Dr. Emmanuel Torres

Dr. Emmanuel Torres is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University and leads the Precision Horticulture Laboratory. His work focuses on improving vegetable and specialty crop production through precision water and nutrient management, plant stress physiology, sensor technologies, and applied automation. Dr. Torres integrates field research, controlled-environment studies, and extension to develop practical, data-driven solutions that support growers and industry partners across diverse production systems.

Affiliations: NCSU Horticultural Science Department, NCSU Plant Science Initiative, NCSU Cooperative Extension

Current students

Josue Alarcon – MSc student

Josué Alarcón is a graduate of Zamorano University and has worked with Dr. Torres for more than four years. He is currently in the final semester of his master’s program and is expected to complete his degree in Spring 2026. His research focuses on evaluating innovative bed architectures for tomato and strawberry production, integrating drip-applied soil fumigation and comparing its effectiveness with conventional shank fumigation for the management of nematodes and weeds. His work aims to improve soil treatment efficiency while enhancing crop performance in intensive vegetable systems.

Tomas Quezada – MSc student

Tomás Quezada Báez is a graduate of Zamorano University and is originally from the Dominican Republic. He has several years of experience working on projects focused on supporting smallholder farmers in the highlands of the Dominican Republic. Tomás began his master’s program with Dr. Torres in Spring 2025 and is expected to graduate in Fall 2026. His research focuses on evaluating preplant nitrogen rates in broccoli in combination with multiple planting dates. In addition, he is investigating the performance of eight broccoli cultivars across six states in the eastern United States to better understand regional responses and management interactions.

Ivan Alarcon – PhD student

Iván Alarcón is originally from Ecuador and is Dr. Torres’s first PhD student. His research focuses on identifying and developing technologies that reduce labor dependency in tomato production systems in North Carolina. Iván is leading the development of a production system for compact growth habit (CGH) tomatoes, which do not require staking or tying and are suitable for mechanical harvesting. His work includes evaluating the use of ethylene inhibitors to promote uniform fruit set and higher yields under a single mechanical harvest strategy, as well as studying planting density and nitrogen rate requirements for CGH tomatoes. In addition, Iván is working on conventional tomato systems, where he is developing plant-position identification models to support the integration of a new prototype mechanical staker for field-grown round tomatoes.

Lauren Turner – MSc student – Learn More

Lauren Turner is the newest member of the Torres Lab and is originally from northwestern North Carolina. Her research focuses on bell pepper production, where she is evaluating yield performance and disease resistance of ten bell pepper cultivars grown in eastern North Carolina. In addition, Lauren is leading a multi-state survey across the southeastern United States (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) to identify key pest and disease research priorities for bell pepper growers. Her work will contribute to updating the Pest Management Strategic Plan of the Southeast IPM Center and help align future research with grower needs.

Graduates

Brooke Matusko, MSc (2025)

Brooke was the Precision Horticulture Laboratory’s first master’s student and successfully graduated in Fall 2025. Her research focused on evaluating different application methods of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in bell pepper production under protected structures. In addition, she investigated the effects of AMF on plant water requirements and water use under greenhouse conditions. Her work contributed valuable insights into the potential and limitations of commercial AMF applications in controlled-environment vegetable production.

Ricardo Gandini – MSc (2023)

Ricardo was one of the first students advised by Dr. Torres during his time at Virginia Tech. He is a Zamorano graduate, where he worked on tomato germination techniques. He spent several years in the private sector before moving to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to pursue his master’s degree, focusing on heat-mitigation techniques for tomato production. After graduation, he moved to Florida, where he worked with Lipman Family Farms, and in 2025 relocated to the Dominican Republic to serve at Transagricola (Linda), the largest processing tomato operation in the country.

Alexis Suero – MSc (2023)

Alexis was the second student advised by Dr. Torres during his time at Virginia Tech. He is also a Zamorano graduate, where he graduated with honors. After Zamorano, he worked in the Dominican Republic for two years before moving to the United States to pursue his master’s degree under Dr. Torres’s supervision, with a focus on nitrogen and irrigation management for Irish potatoes. After completing his master’s degree, Alexis chose to pursue a PhD at NC State University, where he is currently working under the supervision of Dr. Jing Zhang.