Melba Salazar-Gutierrez

DEGREES EARNED

• 2006 Ph.D. Agricultural Sciences – Plant Physiology, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• 1996 M.S. Statistics (Specialist), Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• 1993 B.S. Education – Biology, Universidad del Cauca- Colombia

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 2021–Present – Assistant Professor Specialty Crop Physiologist, Auburn University, Horticulture Department
• 2020 – Program Modeler and Analysis Scientist. Department of Ecology, Washington State.
• 2013–2020 – Assistant Research Professor, Washington State University, Department of Biological Systems Engineering- AgWeatherNet Program. Prosser, WA.
• 2016–2018 – Interim leader of the AWN Research program, Washington State University.
• 2012–2013 – Research Associate, AWN Research program, Washington State University.
• 2010–2011 – Postdoctoral Research Associate, AWN Research program, Washington State University.
• 2006–2010 – Head of Mathematics and Applied Statistics and Associate Professor, Universidad de la Sabana, Engineering School, Colombia.
• 2008–2009 – Postdoctoral Research Associate (Sabbatical). The University of Georgia, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Griffin, GA.
• 2004–2005 – Visiting Research Scientist University of Florida, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Gainesville, FL.
• 2001–2002 – Statistics Coordinator – Lecturer Professor in Statistics, Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales, Departamento de Planeación, Colombia.
• 1999–2000 – Research Assistant, IACR-Rothamsted Plant Pathology and Biochemistry Department, Harpenden. England, UK.
• 1997–1999 – Lecturer Professor in Applied Statistics, Universidad de Caldas, Medicine, and Biology School, Colombia.
• 1997–1999 – Lecturer Professor in Applied Statistics, Universidad Católica de Manizales, Microbiology-Bacteriology Program, Colombia.
• 1991–1995 – Research Associate, The National Coffee Federation Research Center Cenicafé.

HONORS & AWARDS

• 2017 Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. Second place poster competition. Kennewick, WA.
• 2016 International Society for Horticultural Science, First place poster competition in Hortimodel 2016, Avignon, France.
• 2016 SURCA, Washington State University. Honorable Mention in the Organismal, Population, Ecological, and Evolutionary Biology category
• 2016 Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. Third Place in the poster competition
• 2014 American Society of Agronomy. Mentor Golden Opportunity Scholar.
• 2012 Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. Second place poster competition
• 2010 The University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science. Young Scholar Program. Certificate of Recognition for contributions as Mentor of the Apprenticeship Program.
• 2009 The University of Georgia, College of Agricultural and Environmental Science. Young Scholar Program. Certificate of Recognition for contributions as Mentor of the Apprenticeship Program.
• 2009 Sociedad Colombiana de Horticultura, Best presentation award at the III Horticultural Colombia Congress.
• 2004-2006 Doctoral Program Scholarship. The Administrative Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation-Colciencias, Colombia.
• 1993-1995 Graduate Student, Scholarship. The Administrative Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation-Colciencias, Colombia and the Scientific Research Program of the National Coffee Federation of Colombia – Cenicafé.
• 1991-1993 Undergraduate Student.The Administrative Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation-Colciencias, Colombia and the Scientific Research Program of the National Coffee Federation of Colombia – Cenicafé.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• 2012-Pres. ISHS International Society for Horticultural Sciences
• 2016-Pres . American Society of Horticultural Sciences
• 2010-Pres. ASA-CSSA. American Society of Agronomy, and Crop Science Society of America,
• 2016-Pres. ASEE American Society for Engineering Association
• 2010-Pres. WAWGG Washington Wine Growers Association
• 2010-Pres. Washington State Grape Society
• 2001-Pres. SCCH Sociedad Colombiana de Ciencias Hortícolas -Colombian Horticultural Society
• 2021-Pres. North American Strawberry Growers Association.

RESEARCH

My research program focuses on the challenges and opportunities to produce specialty fruit crops in protected environments and out-of-door production systems. As a crop physiologist and crop modeler, I am interested in studying the whole plant physiology and modeling the responses to environmental stress, climate variability, climate change, using alternative management systems, designed to optimize and maximize plant productivity, fruit quality, and on-farm-efficiency while taking care of the environment in a sustainable manner.
My main goal at Auburn University is to develop tools and do research that addresses farmers and industry needs. A key element of my program is the combination of physiological knowledge with modeling approaches.

