People In The News, 2003

Activities of Horticultural Science Faculty, Staff, and Students

• December 2003
  • On January 1st Jon Roethling will transfer from a time-limited arborist position into the technical position at the Arboretum formerly occupied by Mitzi Hole.
  • Nancy Creamer was awarded the Sustainable Agriculture Activist of the Year, at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Associations annual conference in Rock Hill, SC.
  • Sylvia Blankenship is now serving as interim associate dean for administration.
  • David Monks will be assistant head of Horticultural Science beginning in December.
  • Dennis Werner will be stepping down as graduate program director, and will be replaced by John Dole effective March 1. Thanks to Dr. Werner for all his work with the graduate students.
• November 2003
  • Wayne Buhler received the Early Career Award, Xi Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi, National Honorary Extension Fraternity. Presented November 21, 2003.
  • David Monks received the Visionary Leadership Award from Xi Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi, National Honorary Extension Fraternity. Presented November 21, 2003.
  • Roger Batts received the 2003 IR-4 Meritorious Service Award at the IR-4 Southern Region Annual Meeting in Key Largo, FL for outstanding service to minor crop growers in North Carolina and the nation by identifying critical pest control needs and developing field data required for the expansion of pest control registrations.
  • Elzbieta Kozik (on far left in photo) completed her research as a visiting scientist with Todd Wehner on chilling resistance in cucumber, and returned to the Vegetable Crops Research Institute in Skierniewice, Poland. Cooperative research will continue.
  • We have been fortunate to fill two of our vacant technical positions. On November 1st Dr. Luz Reyes replaced Kirk Creel as technician with Doug Sanders. Luz transferred from a postdoctoral position working with sweetpotato with Sylvia Blankenship.
• October 2003
  • Horticultural Science current and former members are winning awards: "Efficacy of the Press Extraction Method for Bedding Plant Plug Nutrient Monitoring" [Scoggins, H.L., D.A. Bailey, and P.V. Nelson, 2002, HortScience 37(1):108-111] has been selected as the ASHS Outstanding Ornamentals Publication for 2003. The paper was selected from all papers published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, HortScience, and HortTechnology published during 2002.
  • Mary Peet traveled to Providence, RI to give a talk on 'Yield and quality responses of horticultural crops to CO2 and temperature' at the Symposium on Impacts of Climate Change on Horticulture: Setting a Research and Education Outreach Agenda. The Symposium was very well-attended and well-received, and has been the basis of articles in Science News and the Boston Globe.
  • Mary Peet participated in CSREES review of the Horticulture Department at Michigan State University led by Tom Bewick, National Program Leader for Horticulture. She had the distinction of being the only returning team member from the previous review in 1989. The MSU program, faculty and facilities were very impressive, but there were many concerns about whether vacant positions in floriculture and postharvest physiology would be filled, whether faculty would be switched to academic year appointments, and whether there would be support staff cuts. Most technicians and graduate students are already grant-supported, but there were fears that key greenhouse and bookkeeping staff would also be cut. Fellow reviewers were Dennis Decoteau, Head, Dept. of Horticulture, Penn. State, Steve Wallner, Colorado State, and Donn Schilling, Head, Apopka Research Station, Florida.
  • Marie Hall has retired as a secretary with the vegetable crops group in the department. She began work in April, 1998.
