Meet the Team

Theodore McAvoy

Dr. Ted McAvoy leads and manages the South Georgia Vegetables team at the University of Georgia. He is an Assistant Professor & Vegetable Production Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticulture.

Dr. McAvoy’s applied field research focuses on all aspects of vegetable production in Georgia. Areas of interest include variety performance, disease resistance, fertilizer, irrigation and alternative crops.

His extension goal is to serve the vegetable industry by disseminating relevant information and providing practical data driven recommendations that increase productivity, sustainability and profitability.

Connect with Dr. McAvoy: Email

Robert (Bob) Brooke

Research Professional

Hometown

• Sycamore, Georgia, USA

Academic Background

• Turner County High School -1986

Work Experience

• University of Georgia – Research Technician – (2022 – Present)
• University of Georgia– State Variety Testing – (2001-2021)
• International Forest Company – (1994-2000)
• Scotty Raines Farms – Cotton, Corn, Peanuts, Watermelon – (2003-2014)

Current Role

Bob is the best technician at the University of Georgia. He has extensive work and farming experience that are utilized to procure, operate and maintain equipment. His certifications include commercial driver and pesticide applicator licenses.  In addition, he plants, manages and harvests various vegetable crops.  He is responsible for designing research trials, implementing treatments, and collecting and entering data. Lastly, he maintains crop records for planting/harvest dates, as well as pesticide and fertilizer applications.

Connect with Bob Brooke: Email

Manisha Kumari

Post Doctoral Researcher

Hometown: Sikar, Rajasthan, India

Academic Background

• Ph.D. – Genetics & Plant Breeding, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, India – 2023
• M.Sc. – Genetics & Plant Breeding, Agriculture University, Jodhpur, India – 2019
• B.Sc. – Agriculture, Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat, India – 2017

Work Experience

• Assistant Professor (Genetics & Plant Breeding) – School of Agricultural Sciences, JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.

Current Project

Dr. Kumari is a postdoctoral research associate under Dr. Theodore McAvoy and she is currently focused on the dissemination of the research and production technology information of different vegetable crops in South Georgia through publishing different research articles and extension reports along with writing grant proposals. Additional responsibilities include maintaining the South Georgia Vegetable Lab Website and data analysis along with coordinating projects, ordering supplies, assisting students, providing data summaries/graphs for presentations, and presenting at regional and national meetings.

Connect with Manisha Kumari: Email

Nirmala Acharya

Ph.D. Student – Whitefly and Whitefly Transmitted Viruses in Vegetable Crops

Hometown: Pokhara, Nepal

Academic Background

• Ph.D. – Horticulture, University of Georgia (August 2022 – Present)
• MS – Agriculture (Horticulture), Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS), Tribhuvan University (TU), Kathmandu, Nepal – (2019-2021)
•  BS – Agriculture Sciences Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Chitwan, Nepal (2013-2018)

Work Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA (August 2022 -Present)
• Research Assistant, Nepal Development Research Institute (NDRI), Lalitpur, Nepal (Apr. 2021 – Oct. 2021)
• Agriculture Instructor: Shree Seti Devi Panchakanya Secondary School, Sindhupalchok, Nepal (Jul. 2018 – Mar. 2019)
• Agriculture Intern, Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project (PM-AMP), Bajura, Nepal (Dec. 2017 – Jun. 2018)

Current Project

Nirmala’s research project aims to manage whitefly and whitefly-transmitted viruses (WTVs) in cucurbit vegetable crops grown in South Georgia. In this project, she evaluates commercial varieties of yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, winter squash, pumpkin and watermelon for tolerance to whiteflies and WTVs. She is also studying the effects of whitefly and WTVs infestation on physiological attributes of cucurbit crops using LI-COR in open-field production systems. She is conducting qPCR and RT-qPCR to detect and quantify viruses in leaf samples collected from field experiments. She is also monitoring for novel viral symptoms in the field experiments to detect viruses yet to be identified in the region through next-generation sequencing.

