programs, helping to develop and implement strategies for obtaining plants expressing the desired trait. Dr. Allen’s research areas include the development of new technologies for improving plant transformation and stabilizing gene expression through the use of chromatin elements such as the use of Matrix Attachments Regions (MARS) and the targeting of transgenes to specific sites in the genome. His basic research program focuses upon understanding the role of MARS in controlling higher-order chromatin structure, transcription and DNA replication. Dr. Allen received his PhD in Microbiology at NC State in 1988. Prior to joining the Horticultural Science Department, Dr. Allen was a faculty member of the Crop Science Department (see photo 3 at right).
- Sergei Krasnyanski is a Senior Researcher in the CALS Plant Transformation Lab (PTL). He is responsible for the scientific and functional operations within the PTL, including various research collaborative programs and consulting in the area of plant tissue culture and plant transformation, training and supervision of PTL users, equipment maintenance, and lab teaching. The main goal of his research program is to improve the existing plant regeneration/transformation protocols of economically important crops as well as to develop new plant transformation systems that will become available in the public domain. Dr. Krasnyanski’s PhD was in Plant Physiology and Plant Tissue Culture from Jozsef Attila University in Szeged, Hungary. He worked as a postdoctoral Research Associate at Michigan State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and Purdue University before joining NC State (see photo 4 at right).
- Joe-Ann McCoy is the new director of the Bent Creek Institute Germplasm Facility located at the NC Arboretum in Asheville and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticultural Science. She is responsible for the establishment of a native medicinal plant germplasm collection, representing a broad range of taxonomic, genetic, and biochemical diversity; and to curate those collections through the long-term storage of seed, DNA, vouchers and associated passport data. Dr. McCoy completed her PhD in Plant Physiology from Clemson University. Prior to joining the Bent Creek Institute she served as medicinal plant curator for the USDA NCRPIS (North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station) and the NIH Iowa State University Center for Research on Dietary Supplements. She has worked with various aspects of medicinal plant propagation and analytical research for the past 13 years (see photo 5 at right).
DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHT
- by Todd Wehner
- The Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute (http://www.ncsu.edu/fvsi/) is part of an integrated effort at the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis to adapt emerging technologies for plant improvement and human health benefits. The role of the FVSI, which will be staffed by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is to develop fruits and vegetables with superior nutritional and horticultural characteristics.
- Researchers will use advanced tools in genomics and plant breeding into plants with desired traits. The FVSI will complement and expand the NC State mission to benefit the people of North Carolina, the nation and the world (see photo 6 at right). See also: http://www.northcarolina.edu/content.php/pa/kannapolis.htm
INTERESTING WEBSITES
- by Mary Peet
- Do you need to do teleconferencing? There are at least 3 options: NC State conferencing services, free website conferencing, and paid website conferencing. The best option depends on your situation. Only the paid web-based service offers free dial-in numbers, which is why we used http://www.conferencecall.com/ for the tomato breeder interviews. The site had good customer service and will bill the university. You can set up an account easily ($0.14/minute for every line), but with many participants, long calls, and multiple sessions, it can get expensive. Most people have free long-distance service, so for normal conferences, having the free dial-in may not be an issue.
- NC State offers an operator-assisted conference call option, but in this case you reserve 24 hours in advance and all charges are booked to the NCSU number initiating the call, usually your office phone.
- If one conference participant, preferably the initiator, is on campus, then the best option is definitely the NCSU Meet-Me conference. This is free, but when your assigned time is up, you may be joined by participants from other conferences! The more, the merrier, does not apply in this case! For more information on both NCSU services, call 515-2011.
- Another option if none of the participants (including the originator) is on campus and people can pay their own long-distance charges is a web-based service called freeconferencecall.com. I used this service on a call from collaborators at Ohio State. We had problems with the conference, but I think they were related to local problems at Ohio rather than the service. There are probably not a lot of customer service options here, but it’s worth a try for some situations. There is a review at http://www.creativepro.com/. You can read the original article at: http://www.creativepro.com/article/software-and-services-that-are-free-and-not-scams
FACULTY NEWS
- by Todd Wehner
- Wayne Buhler has been appointed by the Governor to serve on a Task Force on Preventing Agricultural Pesticide Exposure. The task force was created in response to the AgMart incident involving worker's exposure to pesticides in grape tomatoes.
