Crop Production
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System Commercial Horticulture team provides research-based information to nurseries, landscape companies, sod producers, and fruit and vegetable growers with conventional or organic production systems. This is done through items such as regional meetings, advanced workshops, grower conferences and exhibitions, field demonstrations, monthly webinars, and social media.
Value Statement
We strive to improve the lives of Alabamians by helping commercial producers achieve economic, environmental, social, and health sustainability through science-based resources and programs.
A number of traditional handbooks and digital media are also available for producers and landscape personnel. The commercial horticulture team offers the Farming Basics certification program for small retailers and plant, soil, and pest diagnostic services for new or beginning farmers.
Team Objectives
The commercial horticulture team conducts programs that are responsive, commodity-specific, and planned at the grassroots level. Team objectives include the following:
- Provide programing to commercial producers through agriculture innovations and research-based solutions.
- Prevent catastrophic crop failure via rapid response to critical needs.
- Network with collaborators to grow/support the commercial horticulture industry.
Commercial Horticulture Specialists and Staff
| Name | Title | Speciality Area(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Rabinowitz | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor | Production Economics and Policy |
| Amanda Strayer-Scherer | Associate Professor | Plant Pathologist |
| Andre da Silva | Extension Specialist and Associate Professor | Horticulture |
| Camila Rodrigues | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor | Food Safety and Quality |
| David Han | Extension Specialist and Associate Professor | Turfgrass |
| Edgar Vinson | Assistant Extension Professor | Fruit Production |
| Edward Sikora | Extension Specialist and Professor | Plant Pathology |
| Elina Coneva | Extension Specialist and Professor | Fruit Production |
| James Jacobi | Extension Specialist | Plant Diagnostics |
| Jeremy Pickens | Assistant Extension Professor | Commercial Greenhouse and Nursery |
| Jesse Teel | Instructional Outreach Programs Administrator | Operation Grow |
| Kassie Conner | Extension Specialist | Plant Diagnostics |
| Meredith Shrader | Diagnostician | Entomology |
| Paulo Gimenez Cremonez | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor | Entomology and Plant Pathology |
| Rishi Prasad | Extension Specialist and Associate Professor | Soil Nutrient Management |
| Selina Bruckner | Assistant Extension Professor | Apiculture (Beekeeping) |
| Sonja Thomas | Extension Specialist | Pesticide Safety |
| Steve Li | Associate Professor | Weed Control |
| Wendiam Sawadgo | Extension Economist and Assistant Professor | Agricultural Marketing, Economics of Soil Health, Conservation Practice, Local Food, Technology Adoption, Risk Management |
| Xing Ping Hu | Extension Specialist and Professor | Structural and Household Pest Management |
Commercial Horticulture Extension Agents
| Name | Geographical Responsibility |
|---|---|
| David Lawrence (Team Coordinator) | Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Shelby, and St. Clair Counties |
| Bethany O'Rear | Blount, Jefferson, and St. Clair Counties |
| Chip East | Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa Counties |
| Holt Akers-Campbell | Blount, Cherokee, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Madison, and Marshall Counties |
| Jacob Kelley | Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, and Washington Counties |
| Margaret Ann Toohey Snow | Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox Counties |
| Neil Kelly | Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike Counties |
| Travis Kress | Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Marion, Morgan, Walker, and Winston Counties |
| Wade Hummer | Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox Counties |