Research
Elevating Weed Science Society Through Research
Through all of the pandemic challenges, a few challenges have directly impacted university research and its progress. In the Department of Horticultural Science, the Vegetable and Small Fruit Weed Science program has shown continued resolve to excel while facing new normals.
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.
International Plant Breeding Virtual Seminar Series
NC State University’s Plant Breeding Consortium is pleased to announce a new seminar series in International Plant Breeding. Our goal is to build a platform that would bring together a global community of persons directly or indirectly working in plant breeding, or with just the interest to learn about what is fueling plant breeding in different parts of the world.
Far-red Light Enhances Density of Tomato Seedlings
Brandon Huber, a Ph.D. candidate of Horticultural Science, shared some of his tomato research so that we may better understand indoor controlled environmental horticulture and its impact on young plant production. While studying indoor controlled environmental horticulture under the direction of Ricardo Hernandez, Huber was awarded second place at the national level from the American Horticultural Science Society (ASHS) for his oral presentation Dynamic Far-red light treatments to maintain plant uniformity in high-density tomato seedlings for grafting.
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.
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.
Agroecology Students Build Sustainable Food Forest
The Agroecology Education Farm at NC State has an exciting new project taking root, which will offer long-term opportunities for students and the NC State community to learn about the sustainable cultivation of fruit.
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.