The blueberry breeding program of the University of Georgia was established in 1944 at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia, currently known as the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. Establishing the public breeding program was in response to the failed commercialization venture in Florida, which was undermined by the poor and variable fruit quality from wild plant stock in early 1900’s.
Big congratulations to our graduate students on their recent award wins! Your hard work, passion for discovery, and commitment to excellence set a high standard for our academic community.
- Matthew Bauer won first place in the Oral Competition (Insect Conference) at the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conference.
- Rachel Hill won third place in the Oral Competition (Improvement Conference) at the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conference.
- Bukhtaawer Talat won first place in the Poster Competition at the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conference.
- Sindoora Nalajala was awarded first place in the Graduates and Postdocs Poster Session at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. The title of the poster: Polyploidy induction of triploid interspecific hybrids in blueberries.
We're proud of our awesome graduate students and want to recognize their excellence!
The Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics has a vibrant graduate program that offers both a Master's degree and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics.
Wayne Parrott, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of crop and soil sciences, director of the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics and interim director of the Center for Applied Genetic Technologies in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, along with Olin Rhodes (UGA Athletic Association Professor of Applied Ecology in the Odum School of Ecology and director of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory) have been named University Professor in recognition of their extraordinary impact on the University of Georgia.
In addition to teaching for almost 40 years in the department of crop and soil sciences, Parrott has played an instrumental role in shaping UGA’s study abroad programs. In the mid 1990s, he co-founded one of the university’s earliest study abroad programs, Agroecology of Tropical America. Parrott later served as chair of the risk management board for all UGA study abroad programs, helping the university establish core risk management protocols. He received the Study Abroad Director of the Year Award and Richard Reiff Award for Campus Internationalization in recognition of his enduring impact on UGA’s global initiatives.
University of Georgia professor and IPBGG member, John Ruter (along with Yajun Yan of the UGA College of Engineering) have been elected Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, bringing UGA’s total to 19 faculty members who have received this honor since 2012. It is the seventh consecutive year the university has had faculty elected.
IPBGG members David and Soraya Bertioli are internationally recognized pioneers in peanut genetics, whose groundbreaking work has reshaped the future of agriculture.
Originally from Brazil, the couple moved to Georgia in 2013 to establish the Wild Peanut Lab, a hub of innovation dedicated to unlocking the genetic secrets of wild peanut species. Their expertise was instrumental in a major genome mapping project, where they traced the lineage of a disease-resistant wild peanut—collected in 1934 in Bolivia—through 251 cultivated varieties across 29 countries. Their work not only bridges continents and centuries but also holds the key to more resilient, sustainable peanut crops worldwide.