Clemson pomology professor speaks at international fruit conference

Published: October 29, 2012

Clemson professor Desmond Layne speaks at Braziian Congress of Fruit. image by:

CLEMSON — Clemson University pomology professor and fruit crop researcher Desmond R. Layne recently was invited to speak at the 22nd Annual Brazilian Congress of Fruit and at Brazil’s national government agricultural research service.

Layne, who works in Clemson’s School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences (SAFES), presented insights into the effectiveness of using simple greenhouses or high tunnels to cultivate fruit, a process known as protected fruit cultivation, and commented on innovations in protected fruit cultivation in China and the U.S.

Layne then was invited to Pelotas in southern Brazil to brief researchers at EMBRAPA, Brazil’s national government agricultural research service, about the global, U.S. and South Carolina peach industries and highlighted Clemson’s research efforts in the areas of Guardian rootstock, peach genome mapping, dormancy regulation and brown rot and Armillaria root rot management.  

Layne also spoke about his peach germplasm evaluation program for the southeast United States and his recent innovations in communicating with peach farmers using his extension website, “Everything About Peaches,” and social media outlets.

As a Clemson Extension peach specialist and leader of the state horticulture program team, Layne is an expert resource for South Carolina farmers and county Extension agents who have questions about peaches and other fruit crops.

The Brazilian Congress of Fruit is a leading international forum for the exchange of research and technology in tropical, temperate and native fruits from the Brazilian Amazon and other parts of the country. It was attended by approximately 1,500 fruit industry leaders, researchers and government and extension agency representatives.

Researchers at Embrapa investigate new sustainable uses for agrobiodiversity; land use for agricultural expansion; rehabilitation of degraded areas; bioenergy production; and new inputs for agriculture, food security, aggregation of value to products and the development of new technologies.

Layne, who is known as “The Peach Doctor,” recently has engaged in international outreach, including time as a USAID International Trainer in peach orchard management in the Republic of Georgia, and won numerous awards for research, extension and outreach communication in peaches and pomology.

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