معرفی
Amaya Atucha is an Associate Professor and the Gottschalk Endowed Chair for Cranberry Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences. She leads research on crop ecophysiology, focusing on small fruit and cold climate viticulture, with an emphasis on cold hardiness, fruit quality, root-microbe interactions, and organic production systems. Her extension program bridges research and industry, enhancing crop profitability in the Midwest fruit sector. She teaches undergraduate courses on fruit crop production.
Her research integrates plant physiology, environmental stress adaptation, and sustainable agricultural practices. Key projects include optimizing cranberry nitrogen fertilization, modeling grapevine freezing tolerance, and leveraging machine learning for fruit phenotyping. She evaluates mulch materials for pest reduction and yield improvement in strawberries and raspberries. Her work also explores consumer perceptions of food labeling and biotechnology in cranberry products.
Her interdisciplinary approach spans plant breeding, agroecosystem management, and climate resilience. She collaborates with growers to translate findings into actionable strategies for cold climate fruit production. Current initiatives include renovating cranberry marshes using genetic testing and yield data insights.
Notable contributions include developing the NYUS.2 freezing tolerance prediction model and the BerryPortraits phenotyping tool. She advocates for soil health and organic farming connections to nutrition quality, reflecting her holistic vision for sustainable agriculture.
