Lorenzo Rossi understands the support system necessary to sustain a prize crop and explore other prospects.
University of Florida officials recognized Rossi’s precision planning and innovational research initiatives to confront the most serious citrus disease worldwide and advance alternative crops into diversification models with a promotion. Citrus greening, a disease that has impacted the crop in all the world’s production regions, is the highest priority in Rossi’s research laboratory at the University of Florida’s Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce. The center is part of UF’s statewide Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
Rossi’s promotion to associate professor this month reveals his robust research program, talents to empower graduate students, and to form international collaborative work teams.
Dr. Rossi achieved early tenure with rigorous pursuit,” said Mark Kistler, director of the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center and Rossi’s immediate supervisor. “Dr. Rossi understands our local growers’ needs and pursues solutions to keep them in business with relentless pursuit.”
Kistler points to Rossi’s ability to gain more than $2.5 million in national, state and commodity interest group funding to address the citrus industry’s needs and his efforts to explore new crops. As with UF/IFAS’s priority to assist growers who continue to produce the state’s signature crop, citrus, Rossi, and his team investigate, peach, pongamia, olives and coffee.
Over the last five years as an assistant professor, Rossi mentored three Ph.D. graduate students who secured and remain in prominent research positions with the United States Department of Agriculture and UF. In addition, two students completed master’s degrees, and are pursuing doctorates.
In his first year of research and teaching, Rossi developed the UF’s Horticultural Sciences Department’s first-ever online course.
Kistler said Rossi empowers his graduate students to perform at optimum levels, identifying plum opportunities and engaging them to publish in professional scientific journals as first authors. His laboratory associates were successful in publishing 25 peer-reviewed articles, most which bear his students’ names as first authors, in journals such as HortScience, Microorganisms, and Frontiers in Soil Science.
One of Rossi’s graduate students participated in an internship with a world-renowned tree ring expert in Zürich, Switzerland. Others completed work with national USDA research scientists. Due to $10,000 from an anonymous donor who sponsors Rossi’s graduate students, each is afforded travel grants to attend international, domestic, and state professional meetings for networking and academic development.
A native of Tuscany, Italy, Rossi’s youth, and early adulthood was immersed in the region’s ancient olive production operations. Rossi’s Ph.D. completed at Italy’s highly selective Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies involved the crop. Upon his arrival as a new assistant professor at the regional University of Florida research location, he was aware of the Florida citrus industry’s struggles, but he was up to the task.
“Florida is synonymous with citrus and scientists with UF/IFAS’s statewide service work tirelessly to help our growers produce high-quality fruit while citrus greening is present in all of our groves,” said Rossi.
A plant root biology professor, Rossi’s research and teaching address understudied aspects of horticultural sciences. Rossi points to a crop’s healthy soil and roots for better crop health. A second focus is on soil amendments, and a third, in edaphic systems, or how soils and roots interface with microorganisms.
Rossi’s mission involves the interface of soil and plant root health, especially crop yield.
“My approach is to focus on production because we don’t sell leaves; we sell fruit,” said Rossi. “Our team’s research and graduates must bear much fruit for our growers.”
1
