Langs on Board at Michigan State University from Washington
Associate Editor
Suzanne Lang
Greg Lang
Many in Michigan were pleased while many in Washington hoped it wasn’t true. The Langs were leaving their tenured positions at WSU lured by new challenges as professors of horticulture at MSU.
By early August the Langs made several cross country trips and were settling in and learning about their new positions in Extension, research and teaching as part of MSU’s horticulture department.
The Langs were working at the WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Center in Prosser, Wash. when they were recruited by MSU. “It’s unusual for a university to create opportunities for a husband and wife with similar degrees,” said Greg, now a professor of horticulture at MSU. “They saw a chance to bring in a pomologist and a chance to bring in a scientist with experience in cross-commodities,” he said.
Suzanne and Greg said they were impressed with how closely the university works with the horticulture industry, the legislature, the government and within the department.
“We’re both good team players and intend to help create a team approach to problem solving,” said Greg. He had previously worked with MSU staff on projects including Jim Flore in tree physiology, Amy Iezzoni in cherry germplasm and Ron Perry in cherry rootstocks.
“One of the similarities with growers there (Washington) and growers here (Michigan) is they have a tendency to be very innovative,” said Suzanne, now associate professor of horticulture at MSU.
In his new position Greg will work across all tree fruits – 75% research and 25% Extension. He has already planted a sweet cherry orchard at the Clarksville Horticultural Experiment Station and anticipates he will bring an added dimension to MSU’s efforts in sweet cherry research, as well as efforts in apples and tart cherries. In particular, he will evaluate physiological and horticultural traits in cherry rootstocks and new varieties.
“One of challenges for me is to evaluate all the limitations we have to producing fresh market sweet cherries,” said Greg. He released Tieton (click here for the story), a new variety of sweet cherry in Washington in 1998. Greg said that one of the growers where Tieton was tested grossed $16,000 an acre where in the Northwest grossing $2,000 an acre is considered a break-even crop. He said Tieton ripens earlier than Bing, a popular variety in Washington, and is 30% bigger.
New varieties like Tieton will be tested first at Clarksville before possible expansion at other research stations. “Michigan has many more challenges than Washington – not as much sunshine and a lot more rain,” he said.
“My job responsibilities are unfolding,” said Suzanne, whose position is 70% research and 30% teaching. She will teach Introduction to Horticulture and she will look at Integrated Crop Management (ICM) from a physiological perspective and integrate that with precision agriculture. “I have the potential to interact with a number of commodities,” said Suzanne.
Her past research includes seed quality and canopy management in sweet bell peppers, wildflower stand establishment, azalea dormancy and flowering and turfgrass winter hardiness. While at WSU she revised potato nutrient management strategies based on research, changing production methods and environmental concerns in Central Washington. At WSU she also used Concord grapes and potatoes as two model plant systems to test remote sensing techniques such as digital imaging and leaf reflectance to monitor plant status and improve overall canopy management.
“We want to give producers the tools they would be able to implement on a precision ag basis - altering inputs to improve quality and yield across the state,” she said.
Prior to WSU, Greg and Suzanne worked for seven years at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. While there Suzanne worked in ornamentals and she also worked in vegetables at North Carolina State University. Suzanne grew up in southeast Michigan and earned a bachelor’s degree from MSU in floriculture. She earned a master’s degree in horticulture from Clemson University in South Carolina and Ph.D in plant physiology from North Carolina State University.
Greg, a native of Georgia, earned a bachelor’s degree in horticultural science from the University of Georgia in Athens and master’s and Ph.D degrees from the University of California-Davis in pomology and plant physiology.
Along with their daughter, the Langs are bringing a team of five graduate students for technical support to MSU so they can “hit the ground running” with people they’re familiar with.
Both the Langs mentioned marketing issues that are a factor in Michigan. “With increased competition you can’t go for the bulk market. You have to go for the premium market,” said Greg.
“Our challenge is to match up growers with commodity production techniques and markets to be profitable,” Suzanne said.
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