Congratulations to Katherine Pivaral Toledo (MS, HLA; now at Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources) on the publication of “From fields to markets: Diversification case studies in the U.S. Corn Belt via a social-ecological systems lens” in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Co-authored with Dr. Ariana Torres the study is part of…Read more about Katherine Pivaral Toledo Publishes Study on Corn Belt Crop Diversification[Read More]
Josh Widhalm presented virtually at the 2026 Sino-American Conference on New Horizons in Plant Science, held jointly by the Botanical Society of America and the Botanical Society of China in Tai’an, Shandong Province, China. His talk was titled “Investigating the Phytotoxic Mechanism of Action of the Allelochemical Juglone.”
Anna Paltseva gave an invited talk at the Regenerative Textile Forum during Climate Week NYC. The forum, hosted by Why Regenerative, gathered brands, farmers, designers, and sustainability leaders. Her talk, “Soil: Fashion’s Missing Metric,” argued that soil is where natural fibers begin and where textile waste ends, yet fashion’s sustainability frameworks rarely measure it. She…Read more about Paltseva Highlights Soil’s Role in Sustainable Fashion at Climate Week NYC[Read More]
Members of Celina Gómez’s lab, including graduate students and a new intern, recently traveled to Michigan for a three-day tour of commercial greenhouse operations, including a visit to Walters Gardens. Alexandra Jewell, Isaac Damer, and Ethan Meyers also joined the group during the trip. As part of the International Plant Propagators Society (IPPS) meeting, a…Read more about Gómez Lab Explores Michigan Greenhouses and Presents at IPPS Meeting[Read More]
HORT 10100 lab sections recently visited Flint Creek Orchard for a hands-on learning experience led by orchard owner Paul Howard, a former member of Purdue Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. During the tour, students explored commercial fruit production practices and gained insight into the management of a working orchard.
Dr. Ariana Torres and members of the Torres Lab, Visiting Scholar Alvaro Hernandez and Postdoctoral Researcher Juliano M.R. Marques, examined how food-label preferences among agricultural buyers relate to sourcing from diversified farms. Using survey data from procurement managers, the study identified distinct buyer segments based on preferences for certified and non-certified sustainability labels and found…Read more about New Research Connects Food Label Preferences to Diversified Farm Purchasing[Read More]
Master’s student Maria Celeste Ortez, mentored by Dr Ariana Torres, evaluated the economics of incorporating cut sunflowers into diversified specialty-crop operations using the Purdue HortCalculator framework. Under the study’s baseline assumptions, a 1,000-ft² sunflower planting generated $4,760 in gross revenue and $629 in net returns, with profitability highly sensitive to marketable yield and price….Read more about Graduate Research Explores Profitability of Cut Sunflowers Using HortCalculator[Read More]
Krishna Nemali, Sangrak Son, Jin Wei-Kocsis, Amanda Deering, and Lori Hoagland published their research article, “Smart Fertigation: Automated Fertilizer Application Based on Plant Growth Using Digital Sensors with IoT Capability,” in the journal PLOS ONE. The study evaluated a smart fertigation system that uses digital sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to automatically regulate…Read more about Nemali Lab and Colleagues Published Smart Fertigation Study in PLOS ONE[Read More]
Dr. Celina Gómez‘s former visiting scholar, Siria Cárdenas, and current PhD student, Sungeun Lim, published their research in the Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. Their article,“A Comparison of Indoor and Greenhouse Acclimation of Lavender Cuttings: Effects of Monochromatic Blue Light and Daminozide Sprays,” examines how light quality and plant growth regulator treatments influence the acclimation…Read more about Gómez Lab Researchers Publish Study in Journal of Plant Growth Regulation[Read More]
Anna Paltseva and Shams Rahmani published a new paper introducing the Urban Soil Health Index, a 0–1 scoring framework that evaluates urban soils based on human health risks, environmental functions, and climate resilience. The tool can help planners and residents compare sites and make more informed decisions about gardens, parks, and climate adaptation projects. Read…Read more about New Publication from Anna Paltseva and Shams Rahmani[Read More]