- Todd Wehner traveled to Beijing China on March 11-16 for cooperative research with Shengping Zhang, who was a visiting scholar at NC State in 2007, and Professor Xingfang Gu at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
- Jan Wilson, Development & Outreach Associate, has a 30 year history with the non-profit community beginning as a Brownie Scout leader. She particularly enjoys special event fundraising in the arts and political arena. Jan has volunteered for the JC Raulston Arboretum and served on the Gala in the Garden Steering Committee for the past eight years.
- Lee Menius, NC Choices Technical Services Coordinator, comes to us from the Rowan Soil & Water Conservation District where he spent over 4 years working with farmers to improve soil and water quality through conservation practices. Based at the NCSU Kannapolis Research Campus, Lee will facilitate NC Choices educational programming and work with county livestock agents and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff to assist farmers with farm layout, planning, installation, record keeping, and most importantly- increasing profitability. You can contact Lee at 704-250-5405 or at lee@ncchoices.com.
- Baki Karacay, a government employee in agricultural engineer working for the Ministry of Agriculture in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Turkey, started his visiting scholar program at the NCSU starting December 2007. Based on his field of interest in alternative production techniques in sustainable agriculture, he will be working with a variety of faculty and is looking forward to a variety of opportunities at CEFS. Baki says his ministry has a department that aims to increase production of organic farming in his country to meet safe food needs, to increase quantity of healthy food, to protect the present structure of natural resources, and to reestablish the ecological balance. Baki believes sustainability should be considered as a global matter with a holistic view beyond national. He says, “CEFS stands as a symbol of success in promoting awareness, understanding and practice of sustainable agriculture and its success is strong enough to turn one's belief for sustainability into certainty.” He believes his visiting scholarship program will provide him with the knowledge and experience that will enable him to help establish similar educational and applicable programs that develop and promote food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities, and provide economic opportunities in his country. He will be completely funded from his grant through the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture for a period of 6 months. He already joined in Southern SAWG conference in KY and says, “I have limited experience in alternative farming but I have great interest, so I welcome input from you all!” CEFS is happy to host its first international visiting scholar from Turkey!
- Faculty Awards
  - Tom Ranney is one of 13 outstanding members of the horticultural community who will be honored by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) during its Great American Gardeners Awards Ceremony and Banquet on June 6. Ranney is this year’s recipient of the AHS’s H. Marc Cathey Award, which recognizes outstanding scientific research that has enriched the field of horticulture.
  - Will Hooker is a recipient of one of Raleigh's new Environmental Stewardship Awards. He will be awarded the Legacy Award for his years of work on sustainability on the NC State campus. The awards will be presented on Earth Day, April 22, at the Marbles Museum downtown.
  - Barclay Poling received an Outstanding Extension Service Award from CALS and was inducted into the NC State Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension (AOFEE). The award was given in recognition of Barclay's dedication and demonstrated achievement in serving the people of North Carolina and NCSU's land-grant mission.
STAFF NEWS
- by Dolores Lawson
- Jose Garzon started working on February 5 as a research technician with Chris Gunter.
GRADUATE PROGRAM
- by John Dole and Rachel McLaughlin
- The initiation banquet for Pi Alpha Xi was held March 19 at The Ruby McSwain Education Center located at the JC Raulston Arboretum. The 2008 initiates are Travis Birdsell, Rose Caldwell, Adam Criswell, Clara Englert, Kristina Harkins, Cary Hebert, Lingli Lou, Jeanne McClure, Luke McMullan, Stephen Meyers, Preston Montague, Erica Pineiro, Ashley Raper, Christopher Reid, Sonya Robinson, Coley Strickland, Joseph Strowd, Jennifer Swift, Lela Walker, David Williams and Mark Weathington, Honorary Member (see photo 7 at right).
- On March 6th, 2008 the annual Weed Science Society of North Carolina meeting was held at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum. The theme was The State of Weed Science: Current Status and Emerging Issues. Several of our Horticultural Science graduate students gave excellent presentations on their graduate research. Meagan Coneybeer-Roberts gave a presentation entitled 'Ecology of Maryland Meadowbeauty (Rhexia mariana) in Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)'. Ryan Pekarek presented 'Systems Utilizing 'Caliente' Mustard, S-metolachlor, and V10142 for Weed Management in Bell Pepper' and Angela Post presented a paper entitled 'Cardamine Weed Species in United States Nurseries'. Twelve Weed Science graduate students from the Horticultural Science, Crop Science, and Forestry Departments presented posters this year.
