Annie Vogel
Assistant Professor, Fruit Extension Specialist
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Department of Plant Sciences
As the new Fruit Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), I am eager to get involved in the southeastern fruit industry. I joined UTK as an assistant professor on 1 Jan 2025. Through collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders, I hope to provide practical solutions to critical problems in fruit production. Focusing research efforts in areas that are critical to growers will guide my program. Providing resources and service to Tennessee stakeholders is my primary goal. My Extension program will encompass an attitude of service, with people and communities at the forefront of every action taken.
My background in fruit production began when I was a summer intern at a vineyard in west Georgia. I quickly fell in love with the daily practice of farming. The following semester I became an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Cain Hickey’s viticulture program at the University of Georgia, where I assisted in the maintenance of research projects across 11 north Georgia vineyards, growing bunch grapes and muscadines.
I graduated with a B.S. in Horticulture in 2018 and immediately began my M.S. studying wine grape production with Dr. Hickey. My master’s thesis explored leaf removal, a common canopy management practice, to determine the ideal timing and extent of leaf removal to improve or maintain fruit quality, yield, and disease management in southeastern vineyards. I also built a model to predict grape berry temperature using modified, self-contained data loggers to determine berry temperature in varying canopies. Each of these projects helped to further the understanding of the applicability of extensive leaf removal in the southeast and to increase the frequency of grower adoption of modified practices.
In 2021, I began my Ph.D. at North Carolina State University in Dr. Thomas Kon’s pomology program. As a program, we aimed to improve management practices in the production of apples, blackberries, and raspberries and to advance our understanding of plants’ physiological responses to various stimuli, with a special interest in plant growth regulators. My dissertation research focused on vegetative growth management of apple and the relationship between vegetative vigor and the systemic movement of a bacterial pathogen, Erwinia amylovora. Fire blight, caused by E. amylovora, is a devastating disease of apple and pear that causes significant economic losses in the US (estimated to exceed over $100 million annually). With high-density orchard systems, antibiotic resistance increasing in prevalence, and a push for stricter regulations, growers need additional management strategies to decrease reliance on antibiotics, improve pesticide efficacy, and slow disease progression. Using rootstocks, fertility regimens, and plant growth regulators we impacted vigor and disease symptom development in young orchards. This research will result in the development of new management strategies, especially during orchard establishment, that will be integrated into management recommendations for apple growers in the southeastern US.
My experience in bunch grape, muscadine, blackberry, and apple applied research and extension has positioned me well to address issues regarding fruit production systems in Tennessee. Through applied research, I have strived to contribute to the understanding of fruit physiology, improve management practices in fruit production, and communicate findings to the industry and public. I am eager to collaborate with extension professionals, industry members, and stakeholders in research and in development of resources. I look forward to what I will gain through interacting with growers and to what I will be able to give back to the community.