Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/481870
32 APRIL 1, 2015 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com experiments on plant growth regulators in Brazil. "Together with other research- ers I was also able to validate two apple thinning models developed in the United States, the Lakso-Robinson carbohydrate model and the Greene fruit growth model, in sub-temperate growing conditions." Outstanding Extension The IFTA's outstanding extension worker award went to Bill Craig, a tree fruit horticulturist who recently retired from his work with Nova Scotia fruit growers through the extension sys- tem there, called Perennia Food and Agriculture, Inc. Craig worked for AgraPoint before Perennia was created in 2012 as a new agency of the Canadian government. Craig's work is now being carried on T he International Fruit Tree Association named Charles Embree its 2015 Outstanding Researcher of the Year during its 58th annual conference held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in late February. Embree, recently retired, began work- ing as a tree fruit specialist with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture in 1963. In 1982, he moved to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to become a research scientist in tree fruit physiology. He was the reference coordinator for the United States North Central Regional Research-140 committee, which evalu- ates rootstocks, a member of the United States Germplasm Committee, and a member of the Northeast Plant Growth Regulator working group. The award was presented to Embree by Dr. Terence Robinson, the Cornell University horticulturist who was him- self inducted into the IFTA Hall of Fame during the meeting. He joins a select group of eight inducted since 2006. Outgoing IFTA president Phil Schwallier, a Michigan State University tree fruit edu- cator from Sparta, Michigan, presented the award to Robinson, who announced that in July he would begin a three-year sabbatical, during which he will do mission work for his church in northern Mexico. Robinson was born and raised there. Robinson has arranged to continue his two biggest projects—perfecting the tall spindle orchard design and apple thinning using the carbohydrate model— through two postdoctoral researchers, Drs. Poliana Francescatto and Jaume Lordan Sanahuja. Lordan Sanahuja is from the Spanish province of Catalonia, where he grew up on a farm and later earned his doctorate at the University of Barcelona. "I would like to continue research in physiology and orchard management, selecting the right rootstocks/cultivars and adapting their canopy management such as planting space, pruning, and cropload management techniques to get higher yields," Sanahuja told Good Fruit Grower. Francescatto grew up on a farm in Brazil. "Between 2010 and 2014 I did my PhD studies in a joint research pro- gram between Santa Catarina Federal University (Brazil), Epagri (Caçador Research Station, Brazil) and the Ohio State University sponsored by an inter- governmental scholarship," Francescatto told Good Fruit Grower. D u r i n g p o s t d o c t o r a l s t u d - ies, Francescatto conducted field IFTA presents annual awards at conference Lisa Jenereaux was also given an IFTA Grower of the Year award, presented by former president Steve Blizzard. Charles Embree (left) is outstanding researcher of the year. Bill Craig wins outstanding extension worker. Chris Duyvelshoff (left) presents the Grower of the Year award to John Eisses. IFTA award winners