SPRING 2023
March 2
Dr. Shandrea Stallworth
Southeast Organic Consultant
Rodale Institute
Atlanta, GA
Shifting the Focus to Organic Production and Soil Health – A History of Rodale Institute
February 2
Dr. Laura Masor
Senior Breeder
WinGen Plants LLC
Mustang Ridge, TX 78610
The Birth of an Ornamental Breeding Company
January 19
Dr. George Ray McEachern
Professor Emeritus of Extension Horticulture
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Texas A&M Horticulture – Fifty-one Years of Change
FALL 2022
November 17
Dr. Sally Mackenzie
Director of the Plant Institute; Huck Chair of Functional Genomics; Professor of Biology and of Plant Science
Penn State University
University Park, PA
Epigenetic Reprogramming in Plants and its Potential for Agricultural Impact
November 3
Dr. Eric Lam
Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
Age of Duckweed: Harvesting a Family of Small Aquatic Plants to Innovate Agriculture and Plant Science
October 20
Dr. Matthew Whiting
Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Horticulture
Washington State University
Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center
Prosser, WA
Research at the Intersection of biology and Technology
October 6
Dr. Eric Van Anslyn
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Dr. Diana Zamora-Olivares
Assistant Professor of Practice, College of Natural Sciences
University of Texas
Austin, TX
Wine Analysis Using Supramolecular Sensors
September 1
Dr. Nichola Hall
Technical Director, Fermentation and Enology
Scott Laboratories
Heraldsburg, CA
The Role of Conventional and Non-conventional Yeast in Winemaking
SPRING 2022
April 21
Dr. Amit Dhingra
Professor and Head of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Sustainable Production of Nutritious Food in Abundance – A Research Overview
April 7
Dr. Mary Ann Lila
David H. Murdock Professor and Director
Plants for Human Health Institute
Food Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Health-relevant, Immune-protective Plant Bioactives Delivered in Functional, Stable, Hypoallergenic Food Formats
March 3
Dr. Charlie Hall
Ellison Chair in International Floriculture
Professor of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
2022 Green Industry Economic Outlook
February 3
February 17
Dr. Lavanya Reddivari
Assistant Professor of Food Science
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907
Near-Isogenic Lines to Unravel the Plant Food-Gut Bacteria-Health Complexity
February 3
Dr. Michael Dzakovich
Research Plant Physiologist/Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nutrition
USDA-ARS – Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
Exploring Metabolic and Genetic Diversity in Tomato Secondary Metabolites Using Metabolomics
January 20
Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos
Professor
Plant Bioactives & Bioprocessing Research Lab
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
Can Plants Work As Medicine To Prevent and Treat Chronic Diseases?
FALL 2021
November 18
Dr. Morgan Gostel
Research Botanist
Director, Global Genome Initiative – Gardens
Botanical Research Institute of Texas
Fort Worth, TX
Building Bridges Between the Horticultural and Research Communities: Collections, Genomics, and Teamwork
October 21
November 4
Ed Lyon
Director, Reiman Gardens
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Reiman Gardens and Iowa State University: Partnering in Student Education and Experiential Opportunities
October 21
Drs. Lauren Garcia-Chance & Casey Sclar
American Public Gardens Association
Kennett Square, PS
Public Gardens in a Pandemic: Establishing Relevance and Maintaining Impact
October 7
Dr. Gary Knox
North Florida Research and Education Center
University of Florida
Gardens of the Big Bend in Florida: A Small Garden with Big Conservation Opportunities
September 16
Dr. Gerald Burgner
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
Quantifying the Benefits and Values of Plants in Public Green Spaces
September 2
Dr. Mike Arnold
Professor of Horticultural Sciences
Director of The Leach Teaching Gardens
Texas A&M University
Public Gardens Contribute to Resiliency to Climate Change in Build Environments
(Note: Video contains 3 places where audio was interrupted briefly)
SPRING 2021
April 29
Dr. Gioia Massa
Life Sciences Project Scientist
Kennedy Space Center
Merritt Island, FL
Plants in Space, Veggie and Space Crop Production
April 15
Dr. Marc van Iersel
Professor of Horticultural Physiology
Department of Horticulture
University of Georgia
Smart Lighting Strategies for Controlled Environment Agriculture
April 1
Dr. Gene Giacomelli
Professor, Biosystems Engineering
Controlled Environmental Agriculture Center
The University of Arizona
Nutrient Delivery Systems: Lifeblood for Successful Plant Production
March 18
Dr. Ed Harwood
Chief Science Officer
AeroFarms, Newark, NJ
Little Factories
March 4
Dr. Chieri Kubota
Professor – Controlled Environment Agriculture
Controlled Environment Plant Physiology & Technology Lab
Department of Horticulture and Crop Sciences
The Ohio State University
Development of CEA Technology – Integration & Innovation
February 4
Dr. Murat Kacira
Director, Controlled Environment Agriculture Center
Professor, Biosystems Engineering Department
University of Arizona
Precision & Resource Use Efficient Controlled Environment Agriculture
January 21
Dr. Bruce Bugbee
Professor of Crop Physiology
Utah State University
President, Apogee Instruments, Inc.
