A new face in horticulture UGA welcomes Dr. Ping Yu to hort department

A new face in horticulture

UGA welcomes Dr. Ping Yu to horticulture department

Ping Yu joined the University of Georgia as an assistant professor and ornamental specialist on July 1, 2022.

She graduated from Texas A&M University in Summer 2021, and then joined University of Florida as a postdoc associate in Fall 2021. During her PhD program at Texas A&M University, she worked with an excellent ornamental specialist Dr. Mengmeng Gu and gained a lot of experience and skills on extension service. She studied using biochar as an alternative container substrate of peat moss for greenhouse crop production and disease suppression. At University of Florida, Ping worked with another wonderful researcher and extension specialist, Dr. Chris Marble, on exploring alternative ways for weed control management in container and landscapes for ornamental and nursery crops.

Extension experience

Ping has been actively involved in the Green Industry, presented her research at stakeholder-centered conferences such as Southern Region International Plant Propagators’ Society (SR-IPPS), Texas Plant Protection Association (TPPA) and National Floriculture Forum (NFF). Also, she has attended and volunteered for different industrial events, such as Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) tradeshow, American Floral Endowment (AFE), Texas nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) EXPO, Earth-Kind Landscape Management Short Course for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Services and AmericanHort Cultivate. Most recently, she attended the Wintergreen tradeshow organized by Georgia Green Industry Association (GGIA), where she was introduced to the Georgia industry and was impressed by Georgia’s vigorous green industry.

Plans to serve Georgia’s green industry

As a faculty member and an extension specialist in a land-grant institution, Ping’s goal is to make a significant contribution to the green industry and the society as a whole, striving to address pressing societal problems to positively impact the community. Therefore, she focuses on developing need-based and stakeholder-driven programs to address major clientele concerns, such as production problems, environmental conservation, labor shortage, and ecological issues. Ping enjoys working with different people, helping clients with their problems, and disseminating science-based information to the public.

She loves her position because it allows her to focus on horticultural research and serve the industry. Her priority is to accommodate all individuals by providing information through multiple platforms including face-to-face extension outreach to horticultural stakeholders and other media platforms for effective and efficient communication.

Ping will be working closely with the Georgia Urban Ag Council (UAC), the Georgia Green Industry Association (GGIA), the Center for Applied Nursery Research (CANR), and county agents throughout Georgia to provide support for the Winter-Green, county agents and all the growers in need. She plans to establish virtual education programs, coordinate applied research programs, and develop workshops, short courses, trainings, and certificate programs based on clientele needs. Ping’s ultimate goal in this position is to provide service that’s in need and in time for the Georgia green industry.