Dr. Mike Parker is an Associate Professor and the Tree Fruit Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, Raleigh with an extension, research and teaching appointment. His extension responsibility is to support North Carolina Cooperative Extension field faculty and growers in the culture and management of tree fruit, primarily apples, peaches and pecans. This support is primarily accomplished through on-farm research and demonstrations, educational program development, publications, videos, and on-site consultation. Dr. Parker is also the educational liaison with the commercial apple, peach and pecan grower groups. Dr. Parker’s research focus is on the development of tree fruit practices and systems that are sustainable and profitable for North Carolina and southeastern growers. This includes evaluation of peach rootstocks and planting systems that are tolerant to peach tree short life, evaluation of peach cultivars that will crop consistently in North Carolina, and testing and evaluation of growth regulators that have commercial potential. Dr. Parker’s research on apples is concentrated in the area of successful replant strategies and rootstock evaluation as part of the NC-140 Regional Research Project. Dr. Parker also has extensive experience in the postharvest handling of apples and most recently in utilizing 1-MCP (SmartFresh) in systems applicable to many growers in the southeast.mlp@ncsu.edu | 919.515.1198