Jonathan Oliver
Dr. Oliver is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia. He has a 70% research, 25% extension, and 5% service appointment. Dr. Oliver started in his current position at the University of Georgia in mid-2017 as an extension fruit pathologist at the Coastal Plains Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia. His responsibilities include research and extension activities focused on pathogen biology and disease management in fruit crops grown primarily in the southern part of Georgia, including blueberries, blackberries, citrus, and other emerging fruit crops. Dr. Oliver obtained a BS degree in Plant Pathology and Microbiology & Cell Science from the University of Florida in 2005, and a PhD in Plant Microbe Biology from Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY in 2011. In addition, he has also been postdoctoral researcher at Kansas State University and Auburn University. He currently serves as a Plant Pathology Section editor for the Southeast Regional Blueberry Integrated Management Guide, Commodity Editor for the Southeast Regional Caneberry Integrated Management Guide, and manager of the UGA Citrus Blog.
Jake Price
Mr. Price began his extension career in 1999 in Camden County where he focused on Horticultural and Green Industry Issues. In 2006 he transferred to Lowndes County and has led multiple programs to include the green industry, row crops and vegetables, and emerging crops such as citrus. Mr. Price has a BS in Zoology and BSA in Agricultural Education from the University of Georgia. He also has a M. Ed. in Science Education from Georgia Southwestern University. Mr. Price has been working with commercial citrus growers in Georgia since 2013 and has four research trials in the ground to include an Owari satsuma rootstock trial, an early variety satsuma trial, a “Sugar Belle” rootstock trial, and a trial to evaluate two satsuma/changsha hybrids.
Apurba Barman
Dr. Barman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia. In addition to working on pecan entomology, Dr. Barman will also serve as an citrus entomologist to support Georgia’s growing citrus industry. He got his MS degree from Texas Tech University and his PhD in Entomology at Texas A&M University.
Mary Sutton
Dr. Mary Sutton will serve at the UGA Citrus Extension Specialist. Dr. Sutton received her M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Georgia in 2019 and her Ph.D. in Horticulture in 2024 from the University of Florida. She worked with peaches for her M.S. research and studied the effects of citrus greening on flowering, fruit set, growth, and retention throughout the season during her Ph.D. studies. In addition, she identified altered irrigation practices to improve the needs of more drought-stress prone HLB-affected citrus trees and how HLB-affected trees respond to abiotic stresses and applied treatments. The focus of Dr. Sutton’s research and extension program at UGA will be maximizing citrus production and improving its efficiency as ongoing and new challenges emerge including those related to frost protection/cold hardiness, fertility, water requirements, food safety, rootstock and scion evaluation, the impact of huanglongbing (citrus greening) and other emerging diseases, labor/mechanization issues, and the evaluation of new rootstock and cultivars suitable for cultivation in Georgia.
Dario Chavez
Dr. Chavez received both his M.S. and Ph.D. In Horticulture from the University of Florida in 2009 and 2013, respectively. In 2014, he joined the Department of Horticulture at UGA as an Assistant Professor in Peach Horticulture where he developed and led a successful research and extension program focusing on peach fruit quality, critical bud freezing temperature determination, irrigation and fertilization management, fruit thinning management, and plant growth regulators aimed at improving growth, flowering, yield and fruit quality. In August 2024, Dr. Chavez took on a new role at UGA. In this role, Dr. Chavez will develop a research program addressing the complexity of citrus and peach genetics to eventually develop citrus and peach cultivars with improved traits (e.g. rapid growth, yield, resistance to pests and diseases, nutritional value, etc.), suitable for production in the Southeast US, with the ultimate goal of increasing citrus and peach production in the state of Georgia.