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| Michael Parrella selected for the California Floriculture Hall of Fame. |
DAVIS--Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, is a newly elected member of the California Floriculture Hall of Fame.
Parrella, who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Plant Sciences, is scheduled to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next February. Also inducted into the Hall of Fame will be Michael Reid, professor of plant sciences at UC Davis.
Parrella develops integrated pest management strategies for ornamental crops, with an emphasis on biological control. In 1985, he initiated what has become an annual conference on insect and disease management on ornamentals. The event is sponsored by the Society of American Florists.
Reid, who has a partial appointment in Cooperative Extension, is an authority on postharvest physiology and handling of ornamental crops. He conducts research on the senescence of ornamental plants, particularly cut flowers and potted plants. His work covers the spectrum from studies of the biochemistry of senescence to application, in the field, of new methods in postharvest technology.
Parrella, chair of the department since July 2009, joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty in 1989. He chaired the department from 1991-1999 before becoming associate dean, Division of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
A native of Elizabeth, N.J., Parrella received his bachelor of science degree in animal science in 1974 from Rutgers-State University of Cook College, New Brunswick, N.J., and his master’s and doctorate degrees in entomology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va., in 1977 and 1980, respectively. He began his academic career as an assistant professor at UC Riverside in 1980 and was promoted to professor in 1988. In 1989, Dr. Parrella relocated to the UC Davis campus.
Parrella maintains a teaching/research program in entomology and develops integrated pest management (IPM) and biological control strategies for the environmental horticulture industry. He is widely known for his applied research that has advanced IPM and biological control for this industry that includes floriculture crops, nursery and bedding plants and landscape plants in the urban environment.
In demand as a speaker at national and international conferences, he gave the keynote address, ‘Worldwide Development of Sustainable Production Systems in Greenhouses” at the Greensys 2009 Conference, sponsored by the International Society for Horticulture Science last month in Quebec City, Canada.
Parrella has trained more than 30 students and postdoctoral students, many of whom work in floricultural entomology. He is the author of more than 375 publications that are equally split between scientific and trade journals. For 10 years he wrote a monthly column for the trade magazines Greenhouse Grower and GrowerTalks.
The recipient of numerous awards, Parrella was selected a fellow of the 5700-member Entomological Society of America (ESA) in 2008. ESA honors up to 10 fellows annually for their outstanding contributions in entomological research, teaching, extension or administration.
Parrella received the Emma Lausten Horticulture Award from Rutgers University in 2007; the Virginia Tech Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998; the Alex Laurie Research Award from the Society of American Florists in 1997; the Futura Research and Education Award from the Professional Plant Growers Association in 1991; Recognition Award from the Entomological Society of America in 1987; and the California Association Research Award in 1986. He is the Yolo County representative to the Sacramento/Yolo County Mosquito Abatement District Board of Trustees.
The Hall of Fame inductees will have their names engraved on permanent plaques at the San Francisco Flower Market, the Los Angeles Flower Market and the San Diego International Floral Trade Center.
The trustees of the Kee Kitayama Research Foundation annually seek nominations for Floriculture Hall of Fame recipients. Individuals nominated "must have contributed for a minimum of 15 years their leadership and organizational skills to the development and permanent betterment of the California floral industry in the areas of production, marketing, transportation, research and legislative activity."
A unanimous vote of the Hall of Fame's five-member selection committee determine the recipients. The distinguished award dates back to 1986.
Related link:
List of previous recipients.
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