Connect with Nirmala Acharya: Email

Hayley Milner

M.S. Student – Variable Rate Planting Densities for Vegetable Crops

Hometown: Tifton, Georgia, USA

Academic Background

• M.S. – Horticulture, University of Georgia (January 2023 – Present)
• B. Sc. – Biochemistry, Kennesaw State University- 2019

Work Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant, Horticulture – University of Georgia (2023 – present)
• Research Professional, Virology – University of Georgia (2019 – 2022)
• Undergraduate Research Assistant, Developmental Biology – Kennesaw State University (2016 – 2019)

Current Project

Hayley Milner is a Tifton native and an alumna of Kennesaw State University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry. Prior to her current role as a graduate student in the horticulture program with Dr. Ted McAvoy, she dedicated two years to virology research at UGA, working alongside Dr. Sudeep Bag. Her research now focuses on the impact of planting density on the yield characteristics of Georgia’s primary vegetable crops. Beyond the lab, Hayley is an enthusiast of patio gardening and vegetable fermentation, and cherishes quality time with her friends and family in the local area. 

Connect with Hayley Milner: Email

Elvis Pulici

M.S. Student – Fertilizer Research on Onions, Watermelons and Bell Pepper

Hometown: Jabotical, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Academic Background

• M.S. – Horticulture, University of Georgia (May 2023 – Present)
• Agronomic Engineer – Taquaritinguense Institute of Higher Education- ITES (Taquaritinga/ Brazil), Taquaritinga, Sao Paulo – 2017

• Business administration with an emphasis in agribusiness Sao Luis University, Sao Paulo – 2009

Work Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA (May 2023-Present)
• I9 AgroSciences Agricultural Research (Brazil) – Field Researcher – November 2022- June 2023
• Cutrale Citrus Juices USA – Farm Supervisor – November, 2019 – November, 2022
• University of Florida – Field and Laboratory Technician – March, 2019 – November 2019
• Bayer S/A (Brazil) – Agronomic trainee – September, 2017 – February, 2018
• NG Agro Consultancy and Fertilizers (Yara Brazil) – Technical Sales Representative – February, 2017 – August, 2017

Current Project

The overarching objectives of my research are to refine nitrogen management strategies for in our region bell pepper and sweet onions.  Specifically, we seek to identify the ideal liquid nitrogen source, rate and application frequency to optimize bell pepper and onion production in South Georgia under modern production techniques with varieties that are currently grown and fertilizers that are typically utilized in the region.  By providing the right amount of nitrogen and frequency of application farmers can achieve higher yields with reduced inputs leading to increased income. The benefit of this study is to stretch resources and improve production systems.

Connect with Elvis Pulici: Email

Emilio Suarez

M.S. Student – Biochar, Poultry Litter and Biofumigation

Hometown: Costa Rica

Academic Background

• M.S. – Horticulture, University of Georgia (January 2023-Present)
• B.Sc. – Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, EARTH University, Costa Rica (2014 -2017)

Work Experience

• Research Assistant at The University of Georgia, Tifton, GA (January 2023 – Present)
• Visiting Scholar at Purdue University, Horticulture & Landscape Architecture Department (July 2022 – December 2022)
• Career Break due to COVID-19 Pandemic (January 2021 – June 2022)
• Propagation Grower Trainee at Battlefield Farms, Rapidan, VA (November 2019 – December 2020)
• Propagation Junior Grower at Costa Farms, La Romana, Dominican Republic (March 2018 – August 2019)
• Greenhouse Intern at Orchard Africa (NGO), Cape Town, ZA (August – December 2016)

Current Project

One of our research projects aims to assess the effectiveness of biochar, a type of charcoal produced through pyrolysis, in improving soil health and crop productivity in tomatoes and sweet corn.

The main objective is to measure the impact of these treatments on soil health & fertility, plant growth development, and crop yield. By combining biochar with poultry litter, it is hypothesized that biochar will enhance nutrient retention, thereby reducing nutrient runoff. Additionally, biochar is expected to mitigate the adverse environmental effects associated with poultry litter alone.

Connect with Emilio Suarez: Email