I am interested in sustainable agriculture and pest management on horticultural crops. My dissertation project aims to develop solutions for the rotation dilemma inherent to high intensity production systems, focusing on high tunnel vegetables.

High tunnels are structures analogous to a simple greenhouse, but crops are transplanted directly into field soil rather than containers with sterilized potting media. Due to its high value, tomato is cultivated in these environments as a monoculture without rotation. Although this is economically advantageous in the near-term, the practice greatly increases the risk of soil-borne diseases over time.

I am testing strategies to mitigate this trade-off, focusing on the integration of non-crop diversity (i.e., companion planting) and grafting tomato to wild rootstock. I will be measuring tomato yield, resistance to insect pests, and the soil microbiome. This work is funded by USDA and conducted in collaboration with Greg Caporaso at NAU.