Highlights from the 2006 Annual Meeting

AWARDS CEREMONY
Marriott Tampa Westshore Hotel, June 4, 2006, 5:00 PM

AGENDA
Chairman George Hochmuth, assisted by President Jackie Burns, Secretary Jeff Brecht and Program Coordinator Steve Sargent

 

I.          STUDENT BEST PAPER AWARD WINNERS (at the 2006 annual meetings):

First Place ($300): Christine Worthington. Yield and Quality of ‘Atlantic’ and ‘Harley Blackwell’ as a Result of Multiple Planting Dates, Nitrogen Rates and Accumulated Growing Degree Days in Northeast Florida. Christine M. Worthington* and Chad M. Hutchinson, University of Florida, Dept. of Horticultural Sci., Gainesville, Florida

Second Place ($200): Sarah Smith. The Effect of Time after Harvest on Stem Scar Water Infiltration in Tomato. Sarah M. Smith*, J.W. Scott and J.A. Bartz, University of Florida IFAS

Third Place ($100): Betty Brew. Determination of Optimum Storage Conditions for ‘Baby’ Summer Squah Fruit Cucubita pepo.  B. S. Brew*, A. D. Berry, and S. A. Sargent, Horticultural Sci. Dept., UF/IFAS

 

II.        BEST PAPER AWARDS (Proc. Florida State Horticultural Society Volume 118)

Awarded for the best and most meritorious paper as printed in the previous year’s Proceedings from its respective section.

• Citrus Section:  Carl C.Childers and Michael E. Rogers.  For their paper, “Chemical control and management approaches of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citru Kuwayama (Homoptera: Psyllidae) in Florida citrus.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:49-53.  (Medal, printed certificate and $200 check)
• Handling and Processing Section:  Jan A. Narciso.  For her paper, “An assessment of methods to clean citrus fruit surfaces.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:437-440.  (Medal, printed certificate and $200 check)
• Krome Memorial Section:  Cecile T. Olano, Raymond J. Schnell, Wilber E. Quintanilla, and Richard J. Campbell.  For their paper, “Pedigree analysis of Florida mango cultivars.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:192-197.  (Medal, printed certificate and $200 check)
• Ornamental, Garden & Landscape Section:  Robert H. Stamps, Diane K. Rock, and Annette L. Chandler.  For their paper, “Vase life comparison of ornamental asparagus species and cultivars.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:365-367. (Medal, printed certificate and $200 check)
• Vegetable Section:  Christine M. Worthington and Chad M. Hutchinson.  For their paper, “Accumulated growing degree days as a model to determine key developmental stages and evaluate yield and quality of potato in northeast Florida.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:98-101.  (Medal, printed certificate and $200 check) 

 

III.       CROSS-SECTIONAL BEST PAPER AWARDS

President’s Industry Award.

Awarded for the single best paper given at the 2005 Florida State Horticultural Society Annual Meeting by an industry author. (Plaque)

Kenneth D. Shuler, Stephen J. Nie, Deanna V. Shuler, and Pei-Ann N. Shuler.  For their paper, “Growing and marketing cilantro and Italian parsley at local green markets in southeast Florida.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:330-341.

Council Memorial Tomato Research Award.

Awarded for the work with the most potential to further the fresh market tomato industry in Florida through advances reported in any single publication in any scientific or technical form published during the two previous calendar years. (Printed certificate and $200 check)

James P. Gilreath, Myriam N. Siham, and Bielinski M. Santos.  For their paper, “Nutsedge (Cyperus spp.) control and methyl bromide retention with different mulches.”  Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 118:160-162 (2005).

 

IV.       MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARDS

Presidential Gold Medal Award, Krome Memorial Section.

Awarded to the person having contributed most to Florida horticulture through work published in the Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society over the preceding six-year period in the Krome Memorial Section. (Medal, printed certificate and $500 check)

Dr. Richard J. Campbell, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, FL.  

 

V.        HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

Robert J. Knight, Jr. 