- Awards
  - Suzanne O'Connell won the Graduate Student Southern Region of the American Society for Horticultural Science Poster Competition for 'Nutrient Uptake Efficiency & Plant Growth Indicators of Grafted Tomatoes'.
  - At the annual Weed Science Society of North Carolina meeting, Ryan Pekarek won first place in the M.S. category with his poster entitled 'Bell Pepper Tolerance to V-10142 and Thifensulfuron-methyl Herbicides' and Angela Post placed second with her poster entitled 'Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Weedy Cardamine Species in United States Nurseries'. Peter Dittmar placed second in the Ph.D. category with his poster entitled 'Timing of S-metolachlor, Pendimethalin, and Pronamide Preemergence Applications in Transplanted Lettuce'. Each year, one M.S. student and one Ph.D. student is awarded the Outstanding Student of the Year award by the Weed Science Society of North Carolina. This year Ryan Pekarek was awarded the Outstanding Master of Science Student award. A new scholarship award was created this year this society for a graduate student (Both M.S. and Ph.D.) in Weed Science. This award was won by Ryan Pekarek. Congratulations to all of our students for their great representation of the department and university.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
- by Bryce Lane and Betty Coleman
- Twenty Horticultural Science undergraduates traveled to North Metro Technical College in Atlanta Georgia, March 26-31, to compete in the annual Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days Event and Competition. They participated in Horticultural workshops, a career fair, and a national competition with 65 other colleges and universities. When the dust settled, the NC State PLANET Team XVIII placed 6th out of 66 schools. They were the top ranked Land Grant University. Faculty "Coaches" were Bryce Lane, Helen Kraus, and Anne Spafford. The following students placed in their individual events: Joseph Strowd received First in Exterior Landscape Design; Matt Swaim received Third in Turf and Turf Pest ID; Chris Hart received Third in Annuals and Perennials ID.
- The spring graduation ceremony for Horticultural Science is scheduled for May 10 in the Ruby McSwain Center of the JCRA. There are 28 undergraduates and 7 graduate students graduating.
NEWS FROM AROUND NORTH CAROLINA
- JC Raulston Arboretum (Raleigh)
  - by Dennis Werner
  - The drought of 2007 was tough on the collections at the JCRA. We have limited staff and irrigation infrastructure to adequately water all of the collections on a timely basis, so we resorted to the use of moveable sprinklers, spot watering, Gator Bags, and lots of dedicated assistance from volunteers. Unfortunately, the JCRA is totally dependent on the city of Raleigh for its water, and it is critical that other water source alternatives be pursued such as wells and reuse wastewater. These alternatives are currently being pursued. I am pleased to share that the "JC Raulston Arboretum Endowment for Excellence" fund has now passed the $100,000 level. This endowment fund generates yearly income that can be used for any worthy purpose at the JCRA. One of the most serious challenges the JCRA faces is the lack of recurring yearly revenue from endowment funding. One of my goals as Director is to build our endowment funding to ensure a more dependable cash flow for the JCRA in the future. As a consequence of many generous contributions, we have made significant progress in the past two years growing the endowment fund. If you are considering a gift to the JCRA in the near future, please consider making a contribution to the JCRA Endowment for Excellence.
  - Our recent Friends of the Arboretum lectures have been very well attended, and remember, if you miss a lecture, view it online through our members' only link. Mr. Mark Weathington, our new assistant director and curator of collections, has resumed our historically popular Plantsman Walks on the first or second Tuesday afternoon of the month. These too are recorded, and made available online for member viewing. We are so pleased to have Mark on board. He joined us in late July 2007, after serving for many years as Director of Horticulture at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. In the garden, plants in the renovated rooftop garden and the newly installed summer geophyte border grew very well in 2007 . Geophytes include true bulbs and other plants with specialized underground structures such as corms, rhizomes, and tubers. The geophyte border was installed to demonstrate the remarkable biological diversity and ornamental beauty in this plant group, and to demonstrate the ability of geophytes to perform well even in times of drought stress. Little did we know that such a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the drought tolerance of geophytes would present itself this past summer.