HORT 3000 – Growth and Development of Horticultural Plants

RECENT OR SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• R. Ranjan, R. Sinha, L. R. Khot, R. T. Peters and M. R. Salazar-Gutierrez, “Internet of Things enabled crop physiology sensing system for abiotic crop stress management in apple and sweet cherry,” 2020 IEEE International Workshop on Metrology for Agriculture and Forestry (MetroAgriFor), 2020, pp. 273-277, doi: 10.1109/MetroAgriFor50201.2020.9277581
• Ying-Tsui Wang, Benoît Pallas, Melba R Salazar-Gutierrez, Evelyne Costes, Gerrit Hoogenboom. 2020 A Comparative Study on Branching Pattern of Monocyclic and Bicyclic Shoots of Apple cv. ‘Fuji’, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, section Plant Biophysics and Modeling. Front. Plant Sci., 31 August 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.571918
• Ranjan, R. , Khot, L.A., Peters, T.R., Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R. Shic, G. 2020. In-field crop physiology sensing aided real-time apple fruit surface temperature monitoring for sunburn prediction. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. DOI: 10.1016/J.COMPAG.2020.105558
• Andrés Javier Peña Quiñones, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Melba Ruth Salazar Gutiérrez, Claudio Stöckle, Markus Keller. 2020. Comparison of air temperature measured in a vineyard canopy and at a standard weather station. PLoS ONE 15(6): e0234436. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234436
• Salazar-Gutierrez, M. and Chaves-Cordoba, B. Modeling Approach for Cold Hardiness Estimation on Cherries. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 287, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.107946
• Camargo-Alvarez, H., Salazar-Gutierrez, M., Keller, M. Hoogenboom, G. 2020. Modeling the effect of temperature on bud dormancy of grapevines. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 280, (2020) https://doi.org/107782. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107782.
• Peña Q., A.J., Salazar Gutierrez, M.R., Hoogenboom, G. 2020. A Methodological Approach to Determine Flower Bud Vulnerability to Low Temperatures for Deciduous Crops in Early Spring Using Degree Days. HORTSCIENCE • https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI14689-19 Published online 25 March 2020.
• Valencia, A., J.A., Soto, G.A., Castaño, V, G.J., Villa, Vallejo E., L.F., Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R.Morphometric identification of the sugarcane stem borers Diatraea Saccharalis and Diatraea Busckella (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) In Colombia. Bulleting of Entomological Research. Pre-print BioRxiv Jan 2020.
• Valencia, A., J.A., Soto, G.A., Castaño, V, G.J., Villa, Vallejo E., L.F., Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R. Population dynamics of diatraea spp. Under different climate offer conditions in Colombia. Bulleting of Entomological Research. Pre-print BioRxiv Jan 2020.
• Peña Q., A.J., Keller M., Salazar Gutierrez, M.R., Knot, L. Hoogenboom G. 2019. Comparison between grapevine tissue temperature and air temperature. Scientia Horticulturae, Volume 247, Pages 407-420.
• Peña Q., A.J., Chaves, B., Salazar Gutierrez, M.R., Keller M., and Hoogenboom G. 2019. Radius of influence of air temperature from automated weather stations installed in complex terrain. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-018-2717-9 Volume 137, pages 1957–1973 (2019)
• Camargo Alvarez, H., Salazar Gutiérrez, M., Zapata, D., Keller, M and Hoogenboom, G. 2018. Time-to-event analysis to evaluate dormancy status of single-bud cuttings: An example for grapevines. Plant Methods October 14:98. Available online: https://plantmethods.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s13007-018-0361-0 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-018-0361-0
• Camargo, H., Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R., Chaves, B. and Hoogenboom G. 2018. Modeling pollen tube growth of ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apples. Scientia Horticulturae 240. 125-132
• Valencia, A., J.A., Soto, G.A., Castaño, V, G.J., Villa, Vallejo E., L.F., Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R. 2018. Morphometric Identification of Stem Borers Diatraea Saccharalis and Diatraea Busckella (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Sugarcane Crops (Saccharum officinarum) in Caldas Department, Colombia. PlosOne. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1101/385955
