We have two new extension faculties join the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the Purdue University. Please join me welcome Dr. Ariana Torres and Dr. Krishna Nemali.
Dr. Ariana Torres
Dr. Torres’ background combines field experience in agriculture with theoretical and applied research on agricultural economics. After earning her B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering at Zamorano University, she came to Purdue to pursue her graduate studies. She completed her M.Sc. in Horticulture and her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, both at Purdue University. She has worked on projects such as the impact of market channel choices on the certification and decertification process of organic farmers; the economic implications of social capital on entrepreneurship; and the resilience of small businesses after disasters. Her research focuses on the intersection between the horticulture industry and marketing decisions. Her goal is to conduct innovative outreach and applied research in Specialty Crops Marketing, with the end of promoting economic sustainability for the Horticulture Industry. Specifically, she is interested on supporting business development of new products, production strategies, and market options. Contact information of Dr. Ariana Torres: (765) 496-3425 (Hort), (765) 494-8248 (AgEco), torres2@purdue.edu
Dr. Nemali has responsibility for extension and research activities related to controlled environment agriculture which includes ornamentals and vegetables grown under protected culture. He also teaches courses related to
Dr. Krishna Nemali
controlled environment agriculture production and technology. He has a B.S. in Agriculture from the Andhra Pradesh Agriculture University, India. His M.S. and Ph.D. programs at the University of Georgia focused on development of plant-uptake based automated irrigation technique using sensors and understanding the physiological responses of greenhouse crops to varying input (light, water and nutrients) levels during production. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis he studied physiological mechanisms that render tolerance to drought in Arabidopsis ecotypes. Prior to joining Purdue, he worked at Monsanto company, USA for nearly 9 years as a controlled environment crop physiologist. His research at Monsanto significantly contributed to the commercialization of the first biotechnology-derived drought tolerant maize. A primary goal of his program at Purdue is to develop new and affordable technologies that improve sustainability (i.e., reduce input waste, minimize environmental impact, and increase profits) in controlled environment agriculture and make them easily available to growers. He aims to train students with sustainable production practices that are complemented with state-of-the-art technologies in controlled environments to become next generation growers and researchers. He plans to actively engage and contribute to the existing diversity programs at Purdue. Contact information of Dr. Krishna Nemali: (765) 494-8179, knemali@purdue.edu