• September 2003
• Dr. Julia Kornegay is the new Head of the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. She has overall responsibility for the leadership and administration of the department's teaching, research, and extension activities. Dr. Kornegay has a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Biometry (1985) from Cornell University, and a M.S. in Plant Pathology (1979) and B.S. in Horticulture Science (1976), both from North Carolina State University. Prior to coming to NCSU, Dr. Kornegay served as Director of Research (1997-1999) and Director (1999-2003) of Fairchild Tropical Garden, one of the worlds premier tropical botanical gardens with international research, horticulture and education programs in palm biology, molecular plant systematics, tropical fruit crops, endangered species conservation, and graduate studies. Dr. Kornegay was responsible for the administration and overall strategic development of the Garden. During her tenure, the Gardens programmatic activities and budget increased over 30 percent, primarily through new grants, contracts, and increased contributions. From 1985 to 1997, Dr. Kornegay was employed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia as a Senior Plant Breeder-Geneticist and as Leader of the Bean Program (1993-1997). She was responsible for an international team of scientists based in six countries in Latin America and Africa. The overall activities of the Bean Program included the genetic improvement of common bean using conventional and molecular approaches; characterization of the world's Phaseolus germplasm collection; development of sustainable agricultural practices for farmers and communities through integrated crop management research; professional training for national scientists; and the development and support of four regional research networks in Latin America and Africa. In 1996, she was formally recognized by the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia for her work in increasing bean production and research capacity in the Andean Region. She also spearheaded the Seeds of Hope program in Africa in 1994 to help Rwanda recover its native food crop germplasm after the end of the civil war. Over 15 cultivars from her breeding program have been released in eight countries in Latin America and Africa. Dr. Kornegay has published widely in international scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings, and she wrote a featured column in the Garden Views, Fairchild Tropical Garden's quarterly magazine.
• The N.C. Consortium on Natural Medicinal Products and the N.C. Specialty Crops Program are conducting two training sessions on the production and marketing of medicinal herbs in North Carolina. The Consortium is a multi-agency program led by the Jack Longenecker of the (former) UNC-Institute of Nutrition and Jeanine Davis, and is funded by the GoldenLEAF Foundation. Over the past two years, the Consortium has worked to develop the medicinal herb industry by hosting a Summit to educate major stakeholders about the economic potential of medicinal herbs, conducting extensive market research, supporting a graduate student in our department, cooperating with the Specialty Crops Program on field research, creating production budgets and a growers and buyers directory, and developing a website. Two 2-day training sessions will be held: September 9-10 in Fletcher (will include a visit to Gaia Herbs, Inc. in Brevard), and September 17-18 in Plymouth (will include a visit to Avoca in Merry Hill). Sixty-five county extension agents, marketing specialists, technicians, and growers have signed up for the training.
• Katie Perry, professor and associate dean for administration in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at North Carolina State University, has been named senior vice provost for the Office of Academic Affairs. Prior to serving as associate dean, Perry served as assistant dean for administration in CALS from 1998 to 2003, and as department extension leader in the Department of Horticultural Science from 1992 to 1998. She was named a professor of horticultural science for the department in 1992. She first joined CALS as an extension specialist in 1980 and served as assistant professor and associate professor before being promoted to full professor. She received bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Pennsylvania State University, earning her Ph.D. in horticulture in 1979.
• Dr. Joseph William Love, Sr. passed away unexpectedly on September 13, 2003. Joe is remembered as a person deeply committed to the NC greenhouse industry. Mike Renfrow of Cyn-Mar Greenhouse in Pine Level said "Joe was a walking encyclopedia of information and had an instant memory of anything he read". In recognition of Dr. Love's contributions to the greenhouse industry, the North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers' Association began the Dr. Joseph W. Love Flower Grower of the Year Award in 2002.
• August 2003
• Paul Nelson will be inducted as a Fellow of ASHS at the meeting in Providence, RI next month. Paul also presented a lecture at the Oregon Association of Nurserymen's FarWest Show in Portland, Oregon in August.
• Frank Blazich traveled to Bolivia, N.C. and presented two lectures on plant propagation to the Master Gardeners of Brunswick County. The first lecture in the morning was an overview of propagation during which Frank explained the various techniques by which plants are propagated. The second presentation in the afternoon consisted of a workshop dealing with propagating woody plants by stem cuttings.
• Ted Bilderback spoke at the New Jersey Nursery Nutrient and Water Management workshop.
