Seminar Series
Fall and spring seminars support Horticulture's graduate research program. Graduate students fill much of the schedule with required research proposals and exit seminars. The Horticulture Seminar Committee and Horticulture Graduate Student Association (HGSA) strive to support professional development with academic and industry guest speakers as well.
UGA faculty, students, staff and their guests are welcome to join each week. Zoom links are provided through the weekly seminar distribution lists via email. For security purposes, zoom information is not provided to non-UGA individuals without a professional or personal connection.
SUMMER 2025 EXIT SEMINARS
Summer exit seminars are scheduled on an as needed basis and do not follow the typical Fall and Spring schedules. Generally speaking, graduate students in Horticulture are not required to attend these summer seminars but are encouraged to attend if available to support those students providing exit seminars.
Wednesday, June 25
8:30am
Integrated approaches to improve blueberry (vaccinium sect. cyanococcus) breeding through post-harvest evaluation, micropropagation and polyploid induction
Emily Walter, MS GRA
MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. Ye (Julet) Chu, presenting from Tifton campus, 126 NESPAL
Thursday, June 26
1:00pm
Effect of biochar on containerized plants growth and physiological response under stress conditions
Lilin Chen, MS GRA
MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. Ping Yu, presenting from the Griffin campus, SLC room 116
Friday, June 27
2:30pm
Enhancing Osmanthus fragrans Propagation and Flowering Through Horticultural Practices
Yulong Chen, MS GRA
MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. Ping Yu, presenting from Griffin campus, SLC room 217
Completed Spring 2025 Seminars
Wednesday, April 23
Seminar Exchange Program
Guest Speakers: Graduate Students, University of Kentucky
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Evaluation of Foliar-Applied Nitrogen Nano-Fertilizer on Wheat Yield and Environmental Losses
Leticia Pacheco Inoue, PhD Candidate
UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
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3:30pm - 4:00pm
Hemp Grain Yield: Key Components & Corn Earworm's Effect in Kentucky
Magdalena Ricciardi, PhD Candidate
UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Guest speakers are presenting from Athens campus, 1205 Miller Plant Sciences
Wednesday, April 16
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
From Bugs to Blooms: Addressing Urban Challenges through Extension and Research
Dr. Bethany Harris, Director
UGA Center for Urban Agriculture
Presenting from Griffin Student Learning Center (SLC), Room 105
Remote meeting location: Athens campus, 1205 Miller Plant Sciences
Wednesday, April 9
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Enhancing Agricultural Productivity and Resiliency: Exploring the Impact of Soil Amendments on Crop and Soil Health in Vegetable Production in South Georgia
Emilio Suarez, MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. T. McAvoy. Presenting from NESPAL room 126, Tifton campus
Wednesday, April 2
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Planting Density and Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate Effect on Vidalia Onion (Allium cepa) Yield and Bulb Size Definition
Elvis Pulici, MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. T. McAvoy. Presenting from NESPAL room 126, Tifton campus
Wednesday, March 26
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Optimizing Planting Arrangements for Conventional Vegetable Production
Hayley Milner, MS Exit Seminar
Advisor: Dr. T. McAvoy. Presenting from NESPAL room 126, Tifton campus
Wednesday, March 19
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Genetic Approaches to Improve Nutritional Value of Vegetables: Enriching Beta-carotene and Keto carotenoid Levels of Tomato fruit via Expression of a Pepper Gene.
Dr. Bala 'Saba' Rathinasabapathi, Professor & Associate Chair
Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida
Dr. Rathinasabapathi's lab webpage
UF Plant Breeding
Horticulture Faculty Host: Dr. Amol Nankar. Presenting from NESPAL room 126, Tifton campus
Wednesday, March 12
Hort Seminar Exchange Competition
The students listed will give a 5-minute seminar to compete to go to the University of Kentucky as guest speakers for their weekly research seminar series.
Ashley Sorrow, MS GRA; Drs. Nambeesan & Malladi - Co-advisors
Effects of intermittent warm temperature exposure on progression of chill accumulation during peach floral bud dormancy
Tanner Hammerling, MS GRA; Dr. Ruter - Advisor
Rediscovering Pycanthemum torreyi: An Investigation of Historical Populations Across the East Coast
Greta Gallina, PhD GRA; Dr. Ruter - Advisor
Hibiscus breeding and genetics
Emilio Suarez, MS GRA; Dr. McAvoy - Advisor
Biochar: Agriculture's New Gold?
Wednesday, March 5
No seminar scheduled
Wednesday, February 26
Seminars given during the Fall 2024 Seminars Series
Friday, December 6
10:00am - 11:00am
Photoselective Devices and Harvest Intervals on Blueberry Production and Fruit Quality
Amit Godara, MS Exit Seminar
Co-advisors: A. Deltsidis and Z. Rubio Ames. Presenting from NESPAL room 126, Tifton campus
Wednesday, November 20
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Regulation of Early Fruit Growth in Apple
Bayleigh Roussel, PhD Exit Seminar
Advisor: A. Malladi. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, November 13
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Organic Systems Management Tools: Local Effective Microorganisms and High Tunnel Impacts on Organic Vegetable Production
Micah Jones, MS Research Proposal Seminar
Advisor: K. Cassity-Duffey. Presenting from Athens campus
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3:30pm - 4:00pm
Breaking New Ground: Improving soils and crop yield for southern farmers transitioning to organic production
Zachary Hirsch-Santagata, MS Research Proposal Seminar
Advisor: K. Cassity-Duffey. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, November 6 - Guest Speaker
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Academic Honesty for Graduate Students
Speaker TBA, UGA Office of Academic Honesty
Horticulture Host, Dr. Savithri Nambeesan. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, October 23 - Guest Speaker
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Joy Green. PhD Candidate, UGA School of Social Work
Horticulture Host: S. Nambeesan. Presenting from the Athens campus
Wednesday, October 16
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Enhancing the Sustainability of Pecan Production through Hedge-pruning in the Southeastern United States
Bailey Rayfield, MS Research Proposal Seminar
Advisor: L. Wells. Presenting from Tifton campus
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3:30pm - 4:00pm
Catharanthus roseus hydroponic production and alkaloid elicitation
Matthew Housley, MS Research Proposal Seminar
Advisor: R. Ferrarezi. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, October 9
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Evaluation of Hops Cultivars for Georgia Cultivation
Zach Hutzell, MS Research Proposal
Advisor: D. Zhang. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, October 2
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Crash course on Romanian agriculture
Dr. Stefan-Laurentiu Batrina
Fulbright Grantee AY24-25 & UGA Extension Visiting Scholar
Assistant Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
University of Life Sciences 'King Mihai I' of Timisoara
Horticulture Host, T. Coolong. Presenting from Athens campus
Wednesday, September 25 - No Seminar this week due to ASHS conference
Wednesday, September 18
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Growing, Promoting, and Selling Agricultural Goods in Green Markets: Consumer Preferences for Climate Smart Goods and Economic Profitability of Ogranic Cut Flower Production
Abigail Lauterbach, MS Research Proposal
Advisor: J. Campbell. Presenting from Athens campus
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3:30pm - 4:00pm
Consumer Propagation Habits: Exploring Ethics and the Impacts of Stealing Plant Material
Leandria Garrett, MS Research Proposal
Advisor: J. Campbell. Presenting from Athens campus
