ASHS 2025 Conference

6:45 am - Meet at the Premium Parking Lot at 201 Canal Street for race bib and t-shirt

7:00 am sharp - Fun run begins

Come join in a 5K fun run along the Mississippi River! Race bibs, t-shirts, and refreshments provided. Award for the top three finishers.

Presentation Title:
“Biotechnology, Genomics and Opportunities for Horticultural Science"

Dr. Jim Giovannoni is Director of the USDA-ARS research lab on the Cornell university campus. He was a leader of the international effort to sequence the tomato genome and his laboratory has worked for over 30 years on molecular and genetic analysis of fruit physiology, ripening, and related signal transduction systems. His lab identified critical genes associated with fruit development, nutrition, and quality traits including the first transcription factor regulating ripening. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Giovannoni is a Texas A&M Hagler Fellow and received the 2014 Award for Exemplary Service from the US Secretary of Agriculture, and the USDA-ARS North East Area Senior Research Scientist of the year Award in 2010 and 2017.

The need to improve crops has never been critical with the rising population and climate change resulting in high abiotic stress and disease pressures in production areas. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI)-based approaches have been implemented in the context of plant breeding and crop improvement. Modern AI tools hold the promise of accelerating the development of resilient, higher-yielding, and more sustainable horticultural crops, by rendering a deeper understanding of complex genetic systems and phenotypes, and how these interact with their environment to express desirable traits. As an approach, AI is an important component of the plant breeding toolbox which may now currently be an indispensable addition to modern vegetable breeding programs. For example, AI allows for the prediction of phenotypic values through genetic markers, and this allows plant breeders to perform selection even before the trials are conducted in the field. The ASHS Vegetable Breeding and Interest Group seeks to provide research updates from experts who have worked on the applications of AI in crop breeding and genetic improvement. The workshop will provide a summary of various AI methodologies, recent advances, and render opportunities for future collaboration and research directions in the implementation of AI in vegetable breeding programs. Objectives 1. Summarize the different AI approaches used in breeding and genetic improvement of various traits in vegetables 2. Provide the attendees with recent advances in AI for plant breeding 3. Discuss future research directions and applications of AI in plant breeding programs The workshop will be conducted during the annual ASHS meeting (July 28- August 1, 2025) in New Orleans, Louisiana. The workshop will be in-person. Audience: The workshop will be open to all ASHS attendees (both public and private sectors) and will be interactive.

Moderators: Dennis Lozada, New Mexico State University
Devi Kandel, Langston University

Speakers:
The following speakers were invited and those indicated with (*) have agreed to the invitation.

• Dr. Zhihang Song* (University of Georgia; Accelerating Plant Breeding with Plant Phenotyping Technologies and AI)
• Dr. Mahdi Haghshenas-Jaryani* (New Mexico State University; Autonomous “AI-enabled” Robots for Chile Pepper Precision Farming)
• Dr. Allen Van Deynze (University of California- Davis; TBA)
• Dr. Lirong Xiang (North Carolina State University; TBA)

Competition Entry https://ashs.org/page/SIEntry

The Graduate Student Activities Committee hosts this competition to allow graduate students members (both MS and PhD) a fun and exciting way to communicate the impact of their research projects and scholarly activities.
Graduate students make compelling presentations in three minutes using no more than one single PowerPoint slide or visual aid. The purpose of the presentation is to generate awareness, stimulate thought, and inspire attendees to appreciate the breadth and depth of horticultural research and scholarly activities. Graduate students will meet other students and scientists, learn about an array of research topics and other creative and scholarly activities across ASHS, and most importantly have fun!

The competition is designed similar to other popular three-to-five-minute thesis and research presentation events (e.g. Three-minute thesis, ‘Ignite’ or Scholars’ Studio) occurring around the globe, and done especially well in Australia, British Columbia, and the University of Washington.

