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W. Chester Allen

MSc Horticulture student

Greetings. My name is W. Chester Allen, and I’m a current MSc Horticulture student at the Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Winchester, Virginia. My advisor is Dr. Sherif M. Sherif, who is the Assistant Professor of Pomology for Virginia Tech. Over the past half-decade, I’ve been involved in the management of commercial, fresh-market apple orchards in Virginia. In the Spring of 2018, I graduated with a BS in Crop & Soil Sciences from Virginia Tech. I started work on my MSc Horticulture program in August of 2018.

My current work entails researching chemical blossom thinning in apples as a new crop load management practice for commercial growers in Virginia and the surrounding region. There are three key parts of my research project: 1) evaluating the suitability (crop safety) of chemicals for blossom thinning, 2) evaluating the efficacy (effectiveness) of chemicals for blossom thinning, and 3) investigating application strategies for blossom thinning. In addition, I extend my research findings and knowledge of crop load management practices to commercial growers at meetings, field days, and through extension publications.