My teaching and research focuses on woody nursery and landscape plants. I teach spring and fall woody plant identification courses, growth and development of horticultural crops, and plant propagation. Research in my lab is closely aligned with the nursery industry to try and develop new plants that work well in production and serve the needs of growers and gardners alike. Some of the crops we are working on include:
My research program involves several areas of ornamental plant breeding and cultivar development. Of primary interest is the development of sterile forms of nonnative species that are of economic importance to Oregon growers to prevent escape from cultivation. Primary techniques to achieve sterility/reduced fertility include develoment of triploids using ploidy manipulation, as well as mutagenesis by exposing seeds or meristems to physical and chemical mutagens.
We are also trying to develop new cultivars that have increased insect and disease resistance. We conduct fundamental research in traditional genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and genomics to support the applied breeding program with the goal of developing plants that are attractive to consumers, easy for growers to produce, and resilient in modern landscapes.
Tyler is a native Oregonian who has degrees from Clackamas Community College, George Fox, and Virginia Tech. The latter is where he honed his expertise in managing water and nutrients in soilless substrates of nursery crops - earning his M.S. with former Oregon State professor, Jim Owen. Tyler expertly manages the growing operation for the breeding program from propagation, to containers, field production, irrigation, and fertilization.
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