Fall 2013: Campus/Counties News

Newman and Tjosvold receive CANGC Research Awards

by Cheryl Wilen

UCCE farm advisors and UCNFA News founders Julie Newman and Steve Tjosvold earned the 2012 and 2013 Research Awards from the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC). They were honored at the California Nursery Conference in Etiwanda on October 9th. 

Julie Newman was a UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor for Floriculture and Nursery Crops in Ventura and Santa Barbara. After 28 productive years, Julie retired last July. Julie worked closely with the nursery industry to help growers implement integrated pest management programs, meet regulations for improving water quality through irrigation improvements and nutrient management for which she and her team won a Western Extension Directors' Award of Excellence for a state program in 2008 and a 2006 UC Cooperative Extension Teamwork award for collaboration on the California Ornamental Research Federation (CORF) which eventually led to the establishment of UCNFA. The educational programs offered by CORF/UCNFA provide information on critical agricultural and environmental issues in English and Spanish.

She was also honored by the Ohio Florists' Association with the 2007 Alex Laurie Award for the most outstanding floriculture research paper published in a refereed journal during a calendar year. The 2007 award was presented for a series of four papers on nutrient release from controlled-release fertilizers published in the June and December 2006 issues of HortScience where Julie was a co-author.

Julie showed strong leadership by developing and serving as the editor of the book Greenhouse and Nursery Management Practices to Protect Water Quality and the soon to be published book Container Nursery Production and Business Management Manual. 

Julie is a also a regular contributor to Greenhouse Management magazine as well as numerous UC publications.

Steve Tjosvold started out as a Farm Advisor Intern from 1980-83 in Alameda, Orange, and San Bernardino counties and started as Farm Advisor in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties in 1983. Steve has worked in important projects with positive impacts for the nursery industry. These include numerous training programs such as scouting and improving spraying systems. His research in sudden oak death and light brown apple moth has helped growers understand these pests and take action to reduce their impact on production systems.

Steve is also well-known for his symposia on control of diseases and insects in the highly competitive cut flower and nursery industries. He is a respected authority on greenhouse rose culture and pest management. He contributed two chapters to the world's most comprehensive publication on the subject, Encyclopedia of Rose Science.

Steve has been recognized by his peers with 3 distinguished service awards for outstanding teamwork (1997, 2004, and 2006) and one for outstanding extension (2004) as well as the 2008 Western Extension Directors' Award of Excellence:  Farm Water Quality Planning Project.

Over the past 30 years Steve has produced 86 peer-reviewed journal publications and 172 other publications.

 

Deb Mathews Retires from UC Riverside

by Julie Newman

Dr. Deborah Mathews, who wrote the Disease Focus column of UCNFA News and also contributed several feature articles and campus news and research updates over the last few years, has announced her retirement from UC Riverside. 

A native of Riverside, she spent 31 years on the UC Riverside campus — starting as an undergraduate student, continuing after graduate school with a research appointment, and then working the last six years as a faculty member and Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. While she specialized in viruses of plants, Deb also participated in many collaborations over the years on various pathogens and diseases as needs arose. 

Deb will be moving to the Sierra foothills in northern California next year to build her dream home and is looking forward to a life of leisure.