Join the Cornell Club
Food, Fuel, Farms and Flowers: How Horticulture Contributes to Human Well-being around the World
Monday, May 19, 2014
Presentation, Reception and Networking
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Doors Open, Networking, Light Refreshments
7:00 – 7:45 p.m. Presentation and Q&A
7:45 – 8:30 p.m. Networking
JC Raulston Arboretum - Rooms 107 and 109
4415 Beryl Road
Raleigh, NC 27606
$15 per person online registration
$20 per person at the door
Any questions? Please contact Helen Pak-Harvey at hpakharvey@nc.rr.com (919-637-6919).
Horticulture is often equated with gardening, and while beautiful gardens and landscapes have always been part of horticulture, it is much more than that. Horticulturists today are studying ways that the changing climate will affect fruit and vegetable production into the future. We study how to extend the harvest season to provide fruits, vegetables and flowers at times when they are typically not available from local sources. We study how to keep apples and other fruits fresh, even though they were harvested months before. We breed new varieties of fruits, flowers, trees and vegetables using plant material from all over the world. We have learned how to grow trees in harsh city environments where soil is non-existent. We have learned how to manage fertilizer applications on lawns to prevent runoff and water pollution. And we study the basic biology of how plants live . . . and die. More than 10% of a plant’s genes turn on when a plant or leaf begins to die, and controlling this process can have big implicaions for agriculture. Our audiences range from commercial growers to Master Gardeners to school children. With courses such as "The Art of Horticulture" to "Creating the Urban Eden" to "Coffee, Cloves and Chocolate: Plant Explorers and Thieves," horticulture has something to offer everyone.
Marvin Pritts was born and raised in a very rural area of southwestern Pennsylvania where he spent his free time roaming around the mountains collecting plants, insects and reptiles and developing a love for biology. The first in his family to go to college, Marvin obtained a B.S. in Biology from Bucknell University in 1978, a M.S. in Biology from the University of South Carolina in 1980, and a Ph.D. in Horticulture at Michigan State University working with wild species of blueberries. Marvin came to Cornell in 1984 as the berry crop specialist with an appointment in extension, research and teaching. He works primarily with production, season extension, and pest management systems in strawberries and raspberries, and has consulted with berry farmers throughout the world. He teaches several courses at Cornell, and is a frequent guest lecturer in the local schools. Marvin became chairman of the Department of Horticulture in July, 2002 and still serves in this position. He also serves on the board of directors of the Cayuga Nature Center where he helps to manage an old growth forest near Trumansburg. Marvin's daughter is a junior in CALS majoring in Development Sociology, and his son is a high school senior who will be studying entomology at Cornell in the fall.
For event questions, please contact Helen Pak-Harvey '84 at hpakharvey@nc.rr.com or 919-637-6919.
For event registration questions, please contact Donna Carl at dc37@cornell.edu.