• The N.C. Specialty Crops Program and the Western North Carolina Farmers' Market sponsored a heirloom tomato taste test at the Farmers' Market in Asheville on August 22. Under the direction of the new NCDA&CS marketing specialist, Stephanie Wise, and Jeanine Davis, hundreds of people sampled dozens of unusual heirloom tomatoes. Some of the favorites of this patient crowd (some waited in line 20 minutes or more) included 'German Red Strawberry', 'Green Zebra', 'Noir de Crimee', and 'Cherokee Purple'. Results of this taste test, and others planned for later in the season, will be used to help advise growers on which cultivars to produce for local sales.
• The N.C. Specialty Crops Program sponsored a Heirloom Tomato Workshop at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville on August 28th. Based on the results of marketing surveys conducted last year (see at http:/ncspecialtycrops.org) 21 heirloom tomato cultivars were produced to determine which ones performed the best in the field and which ones consumers preferred. Chip Hope, owner of Appalachian Seeds in Flat Rock, NC, shared his incredible knowledge of heirloom tomatoes with an audience of about forty people. Jeanine Davis presented a program on cultural practices for heirloom tomatoes that included instructions on using a high-trellised system. Stephanie Wise, the new NCDA&CS marketing specialist working with the Specialty Crops Program, described the taste tests and marketing studies being done in support of the field research. A wonderful lunch featuring heirloom tomatoes was catered by a local restaurant.
• Mary Peet served August 20 as a member of the review panel for the USDA-ARS Air Quality Research Unit on the NCSU campus. Other committee members included Ken Boote (Professor of Agronomy, University of Florida), Dave Grantz (Director of the Kearney Agricultural Center, Univ. of California), and Dave Olszyk (EPA, Corvallis, Oregon).
• Tom Ranney received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Nursery Crops from the ASHS Nursery Working Group, 2003.
• Brian Whipker, Todd Cavins, James Gibson, C. Warfield, R. Cloyd and Wayne Buhler received the ASHS Outstanding Extension Publication Award (category of Primarily Visual Award for 2002) for their Pictorial Guide for Poinsettia Disorders.
• July 2003
• Dennis Osborne has been involved over the summer in work revising the NC Public Schools science curriculum for grades K-6. The proposed curricula for these grade levels is now available on DPI's website at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/science/index.html Dennis is one of the scientists in The Teacher Link Program (TLP), a major initiative of the BWF-funded North Carolina Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Center (SMT Center), launched last year. The program evolved through an SMT Center partnership with the Duke University Center for Inquiry Based Learning and Sigma Xi and is supported in part by a $5.3 million National Science Foundation Mathematics Science Partnership grant awarded to Duke University's Teachers and Scientists Collaborating (TASC) project. Dennis invites the opinions of other interested scientists.
• June 2003
• Mary Peet flew to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, home of the Saskatoon berry, last June to serve as external examiner for a Ph.D. candidate who had written a thesis on the topic 'High Temperature Stress and Flowering in Brassica napus L.' She also presented a seminar on her research and enjoyed touring scenic and friendly downtown Saskatoon.
• May 2003
• May 10, 2003: Frank Blazich was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame of Smithtown High School. Frank grew up in Smithtown, New York and attended Smithtown High (class of 1963), where he was an all-star soccer player and wrestler in addition to being a member of the National Honor Society. He was honored for his athletic and academic accomplishments in high school, and also for serving as an infantryman with the First Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam and his career in academia. At the induction ceremony he was presented with a glass sculpture and a permanent plaque which was placed in the Hall of Fame Commons at Smithtown High School.
• May 5, 2003: Dr. Paul Nelson has received the 'Friend of Extension' award for 2001 and 2002. Also, Paul will be inducted as a Fellow of ASHS this year at the annual conference in Providence, RI.
• April 2003
• April 18, 2003: Dr. Yong Xu completed his research as a visiting scientist with Dr. Todd Wehner on Fusarium wilt and virus resistance in watermelon, returned to the National Engineering Research Center for Vegetables, Beijing. Cooperative research will continue.
