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Agronomist

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Explore Being an Agronomist with Dr. Earl S. Horner

argonomist-wheatA Retired University of Florida agronomy professor and Cornell graduate talks about his work in plant breeding research and his very important discovery of the most widely sold white clover in the U.S., named Osceola, a plant used for hay and animal grazing.

cz:Briefly describe your job. 


I was hired by the Agronomy Department, University of Florida, to do research in plant breeding methods and to teach a graduate course entitled "The Genetic Basis of Plant Improvement". I took over a field corn breeding project and initiated a legume breeding project (alfalfa and white clover). I started as an assistant professor and eventually reached the full professor rank.

cz:How long have you been working in this field?


I was hired in June, 1950, and retired December 31, 1987. I had no other job after finishing graduate school.

cz:When and how did you decide to choose this career?


I chose agriculture as a major when I enrolled at Washington State University in 1936 because I grew up on a farm. I liked working with plants and felt that I should stay with something with which I was familiar. The wheat breeder in the Agronomy Department offered me a part-time job; I found the work very interesting and decided to prepare for a career in plant breeding.

cz:What education/training did you obtain to qualify you for this field? 


The wheat breeder I worked for was my role model -- my goal became to be a plant breeder at a university. This required that I go to graduate school and earn a Ph.D. degree. After I received my B. S. degree, I was awarded a graduate assistantship at Michigan State, where I earned an M.S. degree in plant breeding. After U. S. Army service (1942-1946), I was awarded an assistantship in the Plant Breeding and Genetics Department at Cornell University, where I was granted the Ph.D. degree in June, 1950.

cz:Describe a typical day on the job?


What I did on a given day depended on the season. In the winter a lot of time was spent preparing for planting corn plots in the spring. When the corn started to tassel we had to cover the ears of selected plants with small bags to prevent stray pollen from falling on the silks prior to making crosses or doing self-pollination. Later on the pollinated ears were harvested, labeled, and dried. Experimental hybrids were tested in comparison with standard hybrids in replicated plots; these had to be harvested and the yield data analyzed. As the projects began to produce publishable results, manuscripts were written and submitted for publication. Eventually I was asked to help edit our national journal, Crop Science. Over the years I served as Associate Editor, Technical Editor, and finally as Editor in Chief of this journal. I asked my Department Chairman to be relieved of my teaching duties when I took the Technical Editor position. He assigned the course to a younger faculty member. The alfalfa and white clover projects were aimed mainly at finding genotypes that would persist from one year to the next (not die out during the hot summer months). At the beginning this meant writing for sources. The plants that survived and were most vigorous were either cloned (white clover) or allowed to produce seed (alfalfa). Then the progenies of these selected plants were subjected to another cycle of selection for persistence. This recurrent selection was continued for many cycles.

cz:What do you like the most about what you do?


Analyzing test data to see if progress was being made. Observing new lines or hybrids to see if goals are being achieved.

cz:What did you like least about the job?


Rainy weather that interfered with field work. Long, hot summer days.

cz:What was the most rewarding experience?


After 20 years of work on white clover, I turned the resulting clones which had performed well in Florida over to a new faculty member. He intercrossed them to produce a variety named Osceola, seed of which became for many years the most widely sold white clover variety in the U. S. What was gratifying to me that even though the selection was done in Florida, it was well adapted as for north as Canada.

cz:Biggest challenge?


The soil in Florida is sandy, variable, and infertile. Even with irrigation it was difficult to get reliable test results.

cz:What would like to say to someone considering this career?


Universities in the future probably will emphasize basic science more than practical objectives such as improved crop varieties. If one is trained as a plant breeder, job opportunities will be with large seed companies that develop their own brands.

cz:Skills needed?


Personal -- results are not achieved quickly. Patience is required.

cz:What could someone do to learn more about this field right now?


The easiest way would be to "Google" Plant Breeding on the internet. I got 3,640,000 "hits", including Cornell University's Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics. Every thing one would need to know to get started is there.

cz:What advice to students?


Choose a field you are interested in. Then do your best to prepare for it.

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