Jessica G. Davis
Department Head
Professor
USC 4th floor
970-491-1525
jessica.davis@colostate.edu
As department head, I am responsible for all strategic, operational, financial and human resource activities of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (HLA), as well as serving as a contributing member of the leadership team for the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Research Interests:
My research focuses on development of fertilizers and soil fertility management approaches that optimize plant and human nutrition while protecting environmental quality. Nitrogen fertilizer is estimated to contribute about two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions attributed to crop production. But without fertilizers, crop yields would be halved, a loss that humanity cannot afford. Therefore, we have been working towards development of fertilizers that can be produced locally, moving towards a truly local agriculture and avoidance of fossil fuel usage during shipping. Current research is focused on tree fruit and vegetable production systems.
Courses I Teach:
I am currently revising AGRI 192/292 and conducting a series of tours for our new undergraduate students to get to know the People and Places of HLA.
I coordinate HORT 792 Graduate Seminar.
In addition, I am the Coordinator of the Peace Corps Masters International Program for the College of Agricultural Sciences. This Master of Agriculture degree program combines coursework with 2 years in the Peace Corps to provide students with applied international experience while pursuing a graduate degree.
Extension and Outreach:
The HLA department has a diverse group of stakeholders. I am developing a Stakeholder Advisory Team with whom I will meet regularly in order to guide our teaching, research, and outreach activities.
Selected Publications:
Gray, J.L., T. Borch, E.T. Furlong, J.G. Davis, T.J. Yager, Y. Yang, and D.W. Kolpin. 2017. Rainfall runoff of anthropogenic waste indicators from agricultural fields applied with municipal biosolids. Science of the Total Environment 580: 83-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.2016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.033.
Mikha, M.M., D.P. Widiastuti, T.T. Hurisso, J.E. Brummer, and J.G. Davis. 2017. Influence of composted dairy manure and perennial forage on soil carbon and nitrogen fractions during transition into organic management. Agriculture 7: 37. doi:10.3390/agriculture7050037.
Barminski, R., H. Storteboom, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Development and evaluation of an organically-certifiable growth medium for cyanobacteria. Journal of Applied Phycology. DOI 10.1007/s10811-016-0819-2.
Toonsiri, P., S.J. Del Grosso, A. Sukor, and J.G. Davis. 2016. Greenhouse gas emissions from solid and liquid organic fertilizers applied to lettuce. Journal of Environmental Quality. 45:1812. Doi:10.2134/jeq2015.12.0623.
Tsekeke, A., T. Degefu, E. Wolde-Meskel, and J. Davis. 2016. The effect of pond depth and lining plastic color on nitrogen fixing capacity of cyanobacteria, Anabaena strain E3. African Journal of Biotechnology 15: 1442-1451. DOI: 10.5897/AJB2015.15173.