Dr. James W. Olmstead

Office:	2211 Fifield Hall
Phone:	352-273-4837
E-mail:	jwolmstead@ufl.edu
For more information, visit Dr. Olmstead's website.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Research

• Blueberry breeding and genetics
• Application of molecular techniques to improve breeding efficiency

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Plant Breeding and Genetics, Michigan State University (2005)
• M.S., Horticulture, Washington State University (1999)
• B.S., Horticulture, Washington State University (1997)

Teaching Responsibilities

• HOS 6236 – Molecular Marker-Assisted Plant Breeding
• PCB 5065 – Advanced Genetics

Work and International Experiences

• Assistant Professor, Blueberry Breeding & Genetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, (2009-current)
• Yakima County (WA) Extension, Area Extension Educator, Washington State University, Yakima, WA, (2007-2009)
• Post-doctoral Research Associate, Sweet Cherry Breeding, Washington State University, Prosser, WA, (2006-2007)

Program Personnel 

• Dr. Paul Lyrene, Professor Emeritus
• David Norden, Research Coordinator I
• Werner Collante, Laboratory Manager
• Dr. Rachel Itle, Postdoctoral Research Associate
• Sara Taber, Postdoctoral Research Associate
• Kendra Blaker, Ph.D. Candidate
• Hilda Patricia Rodriguez-Armenta, Ph.D. Student
• Gerardo Nunez, Ph.D. Candidate
• Jessica Gilbert, Ph.D. Student

Selected Publications 

• Volk, G.M., C.E. Finn, J.W. Olmstead, and J. Janick.  2013.  The outstanding fruit cultivar award: A 25 year retrospective.  HortScience 48:4-12.
• Du, X., J. Olmstead, and R. Rouseff. 2012. Comparison of fast gas chromatography - surface acoustic wave (FGC-SAW) detection and GC-MS for characterizing blueberry cultivars and maturity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60:5099-5106.
• Lyrene, P.M.and J.W. Olmstead.  2012.  The use of inter-sectional hybrids in blueberry breeding. International Journal of Fruit Science 12:269-275.
• McCallum, S., M. Woodhead, L. Jorgensen, S. Gordon, R. Brennan, J. Graham, C.A. Hackett, L.J. Rowland, D.J. Bell, J.F. Hancock, J.W. Olmstead, and N.V. Bassil.  2012.  Developing tools for long term breeding of blueberry germplasm for UK production.  International Journal of Fruit Science 12:294-303.
• Olmstead, J.W. 2012. New Blueberry Varieties Taking Flight. Florida Grower 105(10):4-5.
• Rowland, L.J., N. Alkharouf, N.V. Bassil, L. Beers, D.J. Bell, E.J. Buck, F.A. Drummond, C.E. Finn, J. Graham, J.F. Hancock, S. McCallum, and J.W. Olmstead.  2012.  Generating genomic tools for blueberry improvement.  International Journal of Fruit Science 12:276-287.
• Williamson, J. and J. Olmstead. 2012. Update on Different Blueberry Cultivars for Diversifying Crops. The Blueberry News 1(4):20-22.
• Williamson, J.G., J.W. Olmstead, and P.M. Lyrene.  2012.  Florida’s commercial blueberry industry. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ac031.
• Williamson, J.G., J.W. Olmstead, and P.M. Lyrene.  2012.  Reproductive growth and development of blueberry.  http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs220.
• Williamson, J.G., P.M. Lyrene, and J.W. Olmstead.  2012.  Blueberry gardener’s guide. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg359.
• Williamson, J.G., P.M. Lyrene, and J.W. Olmstead.  2012.  Protecting blueberries from freezes in Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs216.
• Williamson, J., J.W. Olmstead, and R.L. Darnell. 2012. Bright Idea for Bolstering Your Berry Crop.  Florida Grower 105(10):6-7.Du, X., A. Plotto, M. Song, J. Olmstead, and R. Rouseff.  2011.  Volatile composition of four southern highbush blueberry cultivars and effect of growing location and harvest dates.  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 59:8347-8357.Olmstead, J.  2011.  Banking on Berries With Bite.  Florida Grower 104(10):32-33.
• Olmstead, J. and J. Williamson.  2011.  Don’t Hedge Your Bets.  Florida Grower 104(10):28-29.
• Olmstead, J.W., M.D. Whiting, A.M.Sebolt, and A.F. Iezzoni.  2011.  Selecting and fingerprinting the next generation of size-controlling rootstocks for sweet cherry.  Acta Horticulturae 903:235-240.
• Olmstead, J.W., M.D. Whiting, G.A. Lang, D. Ophardt, and N.C. Oraguzie.  2011.  ‘PC7064-3’ (Selah^TM) sweet cherry.  HortScience 46:123-124.
• Olmstead, J.W., M.D. Whiting, G.A. Lang, D. Ophardt, and N.C. Oraguzie.  2011.  ‘PC7146-8’ (Benton^TM) sweet cherry.  HortScience 46:121-122.
• Haldar, S., S. Haendiges, D.A. Edge-Garza, N.C. Oraguzie, J. Olmstead, and C.P. Peace.  2010.  Applying genetic markers for self-compatibility in the WSU sweet cherry breeding program.  Acta Horticulturae 859:375-380.
• Olmstead, J.W., J.G. Williamson, S.A. Sargent, A.D. Berry, and K.M. Blaker.  2010.  Mechanical Harvesting Research for Fresh Packed Florida Blueberries.  The Blueberry News Winter 2010.
• Williamson, J. and J. Olmstead.  2010.  Blueberry Report: Counting on Cultivars.  Florida Grower 103(10):6-8.
• Zhang, G., A.M. Sebolt, S.S. Sooriyapathirana, D. Wang, M.C.A.M. Bink, J.W. Olmstead, and A.F. Iezzoni.  2010.  Fruit size QTL analysis of an F₁population derived from a cross between a domesticated sweet cherry cultivar and a wild forest sweet cherry Tree Genetics and Genomes 6:25-36.