• April 14-18, 2003: Dr. Mary Peet traveled with her Greenhouse Food Production class (HD590C) to Tucson, Arizona to tour the Controlled environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona. They also visited EuroFresh, a 160-acre greenhouse tomato complex in Willcox, Arizona), and Nogales to observe the huge volume of produce coming across the border from Mexico. Finally, they toured rainforest, coral reef, desert, and agro-forestry mesocosms at Biosphere 2.
• April 10, 2003: Dr. Doug Sanders presented a special seminar at Michigan State University, his alma mater, 'Moving California East--an analysis of the plasticulture system for vegetable production', which focused on how the plasticulture system adjusts and improves the agroecosystem to help eastern growers simulate the more idealized conditions in California. Sanders also worked on cooperative research efforts with colleagues Drs. B. Zandstra, S. Snapp, J. Huang (NCSU alum), M.Ngouajio I. Widders and B. Behe. Sanders was hosted for a luncheon by Horticulture Dept. graduate students, where they discussed their research, job aspirations, and recent changes in science.
• March 2003
  • March 27, 2003: Denise McKinney was one of the three winners of this year's NC Beautiful fellowship (2003 Governor and Mrs. Dan K. Moore Fellowships to Keep North Carolina Clean and Beautiful).
  • March 10-14, 2003: Dr. Mary Peet also traveled to Jackson, Mississippi over spring break to give several presentations at the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course.
• February 2003
  • February 21-24, 2003: The Southeastern Fresh Produce Food Safety Program was represented by an exhibit at the recent United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association meeting in Long Beach CA. Drs. Doug Sanders, Dennis Osborne and Donn Ward prepared a display which included Good Agricultural Practices posters and a display of their 9 crop-specific brochures. Dr. George Wilson assisted Dr. Sam Hailemariam (departmental associate) in getting the display installed at the convention site. Industry visitors commented with interest about the work being done on food safety and the program based at NC State. Among the people attending was Frieda Caplan of Frieda's.
  • February 1-4, 2003: At the American Society for Horticultural Science - Southern Region meeting Ms. Danielle Treadwell, working with Dr. Nancy Creamer, received the Warren S. Barham Ph.D. Graduate Student Award (first place) for their paper 'Sweetpotatoes under cover'; third place award was given to Mr. Jeffrey Adkins, working with Dr. Dennis Werner, for their paper 'Comparative molecular analysis of floricaula/leafy homologues in Buddleja davidii and B. lindleyana'.
  • February 1-4, 2003: At the American Society for Horticultural Science - Southern Region meeting, extension communication awards were given to Mr. James L. Gibson and Ms. Lane Greer for their website 'Retail Reflections'; to Drs. Richard Hassell and Jonathan Schultheis for their publication 'Seedless watermelon transplant production guide'; to Dr. Barclay Poling for his publication '2002 preplant meetings-plasticulture strawberries-berry agent'; and to Drs. Dennis Osborne, Douglas Sanders and coworkers for their publication 'Good agricultural practices for the production and handling of citrus fruit, green beans and peas, peaches, fresh carrots and root crops, melons, and tomatoes'.
  • February 9-12, 2003: Dr. Mary Peet was on the review panel for the Department of Natural Resources and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. The 38-faculty-department was formed from the merger of the former Agronomy Dept., Horticulture Dept., and some members of Botany, and Plant Pathology. The department also housed turfgrass, bioremediation, forestry and natural resource programs, as well as landscape architecture and landscape management. There are also programs in urban forestry, conservation, and nutrient management.
• January 2003
  • January 31, 2003: Mr. Dennis Adams retired from the Department of Horticultural Science after more than 30 years of service in several staff positions, including vegetable production systems technician and vegetable postharvest research technician.
  • January 31, 2003: Mr. Newell Hancock retired from the Department of Horticultural Science after more than 30 years of service in several staff positions, including computer systems technician and sweetpotato breeding technician.
  • January 12, 2003: Dr. Dennis Osborne was named Tarheel Of The Week for his work in food safety. See the story in the News and Observer.
  • January 8, 2003: Emeritus Professor, Dr. Roy Larson died at his home in Raleigh. He had a long and successful career in floricultural teaching and research. See obituary.