| James (Jim) Owen |
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James (Jim) S. Owen Jr.
Application Technology Research Unit
1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, Ohio 44691
(757) 374-8153
Jim Owen’s research includes developing, designing, and optimizing systems that improve irrigation water security and water quality, and improve the quality of water leaving container production sites. His program is directed by ARS National Program 305-Crop Production. Jim is located at the Application Technology Research Unit (ATRU) in Wooster, Ohio. His research is national in scope and conducted across U.S. eco-physiographic regions. To accomplish this, Jim collaborates with a national team of scientists who are innovating production strategies for the greenhouse and nursery industries via funding by USDA-ARS, extramural grants, and the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative. Additionally, Jim oversees the USDA-ARS ATRU Environmental Horticultural Analytical Laboratories. His primary research today focuses on optimizing resource efficiency to reduce production costs, extend finite resources, namely water and mineral nutrients, and mitigate production impacts to ecosystems at local, regional, and national scales. Ongoing projects include:
- Quantifying mineral nutrient fate in containerized crop production to identify key opportunities to increase crop utilization
- Physio-chemically engineering soilless substrates to retain water and agrichemical resources while quickly growing a larger or equivalent crop
- Coupling and optimizing irrigation-container-substrate systems to maximize use of applied water, minimize agrichemical leaching, and reduce crop stress
- Characterizing and treating nursery and greenhouse irrigation return flow and storm runoff for reuse on site or discharge to the surrounding ecosystem
- Improving reservoir design to retain quality fresh water for nursery and greenhouse water security
A complete list of refereed and popular press publications can be found at Google Scholar and LinkedIn, respectively. Jim's most recent ARS scholarly contributions can be found under the “publications” tab below.
Please contact Jim if you are a stakeholder or scientist interested in collaborating on research to help address water-related challenges and opportunities in nursery and greenhouse production.
Research Experience
2006-2011 Assistant Professor, Oregon State University, Department of Horticulture, Aurora, OR
2011-2017 Assistant Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Horticulture, Virginia Beach, VA
2017-2020 Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Beach, VA
2020-present GS-14, Research Horticulturist, USDA, ARS, Application Technology Research Unit, Wooster, OH
Educational Background
1996-1999 University of Kentucky; major, Plant and Soil Science; B.S. 1999
1999-2002 University of Rhode Island; major, Environmental Science; M.S. 2002
2002-2006 North Carolina State University; major, Horticultural Science; minor, Soil Science; Ph.D. 2006
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