Turning Photons into Food
HORT 681 SEMINAR STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
FALL 2020
August 20
Dr. Jim Giovannoni
Research Molecular Biologist,US Department of Agriculture & Boyce Thompson Research Institute, Adjunct Professor, Cornell University School of Integrative Plant Science
Texas A&M University
Insights into the Genetic Regulation of Fruit Ripening-genes to genomes… and back to fruit
September 3
Dr. Thomas McKnight
Professor and Head, Department of Biology
Texas A&M University
Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Gene Networks Controlling Acylsugar Metabolis and Plant Defense in the Wild Tomato Solanum pennellii
September 17
Dr. Kevin Crosby
Professor of Horticulture
Texas A&M University
Pepper Breeding Program at Texas A&M University
October 1
Dr. Bhimu Patil
Professor of Horticulture, Director of the Vegetable & Fruit Improvement Center
Interim Head of Food Science and Technology
Texas A&M University
Tomato Flavor and Health Benefits – Opportunities and Challenges
October 15
Dr. David Francis
Professor of Horticulture, The Ohio State University
So Many Genomes, So Little Time — The Future of Plant Breeding
November 5
Dr. Ester van der Knaap
Professor of Horticulture and Faculty of Plant Biology, University of Georgia
A Common Mechanism Underlies Morphological Diversity in Plants
FALL 2015
October 27
Dr. David Byrne
Professor and Basye Endowed Chair in Rose Genetics
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
Belsterling Lecture on the Rose Program and Rose Rosette Disease
Dr. David Byrne
Professor and Basye Endowed Chair in Rose Genetics
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
Update on the Rose Rosette Disease Project
September 17
Dr. Umesh Reddy
Professor, Department of Biology
West Virginia State University
Institute, West Virginia
Comparative analysis of genome-wide divergence, domestication footprints and genome-wide association study of fruit traits for Capsicum annuum and Capsicum baccatum
October 1
Dr. Sadhana Ravishankar
Associate Professor, School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Safer Salads: Clean & Green Approaches
October 15
Mr. Monte Nesbitt
Extension Program Specialist for Pecans/Citrus/Fruit
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
An Oily Romance – – Olive Trees in Texas
Spring 2015:
Click to View Fall 2015 Horticulture Seminar Schedule
January 21
Dr. Shasha Wu
Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University
Fujian Province, China
Source-Sink Relationships during Growth of ‘Sorbonne’ Lily
February 5
Dr. Robert Geneve
Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture
The University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Seed Germination in the Ancient Crop, Chia (Salvia): A Sticky Situation
March 3
Dr. John Bowman
Senior Agriculture Advisor,
USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS),
Office of Agricultural Research & Policy (ARP),
Washington, DC
Career Opportunities in International Agriculture: Perspectives from a USAID Project Officer
April 16
Dr. Jean Ristaino
Jefferson Science Fellow, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor,
Director Global Plant Health Program, Department of Plant Pathology,
NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Emerging Plant Diseases: A Threat to Global Food Security
Fall 2014:
Click to View Fall 2014 Horticulture Seminar Schedule
October 16
Ida Astarini
Department of Biology, Udayana University
Bali, Indonesia
Horticulture in Bali, Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities
November 6
Dr. Leonardo Lombardini
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
Sustaining the Coffee Supply Chain through Collaborative Research
November 20
Dr. Dirk Hays
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
Beans Burrito’s and Beer!
