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 Team
| Name | Title | Speciality Area(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Team Coordinator | ||
| Ayanava Majumdar | Extension Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology | Vegetable Entomology |
| Program Assistants | ||
| Harli Willis | Program Assistant | Operation Grow for Beginning Veteran Farmers |
| Specialists | ||
| Elina Coneva | Professor and Extension Specialist | Fruit Production |
| Kassie Conner | Extension Specialist | Plant Diagnostics |
| Andre da Silva | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Horticulture | Horticulture |
| David Han | Extension Specialist and Associate Professor of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences | Turfgrass |
| Xing Ping Hu | Extension Specialist and Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology | Urban Entomology |
| James Jacobi | Extension Specialist | Plant Diagnostics (Birmingham) |
| Steve Li | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences | Weed Control |
| Jeremy Pickens | Assistant Extension Professor of Horticulture | Commercial Greenhouse and Nursery |
| Rishi Prasad | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences | Soil Nutrient Management |
| Camila Rodrigues | Extension Specialist and Assistant Professor of Horticulture | Commercial Horticulture |
| Meredith Shrader | Extension Insect Diagnostician | Entomology and Plant Pathology |
| Edward Sikora | Extension Specialist and Professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology | Plant Pathologist |
| Sonja Thomas | Extension Specialist | Pesticide Safety Education |
| Edgar Vinson | Assistant Extension Professor of Horticulture | Fruit Production |
| Adam Rabinowitz | Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology | Extension Economist and Production Economics and Policy |
| Amanda Strayer-Scherer | Assistant Professor and Extension Plant Patholog of Entomology and Plant Pathology | Plant Pathologist |
| Wendiam Sawadgo | Assistant Professor and Extension Economist of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology | Extension Economist and Marketing |
| Regional Extension Agents | ||
| Holt Akers-Campbell | Northwest SET (1) (Counties: Colbert, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Limestone, Lawrence, Marion, Morgan, Walker, and Winston) | |
| Eric Schavey | Northeast SET (2) (Counties: Blount, Cherokee, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Maddison, and Marshall) | |
| Olivia Fuller | West Central SET (3) (Counties: Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox) | |
| Rudy Yates | West Central SET (3) (Counties: Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Wilcox) | |
| David Lawrence | Central SET (4) (Counties: Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Shelby, and St. Clair) | |
| Bethany O'Rear | Central SET (4) (Counties: Autauga, Bibb, Chilton, Elmore, Jefferson, Lowndes, Montgomery, Shelby, and St. Clair) | |
| William "Chip" East | East Central SET (5) (Counties: Calhoun, Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, and Tallapoosa) | |
| Jacob Kelley | Southwest SET (6) (Counties: Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, and Washington) | |
| Rebecca Catalena | Southwest SET (6) (Counties: Baldwin, Butler, Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe, and Washington) | Food Safety and Quality |
| Neil Kelly | Southeast SET (7) (Counties: Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Crenshaw, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike) | |
| Calen Monroe | Southeast SET (7) (Counties: Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, and Pike) | Farm and Agribusiness Management |
Other Resources
- Farming Basics Mobile App
- Commercial Horticulture: Programs, People & Educational Resources
- Alabama Beginning Farmer playlist on the Alabama Extension YouTube channel
- Commercial Horticulture: Making a Difference in the Food System
Alabama Extension commercial horticulture programming is supported by grants from USDA-NIFA BFRD, SARE Research and Education/PDP, CPPM/EIP, OREI, and ADAI Specialty Crops Block Grants.