Professor and Associate Chair
Undergraduate Coordinator
Areas of Research
- Woody plant physiology
- Nitrogen/iron uptake and assimilation
Educational Background
- Ph.D., Plant Physiology, University of California, Davis (1986)
- M.S., Horticulture, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (1982)
- B.S., Horticulture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (1980)
Teaching Responsibilities
- HOS 4304 – Horticultural Physiology
- HOS 4341 – Advanced Horticultural Physiology
- HOS 4933 – Professional Development
- FRC 1010 - Growing Fruit for Fun and Profit
Honors and Awards
- Fellow, American Society for Horticultural Science, 2011
- North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teacher Fellow, 2006.
- Teacher of the Year, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2005.
Program Personnel
- Carol Hamilton, Biological Scientist
- Gerardo Nunez, Ph.D. Student
- Al Kovaleski, M.S. Student
- Bruno Casamali, M.S. Student
Selected Publications
- Darnell, R.L. and N. Cruz-Huerta. 2011. Nitrate and iron uptake and assimilation in cultivated and wild Vaccinium species. Inter. J. Fruit Sci. 11:136-150.
- Cruz-Huerta, N., J. G. Williamson, and R. L. Darnell. 2011. Low night temperature increases ovary size in sweet pepper cultivars. HortScience 46:396-401.
- Allen, J., P. Bisbee, R. L. Darnell, A. Kuang, L. Levine, M.E. Musgrave, J. Van Loon. 2009. Gravity control of growth form in Brassica rapa L. and Arabidopsis thaliana L.: consequences for secondary metabolism. Amer. J. Bot. 96:652-660.
