August 21, 2019
Horticulture and natural resources students, faculty attend and win at national conference
Students and faculty from the horticulture and natural resources department attended and competed at the 2019 annual conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Las Vegas.
Kelly Gude, doctoral student, placed third in the Scholars Ignite competition and presented "The Impact of Light on Yield and Nutritional Quality of Lettuce Grown in High Tunnels."
Konstantinos Batziakas, doctoral student, presented "Passive Modified Atmosphere Packaging Can Extend the Shelf Life of Spinach Stored in Non-Optimum Temperatures," participated in the Scholars Ignite competition, and earned two merit-based travel awards.
Myungjin Lee, doctoral student, presented a paper on "Impact of Supplemental UV on the Accumulation of Mineral Nutrients and Phytochemicals in Lettuce" and participated in the poster competition.
Joe Rundquist, master’s student, presented "Identifying Optimum Storage and Handling Conditions for Sweet Potato Slips."
Ashlee Skinner, master's student, presented on the "Impact Cover Crops has on Soil Arthropods in High Tunnel Systems."
Jacob Schwab, master's student, presented "Reverse crossword puzzle assignments for teaching greenhouse terminology," presented two posters, and received a travel grant to the conference.
Master's students Kenny Artavia-Rojas and Jesse Gilmore displayed posters.
Cary Rivard, extension specialist and director of K-State Olathe Horticulture Center, won Outstanding Video for "Custom Tomato Grafting Services at K-State."
Eleni Pliakoni, associate professor of urban food production and postharvest handling, presented "Capacity Building on Produce Postharvest Management in Tanzania."
Kim Williams, professor of greenhouse management, presented "Updating poinsettia graphical tracking curves for greenhouse growers," which was the undergraduate research project of Karen Scheck.
Raymond Cloyd, extension entomology specialist, was recognized for his pamphlet "Pesticides and Bees."
Also representing the department at the conference were C. B. Rajashekar, professor of food crops-health and phytochemicals; Jeremy Cowan, assistant professor of sustainable food production systems; and Candice Shoemaker, professor of horticulture.