DATE: May 08, 2008

CONTACT: Gregory L. Reighard, (864) 656-4962
grghrd@clemson.edu

WRITER: Peter Kent, (864) 650-7899
pkent@clemson.edu

Top Clemson ag-research award goes to peach tree expert

CLEMSON — Fruit tree expert Gregory L. Reighard has received Clemson University's highest agricultural honor: the Godley-Snell Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research.

The 2008 recipient is a professor in the horticulture department and internationally recognized peach tree scientist. Reighard’s research has helped South Carolina become the No. 2 peach producer in the nation. His work on developing disease-resistant peach tree rootstock has improved the quality of fruit production and helped to make Clemson a leader in peach tree research worldwide.

“Dr. Reighard is one of a handful of world authorities on peach culture and commercial production,” said Ted Whitwell, chairman of the horticulture department. “His research program in peach rootstock improvement was instrumental in the development of the Guardian rootstock, which is the standard peach rootstock used for grafting throughout the Southeast, and is being evaluated throughout the U.S. and Canada. His efforts will continue to have an impact on the future and profitability of the peach industry in South Carolina.”

Reighard is the 22nd faculty member recognized for agricultural research excellence and for making outstanding contributions toward improving the lives of South Carolinians. Along with the distinction comes a $4,311 award.

Reighard’s research with USDA scientists led to the first new and improved rootstock in the Southeast in more than 100 years. The rootstock trademarked Guardian is now the most widely planted rootstock in South Carolina.

Before Guardian was released in 1994, approximately 100,000 peach trees died annually in the Southeast, costing growers about $8 million yearly. Experts estimate that the increased tree survival and productivity from the Guardian rootstock is worth upwards of $4 million a year for Southeastern peach growers.

Southeastern peach sales run as much as $75 million annually. The 20 commercial packers in South Carolina and Georgia, along with fewer than 100 smaller peach operations, comprise the bulk of the regional market. California is the nation's top peach grower.

Reighard also has been involved in setting up a program to bring peach growers once or twice a year to Clemson to see current research and meet with university leaders, faculty and staff. This has aided communication between the university and the industry.

“This work is a clear example of the tremendous positive economic impact Dr. Reighard’s program has had, and will continue to have, on the peach industry and the college,” Vance Baird, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics in the horticulture department wrote in his letter nominating Reighard.

With a doctorate from Michigan State University, Reighard was hired by Clemson in 1985 to a research-extension appointment focusing on tree fruit crops. He worked at the Sandhill Research and Education Center for nine years before moving to the main campus in 1994.

Reighard has an impressive record of research funding, receiving $8.9 million for team research projects with $3.5 million going directly to his program. He has made nearly 300 presentations at professional meetings in the United States and 22 foreign countries. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings, 49 research reports, more than100 extension articles and 145 published abstracts. He has served as major adviser for 16 graduate students and supervisor for seven post-doctoral and visiting scholars.

“Greg is strongly committed to ensuring that his research students, post docs and technicians are given the best opportunity to develop lasting careers in fruit tree research," said Bert Abbott, interim chairman of the genetics and biochemistry department and Coker Chair of Plant Molecular Biology. "He is dedicated to his people and works tirelessly toward their successes. It is not one’s own individual accomplishments that are distinguishing but the accomplishments of those you have helped to develop careers. It is their successes that speak to the excellence of their mentor. Greg is an excellent mentor.”

The Godley-Snell Award is named in honor of the late W. Cecil Godley, former director of the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, and Absalom W. Snell, former associate director. Godley established the award in 1986. The award was increased in 1988, when Snell retired.

It is the largest annual agricultural research award given at the university and is allocated from earnings of a fund that was first established upon Godley’s retirement in 1986. The purpose of the fund is to stimulate excellence in agricultural research by making a personal award to faculty members involved in research through the Experiment Station.