Winners will receive a cash award of $500, $250, and $100 for the top three places, respectively.
The winners are announced at the Student Awards Night.
Students must enter by the deadline of July1st. 
Applicants may use only one Introductory Slide (using the ASHS provided template) and one Presentation Slide for a total of 2 slides. The Introductory Slide must follow the format of the template and include Title of Presentation (Calibri 44 bold), Student’s Name (Calibri 32 bold), Advisor(s) Name (Calibri 28) and Institution’s Name (Calibri 28). The Presentation Slide must be one single page without any animation. Students may use any color, background or font for their Presentation Slide but not for the Introductory Slide. Slides need to be in the 16:9 format. Both slides must be presented in 3 minutes. Once the student reaches the podium the timer will start and after 3 minutes we will move to the next student.

Overview of Workshop: Horticultural crop production depends on plastic mulch film to suppress weeds, optimize the soil microclimate, and overall improve economic and efficient production of crops within both conventional and organic systems. Unfortunately, the benefits of plastic mulch are often overshadowed by its poor end-of life outcomes with growers frequently landfilling, stockpiling, burying, or burning mulch waste at the end of a production season. Some of this mulch waste can become pollutants of soil and water. The horticultural industry needs new technologies that reduce persistent plastic waste generation with the expansion of extended producer responsibility, circularity, and sustainability initiatives. This interactive workshop will educate participants on promising solutions that preserve the essential functions of plastic mulch while reducing waste generation with an emphasis on soil-biodegradable plastic mulch and new collection, retrieval, and recycling technologies for non-biodegradable plastic mulch.  
The workshop is divided into three interactive sessions that will provide participants with a balance of academic and private industry perspectives. The sessions include: 1) Identifying the problem and possible solutions; 2) Lessons learned and recommendations from industry; and 3) Socioeconomic considerations and future prospects. Each session will have a panel of experts that will provide a brief presentation on a targeted topic. Invited industry speakers will share lessons learned and experience-shaped strategies to reduce plastic mulch waste generation. At the end of each session, samples of materials (e.g., soil-biodegradable mulch, mulch made with recycled resin) will be circulated and questions will be asked from the audience. The moderator will also poll the audience to promote engagement and to gather information about shared experiences related to sustainable mulch management. This information will be leveraged to discuss and design participant-tailored recommendations for sustainable end-of-life mulch management within their regions and communities at the end of the workshop. 
Moderators: Lisa W. DeVetter and Carol Miles

Session 1: Identifying the Problem and Possible Solutions (40 minutes total)
Speakers:

• Lisa DeVetter / Washington State University / Associate Professor of Horticulture
• Carol Miles / Washington State University / Professor of Horticulture
• Gene Jones / Southern Waste Information eXchange/ CEO

Session 2: Lessons learned from Industry (40 min total)
Speakers:

• Shuresh Ghimire/ Vegetable Assistant Extension Educator / University of Connecticut
  Ben Andros / Andros Engineering Cooperation / President
  Hillary Thomas / Naturipe Berry Growers, Inc. / Research and Technical Director  

Session 3: Socioeconomic Considerations and Future Prospects (40 min total)
Speakers:

• Jessica Goldberger / Washington State University / Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences
• Sam Wortman / Associate Professor and Environmental Horticulturist / University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Pierre Sarazin / Polyexpert / Vice President of R&D and Sustainability

Strategies for negotiating and accepting an offer.

Moderator: Julie Campbell

Learn how to make your CV, resume, and cover letter shine! The session will start with a presentation of important things to remember when crafting your CV, resume, and cover letter.
In-person reviews will be conducted after the presentation so bring your CV, resume, and cover letter.

Growth Chambers and Controlled Environments

This session will be focused on integrated pest and pathogen management within controlled environment agriculture setting.

Speakers:

• Samantha Wilden, Cornell University
• Arash Kheroiding, Texas A&M AgriLife
• Krishna Bhattarai, Texas A&M AgriLife
• Erich Schoeller, University of Georgia
• Ruchika Kashyap, University of Georgia
• Andrew Ogden, University of Georgia

All students and early career professionals are invited to a reception/mixer. This is a chance to meet and learn from each other