  - We have commenced renovation of the old southwest garden, and hope to have renovation and planting completed by next spring. The garden will still house many southwestern U.S. taxa, but we will broaden the scope of the garden to include a diversity of drought tolerant herbaceous and woody taxa, including a collection of cold-hardy palms. The garden will be renamed the xeric garden.
  - The JCRA has made significant efforts to partner and develop synergistic relationships with other organizations in order to better fulfill and broaden our educational and outreach mission. We have had the pleasure of partnering with the Triangle Chapter of the North Carolina Association of Landscape Architects (NCASLA) by offering a series of quarterly lunch hour seminars and JCRA tours. We also partnered with the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association in hosting the 2007 NCNLA Landscape Design Competition awards program at the JCRA. Historically, this awards program has been held at the association's winter trade show, but NCNLA partnered with the JCRA in 2007 in order to reach a broader audience. We are pleased to be a partner. Thanks to the generosity and interest of Charles Heatherly, President of the North Carolina Beekeepers Association, three healthy hives of honeybees were placed at the Arboretum in late October, 2007. Already, one can see significant numbers of honeybees working in the JCRA collections.
  - In late October, 2007 the JCRA had the pleasure of partnering with Horticulture magazine in presenting a symposium entitled "Gardening in Small Spaces". About 180 registrants were entertained and educated by 5 incredible speakers who shared their ideas for creating wonderful gardens in limited space. We plan to partner with Horticulture magazine in offering future symposia. Looking ahead later in this year, please "save the date" for the JCRA fall 2008 symposium on September 26-28. The 2008 symposium, entitled "Surround Yourself with Shady Characters", will focus on trees for urban landscapes, gardening in a woodland environment, and biogeography of trees. We again have an exciting line-up of speakers. Please plan on joining other shady characters and attend our fall symposium. As always, thank you for your support, and please visit your JC Raulston Arboretum. And a thank you to Marge for her kind and continued support of the JCRA.
- Horticultural Crops Research Station (Clinton)
  - by Allan Thornton
  - Fortunately, recent rains have adequately recharged irrigation ponds as we head into a new season. Plans are underway for the 2008 field season projects on sweetpotato, pepper, and watermelon.
- Muscadine Grape Program (Kenansville)
  - by Connie Fisk
- NC Research Campus (Kannapolis)
  - by Todd Wehner
  - The department of Horticultural Science is seeking candidates for several positions to work at the NC Research Campus being built at Kannapolis. See: http://www.northcarolina.edu/content.php/pa/kannapolis.htm
  - There will be new faculty positions in leafy vegetable breeding, strawberry breeding, postharvest physiology, and molecular genetics. See: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/hort_sci/hsassist.html
HORTICULTURE OPPORTUNITIES
- by Todd Wehner
- The Center for Environmental Farming Systems will offer 36 workshops and tours for the 2008 CEFS Season of Sustainable Agriculture Workshop series. Registration is required for all events unless otherwise noted. See www.cefs.ncsu.edu. Unless stated all workshops will be held at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), located at the Cherry Research Farm, 201 Stevens Mill Road in Goldsboro, NC 27530. Driving directions can be found at www.cefs.ncsu.edu. All evening workshops (after 6:00pm) and weekend workshops are free of charge and other registration fees are noted. Contact CEFS (cefs_info@ncsu.edu or 919-513-0954) for more information.
HORTICULTURE FACILITIES
- by Julia Kornegay
- Laboratory Renovations. The lab renovations being done in Kilgore Hall are now complete and we are delighted with the transformation. With new plumbing, wiring, floors, ceilings, countertops and some new casework, these new labs will help us meet the needs of our growing molecular genetics and molecular biology programs (see photos 8 and 9 at right). One of the studio classrooms has been renovated for teaching design, and a wall mural has been addded in the hallway near classroom 159 (see photos 10 and 11 at right).
DEPARTMENTAL NEWSLETTER COMMITTEE
- Editor: Todd Wehner
- Assistant: Rachel McLaughlin
- Send items for the newsletter to Todd Wehner (todd_wehner@ncsu.edu)

Departmental Newsletter, Spring 2008