• Camargo, Hector & Salazar-Gutierrez, Melba Ruth & Zapata, D.M. & Hoogenboom, Gerrit. 2017. Predicting the dormancy and bud break dates for grapevines. Acta Horticulturae. 153-160. 10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1182.18.
• Chaves, B., Salazar, M.R., Schmidt, T., Dasgupta, J and Hoogenboom, G. 2017. Modeling apple bloom phenology. Acta Horticulturae. 1160. 201-206.
• Chaves, B., Salazar, M.R., Schmidt, T., Dasgupta, J and Hoogenboom, G. 2017. Modeling fruit growth of apple. ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1160. 335-340.
• Zapata D.M., Salazar-Gutierrez, M., Chaves B., Keller M., and Hoogenboom G. 2017. Predicting Key Phenological Stages for 17 Grapevine Cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.). Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 68 (1): 60-68.
• Salazar, M.R., Chaves, B., Hoogenboom, G. 2016. The freezing tolerance of apples flower buds. Scientia Hort. 198: 344–351.
• Whiting, M.D., Salazar, M.R., Hoogenboom, G. 2015. Development of Bloom Phenology Models for Tree Fruits. Acta Hort. 1068: 107-112.
• Zapata D.M., *Salazar M., Chaves B., Keller M., and Hoogenboom G. 2015. Estimation of the base temperature and growth phase duration in terms of thermal time for four grapevine cultivars. Int. Jour. Biometeorol. 59: 1771. *Corresponding author.
• Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R., Chaves, B. Anothai, J. Whiting, M., Hoogenboom, G., 2014. Variation in cold hardiness of sweet cherry flower buds through different phenological stages. Scientia Hort. 172: 161-167.
• Salazar-Gutierrez, M.R., Johnson, J., Chaves, B., Hoogenboom, G. 2013. Relationship of Base Temperature to Development of Winter Wheat in the Southeastern US. The Int. Jour. of Plant Product. 7 (4): 741-762.
• Salazar, M.R., Hook. J. E., Garcia y Garcia, A., Paz, J.O., Chaves, B., Hoogenboom, G. 2012. Estimating Irrigation Water Use for Maize in the Southeastern USA: A Modeling Approach” Agr. Water Manage. 107:104-111.
• López. M.A., Chaves, B., Flórez, R. V. J. Salazar, M. R. 2010. Modelo de aparición de nudos en clavel (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. Delphi cultivado en sustratos. Node appearance model for substrate grown carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) cv. Delphi. Agronomía Colombiana. 28(1): 47-54.
• Salazar, M.R., Jones, J.W., Chaves, B., Cooman, A., Fisher, G. 2008. Base temperature and simulation model for nodes appearance in Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.), Revista Brasil. de Frutic. 30 (4): 862-867.
• Pulido, S., Bojaca, C., Salazar, M.R., Chaves, B. 2008. Node appearance model for Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) in the high altitude tropics. Biosyst. Engineering. 101(4): 383-387.
• Pulido, S., Bojaca, C., Salazar, M.R., Chaves, B. 2008. Desarrollo de un modelo fenológico de lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam,): estimación de la temperatura base para la aparición de nudos. Revista de la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano. Vol 1 (7). ISSN 2027‐0291.
• Carranza, C., Lanchero, O., Miranda, D., Salazar, M.R., Chaves, B. 2008. A simple simulation model of dry matter distribution in broccoli (Brassica sp.) variety Coronado and cabbage (Brassica oleracea) hybrid Delus cultivated in Bogotá plateau. Agronomía Colombiana 26, (1): 23-31.
• Salazar, M.R., Jones, J.W., Chaves, B., Cooman, A. 2006. A model for the potential production and dry matter distribution of Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.). Scientia Hort. 115 (2): 142-148.
• Salazar, M.R., Jones, J.W., Chaves-Cordoba, B., Cooman, A. 2006. A Simple Phenological and Potential Production Model for Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L). Acta Hort. 718: 105-112.
• Salazar, G.M.R., Lopez F. Y., Mosquera S. L. P., Riaño, H.N.M., Arcila, P.J. 1997. Characterization of photosynthetic activity of coffee (Coffea sp) fruits. Supplement of plant physiology. 14 (3):1109.
• Salazar, G.M. R., Chaves C.B., Riaño, H.N.M., Arcila, P.J., Jaramillo, R.A. 1994. Crecimiento del fruto de café C arabica L. Cenicafé (Chinchiná). Revista Cenicafe. 45 (2): 41-50.
• Salazar, G.M. R., Riaño, H.N.M., Arcila, P.J., Ponce, D.C.A. 1994. Estudio morfológico, anatómico y ultraestructural del fruto de café C arabica L. Cenicafé (Chinchiná). Revista Cenicafe. 45 (3):93-104.
• Salazar, G.M. R., Arcila, P.J., Riaño, H.N.M., Bustillo, P.A.E. 1993. Crecimiento y desarrollo del fruto de café y su relación con la broca. Cenicafé (Chinchiná). Avance Técnico. Nº 194 Septiembre.
• Salazar, G.M.R., Arcila, P.J., Riaño, H.N.M., Bustillo, P.A.E. 1994. Crecimiento y desarrollo del fruto de café y su relación con la broca. Revista Asocia. 2 (3).