Fall 2013:
Sept 26
Hong Gu Kang, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
Molecular Clues to the Function of CRT1/MORC1 Family in Plant Immunity
Ernest Wertheim, Landscape Architect,
Principal in Wertheim, van der Ploeg & Klemeyer
December 5
Ockert Greyvenstein
Are EARTH-KIND® Roses “Earth-kind”?
Report on High Temperature Tolerance
Spring 2013
Caren Walton, Extension Program Specialist, Junior Master Gardener Program
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service
‘Improving the Health and Academic Success of Children through the Junior Master Gardener Program’January 31
Dr. Larry Stein, Associate Department Head and Professor and Extension Horticulturist
Texas A&M University
‘The Transformation of the Texas Spinach Industry’February 14
Dr. Marco Palma, Associate Professor and Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service
‘Economic Outlook and Trends in the Horticulture Industry’February 28Dr. Paul Pare, Professor, Department of Chemistry& Biochemistry
Texas Tech University
*Program title to be announcedMarch 28
Jim Kamas, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist – Pomology & Viticulture, Texas Pierce’s Disease Program Outreach Coordinator
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service
Applied Research & Extension Programming at the Hill Country Viticulture & Pomology Lab
April 11
Dr. Genhua Niu, Associate Professor
Texas A&M Agrilife Research & Extension Center at El Paso
Impact of Bio-containers on Nursery Production and Landscape Performance
April 17
Dr. Charlie Hall, Professor and Floriculture Chairholder, Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
*Program title to be announced
April 25
Dr. John daGraca, Professor and Citrus Center Director
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
*Program title to be announced
FALL 2012:
Nancy Duran, Agriculture & Life Sciences Librarian
Texas A&M University
‘TAMU Libraries ‘What we do for You’
Watch the Seminar (Windows Media video)November 15
Dr. Tim Davis, Professor & Senior Scientist, Regional Director – Asia
Borlaug Institute of International Agriculture & Department of Horticultural Sciences
‘Role of Horticulture in the Conservation and Utilization of Biodiversity’
Watch the Seminar (Windows Media video)
FALL 2011:
October 20
Dr. Alex Thomasson, Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Texas A&M University
“Precision Agriculture: Site-Specific Crop Mangement?”
October 26 (Wednesday, 3 pm)
Bill McKinley, Senior Lecturer
Benz Endowed Chair in Floral Design
Director of the Benz School of Floral Design
Texas A&M University
“Shrinking the Distances – Strengthening the Connections”
November 3
Dr. Julien Levy, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
“A Tale of Two Symbioses – Arbuscular Mycorrhizae and Zebra Chip”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
November 17
Dr. Candace Seeve, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
“Instant Messaging: Response to Environmental Signals through Transcriptional Regulation”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
December 1
Dr. Carlos Bogran, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Entomology
Texas A&M University
“Developing Phytosanitary Treatments to Facilitate Trade of Greenhouse and Nursery Products”
SPRING 2011:
January 27
Dr. Brent Pemberton, Professor, Texas AgriLife Research
Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center
Overton, Texas 75684-0200 USA
“The Texas Superstar Program – Where have we been? – Where are we going?”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
February 17
Dr. Fred Davies, Regents Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences
“The Biology of Growing Plants Under Low Pressure (Hypobaric) Systems for NASA — Challenges in Lunar and Martian Agriculture”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
March 3
Dr. Leo Lombardini, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University
“Going Nuts: Future Directions and Strategies for Pecan Research at Texas A&M”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
March 24
Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences
“Oxidative Stress: In Search of a Link between Plants and Humans”
April 7
Dr. Alan Pepper, Associate Professor, Department of Biology
“The Streptanthoid Complex: A Supermodel for Plant Adaptation to Extreme Environments”
April 21
Dr. Juan Carlos Melgar, Assistant Professor, TAMU-Kingsville Citrus Center
“Stress Physiology in Citrus”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
May 5
Dr. Don Henne, Assistant Professor, Texas Agrilife Research Center, Vegetable IPM Lab, Weslaco, TX
“Zombie Fire Ants, Decapitating Flies, and the Little Shop of Entomological Horrors”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
FALL 2010:
September 9
Dr. Hisashi Koiwa, Associate Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU
“Multitasking and work-sharing for sustaining growth and coping with hardships/deficits: Arabidopsis RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain phosphatases.”
