Faculty and Staff
Mummy Blueberries Deceive Pollinators
Blueberries face a scourge. Like many crops, they are under constant attack by fungal infections, which jeopardize harvests, increase costs and labor, and threaten food security. For blueberries, one deceitful foe is the aptly-named mummy berry disease.
Waste Solutions: Vermicomposting
When it comes to waste management, NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences delivers solutions. Learn how Rhonda Sherman helps others use worms to create valuable soil amendments from agricultural wastes.
Interdisciplinary Inspiration from 2020 Horticultural Science Conference
The American Society of Horticulture Science (ASHS) held their 2020 annual conference online from Orlando, Florida, this year. Members selected several feature topics and keynote speakers, including acclaimed NC State plant pathologist and Horticultural Science Department Head Frank Louws, Ph.D.
Essentially CALS: Diane Mays
Conservatory Curator Diane Mays is extremely talented and knowledgeable about plant care and plant propagation. We caught up with her to learn a little bit about maintaining the conservatory during this unusual time.
Ivy – Strengthening the HortPack through Competition
Lee Ivy is connecting North Carolina landscape professionals with students through high school and collegiate competitions. On Friday through Saturday, Feb. 27-28, NC State will host the inaugural North Carolina High School Landscape Competition (NCHSLC). In March, the HortPack team will compete again in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition.
Sweeter than Sweetpotato Research
NC State reaped sweeping honors at the National Sweetpotato Collaborators Annual Meeting. With North Carolina being the nation’s top sweetpotato producer, the Nashville, Tennessee meeting was well represented by the College of Agriculture and Life Science.
Better Berries? Coming Up!
Three CALS scientists have won a four-year U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to improve blueberries and cranberries based on producer and consumer interests. The VacciniumCAP project leverages genetic & genomic resources to enable the development of blueberry and cranberry cultivars with improved fruit quality attributes.
Wehners Establish Fellowship Endowment
Todd and DelMarie Wehner recently created the Wehner Horticulture Fellowship Endowment to assist NC State University graduate students interested in horticulture studies. The Wehners said they benefited from university training and careers, and they want to pay those benefits forward to future horticulturists.
John Dole Recognized with Distinguished Alumni Award
John Dole, CALS Academic Programs associate dean, is recognized with the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Minnesota. His work garners an international reputation in floricultural crop production and handling and use of cut flowers.
Addressing Mental Health
The Counseling Center and the Department of Horticultural Science co-host Flourish, a program that allows students to decompress through gardening and time in nature.