What's happening in the field?

At the Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station

USA Staff Ambassadors visit the Mountain Grove Campus

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The USA Staff Ambassadors visited the Missouri State Mountain Grove Campus. Although the hayride was cancelled by rain, the ambassadors went on a bus tour of the field and research area let by Dr. Martin Kaps with the help of his graduate student, Xinyi Zhang. The group, led by Debbie Donnellan,  tasted MSU wines, toured the grape biotechnology lab with Dr. Wenping Qiu and his staff, the Paul Evans Library of Fruit Science with Pam Mayer, and the MSU winery and distillery with Josh Glasson and Dr. Karl Wilker. They later toured Shepard Hall where they met Dr. Maciej Pszczolkowski, a researcher in entomology and Leslie Akers, who manages fruit and wine sales.

USA Staff enjoyed lunch in Faurot Hall and then tasted MSU wines.
USA Staff enjoyed lunch in Faurot Hall and then tasted MSU wines.
Josh Glasson, a graduate student with an emphasis in enology, discusses the wines with our guests.
Josh Glasson, a graduate student with an emphasis in enology, discusses the wines with our guests.
Surya Sapkota, left, points out differences in the berry rot assay.
Surya Sapkota, left, points out differences in the berry rot assay.
The berry assay speeds up the plant breeding selection process.
The berry assay speeds up the plant breeding selection process.
Dr. Karl Wilker discusses distillation with the group.
Dr. Karl Wilker discusses distillation with the group.
Wine tanks are also stored in the distillery.
Wine tanks are also stored in the distillery.
The USA staff listens to information on the distillation program at Mountain Grove.
The USA staff listens to information on the distillation program at Mountain Grove.
The crush pad is located between the distillery and the winery.
The crush pad is located between the distillery and the winery.

 

Dr. Wilker talks about processing the grapes as they come in from the field.
Dr. Wilker talks about processing the grapes as they come in from the field.
The winery operation is described by Josh.
The winery operation is described by Josh.