September 10
Dr. Tim Davis, Professor and Head, Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU”Opportunities for Horticultural Collaboration with Zamorano University, La Escuela Agricola Panamericana”
NOTE SPECIAL DATE & TIME: Friday, September 10, noon, 203 HFSB
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
View the PowerPoint Presentation
September 23
Amy McFarland, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU
“Growing minds: An overview of research in people/ plant interactions.”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
Amit Vikram, Ph.D. candidate, Dept of Horticultural Sciences & VFIC, TAMU
“Citrus bioactives as quorum quenchers”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
October 7
Dr. Villas A. Tonapi, Principal Scientist, ICAR, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad 500 030, Andhra Pradesh, India
“Essential derivation of vegetable & flower varieties: problems, prospects and global perspectives.”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
October 21
Dr. Ming-Han Li, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, TAMU
“Use of vegetation in stormwater management.”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
November 4
Matsuo Uemura, Cryobiologyfrontier Research Center, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan
“Plant Adaptation to Low Temperatures: physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
Nuria Pascual Seva, Visiting Ph.D. student, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia
“Productive response of different irrigation and planting strategies for Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
Min Lin, M. Sc. candidate, Dept of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU
“Environmental control during or after vernalization to achieve year-round flowering for hybrid nobile dendrobium orchids.”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
November 18
Dr. Jianhua Zhu, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland
“Genetic analysis of salt tolerance determinants in plants.”
December 2
Dr. Michael Arnold, Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, TAMU
“Refrigerators, Eskimos, and translational landscape research.”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
SUMMER 2010:
June 14
Dr. S. B. Dandin, Vice-Chancellor, University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India
“Horticultural Strengths of Karnataka for Nutrition and Health”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
SPRING 2010:
March 4
Dr. Michelle Jones, D.C. Kiplinger Chair in Floriculture, Floriculture/ Molecular Biology, Horticulture and Crop Science Dept., The Ohio State University/ OARDC, Wooster, OH
“The Molecular Regulation of Flower Senescence and Postproduction Decline in Petunias”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
FALL 2009:
October 1
Dr. Gary Stutte, Senior Scientist/Plant Physiologist, Dynamac Corp., Kennedy Space Center, FL
“Plants in Space: A Horticultural Perspective “
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
October 15
Dr. Mani Skaria, Professor of Plant Pathology, Texas A&M Research & Extension Center, Weslaco, TX
“Micro-budded Citrus: A New Commercial Citrus Production System for Profitability and Disease Management”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
October 29
Dr. Rick Jones, NAFTA Onion Breeding Lead, Monsanto (Seminis) Vegetable Seeds, and Adjunct Professor of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
“Commercial Vegetable Breeding in the New Century: Challenges and Opportunities”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
November 19
Dr. Kevin Ong, Associate Professor & Extension Plant Pathologist Director – Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX
“Vigilance for Plant Health: The Role of the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab at The University System, State and Federal-Level”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
December 3
Dr. Astrid Volder, Asst. Professor Horticultural Landscape Ecology, Dept. Horticultural Sciences, TAMU
“Studying Urban Ecology, Climate Change, and the Rhizosphere Using Physiological Methods”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
SUMMER 2009
SPRING 2009:
February 19
Dr. Mark Williams,Associate Professor, Landscape Horticulture and Weed Management, Dept Horticulture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
“Evolution of the University of Kentucky Sustainable Agriculture Teaching and Research Program”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
March 5
Dr. Sarah Reichard, Associate Professor, College of Forestry Resources & Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
“Contributions of Horticulture to Invasion Biology”
Watch the seminar (Windows Media video)
March 26