Collaboration is central to advancing meaningful research and extension in horticultural systems. By working closely with growers, industry partners, extension professionals, and academic colleagues, we ensure that research questions are grounded in real production challenges and that outcomes are practical, scalable, and impactful. Collaborative efforts allow us to integrate diverse expertise, validate innovations across environments, and accelerate the translation of science into solutions that improve productivity, sustainability, and resilience in vegetable production systems.

Regional Collaboration

Our research program is strengthened by close collaboration with faculty and institutions across the southeastern and eastern United States. These partnerships support multi-state research efforts, shared methodologies, and regionally relevant outcomes for growers and stakeholders.

Collaborators include:

• Ted McAvoy, University of Georgia
• Andre da Silva, Auburn University
• Mark Reiter, Virginia Tech
• Jianyu Li, University of Massachusetts Amherst

These regional collaborations enable coordinated field trials, cross-environment testing, and the development of management recommendations that are scalable and broadly applicable across diverse production systems.

International Collaboration

• Dr. Fernando Fuentes – Professor-Researcher, Universidad de Talca, Chile
• Instituto Especializado de Estudios Superiores Loyola, Dominican Republic
• Arturo Bisono, MSc. – Advisor-Researcher, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago, Dominican Republic