Plants, Places and People

Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Colorado State University

February 2023

Update from Dr. Mengmeng Gu

HLA Department Head

Come join myself and Dean James Pritchett for CSU Alumni Coffee Reception on Feb. 1 from noon - 2pm (EDU Booth on show floor) at ProGreen. I also look forward to meeting you at CFVGA conference Feb 21-22 in Westminster.

VinCO and Western Colorado Horticultural Society Annual Conference 2023

Approximately 300 fruit and grape growers, winemakers, and fruit industry representatives gathered during the 3^rd week of January at the Grand Junction Convention Center for their annual meeting. This conference is a collaboration between the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (CAVE) and the Western Colorado Horticultural Society (WCHS). For the latter it was the 79^th Annual Conference and Trade Show.

VinCO (the grape and wine part of the conference) started on Monday with a half-day seminar focused on winery tasting rooms followed by 2.5 days of presentations, seminars and wine tastings. Fruit growers started their conference on Tuesday with a full-day bus tour visiting local orchards and associated businesses. Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to presentations from local and national experts. Altogether, 37 speakers shared their information with the audience, including 14 speakers from Colorado State University. HLA’s Dr. Ioannis Minas, Associate Professor of Pomology, gave an update and overview of current research in the pomology program. Graduate students David Sterle, Jeff Pieper, and Jake Potts then presented results from their work on peach cold hardiness modeling, rootstock effects on peach fruit yield and quality, and non-destructive measurement of peach fruit quality, respectively. HLA’s Dr. Horst Caspari, Professor and State Viticulturist, gave an update on current grape research and also presented results from the annual grape grower survey. Other CSU speakers included Melissa Schreiner, Jenny Beiermann, and Dr. Charlotte Oliver, CSU Extension; Ben Bentele and Dr. Brad Tonnessen, AES – Organic Agricultural Research Center Rogers Mesa; Drs. Jane Stewart and Sean Toporek, Agricultural Biology; and Dr. Dana Hoag and Brooke Fitzgerald, Dept. Agricultural and Resource Economics (Drs. Horst Capri and Ioannis Minas).

Sweet Pepper Trial Results

In 2022, Larimer County Master Gardeners completed a trial of 15 sweet pepper varieties. The trial included 3 varieties of lunchbox peppers. The results are in! A second trial will begin in 2023. 2019-2021tomato trial results also available here----reported by Dr. Alison O'Connor (more).

2022 'Top Performer' Perennials

In 2022, Colorado State University continued its three-year herbaceous perennial trial and chose eight perennials as the ‘Top Performers’ from 113 that were planted in 2020. A CSU Top Performer has to have great survival percentages after two winters and three growing seasons and score excellent throughout the three growing seasons. A subcommittee of the CSU Annual Trial Committee evaluated 21 of the top performing perennials in November 2022 by examining photos of these plants taken every two weeks during the three growing seasons (more; Dr. Jim Klett).

Four Awarded CHREF Scholarship

Four scholarships were awarded to CSU students: Tate Erickson, Ian McLennan, Sarah Mendus and Cassidy Reel. All four students demonstrated interest in staying in the Green Industry within Colorado (more).

Meeting Jordan Lambert

Jordan, visiting with Dr. Jackie Chaparro with Beth working in the foreground, is the new director of agricultural innovation and partnership at CSU Spur. I am excited to learn more about her vision and how HLA could work closely with her.

Meeting Matt Edmundson, Again!

Matt Edmundson is the 3rd-generation owner of Arbor Valley Nursery, and a huge supporter of HLA ('Arbo Valley pinup room' in Nutrien!). Learn about his story here.

Agrivoltaics Research

Thomas Hickey, a graduate student working with Dr. Jen Bousselot was featured in Growing for Market January issue 'Agrivoltaics: Putting the farm back in solar farms'

Hi I am Janak Raj Joshi

I joined CSU in 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow to work with the labs of Dr. Adam Heuberger (HLA) and Dr. Amy Charkowski (AgBio). My work focus was on soft rot and blackleg disease resistance in potato. The past four years has been an incredible journey in terms of the scientific advancements, career and professional development. We have made some amazing discoveries that have huge potential in the field of potato/plant pathology. The learnings, guidance and support at CSU has aided me to step up my career as an Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology at Montana State University (MSU). I am starting my position on March 25th, 2023 where I will work on disease management of crops that are important in Montana, including potatoes.

Prior to joining CSU and after my PhD, I worked as an extension potato pathologist and tutored agriculture undergraduates in Plant Pathology and Biochemistry. I graduated from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Agriculture Research Organization, Israel with a master’s degree in Horticulture (2012), and a PhD in Plant Pathology (2018). My graduate and postgraduate work was on potato diseases with a special focus on host-pathogen interaction and management of soft rot and blackleg disease of potato. (Dr. Janak Joshi)

Peach Pruning

One of the most popular questions people ask me is what I do in the winter. While most are expecting me to answer, not much, winter is actually one of the busier times of our year. When we’re not planning for the up coming season, building new irrigation systems, or repairing machinery and implements, we have to prune all the vines and fruit trees. Here is Western Colorado Research Center Research Associate Emily Dowdy pruning peaches for the upcoming growing. Hoping for a big crop in 2023! (Jeff Piper)

Passing of HLA Alumnus

Where was the Department Head?

· Jan. 6 --- Hydro opening at Spur.

· Jan. 10 --- HLA Retirement party for Dr. Jim Klett.

· Jan. 15 --- CWIDB Board meeting.

· Jan. 18 --- CWIDB virtual wine tasting for Lunar New Year.

· Jan. 24 --- Steinhauer Studios kickoff.

Spring Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Seminar Series

Every Tuesday from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Nutrien 163