People

Dr. Mark Uchanski
Specialty Crops Program Coordinator

mark.uchanski@colostate.edu
Shepardson 211
970-491-4885

more info

Maria Chavez
Graduate Student (Ph.D.)

Maria is studying the insect ecology on organic dairy farms. Additionally she will explore alternative manure management practices that utilize insect biology in order to improve manure quality, reduce pest populations, and reduce runoff and infiltration into freshwater ecosystems.

Tyler Mason
Graduate Student (Ph.D.)

Tyler is taking on much of CSU’s participation in the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC), studying cultivars that perform particularly well in certified organic production systems.  He’s also doing work with organic weed management, focusing on organic herbicides.  Check out his work on Caprylic and Capric acids here.

Brian Mitchell
Graduate Student (Ph.D.)

After finishing his research on fruit load management in organic high tunnel tomato systems for his M.S., Brian is beginning a Ph.D. exploring hemp production in Colorado agroecosystems and cover cropping in vegetable systems.

Program Alumni

Andrea Stuemky
Graduate Student (M.S.)

Andrea researched the impact of different LED lighting treatments on hydroponic strawberries.

Check out this video summarizing her study.

Tabitha Covey
Graduate Student (M.S.)

Tabitha’s creating an inventory of irrigated crops and cropping systems throughout Colorado. Through interviewing farmers and cataloging research performed at CSU’s experiment stations she’s developing a tool to assist farmers in strategizing during times of drought or water restriction.

Tara Burns
Graduate Student (M.S.)

Tara researched LED lighting impacts on hydroponic greenhouse tomato production.

Check out this video summarizing her study.

Deborah Ray
Graduate Student (M.S.)

Deb is evaluating drought tolerance in cucurbit crops (squash and watermelons) to identify lower water use alternative cultivars for Colorado growers.