Associate Professor of Ornamental Horticulture

Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Uvalde, Texas A&M System
1619 Garner Field Road, Uvalde, Texas 78801
Telephone: (830) 278-9151
E-mail: r-cabrera@tamu.edu

EDUCATION
PhD in Plant Biology, 1994. University of California at Davis
MS in Plant Physiology, 1992. University of California at Davis
(BS) Ingeniero Agrónomo en Horticultura, 1986. Universidad Autónoma Agraria “Antonio Narro” (México)

Dr. Cabrera is a Member of the Graduate Faculty of Texas A&M University, and can serve as a Chair, Co-Chair or Member of Graduate Student Advising Committees.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
Global areas: Applied whole plant and crop physiology, mineral nutrition, water, fertilizer and salinity management in intensively managed ornamental plants and crops (nursery, floriculture, landscape, arboriculture).
Specific areas: Characterization of nutrient & water uptake and use efficiency in ornamental crops and landscape plants/trees; irrigation water quality and crop salinity tolerance; greenhouse rose production and nutrition/fertilization; effects of nursery production practices on post-transplant performance in the landscape; arboriculture; growing media; controlled-release fertilizers; hydroponics and fertigation management; nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency and pollution.

 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Cabrera, R.I. 2012. Localized fertigation with stressing solutions and growth-quality responses in potted greenhouse roses. Acta Horticulturae (In Press).

Niu, G., R.I. Cabrera, T.W. Starman and C.R. Hall. 2011. Water conservation in ornamental crops through the use of alternative irrigation water sources. HortTechnology 21(6): 1-2.

Cabrera, R. I. 2011. Importancia de la calidad química del agua en el fertirriego en cultivos ornamentales, p. 17-26. In: V.J. Flórez Roncancio  (Ed.), Avances sobre Fisiología de la Producción de Flores de Corte en  Colombia. Editorial Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá.

Sloan, J.J., R.I. Cabrera, P.A.Y Ampim, S.A. George and W.A. Mackay. 2010. Performance of ornamental plants in alternative organic growing media amended with increasing rates of expanded shale. HortTechnology 20: 594-602.

Niu, G. and R.I. Cabrera. 2010. Irrigating ornamental horticultural crops with alternative water sources. In: A.N. Sampson (Ed.), Horticulture in the 21^st Century, Chapter 5, p. 143-160. Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Hauppauge, NY.

Cabrera, R.I., A.R. Solís-Pérez and J.J. Sloan. 2009. Greenhouse rose yield and ion accumulation responses to salt stress as modulated by rootstock selection. HortScience 44(7): 2000-2008.

Cabrera, R.I. 2009. Revisiting the salt tolerance of crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia spp.). Arboriculture & Urban Forestry. 35(3): 129-134.