2020 Watermelon Field Evaluations

 We just finished our watermelon field evaluation for summer 2020. Due to Covid we did not have as many field plots as usual, at least we got something out of this season. Thanks for everybody's help with planting, trailing and harvesting.

Congratualtions Winnie!

Congratulations to Winnie for completing her Ph.D! She did an excellent job and we wish her all the best for the future. May all your dreams come true!

Informal (covid) Graduation Ceremony

At last - Field plots 2020!

Due to covid all our field trials were delayed and we scaled down our summer field plots significantly. But al last we were able to transplant some watermelon this week! As you can see we are all staying safe in the field!

Winnie Gimode (PhD student) is very excited that this will be her last watermelon field transplanting. She will be graduating in August.

And here is Sammy Josiah (PhD student) planting his first field experiment.

Reading suggestions during shutdown

If you are looking for something to read during the shutdown here are two great books for those interested in Plant Breeding and Genetics

Hybrid: The History and Science of Plant Breeding by Noel Kingsbury

She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer

Filling Pots is Fun!

The Greenhouse Team makes filling pots look like a lot of fun! Thanks for all your hard work keeping the greenhouses in top shape.

From left to right: Erin Gantt, Jarrod Smith, Jesse Kuzy, Ingrid Brindle and Jared Gilstrap.

Deciphering gummy stem blight : Team Effort!!!

Time for just one more screen before the year ends! We sowed seeds for our next big GSB screen in the greenhouse!

Dr McGregor co-authors publication on Fruit Shape and Size of Cucurbits

The paper Genetic Architecture of Fruit Size and Shape Variation in Cucurbits: a Comparative Perspective was just published in Theoretical And Applied Genetics

The joys of Pollination

One of the things we do every week is to pollinate watermelon flowers in our green house, and to enjoy the view of these flowers.

Plant Center Retreat in Helen, GA

McGregor Lab participated in the 2019 UGA Plant Center Retreat held in Helen, GA. Little Benjamin was not left out in the poster presentations!!!

PostDoctoral Position available

The Vegetable Breeding, Genetics and Genomics lab searches for an energetic and creative postdoc. The applicant will participate in cucurbit breeding and genetics for resistance to whitefly and whitefly transmitted diseases as part of a team in the southeastern USA. The applicant will work on identifying sources of resistance, resistance loci and genes, doing functional analysis of genes, and introgression of resistance into elite material. The candidate will work in collaboration with molecular biologists, plant pathologists, entomologists and extension faculty.

The position will start on 1 Oct 2019, but a later start is negotiable. We provide competitive salary, and benefits. Screening of applicants will begin immediately and applications will be considered until position is filled. Interested parties should submit their application at UGA Jobs (https://www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/106233), including a curriculum vitae (CV), a cover letter, statement of how your research interests are related to the interests of the lab, and contact information for 3 references.

UPDATE: This position has been filled.

Precious Cargo

We are currently working hard to identify squash resistant to whitefly transmitted viruses.

Potential resistant genotype (left) vs  susceptible genotype (right).

Transporting our precious leaf samples back to the lab.

UGA CAES part of extensive research study aimed at whitefly management

The McGregor Lab is part of a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fight whiteflies on vegetable crops.

Another successful watermelon season!

Over the summer everybody in the lab worked hard in the watermelon fields. And of course we ate a lot of delicious watermelon!

Mathew Li Wins First Place in Young Scholar Oral Presentation Competition!

Over this summer our lab had the pleasure of hosting Stevenson High School student Mathew Li through the UGA CAES Young Scholar program. Mathew worked with one of our graduate students on determining the sporulation rates of various isolates of Stagonosporopsis fungi so that they can be used for phenotyping watermelon lines for resistance to gummy stem blight. Mathew’s work helped to identify 8 isolates with sufficient spore production for making GSB inoculum, as well as determining which species of Stagonosporopsis each of the isolates belonged to. Mathew took first place in the Athens division of the Young Scholar oral presentation competition, continuing the McGregor lab's tradition of victory in the Young Scholar program. We look forward to seeing great things from Matt and hope that he chooses UGA to continue his educational journey.

Derrick Ousley - REEU fellow

This summer our lab hosted Derrick Ousley as part of the Crop Genetic and Genomics REEU program. Jorge Reyes mentored Derrick in his research project. Today Derrick presented his poster  entitled "Developing Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) Assays for Gummy Stem Blight Pathogen Detection in Watermelon" at the REU/REEU Summer Research Poster Forum. It was a pleasure having Derrick with us this summer and we wish him all the best as he continues his undergraduate education.

Jorge Reyes (mentor) and Derrick Ousley

Field Day

The lab participated in the The Twilight Summer Field Day onThursday, June 27 to highlight fruit and vegetable research at the Durham Horticulture Farm on Hog Mountain Rd.

From Left to right: Sammy Manthi, Lincoln Adams, Jorge Reyes and Jesse Kuzy

Harnessing Genomics for Disease Resistance in Cucumbers, Melons and Squashes

Read all about the CucCap project.

Baby Benjamin Gimode

Congratulations to Winnie and Davis on the birth of their son Benjamin Adili Gimode on May 17th 2019. 

Winnie shines in CAES Brodus Browne competition

Winnie Gimode was awarded the second place (Ph.D.) in the 2019 E. Broadus Browne Awards for Outstanding Graduate Research. The Broadus Browne awards are meant to encourage research creativity and effective communication among the more than 500 graduate students in the  UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The awards was presented at the 2019 Awards and Leadership Banquet on April 30th at the Georgia Center.

Dr. Allen Moore (CAES Associate Dean for Research), Winnie Gimode (2nd Ph.D.), Ruby Harrison (1st Ph.D.) and Dr. Josef Broder (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs).

Dr, Tim Smalley (Acting Dept Head - Horticulture), Winnie Gimode (2nd Ph.D), Will Hemphill (2nd M.S.), Mary Lewis (1st M.S), and Dr. Cecilia McGregor

Flourishing Greenhouse

The greenhouse is in full swing this spring! We have a multitude of watermelons ready to be harvested and some new additions this summer with the growth of green peppers!
Greenhouse workers and grad students have been constantly maintaining the greenhouse by pollinating and trailing the plants. As the watermelons grow, students bag them in order to maintain support on the vine until they are ready to be removed.