Dr. Robert J. (Bob) Knight, Jr. (Bob) was born in Clearwater, Florida.  Both of his parents were Florida natives.  One grandfather was a nurseryman, the other a citrus grower.  He attended the University of Florida (B.S. Ag. 1951) and the University of Virginia (Charlottesville -- Ph.D. Biology 1958).  

From 1958-1961, Bob was employed by the Agricultural Research Service, USDA at Beltsville, MD breeding blueberries and bramble crops.  From 1962-1994 he was a Research Horticulturist with ARS at the U.S. Plant Introduction Station on Old Cutler Road, Miami. 

Bob was President of the Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in 1971.

Since 1994 Bob has been a Courtesy Professor at IFAS/TREC, University of Florida at Homestead.

While with USDA Bob evaluated tropical fruit crops and went on plant exploration trips to southeast Asia, South and Central America and Mexico, and Egypt.  One of his mango selections, 19-50 ('Winters') has been used in Brazil to breed cultivars recently introduced.  He brought carambola seed from Malaysia that gave rise to the 'Arkin' cultivar, and brought back scionwood of Thai mango cultivars new to this part of the world.  He bred and introduced Passiflora cultivars 'Incense' and 'Byron Beauty', and at Homestead has demonstrated that autumn-bearing red raspberries can be cultivated as a winter crop in south Florida as strawberries are grown here .

A member of FSHS since 19XX, Bob was Vice President of the Krome Memorial Section in 1967, and served on many nominating committees and Best Paper committees over the years.  He received the Outstanding Paper Award in the Krome Memorial section in 1975 (Volume 87) for his paper, "The potential of cold tolerant avocado introductions in breeding for enhanced winter hardiness."

Other papers covered in the Proceedings (and listed in indexes) covered fruit trees useful in Florida's dooryard plantings, self-incompatibility in passion fruit, sapodilla and carambola, evaluation of mango, longan and lychee introductions, south Florida's potential for research in tropical horticulture and allied studies, and the history of tropical fruits under trial in Florida during the Society's first 100 years.  He discovered that 'Golden Star' carambola overcomes self-incompatibility and will fruit from self-pollination, and also found that 'Golden Star' and its seedlings have a greater tolerance of south Florida's alkaline soils than do cultivars recently imported from southeastern Asia.

Daniel J. Cantliffe. 

Dr. Daniel J. (Dan) Cantliffe was born in New Jersey and got his B.S. in Horticulture from Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, PA in 1965.  He earned his M.Sc. Horticulture in 1967 and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology in 1971, both from Purdue University, Lafayette, IN.

Dan has been a member of FSHS since coming to Florida in 1974.  He was Vice President of the Vegetable Crops Section and Member of the Executive Committee from 1984-85.  He was the President of the Society from 1991-92 and Chairman of the Executive Committee from 1992-93.  Dan has also served FSHS in a number of other capacities. 

Dan has published 60 articles in the Proceedings, the first publication in 1975, and he has published in the Proceedings continuously over his 32-year career in Florida.  His papers have won the Best Paper Award in the Vegetable Section six times and he won the Best Paper Award in the Garden and Landscape Section in 2005.

Dan has been very active in the Society with regard to bringing students to the meetings and attending meetings.  Many of Dan's students have won Best Student Paper Awards at the Annual Meetings.

Dan has made a major contribution to Florida horticulture.  His career has been at the University of Florida, Horticultural Sciences Department, since he joined as assistant professor in 1974.  He rapidly rose through the ranks to Associate Professor in 1976 and Professor in 1981.  He started as Chairman of the Vegetable Crops Department in 1985.  In 1992 when the former Fruit Crops Department and Vegetable Crops Department were combined into the Horticultural Sciences Department, he was named Chair and continues in this capacity to today. 

In 2005, Dan was awarded a University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship and was named IFAS International Scholar.  He has been the advising Chair for 50 graduate students and has been a member of an additional 25 supervisory comittees.  Dan has had nearly 30 visiting faculty and post-docs work in his lab at UF.

With nearly 700 manuscripts to his CV, Dan has been an advisor for industry, the scientific community, and other research universities world wide.  He currently is a member of 12 professional organizations, and has received more than 40 awards and honors.